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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §43.12.3.pr-43.12.3.2

Definition and Physical Scope of the Riverbank

Passage 7070 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This chunk discusses the public nature of rivers and their banks, defining the term 'bank' as the area containing the river at its fullest and specifying its physical limits from the slope to the water.

[PAULUS libro sexto decimo ad Sabinum. ] §43.12.3.prFlumina publica quae fluunt ripaeque eorum publicae sunt.
[PAULUS on Sabinus, Book 16] Public rivers that flow, and their banks, are public.
§43.12.3.1Ripa ea putatur esse, quae plenissimum flumen continet.
A bank is considered to be that which contains the river when it is fullest.
§43.12.3.2Secundum ripas fluminum loca non omnia publica sunt, cum ripae cedant, ex quo primum a plano uergere incipit usque ad aquam.
Not all places along the banks of rivers are public, since the banks are assigned from where it first begins to slope from the level ground down to the water.

Notes

  1. §43.12.3.prquae fluunt — The relative clause quae fluunt ('that flow') restrictively modifies Flumina publica, implying rivers that flow continuously (perennial rivers).
  2. §43.12.3.1plenissimum flumen — The superlative plenissimum refers to the river at its regular seasonal highest water mark, rather than during exceptional flooding.
  3. §43.12.3.2cum ripae cedant — The conjunction cum is causal ('since'). The verb cedere is used here in the sense of being 'assigned to' or 'falling under' the category of the bank (ripae), which extends from the slope down to the water. Consequently, adjacent level private land is not included in the public 'bank.'
  4. §43.12.3.2ex quo primum a plano uergere incipit usque ad aquam — The antecedent of the relative clause is omitted (likely a noun like loco), defining the spatial boundary of the bank 'from the place where (ex quo) it first begins to slope (uergere) from the level ground (a plano) down to the water (usque ad aquam).''

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §43.12.3.pr-43.12.3.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:43.12.3.pr-43.12.3.2

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