The Same, Opinions, Book VII. Lucius Titius had a daughter named Seia under his control, he gave her in marriage to a slave named Pamphilus, who did not belong to him, and he gave the latter the dowry, taking an acknowledgment from him that it was only left in his hands by way of deposit; and then, the master of the slave not having been notified of said deposit, the father died, and soon afterwards Pamphilus, the slave, also. I ask, by means of what action can Seia recover the money, as she was the heir of her father? Paulus answered that, since the dowry was not actually constituted, the money could be recovered by an action De peculio on the ground of a deposit.

Paulus, Opinions, Book VII. Seia gave, by way of dowry, the Mævian and Seian estates, together with others. Her husband, Titius, during the life of Seia, kept possession of said tracts without any dispute arising, but after the death of Seia, Sempronia, who was her heir, raised a question as to the ownership of the land. I ask, as Sempronia herself was the heir of Seia, whether she could legally make such a claim? Paulus answered that she could do so in her own right, but could not, as the heir of Seia, claim the property in question; but if the land was evicted, the heir of Seia could sue Sempronia, or she could be barred by an exception on the ground of bad faith.

The Same, Opinions, Book VII. The freedman of a curator must be prevented from marrying the ward of the latter.

Paulus, Opinions, Book VII. Persons who administer public offices in their native provinces are not held to violate the law by marrying in said provinces; and this is also provided by certain Imperial Decrees. 1Paulus says in the same place: “I am of the opinion that, even though a marriage is contracted in a province contrary to law, still, after the term of office has expired, if the parties continue to be of the same mind, the marriage will become lawful, and therefore any children born subsequently will be legitimate, as in the case of a legal marriage.”

Paulus, Opinions, Book VII. Where a woman received from her husband a sum of money by way of a donation, and wrote to him in the following terms: “When, at my request, my dearest lord, your indulgence granted me twenty aurei for the purpose of despatching certain business of mine; which sum was paid to me under the condition that if, through any fault or bad conduct of mine, our marriage should be dissolved during our lifetime; or if I should leave your house without your consent; or should repudiate you without any cause of complaint; or if it should be proved that a divorce was obtained on my account; I promise that, in any of these instances, I will repay and return to you without any delay, the twenty aurei, which you have this day consented to give me by way of donation.” I ask whether in case this woman should repudiate her husband, Titius, she must refund the money. Paulus was of the opinion that the money which the husband gave to the wife in accordance with the terms set forth in the stipulation can be recovered, if the condition was fulfilled, since then it is transformed from a donation into a loan. Where, however, the condition of the stipulation is not shown to have taken place, only that amount can be recovered by which the wife is proved to have been enriched by the donation which was made.

Paulus, Opinions, Book VII. Mævia, among other property constituting her dowry, also delivered to her husband an instrument calling for ten solidi, which a certain Otacilius had executed in favor of the said Mævia, stating that he would give her ten thousand solidi when she was married; and the husband made no claim to this obligation because he could not do so. The question arose if the dowry should be demanded of the husband, whether he could be compelled also to refund that sum which was included in the said obligation. I answered that the husband could sue the debtor, as his wife’s rights of action had been transferred to him, but that if he could not claim the money without being guilty of bad faith or negligence, he could neither be sued on account of the dowry, nor in an action on mandate. 1A tract of land, after having been appraised and given by way of dowry, was taken by a prior creditor on account of its having been pledged. The question arose whether the woman, in case she claimed the value of the dowry from her husband, should be barred by an exception; for it is held that she is not bound, because her father gave her the dowry for herself and she was not his heir. Paulus answered that where the land was evicted without either the bad faith or negligence of her husband, the latter could interpose an exception on the ground of fraud against the woman, claiming the amount of the dowry, as it would evidently be unjust for her to recover the value of the land, as the fraud of the father should only injure the daughter herself.

Ad Dig. 33,4,11Windscheid: Lehrbuch des Pandektenrechts, 7. Aufl. 1891, Bd. III, § 658, Note 3.Paulus, Opinions, Book VII. Seia, when she married Lucius Titius, gave him a hundred aurei by way of dowry, and called in Quintus Mucius, who did not pay anything, but stipulated for the return of the dowry, if the marriage should be dissolved by the death of the wife. Seia, at the time of her death, provided as follows by her will: “I wish the sum of so many aurei to be given to my husband, Lucius Titius, to whom I am under many obligations, in addition to what I have given him as my dowry.” I ask, if when Quintus Mucius instituted proceedings against Lucius Titius by an action founded on the stipulation, could the husband defeat him by setting out the terms of the will? The answer was that, if Quintus Mucius made the stipulation under the direction of Seia, and not for the purpose of making a donation, he will be liable to the heirs of the woman, and therefore Quintus Mucius will be barred by an exception. If, however, Seia permitted him to make the stipulation as a donation, he will be in the same position as one who had stipulated mortis causa, and therefore it must be said that in this instance he could have been charged with the execution of the trust.