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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §49.15.1.pr

Acquisition by Slave of a Captive Master and Inheritance

Passage 8572 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This section explains that property stipulated for by a slave, or a legacy left to him, after his master was captured by the enemy, belongs to the master's heirs, since it would have been acquired for them even if the master had died at the moment of capture.

[MARCELLUS libro uicensimo secundo digestorum. ] §49.15.1.prQuod seruus eius, qui ab hostibus captus est, postea stipulatus est, aut si legatum sit seruo eius, posteaquam ille ad hostes peruenit, hoc habebunt heredes eius, quia et si captiuitatis tempore decessisset, adquisitum foret heredi.
[MARCELLUS, from the Twenty-Second Book of the Digests.] Whatever the slave of a person who has been captured by the enemy has subsequently stipulated for, or if a legacy has been left to his slave after that person came into the hands of the enemy, his heirs shall have this; because, even if he had died at the time of his capture, it would have been acquired for the heir.

Notes

  1. §49.15.1.prQuod seruus eius ... stipulatus est — Quod is a neuter singular accusative relative pronoun, acting as the antecedent of hoc in the main clause, introducing a noun clause meaning 'that which...'. The verb stipulatus est is the perfect of the deponent verb stipulor (to stipulate/exact a promise).
  2. §49.15.1.pradquisitum foret — foret is an alternative form of esset. adquisitum foret is the subjunctive pluperfect passive, which, together with decessisset (subjunctive pluperfect) in the subordinate clause, expresses a past contrafactual condition (referring to the legal fiction of death under the Lex Cornelia). It means 'would have been acquired'.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §49.15.1.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:49.15.1.pr

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