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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §41.2.30.pr-41.2.30.6

Possession of Wholes, Contents, and Causes of Loss

Passage 6728 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Paulus discusses the relationship of possession between an entire structure and its individual contents, various ways in which possession is lost (such as consecration, praetorian orders, or natural events), and the transmission and retention of possession through intermediaries.

[PAULUS libro quinto decimo ad Sabinum. ] §41.2.30.prQui uniuersas aedes possedit, singulas res, quae in aedificio sunt, non uidetur possedisse.
[PAULUS, in the fifteenth book on Sabinus.] He who has possessed an entire building is not deemed to have possessed the individual things that are in the building.
idem dici debet et de naue et de armario.
The same must be said of a ship and of a wardrobe.
§41.2.30.1Possessionem amittimus multis modis, ueluti si mortuum in eum locum intulimus, quem possidebamus: namque locum religiosum aut sacrum non possumus possidere, etsi contemnamus religionem et pro priuato eum teneamus, sicut hominem liberum.
We lose possession in many ways, for example, if we have brought a dead body into a place which we possessed; for we cannot possess a religious or sacred place, even if we disregard its religious character and hold it as private property, just as we cannot possess a free person.
§41.2.30.2Item cum praetor idcirco in possessionem rei iussit, quod damni infecti non promittebatur, possessionem inuitum dominum amittere Labeo ait.
Likewise, when the praetor has ordered the possession of a property on the ground that security against threatened damage was not promised, Labeo says that the owner loses possession against his will.
§41.2.30.3Item quod mari aut flumine occupatum sit, possidere nos desinimus, aut si is qui possidet in alterius potestatem peruenit.
Likewise, we cease to possess that which has been occupied by the sea or a river, or if he who possesses comes under the power of another.
§41.2.30.4Item quod mobile est, multis modis desinimus possidere: si aut nolimus, aut seruum puta manumittamus, item si quod possidebam in aliam speciem translatum sit, ueluti uestimentum ex lana factum.
Likewise, we cease to possess a movable thing in many ways: either if we do not wish to, or if, for instance, we manumit a slave, or likewise if what I possessed has been converted into another form, such as a garment made from wool.
§41.2.30.5Quod per colonum possideo, heres meus nisi ipse nactus possessionem non poterit possidere: retinere enim animo possessionem possumus, apisci non possumus.
What I possess through a tenant, my heir will not be able to possess unless he himself has obtained possession; for we are able to retain possession by mind, but we cannot acquire it.
sed quod pro emptore possideo per colonum etiam, usucapiet etiam heres meus.
But what I possess as a buyer through a tenant as well, my heir will also acquire by usucapion.
§41.2.30.6Si ego tibi commodauero, tu Titio, qui putet tuum esse, nihilo minus ego id possidebo.
If I lend a thing to you for use, and you to Titius, who thinks it is yours, I shall nonetheless possess it.
et idem erit, si colonus meus fundum locauerit aut is, apud quem deposueram, apud alium rursus deposuerit.
And the same will hold if my tenant leases the land, or if he with whom I deposited a thing deposits it again with another.
et id quamlibet per plurium personam factum obseruandum ita erit.
And this must be so observed however many persons have been involved in the transaction.

Notes

  1. §41.2.30.prnon uidetur possedisse — The subject is the relative clause `Qui uniuersas aedes possedit` (he who has possessed an entire building) with the antecedent omitted. The verb `uidetur` is used in the personal construction, meaning 'he is not deemed to have possessed'.
  2. §41.2.30.1sicut hominem liberum — The accusative noun phrase `hominem liberum` following the comparative `sicut` is an elliptical construction corresponding to the preceding clause `etsi... pro priuato eum teneamus`. It should be understood as 'just as we cannot possess a free person even if we hold him as private property'.
  3. §41.2.30.2in possessionem — The verb `iussit` (ordered) here refers to the praetor's order of putting someone into possession (missio in possessionem), implying an omitted infinitive of motion such as `ire` (to go) or `mittere` (to send) to govern the accusative with `in`.
  4. §41.2.30.5retinere enim animo possessionem possumus, apisci non possumus — This sentence explains the difference in requirements between retaining (retinere) and acquiring (apisci) possession. While possession can be 'retained' solely by the owner's 'mind' (animus) through an intermediary (the tenant), a new 'acquisition' by the heir cannot be accomplished by mind alone and requires the establishment of physical control (corpus).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §41.2.30.pr-41.2.30.6. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:41.2.30.pr-41.2.30.6

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