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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §7.7.1.pr

Nature of Labor and Nonexistence before Performance

Passage 1308 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This chunk explains that labor does not legally exist until it is actually performed on the due date, drawing an analogy to a contract concerning an unborn child.

[PAULUS libro secundo ad edictum. ] §7.7.1.prOpera in actu consistit nec ante in rerum natura est, quam si dies uenit, quo praestanda est, quemadmodum cum stipulamur 'quod ex Arethusa natum erit'.
[PAULUS, in the second book on the Edict.] Labor consists in action and does not exist in the nature of things until the day arrives on which it is to be performed, just as when we stipulate for 'what shall be born of Arethusa'.

Notes

  1. §7.7.1.prnec ante ... quam si — The phrase 'nec ante ... quam si' means 'not before / only when...', indicating that the labor does not exist in a legal sense until the condition of the arrival of the day of performance is met.
  2. §7.7.1.prquod ex Arethusa natum erit — 'what shall be born of Arethusa' (Arethusa being the name of a female slave) is a classic example of a verbal contract (stipulatio) concerning a future thing (an unborn child). The future perfect 'natum erit' indicates that the object of the contract is determined upon the completion of the future birth.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §7.7.1.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:7.7.1.pr

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