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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §41.2.10.pr-41.2.10.2

Conflict of Lease and Precarium and Types of Holding

Passage 6708 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

The text discusses the priority of effectiveness when both a lease and a precarium are contracted, stating that generally the most recent agreement prevails, though they can coexist under certain conditions based on the distinction between possessing and being in possession.

[ULPIANUS libro sexagensimo nono ad edictum. ] §41.2.10.prSi quis ante conduxit, postea precario rogauit, uidebitur discessisse a conductione: quod si ante rogauit, postea conduxit, conduxisse uidebitur.
[ULPIAN, in the sixty-ninth book on the Edict.] If anyone has first leased, and afterwards requested by precarium, he will be deemed to have departed from the lease; but if he first requested and afterwards leased, he will be deemed to have leased.
potius enim hoc procedere uidetur, quod nouissime factum est: et hoc Pomponius ait.
For it seems rather that what was done most recently should prevail; and Pomponius also says this.
§41.2.10.1Idem Pomponius bellissime temptat dicere, numquid qui conduxerit quidem praedium, precario autem rogauit non ut possideret, sed ut in possessione esset (est autem longe diuersum: aliud est enim possidere, longe aliud in possessione esse: denique rei seruandae causa, legatorum, damni infecti non possident, sed sunt in possessione custodiae causa): quod si factum est, utrumque procedit.
The same Pomponius very finely attempts to state whether, if someone has indeed leased a tract of land, but requested by precarium not that he should possess, but that he should be in possession (but this is far different: for it is one thing to possess, and far another to be in possession; indeed, those who are in possession for the purpose of preserving property, on account of legacies, or because of threatened damage, do not possess, but are in possession for the purpose of custody): if this was done, both [transactions] are effective.
§41.2.10.2Si quis et conduxerit et rogauerit precario, si quidem nummo uno conduxit, nulla dubitatio est, quin ei precarium solum teneat, quia conductio nulla est, quae est in uno nummo: sin uero pretio, tunc distinguendum, quid prius factum est.
If anyone has both leased and requested by precarium, if indeed he leased for a single coin, there is no doubt but that the precarium alone is binding on him, because a lease which is for a single coin is void; but if indeed for a price, then a distinction must be made as to which was done first.

Notes

  1. §41.2.10.prquod si — The phrase 'quod si' is a conjunctional expression (meaning 'but if' or 'on the other hand, if') that introduces a new hypothetical condition while contrasting it with the preceding sentence. The 'quod' is the neuter accusative singular of the relative pronoun functioning adverbially, serving to connect the clauses at the beginning of the sentence.
  2. §41.2.10.1numquid qui conduxerit... quod si factum est — The clause introduced by 'numquid', which sets up an indirect question following 'temptat dicere' (attempts to state), is interrupted by a long parenthetical insert (est autem... custodiae causa). The subsequent 'quod' in 'quod si factum est' (if this was done) refers back to the entire situation described before the parenthesis—namely, a lessee requesting a precarium not to possess but to be in possession for custody—leading to the main clause 'utrumque procedit' (both are effective).
  3. §41.2.10.1rei seruandae causa, legatorum, damni infecti — The postpositional word 'causa' (for the sake of, on account of), which governs the genitive case, is placed here after the first phrase 'rei seruandae' (preserving property). It is understood to be elided or to apply equally to the subsequent genitives 'legatorum' (legacies) and 'damni infecti' (threatened damage).
  4. §41.2.10.2quin ei precarium solum teneat — This is a 'quin' clause following 'nulla dubitatio est' (there is no doubt). The verb 'teneat' (present subjunctive) is used here intransitively to mean 'is binding' or 'holds good', with 'precarium solum' (the precarium alone) as its subject, and 'ei' as a dative of reference ('for him' or 'on him').

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §41.2.10.pr-41.2.10.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:41.2.10.pr-41.2.10.2

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