# The Institutes of Justinian 1.708

Roman Law and Society, The Institutes of Justinian, 1.708. Latin.

Canonical: https://interlinea.aeterna-institute.org/library/latin/roman-law-and-society/the-institutes-of-justinian/1.708

16. What we have said of the fuller and tailor is applied by the ancients to the borrower. For, as the fuller by accepting a sum for his labor makes himself answerable for the safe-keeping of the thing, so does a borrower by accepting the use of the thing he borrows. But our wisdom has introduced in our decisions an improvement on this point, and the owner may now bring an actio commodati against the borrower, or of theft against the thief; but when once his choice is made, he cannot change his mind and have recourse to the other actio. If he elects to sue the thief, the borrower is quite freed; if he elects to sue the borrower, he cannot bring an actio of theft against the thief, but the borrower may, that is, provided that the owner elects to sue the borrower knowing that the thing has been stolen. If he is ignorant or uncertain of this, and therefore sues the borrower, and then subsequently learns the true state of the case, and wishes to have recourse to an actio of theft, he will be permitted to sue the thief without any difficulty being thrown in his way, for it was in ignorance of the real fact that he sued the borrower; unless, indeed, his claim has been satisfied by the borrower, for then the thief is quite free from any actio of theft on the part of the owner, but the borrower takes the place of the owner in the power of bringing this actio. On the other hand, it is very evident that if the owner originally brings an actio commodati, in ignorance that the thing has been stolen, and, afterwards learning this, prefers to proceed against the real thief, the borrower is thereby entirely freed, whatever may be the issue of the actio against the thief; as in the previous case, the thief would be freed as against the lender, whether the borrower was wholly or only partially able to satisfy the claim against him.

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Roman Law and Society, The Institutes of Justinian. Text: The Latin Library (thelatinlibrary.com), used with permission. Changes: HTML markup removed and the text divided into reading sections by Interlinea.
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