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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §5.2.28.pr

Hadrian's Rescript on False Belief in a Son's Death

Passage 992 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

The case where Emperor Hadrian decreed the inheritance belonged to a soldier son whose mother falsely believed him dead and named others as heirs, on condition that the manumissions and legacies were preserved, noting this as an exception to the rule of inofficious testaments.

[PAULUS libro singulari de septemuiralibus iudiciis. ] §5.2.28.prCum mater militem filium falso audisset decessisse et testamento heredes alios instituisset, diuus Hadrianus decreuit hereditatem ad filium pertinere ita, ut libertates et legata praestentur.
[PAULUS in his Single Book on Septemviral Judgments.] a mother, having falsely heard that her soldier son had died, had instituted others as heirs in her testament, the Divine Hadrian decreed that the inheritance belonged to the son, provided that the manumissions and legacies were performed.
hic illud adnotatum quod de libertatibus et legatis adicitur: nam cum inofficiosum testamentum arguitur, nihil ex eo testamento ualet.
Here, that which is added concerning the manumissions and legacies is noted: for when an inofficious testament is proved, nothing from that testament is valid.

Notes

  1. §5.2.28.prita, ut libertates et legata praestentur — This is an `ita ut` clause expressing a limitation or condition: "provided that the manumissions and legacies are performed." Ordinarily, if a testament is successfully contested as inofficious, the entire testament is void, but by imperial decree (decretum), an exception is made here to maintain the validity of manumissions and legacies while awarding the inheritance to the son.
  2. §5.2.28.pradnotatum — The verb `est` is omitted, meaning `adnotatum est` ("it is noted"). The subject is the pronoun `illud`, which is explained by the following `quod` clause.
  3. §5.2.28.prcum ... arguitur — The conjunction `cum` here takes the indicative present `arguitur` to express a general or repeated condition ("whenever ... is argued/proved").

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §5.2.28.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:5.2.28.pr

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