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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §50.12.7.pr

Obligation to Fulfill Unstarted Promises Made for Disasters

Passage 8789 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Paulus states that if someone promises to do something in response to a disaster suffered by a city, they are unconditionally bound to fulfill it even if they have not yet started the work.

[PAULUS libro primo de officio proconsulis. ] §50.12.7.prOb casum, quem ciuitas passa est, si quis promiserit se quid facturum: etsi non inchoauerit, omnimodo tenetur, ut diuus Seuerus Dioni rescripsit.
[PAULUS, in the first book on the Office of Proconsul.] If anyone has promised that he will do something on account of a disaster which a city has suffered, even if he has not begun it, he is bound in every way, as the deified Severus replied by rescript to Dio.

Notes

  1. 50.12.7.prcasum, quem ciuitas passa est — The noun casum (accusative) here refers to a disaster or unfortunate event (such as an earthquake or fire) suffered by the community. In the relative clause quem ciuitas passa est, the verb passa est is the perfect third-person singular of the deponent verb patior (to suffer, endure).
  2. 50.12.7.prse quid facturum — This is an accusative with infinitive construction (future active) with esse omitted, functioning as the object clause of promiserit. The pronoun se is the reflexive pronoun in the accusative referring to the subject quis of the main clause. The word quid stands for aliquid (something), with the prefix ali- dropped after the conditional si.
  3. 50.12.7.promnimodo tenetur — The adverb omnimodo means "in every way, unconditionally," and here, following the preceding clause etsi non inchoauerit (even if he has not begun it), it emphasizes that the obligation to perform remains absolute regardless of whether the work has started.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §50.12.7.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:50.12.7.pr

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