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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §50.8.6.pr

Conditions for Altering the Use of Legacies to Municipalities

Passage 8760 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Dictates the procedures and standards for converting the use of money bequeathed to a municipality when the original instructions cannot be fulfilled, such as when reduced by the Falcidian law or when prohibited by the senate.

[UALENS libro secundo fideicommissorum. ] §50.8.6.prLegatam municipio pecuniam in aliam rem quam defunctus uoluit conuertere citra principis auctoritatem non licet.
[Valens, from the second book of Trusts.] It is not permitted, without the authority of the emperor, to convert money bequeathed to a municipality to another purpose than that which the deceased intended.
et ideo si unum opus fieri iusserit, quod Falcidiae legis interuentu fieri non potest, permittitur summam, quae eo nomine debetur, in id, quod maxime necessarium rei publicae uideatur, conuertere: siue plures summae in plura opera legantur et legis Falcidiae interuentu id quod relinquitur omnium operum exstructioni non sufficit, permittitur in unum opus, quod ciuitas uelit, erogari.
And therefore, if he ordered a single work to be constructed which, by the intervention of the Falcidian law, cannot be constructed, it is permitted to convert the sum due on that account to what seems most necessary for the public interest; or, if several sums are bequeathed for several works, and by the intervention of the Falcidian law that which is left is not sufficient for the construction of all the works, it is permitted that it be expended on a single work which the city prefers.
sed municipio pecuniam legatam, ut ex reditu eius uenatio aut spectacula edantur, senatus in eas causas erogari uetuit: et pecuniam eo legatam in id, quod maxime necessarium municipibus uideatur, conferre permittitur, ut in eo munificentia eius qui legauit inscriptione notetur.
But where money has been bequeathed to a municipality so that wild beast hunts or spectacles may be presented from its income, the senate forbade it to be expended for those purposes; and it is permitted to apply the money bequeathed for that purpose to what seems most necessary for the townsmen, so that in it the munificence of the testator may be commemorated by an inscription.

Notes

  1. §50.8.6.prcitra — The preposition "citra" is used here in the sense of "without" (sine), a usage typical of imperial legal Latin, rather than its classical meaning "on this side of."
  2. §50.8.6.prFalcidiae legis interuentu — Meaning "by the intervention of the Falcidian Law." "interuentu" is the ablative singular of the noun "interuentus" (intervention), expressing cause. Under the Lex Falcidia (40 BC), the heir had to receive at least one-quarter of the estate, and if legacies exceeded three-quarters, they were reduced proportionally.
  3. §50.8.6.prsiue plures summae... permittitur in unum opus... erogari — "permittitur" is used impersonally with the passive infinitive "erogari" (to be expended) as its grammatical subject. The logical subject of "erogari" is the preceding phrase "id quod relinquitur" (that which is left).
  4. §50.8.6.prut in eo munificentia eius qui legauit inscriptione notetur — A final clause introduced by "ut." The pronoun "eo" is neuter singular, referring back to "id" (what seems most necessary). "inscriptione" is an ablative of means ("by an inscription").

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §50.8.6.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:50.8.6.pr

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