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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §50.16.236.pr-50.16.236.1

Definitions of Poison and Fruit via Greek Usage

Passage 9050 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This chunk explains the legal definitions of "poison" (uenenum) and "acorn" (glandis) by citing the Greek terms "pharmakon" and "akrodrya" as well as Homer's poetry, showing that they are broad terms encompassing both beneficial/harmful elements and all kinds of tree fruits.

[IDEM libro quarto ad legem duodecim tabularum. ] §50.16.236.prQui 'uenenum' dicit, adicere debet, utrum malum an bonum: nam et medicamenta uenena sunt, quia eo nomine omne continetur, quod adhibitum naturam eius, cui adhibitum esset, mutat.
He who says "poison" ought to add whether it is bad or good; for even medicines are "poisons", since under that name is contained everything which, when applied, changes the nature of that to which it has been applied.
cum id, quod nos uenenum appellamus, Graeci φάρμακον dicunt, apud illos quoque tam medicamenta quam quae nocent, hoc nomine continentur: unde adiectione alterius nomine distinctio fit.
While the Greeks call pharmakon what we call "poison", among them too both medicines and things which do harm are contained under this name; hence a distinction is made by the addition of another word.
admonet nos summus apud eos poetarum Homerus: nam sic ait. φάρμακα, πολλὰ μὲν ἐσθλὰ μεμιγμένα, πολλὰ δὲ λυγρά. ' §50.16.236.1Glandis' appellatione omnis fructus continetur, ut Iauolenus ait, exemplo Graeci sermonis, apud quos omnes arborum species ἀκρόδρυα appellantur.
Homer, the greatest of the poets among them, reminds us of this; for he says thus: "pharmaka, many good mixed, and many baneful." By the term "acorn" all fruit is contained, as Javolenus says, after the example of the Greek language, among whom all species of trees are called akrodrya.

Notes

  1. 50.16.236.pradhibitum ... mutat — adhibitum is a participle agreeing with the relative pronoun quod (neuter nominative singular), functioning adverbially to express time or condition ("when applied"). eius is a genitive modifying naturam ("the nature of it") and serves as the antecedent of the relative pronoun cui (dative). adhibitum esset is in the subjunctive imperfect, indicating a general or hypothetical situation in a past context.
  2. 50.16.236.prcum id ... dicunt — This cum is used with the indicative present dicunt to present a fact contrasted or juxtaposed with the main clause (apud illos quoque ... continentur), carrying a nuance of "while" or "whereas."
  3. 50.16.236.1exemplo Graeci sermonis — An ablative of means or standard, meaning "after the example of the Greek language." It supports the validity of the broad legal definition of the Latin term (glandis encompassing all fruit) by drawing an analogy to the semantic structure of the Greek vocabulary (the broad use of ἀκρόδρυα).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §50.16.236.pr-50.16.236.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:50.16.236.pr-50.16.236.1

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