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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §50.16.214.pr

Definitions of Duty and Gift and Their Relationship

Passage 9028 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Marcian defines the strict meanings of 'duty' and 'gift', establishing the legal consensus that while not every duty is a gift, every gift can be rightly called a duty.

[MARCIANUS libro primo publicorum iudiciorum. ] §50.16.214.pr'Munus' proprie est, quod necessarie obimus lege more imperioue eius, qui iubendi habet potestatem.
[MARCIANUS, in the first book of public prosecutions.] 'Duty' is strictly that which we necessarily undertake by law, custom, or the command of one who has the power to order.
'dona' autem proprie sunt, quae nulla necessitate iuris officiis et sponte praestantur: quae si non praestentur, nulla repraehensio est et, si praestentur, plerumque laus inest.
On the other hand, 'gifts' are strictly those things which are provided without any legal necessity, out of goodwill, and voluntarily; if these are not provided, there is no blame, and if they are provided, praise is generally earned.
sed in summa in hoc uentum est, ut non quodcumque munus, id et donum accipiatur, at quod donum fuerit, id munus recte dicatur.
But in short, we have come to this conclusion, that not every 'duty' is to be accepted as also a 'gift', but what has been a 'gift' is rightly called a 'duty'.

Notes

  1. §50.16.214.profficiis — officiis is the ablative plural of the noun officium (duty, goodwill). Here, paired with sponte, it functions as an ablative of manner or motive, meaning 'out of goodwill' or 'out of social duty'.
  2. §50.16.214.prin hoc uentum est, ut — uentum est is the impersonal passive of the intransitive verb uenire. in hoc refers to 'this point/conclusion,' and the following ut clause explains its specific content.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §50.16.214.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:50.16.214.pr

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