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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §44.6.3.pr

Prohibition of Dedicating Litigious Property and the Double Penalty

Passage 7285 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Gaius discusses the prohibition against dedicating a disputed thing to sacred use and whether the resulting double penalty should be paid to the treasury or to the opponent.

[GAIUS libro sexto ad legem duodecim tabularum. ] §44.6.3.prRem de qua controuersia est prohibemur in sacrum dedicare: alioquin dupli poenam patimur, nec immerito, ne liceat eo modo duriorem aduersarii condicionem facere.
[GAIUS in the sixth book on the Law of the Twelve Tables.] We are forbidden to dedicate to sacred use a thing about which there is a dispute; otherwise we suffer a penalty of double, and not undeservedly, so that it may not be allowed to make the opponent's condition more difficult in that manner.
sed duplum utrum fisco an aduersario praestandum sit, nihil exprimitur: fortassis autem magis aduersario, ut id ueluti solacium habeat pro eo, quod potentiori aduersario traditus est.
But whether this double amount should be paid to the treasury or to the opponent is not expressed at all; but perhaps it should rather be paid to the opponent, so that he may have it as a kind of solace in return for the fact that he has been handed over to a more powerful opponent.

Notes

  1. §44.6.3.prprohibemur in sacrum dedicare — The first-person plural passive main verb prohibemur (we are forbidden) is construed with the infinitive dedicare, forming a passive construction of the accusative-with-infinitive where the object rem is modified by the relative clause de qua controuersia est.
  2. §44.6.3.prdupli poenam — dupli (of double) is the genitive of the neuter noun duplum, functioning as a genitive of quality or value modifying poenam, denoting a penalty consisting of double the value of the disputed thing.
  3. §44.6.3.prpro eo, quod — An idiomatic phrase where pro eo is followed by an appositive or causal quod clause with the indicative, meaning 'in return for the fact that...' or 'for the reason that...'.
  4. §44.6.3.prtraditus est — Since the verb is in the masculine singular perfect passive, its grammatical subject is the masculine singular noun aduersarius (the opponent). It metaphorically describes the opponent being forced to confront a more powerful entity (such as a temple or the state) due to the dedication of the property, as being 'handed over to a more powerful opponent'.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §44.6.3.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:44.6.3.pr

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