VERY RARE FIRST EDITION OF MEDICI'S TREATISE ON UNFORESEEABLE CONSEQUENCES

(De) Medici, Sebastiano. Sebastiani Medicis Florentini i.c. equitis s. Stephani & protonot. apostol. Tractatus de fortuitis casibus. Nunc primum in lucem editus. Florence: apud Iuntas, 1577.

8vo, contemporary stiff vellum with handwritten title at two raised bands spine, ff. [8], 414, [74].

Very rare first edition of one of the first treatises on causation, especially devoted to the unforeseeable consequences of an act.

This is one of the first systematic expositions on the fortuitous case, in which the author takes into account some of the major issues in the 16th century society, such as shipwreck, pirate raids and fights. Concerning the first two points he expires the conductor rerum from refunding damages, arguing that the risk of wreckage and pirating incursion regards the property and not the commander of the navy. On the contrary, he is of the opinion that the responsibility compete normally only to the one who begins the ruthless act, and not to any other involved. Similarly, in the field of games and sports activities, he was one of the first jurists to wonder if, at least in some cases, the murder resulting from agonistic actions was not the agent's fault.

Legal Causation is usually expressed as a question of 'foreseeability'. An actor is liable for the foreseeable, but not the unforeseeable, consequences of his or her act. For example, it is foreseeable that if I shoot someone on a beach and they are immobilized, they may drown in a rising tide rather than from the trauma of the gunshot wound or from loss of blood. However it is not (generally speaking) foreseeable that they will be struck by lightning and killed by that event.

This type of causal foreseeability is to be distinguished from foreseeability of extent or kind of injury, which is a question of remoteness of damage, not causation. For example, if I conduct welding work on a dock that lights an oil slick that destroys a ship a long way down the river, it would be hard to construe my negligence as anything other than causal of the ship's damage. There is no novus actus interveniens. However, I may not be held liable if that damage is not of a type foreseeable as arising from my negligence: The Wagon Mound (No 1) [1961] AC 388 (Privy Council). That is a question of public policy, and not one of causation.

Sebastiano Medici (first half of 16th century-1595) was an Italian lawyer from Florence: among the most enthusiastic protagonists of the first postridentine season, his actions and his work contributed to the re-establishment not only of the juridical and institutional, but also theological and moral of society, in the direction, of course, dictated by the council itself.

Provenance: Near contemporary owner's inscription Fausti Alessi at title-page.

References: Not in US libraries. CNCE 28466. Dizionario Biografico Treccani: «[Il De fortuitis casibus è] una tra le prime esposizioni sistematiche sul caso fortuito, nella quale il M. prende in considerazione alcune problematiche di grande rilevanza nella società del XVI secolo, quali ad esempio il naufragio, l’incursione di pirati e la rissa. Riguardo ai primi due punti egli esime il conductor rerum dal risarcimento del danno, sostenendo che il rischio di naufragio e di incursione piratesca spettano al proprietario delle merci e non al comandante del naviglio. Sulla rissa, invece, il M. è dell’opinione che la culpa competa di norma solo a colui che inizia l’atto rissoso, e non ad altri eventuali coinvolti. Analogamente, in materia di giochi e attività sportive, egli fu tra i primi giuristi a chiedersi se, almeno in certi casi, l’omicidio conseguente ad atti agonistici non fosse il prodotto di colpa dell’agente».

Light foxing, but a good and unsophisticated copy.