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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §50.12.2.pr-50.12.2.2

Personal Obligation of Vows and Transmission to Heirs

Passage 8784 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

It explains that the legal nature of a vow binds the person rather than making the vowed object sacred, that only independent fathers of families (sui iuris) can be bound by a vow, and that a vow to give a tenth of one's goods transfers its obligation to the heir.

[IDEM libro primo disputationum. ] §50.12.2.prSi quis rem aliquam uouerit, uoto obligatur.
[THE SAME, in the first book of Disputations.] If anyone has vowed any thing, he is bound by his vow.
quae res personam uouentis, non rem quae uouetur obligat.
This circumstance binds the person of the vower, not the thing which is vowed.
res enim, quae uouetur, soluta quidem liberat uota, ipsa uero sacra non efficitur.
For the thing which is vowed, when delivered indeed, releases the vow, but is not itself made sacred.
§50.12.2.1Uoto autem patres familiarum obligantur puberes sui iuris: filius enim familias uel seruus sine patris dominiue auctoritate uoto non obligantur.
Now, fathers of families who are puberes and sui iuris are bound by a vow; for a filius familias or a slave is not bound by a vow without the authority of his father or master.
§50.12.2.2Si decimam quis bonorum uouit, decima non prius esse in bonis desinit, quam fuerit separata.
If anyone has vowed a tenth of his goods, the tenth does not cease to be among his goods before it has been separated.
et si forte qui decimam uouit decesserit ante sepositionem, heres ipsius hereditario nomine decimae obstrictus est: uoti enim obligationem ad heredem transire constat.
And if by chance he who vowed the tenth should die before the separation, his heir is bound for the tenth in the capacity of heir; for it is established that the obligation of a vow passes to the heir.

Notes

  1. 50.12.2.prquae res — A relative connection (connectio relativa) referring to the preceding fact that "one is bound by a vow," functioning like a demonstrative pronoun "this circumstance."
  2. 50.12.2.prsoluta — Perfect passive participle in the nominative feminine singular, modifying the preceding res. It functions adverbially, meaning "when paid" or "upon delivery."
  3. 50.12.2.2non prius ... quam — A correlative tmesis of non priusquam ("not before..." or "only when..."). desinit forms the main clause with non prius, while fuerit separata (future perfect) forms the subordinate clause introduced by quam.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §50.12.2.pr-50.12.2.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:50.12.2.pr-50.12.2.2

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