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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §8.3.6.pr-8.3.6.1

Servitudes for Materials, Pottery, and Shelter

Passage 1415 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Paulus explains that the manufacturing of pottery, extraction of materials, and cutting of wood are recognized as servitudes within the limits necessary for exporting crops or building on the estate, and even a servitude to build a shelter for herding may be established if needed.

[PAULUS libro quinto decimo ad Plautium. ] §8.3.6.prueluti si figlinas haberet, in quibus ea uasa fierent, quibus fructus eius fundi exportarentur (sicut in quibusdam fit, ut amphoris uinum euehatur aut ut dolia fiant), uel tegulae uel ad uillam aedificandam.
[PAULUS, On Plautius, Book 15] For example, if he should have a pottery, in which those vessels are made by which the fruits of that estate are exported (as happens in certain places, so that wine is carried away in amphorae or that jars are made), or tiles, or for the purpose of building a villa.
sed si, ut uasa uenirent, figlinae exercerentur, usus fructus erit.
But if the pottery is operated so that the vessels may be sold, it will be a usufruct.
§8.3.6.1Item longe recedit ab usu fructu ius calcis coquendae et lapidis eximendi et harenae fodiendae aedificandi eius gratia quod in fundo est, item siluae caeduae, ut pedamenta in uineas non desint.
Likewise, the right of burning lime, extracting stone, and digging sand for the sake of building what is on the estate, and also of cutting wood from a coppice so that props for the vineyards are not lacking, is far removed from a usufruct.
quid ergo si praediorum meliorem causam haec faciant? non est dubitandum, quin seruitutis sit: et hoc Maecianus probat in tantum, ut et talem seruitutem constitui posse putet, ut tugurium mihi habere liceret in tuo, scilicet si habeam pascui seruitutem aut pecoris appellendi, ut si hiemps ingruerit, habeam quo me recipiam.
What if, then, these improve the condition of the estates? There is no doubt that it is a matter of servitude; and Maecianus approves this to such an extent that he thinks even such a servitude can be established, that I should be allowed to have a hut on your land, provided, of course, that I have a servitude of pasturage or of driving cattle, so that if winter storms set in, I may have a place to shelter myself.

Notes

  1. §8.3.6.pruenirent — The imperfect subjunctive uenirent is the third-person plural of the neuter-passive verb ueneo (to be sold), not of uenio (to come). It signifies that if the pottery is operated for commercial purposes (to sell the vessels) rather than for the domestic needs of the dominant estate, it constitutes a personal usus fructus rather than a praedial servitude.
  2. §8.3.6.1aedificandi eius gratia quod in fundo est — The phrase eius... quod in fundo est (that which is on the estate) serves as the genitive object of the genitive gerund aedificandi, with the whole structure governed by the postpositional preposition gratia (for the sake of). It yields the meaning 'for the sake of building what is on the estate.'
  3. §8.3.6.1quin seruitutis sit — The conjunction quin is used after the negative expression of doubt non est dubitandum (there is no doubt) and governs the subjunctive sit. The genitive seruitutis is a possessive or characteristic genitive, meaning 'that it is a matter of servitude' or 'belongs to servitude.'

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §8.3.6.pr-8.3.6.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:8.3.6.pr-8.3.6.1

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