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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §41.2.34.pr-41.2.34.2

Mistake as to Land and Possession via Agent or Slave

Passage 6732 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Discusses whether possession is acquired in case of error regarding the estate, examining cases involving the principal, a procurator, and a slave, alongside juristic opinions on the mental element in possession.

[ULPIANUS libro septimo disputationum. ] §41.2.34.prSi me in uacuam possessionem fundi Corneliani miseris, ego putarem me in fundum Sempronianum missum et in Cornelianum iero, non adquiram possessionem, nisi forte in nomine tantum errauerimus, in corpore consenserimus.
[ULPIANUS, in the seventh book of disputations.] If you should send me into vacant possession of the Cornelian estate, and I, thinking that I was sent onto the Sempronian estate, should enter into the Cornelian estate, I will not acquire possession, unless by chance we erred only in the name but agreed on the physical body.
quoniam autem in corpore consenserimus, an a te tamen recedet possessio, quia animo deponere et mutare nos possessionem posse et Celsus et Marcellus scribunt, dubitari potest: et si animo adquiri possessio potest, numquid etiam adquisita est? sed non puto errantem adquirere: ergo nec amittet possessionem, qui quodammodo sub condicione recessit de possessione.
Since, however, we agreed on the physical body, whether possession nevertheless departs from you can be doubted (since both Celsus and Marcellus write that we can lay down and change possession by intent); and if possession can be acquired by intent, has it indeed also been acquired? But I do not think that one who is in error acquires it; therefore, neither will he lose possession who departed from possession in some way under a condition.
§41.2.34.1Sed si non mihi, sed procuratori meo possessionem tradas, uidendum est, si ego errem, procurator meus non erret, an mihi possessio adquiratur.
But if you deliver possession not to me, but to my procurator, we must see whether possession is acquired for me if I am in error but my procurator is not.
et cum placeat ignoranti adquiri, poterit et erranti.
And since it is accepted that it can be acquired for one who is ignorant, it can also be acquired for one who is in error.
sed si procurator meus erret, ego non errem, magis est, ut adquiram possessionem.
But if my procurator is in error, and I am not, it is more correct that I acquire possession.
§41.2.34.2Seruus quoque meus ignoranti mihi adquiret possessionem.
My slave also will acquire possession for me without my knowledge.
nam et seruus alienus, ut Celsus scribit, siue a me siue a nemine possideatur, potest mihi adquirere possessionem, si nomine meo eam adipiscatur: quod et ipsum admittendum est.
For even a slave belonging to another, as Celsus writes, whether he is possessed by me or by no one, can acquire possession for me if he obtains it in my name; which itself also must be admitted.

Notes

  1. §41.2.34.prquoniam autem in corpore consenserimus — This clause responds to the conditional exception in the previous sentence (`nisi... consenserimus`). Although some editors suggest inserting `non` ("since we did not agree on the body"), the transmitted text is translated here as "since we agreed on the physical body." It raises the question of whether possession departs from the transferor when there is a consensus on the actual object despite an error in its name.
  2. §41.2.34.pran a te tamen recedet possessio ... dubitari potest — The impersonal passive `dubitari potest` ("it can be doubted") forms the main clause, with the indirect question `an ... recedet` serving as its subject. The sentence structure is complex because a subordinate clause introduced by `quia` (containing an accusative with infinitive construction `nos ... posse` depending on `scribunt`) is inserted in between.
  3. §41.2.34.1cum placeat ignoranti adquiri — `placeat` is the subjunctive present of the impersonal verb `placet` ("it is accepted/approved"), introduced by the causal `cum`. It takes the dative participle `ignoranti` ("for one who is ignorant") as its indirect object/beneficiary and the passive infinitive `adquiri` ("to be acquired") as its subject.
  4. §41.2.34.2siue a me siue a nemine possideatur — A concessive clause introduced by the correlative conjunctions `siue... siue...` ("whether... or..."), with the verb `possideatur` in the present subjunctive passive, meaning "whether he is possessed by me or by no one."

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §41.2.34.pr-41.2.34.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:41.2.34.pr-41.2.34.2

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