Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §45.1.21.pr

Stipulations on Nonexistent or Excess Dowry after Divorce

Passage 7367 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This section discusses the validity of a stipulation made after a divorce for an amount under the name of dowry that exceeds or exists without any actual dowry, citing Proculus to show that the stipulation remains valid.

[POMPONIUS libro quinto decimo ad Sabinum. ] §45.1.21.prSi diuortio facto ea, quae nihil in dote habeat, dotis nomine centum dari stipuletur, uel quae centum dumtaxat habeat, ducenta dotis nomine dari stipuletur: Proculus ait, si ducenta stipuletur quae centum habeat, sine dubio centum quidem in obligationem uenire, alia autem centum actione de dote deberi.
[POMPONIUS, in the fifteenth book on Sabinus.] If, after a divorce has taken place, a woman who has nothing by way of dowry should stipulate for one hundred to be given to her under the name of dowry, or one who has only one hundred should stipulate for two hundred to be given to her under the name of dowry: Proculus says that if she who has one hundred stipulates for two hundred, without doubt one hundred indeed comes into the stipulation's obligation, but the other one hundred is owed by the action on dowry.
dicendum itaque est, etiamsi nihil sit in dote, centum tamen uenire in stipulationem, sicuti, cum filiae uel matri uel sorori uel alii cuilibet dotis nomine legaretur, utile legatum esset.
Therefore, it must be said that even if there is nothing by way of dowry, one hundred nevertheless comes into the stipulation, just as a legacy would be valid if it were bequeathed under the name of dowry to a daughter, mother, sister, or anyone else.

Notes

  1. §45.1.21.practione de dote deberi — The phrase 'actione de dote' is an ablative of means meaning 'by the action on dowry'. In Proculus' analysis, if a woman who has an actual dowry of 100 stipulates for 200, 100 comes under the new obligation of the stipulation itself (in obligationem uenire), while the other 100 is already owed (deberi) by virtue of the original action for the return of the dowry (actione de dote), thereby justifying the total claim of 200.
  2. §45.1.21.prutile legatum esset — The imperfect subjunctives 'legaretur' and 'esset' present a hypothetical analogy regarding the legal validity of a legacy bequeathed under the name of dowry (legatum dotis nomine) when no actual dowry exists. Under Roman law, such a legacy was held to be valid (utile) notwithstanding the false demonstration of its cause.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §45.1.21.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:45.1.21.pr

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.