Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §50.17.156.pr-50.17.156.4

Voluntary Defense, Correlation of Actions, and Successors

Passage 9216 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Ulpian discusses several legal rules, including the prohibition of forcing a defense against one's will, the correlation between actions and exceptions, the principle of not prejudicing a successor with what did not affect the predecessor, the equivalence of the buyer's and seller's legal status, and the rule that benefits are not imposed against one's will.

[ULPIANUS libro septuagensimo ad edictum. ] §50.17.156.prInuitus nemo rem cogitur defendere.
[ULPIANUS, in the seventieth book on the edict.] No one is compelled to defend an action against his will.
§50.17.156.1Cui damus actiones, eidem et exceptionem competere multo magis quis dixerit.
One would say with much greater reason that he to whom we grant actions is also entitled to an exception.
§50.17.156.2Cum quis in alii locum successerit, non est aequum ei nocere hoc, quod aduersus eum non nocuit, in cuius locum successit.
When anyone succeeds to the place of another, it is not just that he should be prejudiced by something which did not prejudice the person to whose place he succeeded.
§50.17.156.3Plerumque emptoris eadem causa esse debet circa petendum ac defendendum, quae fuit auctoris.
Generally, the position of the buyer regarding suing and defending ought to be the same as was that of the seller.
§50.17.156.4Quod cuique pro eo praestatur, inuito non tribuitur.
What is granted to anyone for his benefit is not bestowed upon him against his will.

Notes

  1. 50.17.156.1competere multo magis quis dixerit — dixerit is the perfect subjunctive (potential) third-person singular, meaning "one would say." multo magis (with much greater reason / much more) can modify either dixerit ("one would say with much greater reason") or competere inside the accusative with infinitive clause ("is much more entitled to"). Here it is taken to modify the main verb dixerit to emphasize the strength of the assertion.
  2. 50.17.156.2alii — Although alii is normally the dative form of the pronominal adjective alius, here it is used as an archaic or variant genitive form in place of alius, modifying locum ("the place of another").
  3. 50.17.156.2hoc, quod aduersus eum non nocuit, in cuius locum successit — eum refers to the predecessor (the person whose place was succeeded to), and is modified by the relative clause in cuius locum successit. hoc is the subject of the infinitive clause nocere, and is further explained by the relative clause quod... The entire structure means "it is not fair that something (hoc) which did not harm him (the predecessor) should now harm the successor (ei)."
  4. 50.17.156.4pro eo — Here pro eo means "for his benefit" or "in his favor," referring to a legal benefit or privilege that is provided for someone's advantage.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §50.17.156.pr-50.17.156.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:50.17.156.pr-50.17.156.4

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.