Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §7.1.50.pr

Reimbursement for Rebuilding and Delivery of Usufruct

Passage 1221 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

In a case where Maevius, who was bequeathed an estate and entrusted to deliver half of its usufruct to Titia, rebuilt a necessary agricultural villa before delivery, Scaevola responds that Maevius cannot be compelled to deliver the usufruct unless his expenses are compensated.

[PAULUS libro tertio ad Uitellium. ] §7.1.50.prTitius Maeuio fundum Tusculanum reliquit eiusque fidei commisit, ut eiusdem fundi partis dimidiae usum fructum Titiae praestaret: Maeuius uillam uetustate corruptam necessariam cogendis et conseruandis fructibus aedificauit: quaesitum est, an sumptus partem pro portione usus fructus Titia adgnoscere debeat.
[PAULUS, in the third book on Vitellius.] Titius left the Tusculan estate to Maevius and entrusted to his good faith to provide the usufruct of a half part of the same estate to Titia. Maevius rebuilt a villa, which had fallen into ruin through age and was necessary for gathering and preserving the fruits. The question was raised whether Titia ought to acknowledge a part of the expense in proportion to her share of the usufruct.
respondit Scaeuola, si priusquam usus fructus praestaretur, necessario aedificasset, non alias cogendum restituere quam eius sumptus ratio haberetur.
Scaevola replied that if he had rebuilt it as a matter of necessity before the usufruct was provided, he should not otherwise be compelled to deliver it than if account were taken of his expense.

Notes

  1. §7.1.50.preiusque fidei commisit — eius is the genitive of the demonstrative pronoun referring to the preceding Maeuio. fidei committere is a standard legal expression for creating a trust (fideicommissum) under Roman law.
  2. §7.1.50.prcogendis et conseruandis fructibus — The gerundives cogendis and conseruandis agree in gender, number, and case with the noun fructibus (masculine plural dative). They function as a dative of purpose, modifying the adjective necessariam.
  3. §7.1.50.prnon alias cogendum restituere quam — In the accusative-and-infinitive construction dependent on respondit, the subject accusative of cogendum [esse] (should be compelled) is omitted and understood to be the trustee Maeuium. The object of the infinitive restituere (to deliver) is the usufruct. The structure non alias ... quam ... means 'not otherwise ... than ...' (i.e., 'only if').

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §7.1.50.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:7.1.50.pr

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.