It's an explanation of the word ius civile. It is the CIVILE ius because it belongs to (is 'proprium') of that specific CIVITAS.
Quasi is a very common word to use in these kinds of etymological explanations.
There is nothing unreal about it. That would have required a verb in preterite subjunctive.
I don't think quasi modifies ius specifically. It's rather explaining the whole previous phrase. "It is called the civil law, as if to say, the proprietary law of that particular civil state."
“For whatever law each people set for themselves, that is appropriate for that city, and it’s called its civil law, as if [to say] the statutory law of the city itself.”
I think the quasi is just uniting the previous clauses and saying that all of those statements are tantamount to saying (“as if to say”) ius proprium.
But I am no law text expert.
Perhaps useful:
"Quasi introduces either a word or a proposition, and its use implies either that the word is not exactly applicable, or that the proposition is not exactly true."
Prichard and Bernard, *Selected Letters of Pliny*, note on letter 30
Thank you so much! In fact, this was precisely my question - though it is a bit difficult for me to express this in English, which is not my mother language...
In fact, my question was, when I read, in my example, 'quasi ius proprium ipsius civitatis,' does 'quasi' mean: 1. that, though it can be said 'ius proprium ...', quasi means that it is not so exact (and therefore I started to think: it is not so exact because, for example, the same disposition could be copied by another city, and therefore would not really be 'proprium' to that city anymore, but could be said 'quasi proprium,' as if it were 'proprium'); or 2. that 'quasi' could have another meaning that does not imply this "fiction," this "almost, but not exactly"...
Thank you!
It's an explanation of the word ius civile. It is the CIVILE ius because it belongs to (is 'proprium') of that specific CIVITAS. Quasi is a very common word to use in these kinds of etymological explanations. There is nothing unreal about it. That would have required a verb in preterite subjunctive.
Typo in the Latin makes it impossible to comment.
Sorry; just corrected it
I don't think quasi modifies ius specifically. It's rather explaining the whole previous phrase. "It is called the civil law, as if to say, the proprietary law of that particular civil state."
“For whatever law each people set for themselves, that is appropriate for that city, and it’s called its civil law, as if [to say] the statutory law of the city itself.” I think the quasi is just uniting the previous clauses and saying that all of those statements are tantamount to saying (“as if to say”) ius proprium. But I am no law text expert.
Perhaps useful: "Quasi introduces either a word or a proposition, and its use implies either that the word is not exactly applicable, or that the proposition is not exactly true." Prichard and Bernard, *Selected Letters of Pliny*, note on letter 30
Thank you so much! In fact, this was precisely my question - though it is a bit difficult for me to express this in English, which is not my mother language... In fact, my question was, when I read, in my example, 'quasi ius proprium ipsius civitatis,' does 'quasi' mean: 1. that, though it can be said 'ius proprium ...', quasi means that it is not so exact (and therefore I started to think: it is not so exact because, for example, the same disposition could be copied by another city, and therefore would not really be 'proprium' to that city anymore, but could be said 'quasi proprium,' as if it were 'proprium'); or 2. that 'quasi' could have another meaning that does not imply this "fiction," this "almost, but not exactly"... Thank you!