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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §50.16.202.pr

Interpretation of Wills Specifying Maximum Funeral Expenses

Passage 9016 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This text presents a legal interpretation concerning a will that limits the expenditure for a funeral or monument to "at most a hundred gold pieces," ruling that the heir cannot spend less, but is permitted to spend more without violating the will.

[ALFENUS UARUS libro secundo digestorum. ] §50.16.202.prCum in testamento scriptum esset, ut heres in funere aut in monumento 'dumtaxat aureos centum' consumeret, non licet minus consumere: si amplius uellet, licet neque ob eam rem contra testamentum facere uidetur.
[ALFENUS VARUS, in the second book of the Digests.] When it was written in a will that the heir should spend "at most a hundred gold pieces" on the funeral or on a monument, it is not permitted to spend less; if he should wish to spend more, it is permitted, nor on that account is he deemed to act against the will.

Notes

  1. §50.16.202.prdumtaxat — The adverb `dumtaxat` means "at most", "only", or "not exceeding". Although the testator intended to set a ceiling ("at most a hundred gold pieces"), the legal interpretation establishes that the heir is not allowed to spend less (rendering the spending of the full amount obligatory), while spending more is permitted, showing a gap between the literal wording and the legal outcome.
  2. §50.16.202.pruellet — The subjunctive imperfect `uellet` (third-person singular of `uolo`) in the conditional clause `si amplius uellet` ("if he should wish for more") expresses a hypothetical or potential condition. The apodosis consists of `licet` and `uidetur` in the indicative present, forming a mixed conditional sentence that states the legal rule currently in force.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §50.16.202.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:50.16.202.pr

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