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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §50.16.53.pr-50.16.53.2

Interpretation of Conjunctive and Disjunctive Words

Passage 8867 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Explains the logical interpretive criteria for conjunctive and disjunctive terms in legal texts, using concrete examples such as agnates or 'aid and counsel' to demonstrate how they should be understood based on context and circumstances.

[PAULUS libro quinquagensimo nono ad edictum. ] §50.16.53.prSaepe ita comparatum est, ut coniuncta pro disiunctis accipiantur et disiuncta pro coniunctis, interdum soluta pro separatis.
[PAULUS on the Edict, book 59.] It has often been so arranged that conjunctive terms are understood as disjunctive, and disjunctive as conjunctive, and sometimes unconnected words as separate.
nam cum dicitur apud ueteres 'adgnatorum gentiliumque', pro separatione accipitur.
For when it is said among the ancients 'of agnates and gentiles', it is understood in a separate sense.
at cum dicitur 'super pecuniae tutelaeue suae', tutor separatim sine pecunia dari non potest: et cum dicimus 'quod dedi aut donaui', utraque continemus.
But when it is said 'over his property or guardianship', a tutor cannot be appointed separately without the property: and when we say 'what I gave or donated', we include both.
cum uero dicimus 'quod eum dare facere oportet', quoduis eorum sufficit probare.
On the other hand, when we say 'what he ought to give [or] to do', it suffices to prove any of them.
cum uero dicit praetor, 'si donum munus operas redemerit', si omnia imposita sunt, certum est omnia redimenda esse, ex re ergo pro coniunctis habentur: §50.16.53.1si quaedam imposita sunt, cetera non desiderabuntur.
But when the praetor says, 'if he has redeemed a gift, a present, [or] services', if all of them were imposed, it is certain that all must be redeemed, and therefore from the circumstances they are regarded as conjunctive: if only some were imposed, the others will not be required.
§50.16.53.2Item dubitatum, illa uerba 'ope consilio' quemadmodum accipienda sunt, sententiae coniungentium aut separantium.
Likewise, it has been doubted how those words 'by aid [and] counsel' are to be understood, whether according to the opinion of those who join them or of those who separate them.
sed uerius est, quod et Labeo ait, separatim accipienda, quia aliud factum est eius qui ope, aliud eius qui consilio furtum facit: sic enim alii condici potest, alii non potest.
But it is more correct, as Labeo also says, that they must be taken separately, because the act of one who commits theft by aid is one thing, and that of one who does so by counsel is another; for thus a condictio can be brought against one, but not against the other.
sane post ueterum auctoritatem eo peruentum est, ut nemo ope uideatur fecisse, nisi et consilium malignum habuerit, nec consilium habuisse noceat, nisi et factum secutum fuerit.
Indeed, after the authority of the ancients, the point has been reached that no one is deemed to have acted by aid unless he also had malicious counsel, nor does it harm to have had counsel unless the deed also followed.

Notes

  1. §50.16.53.prsoluta pro separatis — Refers to words listed without coordinating conjunctions (asyndeton) being interpreted as referring to separate or distinct matters.
  2. §50.16.53.2sententiae coniungentium aut separantium — The noun `sententiae` (opinion, meaning) is in the dative case. Literally 'according to the opinion of those who join or those who separate', representing the question of whether the phrase should be interpreted conjunctively ('and') or disjunctively ('or').
  3. §50.16.53.2alii condici potest — The verb `condici` is the present passive infinitive of `condicere` (to bring a personal action for recovery), used impersonally. With the dative `alii`, it means 'it is possible to bring a condictio against one'.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §50.16.53.pr-50.16.53.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:50.16.53.pr-50.16.53.2

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