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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §46.3.82.pr

Restitution of Dotal Land and Wife's Objection

Passage 7737 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

It explains that even if there is an agreement to return dotal land to its original owner, the husband cannot safely do so after divorce if the wife objects, but he is protected if he returned it in good faith before her objection.

[PROCULUS libro quinto epistularum. ] §46.3.82.prSi, cum Cornelius fundum suum nomine Seiae uiro eius doti dedisset nec de eo reddendo quicquam cauisset, fecit, ut inter se uir et Seia paciscerentur, ut diuortio facto is fundus Cornelio redderetur: non puto diuortio facto uirum uetante Seia eum fundum Cornelio tuto redditurum esse, sicuti si, cum pactum conuentum nullum intercessisset, diuortio facto mulier iussit eum fundum Cornelio reddi, deinde antequam redderetur, uetuisset, non tuto redderetur.
[PROCULUS, in the fifth book of Letters.] If Cornelius, when he had given his own tract of land as a dowry to Seia's husband in her name and had not taken any security regarding its return, brought it about that the husband and Seia agreed between themselves that, upon divorce, that tract of land should be returned to Cornelius: I do not think that, upon divorce, if Seia forbids it, the husband will return that tract of land to Cornelius safely; just as if, when no agreement had intervened, upon divorce the woman ordered that tract of land to be returned to Cornelius, and then, before it was returned, she had forbidden it, it would not be safely returned.
sed si antequam Seia uetaret, Cornelio eum fundum reddidisset nec causam habuisset existimandi id inuita Seia facturum esse, nec melius nec aequius esse existimarem eum fundum Seiae reddi.
But if, before Seia forbade it, he had returned that tract of land to Cornelius and had no reason to think that he was doing this against Seia's will, I should not think it either better or more equitable for that tract of land to be returned to Seia.

Notes

  1. §46.3.82.prfecit, ut inter se uir et Seia paciscerentur — fecit ut introduces a clause of result or causation meaning 'brought it about that they agreed'. The implied subject is Cornelius from the preceding conditional clause.
  2. §46.3.82.pruetante Seia — An ablative absolute construction with the present participle uetante, expressing concession ('although Seia forbids it') or condition ('if Seia forbids it').
  3. §46.3.82.prnec causam habuisset existimandi id inuita Seia facturum esse — existimandi is a genitive gerund modifying causam. In its object clause, the accusative and infinitive [se] id facturum esse ('that he would do this'), the subject accusative se (referring to the husband) is omitted. inuita Seia is an ablative absolute of a noun and an adjective, meaning 'against Seia's will'.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §46.3.82.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:46.3.82.pr

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