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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §7.1.22.pr

Attribution of Gifts and Bequests to Slaves under Usufruct

Passage 1193 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Discusses the acquisition of property donated or bequeathed to a slave in whom another has a usufruct, distinguishing who acquires it based on whether it was done in contemplation of the usufructuary, the proprietor, or the slave himself.

[IDEM libro octauo decimo ad Sabinum. ] §7.1.22.prSed et si quid donetur seruo, in quo usus fructus alterius est, quaeritur, quid fieri oporteat.
[THE SAME in the eighteenth book on Sabinus.] But also, if anything is donated to a slave in whom another has a usufruct, it is asked what ought to be done.
et in omnibus istis, si quidem contemplatione fructuarii aliquid ei relictum uel donatum est, ipsi adquiret: sin uero proprietarii, proprietario: si ipsius serui, adquiretur domino, nec distinguimus, unde cognitum eum et cuius merito habuit, qui donauit uel reliquit.
And in all these cases, if indeed something has been left or donated to him in contemplation of the usufructuary, the slave acquires it for the usufructuary himself; but if in contemplation of the proprietor, for the proprietor; if of the slave himself, it will be acquired for the master, and we make no distinction as to whence the person who donated or left it came to know him, or by whose favor he had him known.
sed et si condicionis implendae causa quid seruus fructuarius consequatur et constiterit contemplatione fructuarii eam condicionem adscriptam, dicendum est ipsi adquiri: nam et in mortis causa donatione idem dicendum est.
But also if the slave subject to a usufruct obtains anything for the purpose of fulfilling a condition, and it is established that this condition was imposed in contemplation of the usufructuary, it must be said that it is acquired for the usufructuary himself; for the same must be said also in the case of a donation mortis causa.

Notes

  1. §7.1.22.prcontemplatione — A singular ablative of the noun contemplatio. It functions as an ablative of cause or motive, meaning 'in contemplation of' or 'out of regard for'. It is implicitly understood in the subsequent elliptical phrases 'proprietarii' and 'ipsius serui'.
  2. §7.1.22.pripsi adquiret — The subject of the active verb adquiret is the slave (seruus), and the dative ipsi refers to the usufructuary (fructuarius) as a dative of advantage. It means 'the slave acquires for the usufructuary himself'. While it could be interpreted intransitively as 'it accrues to him', the active sense of the slave acquiring through his status is more fitting in this context.
  3. §7.1.22.prunde cognitum eum et cuius merito habuit — A periphrastic perfect construction consisting of habeo and the perfect participle (cognitum eum habuit), meaning 'had known him' or 'came to know him'. The subject of this relative clause is the phrase 'qui donauit uel reliquit' (the person who donated or bequeathed). 'cuius merito' is an ablative expression meaning 'by whose merit/favor'.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §7.1.22.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:7.1.22.pr

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