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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §50.16.134.pr

Calculation of One Year by Days in Civil Law

Passage 8948 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Paulus explains that a child is considered 'a year old' on the 365th day as it begins, rather than immediately at birth, because in civil law a year is calculated by days rather than by moments of time.

[PAULUS libro secundo ad legem Iuliam et Papiam. ] §50.16.134.pr'Anniculus' non statim ut natus est, sed trecentesimo sexagensimo quinto die dicitur, incipiente plane, non exacto die, quia annum ciuiliter non ad momenta temporum, sed ad dies numeramus.
[PAULUS, from the second book on the Lex Iulia et Papia.] 'A one-year-old' is so called not immediately when he is born, but on the three hundred and sixty-fifth day, clearly as the day begins, not when it is completed, because in civil law we calculate a year not by moments of time, but by days.

Notes

  1. §50.16.134.principiente plane, non exacto die — Ablative absolute construction. The present participle incipiente and the perfect passive participle exacto both modify the common ablative noun die. The verb exigere here means 'to complete' or 'to finish'. This refers to the principle of civil computation of time (computatio civilis), where a period is considered completed as soon as the last day begins.
  2. §50.16.134.prstatim ut — A conjunctional expression meaning 'as soon as' or 'immediately when'. It functions similarly to ut alone or statim ac/atque.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §50.16.134.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:50.16.134.pr

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