Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §41.2.26.pr

Possession of Definite and Indefinite Parts of Land

Passage 6724 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

It is explained that while a specific place in a tract of land or a certain undivided share can be possessed and acquired by long possession, an uncertain share can neither be delivered nor acquired.

[IDEM libro uicensimo sexto ad Quintum Mucium. ] §41.2.26.prLocus certus ex fundo et possideri et per longam possessionem capi potest et certa pars pro indiuiso, quae introducitur uel ex emptione uel ex donatione uel qualibet alia ex causa.
[THE SAME AUTHOR, in the twenty-sixth book on Quintus Mucius.] A certain place in a tract of land can both be possessed and be acquired by long possession, as can a certain undivided share, which is introduced either by purchase or by gift or by any other cause.
incerta autem pars nec tradi nec capi potest, ueluti si ita tibi tradam: 'quidquid mei iuris in eo fundo est': nam qui ignorat, nec tradere nec accipere id, quod incertum est, potest.
But an uncertain share can neither be delivered nor be acquired, as for example if I should deliver to you as follows: "whatever of my right is in that land"; for he who does not know cannot deliver or receive that which is uncertain.

Notes

  1. §41.2.26.prcerta pars pro indiuiso — A nominative noun phrase meaning "a certain undivided share." Like `Locus certus` in the preceding clause, it functions as a subject in parallel for the main verb `potest` (and the infinitives `possideri` and `capi`).
  2. §41.2.26.prqui ignorat — A relative clause acting as the subject of the main clause (with the antecedent `is` omitted). "He who does not know" refers to the party to the transaction who, due to the uncertainty of the object, cannot cognize what they are actually delivering or receiving.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §41.2.26.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:41.2.26.pr

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