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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §46.3.50.pr

Payment of Bronze for Gold: Discharge and Exceptions

Passage 7705 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Discusses whether a debtor is released when they pay bronze instead of the promised gold to an ignorant creditor, and the subsequent availability of recovery and exceptions regarding the paid materials.

[PAULUS libro decimo ad Sabinum. ] §46.3.50.prSi, cum aurum tibi promisissem, ignoranti quasi aurum aes soluerim, non liberabor: sed nec repetam hoc quasi indebitum solutum, quod sciens feci.
[PAULUS in his tenth book on Sabinus.] If, when I had promised you gold, I should pay you bronze as if it were gold while you were ignorant of it, I shall not be released; but neither shall I recover this as an undue payment, since I did it knowingly.
petentem tamen te aurum exceptione summouebo, si non reddas aes quod accepisti.
However, if you do not return the bronze which you received, I shall bar you by an exception when you claim the gold.

Notes

  1. §46.3.50.prignoranti — The participle `ignoranti` is in the dative singular, modifying `tibi` ("to you") understood from the preceding clause. It indicates that the recipient was unaware that bronze, not gold, was being paid.
  2. §46.3.50.prquod sciens feci — `quod` here functions as a causal conjunction ("because" / "since"). It provides the rationale based on the Roman law rule that one who pays knowing that nothing is due (`sciens feci`) is barred from recovering it as an undue payment (condictio indebiti).
  3. §46.3.50.prpetentem tamen te aurum — `te` is the direct object (accusative) of the main verb `summouebo`, and is modified by the present participle `petentem` (accusative), which in turn takes `aurum` (accusative) as its direct object ("you when claiming the gold").

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §46.3.50.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:46.3.50.pr

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