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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §45.1.120.pr

Presupposition of Existence and Reference to the Present

Passage 7467 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Explains that in a stipulation for a sum of one hundred aurei, an addition assuming the existence of the object does not create a condition, and that a phrase referring to the present rather than the future is not accepted as a condition.

[IDEM libro trigensimo septimo quaestionum. ] §45.1.120.prSi ita stipulatus fuero: 'hanc summam centum aureorum dari spondes?', etsi maxime ita exaudiatur ille sermo: 'si modo centum aureorum est', non facit condicionem haec adiectio, quoniam si centum non sint, stipulatio nulla est: nec placuit instar habere condicionis sermonem, qui non ad futurum, sed ad praesens tempus refertur, etsi contrahentes rei ueritatem ignorant.
[THE SAME, book thirty-seven of Questions.] If I have stipulated thus: 'Do you promise that this sum of one hundred aurei be given?', even if that phrase is interpreted to the utmost as 'provided that it is of one hundred aurei', this addition does not create a condition, because if there are not one hundred, the stipulation is void; and it has not been accepted that a phrase which refers not to future but to present time has the character of a condition, even if the contracting parties are ignorant of the truth of the matter.

Notes

  1. §45.1.120.prinstar habere — The indeclinable noun 'instar' governs the genitive (condicionis) and means 'the equivalent of' or 'having the character of'. Here it functions as the predicate (or object) in the accusative and infinitive construction, meaning that the phrase (sermonem) has the character of a condition.
  2. §45.1.120.prnec placuit — The negative form of the impersonal verb 'placuit' (perfect tense of 'placet', used in legal texts to indicate a settled opinion or accepted rule among jurists). The subject of this impersonal verb is the accusative and infinitive clause 'sermonem ... instar habere'. It means 'it was not accepted/approved that...'.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §45.1.120.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:45.1.120.pr

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