# Servís Heredis Legari, non Potet



## VolkanErsoy

Hello, I'm translating a Spanish novel in which there is mention about the university thesis of a 19th century Cuban poet, titled _Servís Heredis Legari, non Potet. _It seems that the first part means "The Legacy of Slavery" or "The Slave Legacy" but I didn't understand the "non potet" part. Do you have any idea?


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## bearded

Hello
- ''non pote*s*t'' means _may not/cannot
-_ it should be_ servis,_ not_ servìs
- _it should be _hereditas, _not_ heredis _(I think)

Servis hereditas legari non potest
The sentence means in my interpretation:  Inheritance may not be bequeathed to slaves = slaves are not allowed to inherit.

Should 'heredis' really be correct, then a different interpretation would be possible:
Servis heredis legari non potest
It is not allowed to leave legacies/bequests  to the heir's slaves.


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## VolkanErsoy

bearded said:


> Hello
> - ''non pote*s*t'' ......



Thank you very much.


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## exgerman

Per google books,  there were decisions in Roman law about the question of whether one can give a legacy to the slave of his heir, so _servis heredis_ is at least a possibility..

In the book I linked to, there are index entries "servo suo legari non potest sine libertate" followed by "... idem est in servo heredis".

Is the "Cuban poet" Jose-Maria de *Heredia*, by any chance?


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## VolkanErsoy

exgerman said:


> Per google books,  there were decisions in Roman law about the question of whether one can give a legacy to the slave of his heir, so _servis heredis_ is at least a possibility..
> 
> In the book I linked to, there are index entries "servo suo legari non potest sine libertate" followed by "... idem est in servo heredis".
> 
> Is the "Cuban poet" Jose-Maria de *Heredia*, by any chance?



Exactly! I am translating _La Novela de mi Vida, a novel on the life of Heredia by Leonardo Padura Fuentes, from Spanish to Turkish, and the author didn't explain the meaning of the Latin title of the thesis. But it perfectly fits the narrative. Thank you very much._


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## exgerman

I asked about the poet because I wondered if there was some wordplay with heredis and Heredia.

The Roman law commentators all say "You can't give an inheritance to your slave or to your heir's slave or to anybody else's slave, unless you arrange to free him first. And he has to be freed before you die, else it's unenforceable." Maybe that is relevant to your novel.


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## VolkanErsoy

exgerman said:


> I asked about the poet because I wondered if there was some wordplay with heredis and Heredia.
> 
> The Roman law commentators all say "You can't give him an inheritance unless you free him first." Maybe that is relevant to your novel.



 No, there is no wordplay. There is only mention that the subject is discussed in the Roman Law and how the slavery still exists in a supposedly modern and civilized world, as if it's a burden carried over from the pre-Christian times. Heredia (in the novel) says that, with his thesis, he wanted to show how the slaves are stripped of even the most basic human rights.


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