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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §9.2.22.pr-9.2.22.1

Depreciation of Paired Items and Promised Slaves

Passage 1538 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

The jurist discusses the inclusion of lost interest in actions involving the killing of a slave promised for delivery under penalty, and the valuation of depreciation when one member of a collective group (like actors, teams, or pairs) is killed.

[PAULUS libro uicensimo secundo ad edictum. ] §9.2.22.prProinde si seruum occidisti, quem sub poena tradendum promisi, utilitas uenit in hoc iudicium.
[PAULUS, from the twenty-second book on the Edict.] Therefore, if you killed a slave whom I had promised to deliver under penalty, my interest comes into this action.
§9.2.22.1Item causae corpori cohaerentes aestimantur, si quis ex comoedis aut symphoniacis aut gemellis aut quadriga aut ex pari mularum unum uel unam occiderit: non solum enim perempti corporis aestimatio facienda est, sed et eius ratio haberi debet, quo cetera corpora depretiata sunt.
Likewise, those circumstances that are linked to the body are valued, if someone kills one (male or female) from a group of comedic actors, musicians, twins, a four-horse chariot, or a pair of mules: for not only must a valuation be made of the body that was destroyed, but account must also be taken of the amount by which the remaining bodies have depreciated.

Notes

  1. 9.2.22.prutilitas — "Interest" or "utility." Here it is synonymous with `eius quod interest` (the substantial interest, including lost profits) mentioned in the previous section (§9.2.21.2), indicating that the concrete damage, such as the risk of paying a penalty for breach of contract, is subject to valuation.
  2. 9.2.22.1causae corpori cohaerentes — Literally "circumstances adhering to the body." It refers not merely to the physical value of an individual slave or animal as a single unit, but to the accessory and external factors of value that arise when they function together as a group (such as members of a theatrical troupe or a pair of animals).
  3. 9.2.22.1quo — Ablative of the relative pronoun, functioning either as an ablative of degree/measure of difference, or as an ablative of means/cause. It is construed with `eius` ("of that [amount/extent] by which the remaining bodies have depreciated") or as "of the fact that by this the other bodies were depreciated," indicating that the reduction in value of the remaining units must be taken into account.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §9.2.22.pr-9.2.22.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:9.2.22.pr-9.2.22.1

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