De iustitia et iure caeterisque virtutibus cardinalibus. Über die Gerechtigkeit und das Recht und die übrigen Kardinaltugenden. Teil II
De restitutione. Über die Restitution.
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In the second part of the edition of ›De iustitia et iure caeterisque virtutibus cardinalibus‹ from 1605, Leonardus Lessius offers a detailed presentation of the late scholastic doctrine of ›restitution‹: the doctrine of the obligation to pay damages and to compensate for enrichment. According to Roman Catholic doctrine, a sin could only be forgiven if the liable party had paid compensation for the damage or returned someone else’s property (restitution). Restitution thus transformed theological natural law into a genuine legal order, which determined the daily life of the faithful. Lessius casuistically explains a broad outlook on individual violations of law (for example, of life, body, property or honour) and the related offences. Overall, this part of the work offers a varied picture of early modern Catholic everyday morality.
Reviews
»The team behind the Latin edition and German translation of Lessius’s voluminous «De iustitia et iure» deserves great respect and ample praise for their ambitious endeavour, which has thus far led to the publication of three impressive volumes; at least seven more volumes are scheduled for the coming years. When the team members will have finished their titanic job, they will have provided, for the very first time, a modern edition and translation in a major international language of Lessius’s influential treatise.«
All volumes
- De iustitia et iure caeterisque virtutibus cardinalibus. Über die Gerechtigkeit und das Recht und die übrigen Kardinaltugenden. Teil I – available
- De iustitia et iure caeterisque virtutibus cardinalibus. Über die Gerechtigkeit und das Recht und die übrigen Kardinaltugenden. Teil II – available
- De iustitia et iure caeterisque virtutibus cardinalibus. Über die Gerechtigkeit und das Recht und die übrigen Kardinaltugenden. Teil III – First half of 2026