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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §50.16.82.pr

Meaning and Scope of the Words More and Less

Passage 8896 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Explains that the word 'more' (amplius) can apply to someone to whom nothing is owed, and conversely, 'less' (minus) can apply even when nothing has been collected.

[IDEM libro quarto decimo ad Plautium. ] §50.16.82.prUerbum 'amplius' ad eum quoque pertinet, cui nihil debetur: sicuti ex contrario 'minus' solutum uidetur etiam, si nihil esset exactum.
[THE SAME, on Plautius, book 14.] The word 'more' also applies to one to whom nothing is owed; just as, conversely, 'less' is deemed to have been paid even if nothing was exacted.

Notes

  1. §50.16.82.prminus solutum uidetur — The nominative with infinitive construction solutum [esse] uidetur with 'minus' as the subject: 'less is deemed to have been paid'. While normally referring to partial payment, here it is deemed to include the case where nothing at all was exacted (nihil exactum).
  2. §50.16.82.presset exactum — Subjunctive imperfect passive of the verb exigo (to exact, collect). In the si clause, it expresses a hypothetical or counterfactual concession ('even if nothing had been exacted').

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §50.16.82.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:50.16.82.pr

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