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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §50.16.156.pr

Interpretation of Possessing for the Greater Part of the Year

Passage 8970 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

It explains that a person is understood to have possessed for the 'greater part of the year' even if they possessed for only two months, provided their opponent possessed for fewer days or not at all.

[IDEM libro decimo regularum. ] §50.16.156.pr'Maiore parte anni' possedisse quis intellegitur, etiamsi duobus mensibus possederit, si modo aduersarius eius aut paucioribus diebus aut nullis possederit.
[THE SAME, in the tenth book of Rules.] A person is understood to have possessed for the 'greater part of the year', even if he possessed for only two months, provided that his adversary possessed for fewer days, or for none.

Notes

  1. §50.16.156.prmaiore parte anni — The comparative 'maiore' (greater) does not imply an absolute majority of the year (more than six months), but rather a relative majority in comparison with the adversary. This interpretation is contextualized by the subsequent conditional clause (si modo...).
  2. §50.16.156.prpossedisse quis intellegitur — This is a nominative with infinitive (nominativus cum infinitivo) construction. The indefinite pronoun 'quis' (someone) acts as the subject of the passive verb 'intellegitur', rather than using an impersonal construction, and governs the perfect infinitive 'possedisse'.
  3. §50.16.156.prnullis — The ablative 'nullis' is understood by supplying the noun 'diebus' from the preceding 'paucioribus diebus', thus meaning 'nullis diebus' (for no days, i.e., not at all).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §50.16.156.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:50.16.156.pr

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