ABSTRACT Contract law and mathematics are, at first sight, singularly unlikely bedfellows. Yet, the influence of each discipline on the other has been significant. The primary claim in this article is that equity’s reception of the mathematics of probability in the second half of the eighteenth century led, at the beginning of the following century, to the development of a striking rule under which contracts for the sale of certain types of property could be rescinded if there was a deviation, however minimal, from the fair price. An almost purely mathematical question was, essentially, the only one which was pertinent. Vestiges of this remarkable episode are still visible today the statutory provision which ultimately removed this anomalous rule in 1867, the Sale of Reversions Act, survives in section 174 of the Law of Property Act 1925. This article uncovers and reconstructs the richly interdisciplinary aspect of this now entirely dormant provision. In so doing, a significantly novel perspective on the much debated question of contractual fairness from the second half of the eighteenth century to 1867 emerges: contractual fairness was at the heart of early probability and subsequently, probability was at the heart of contractual fairness in English law.

中文翻译：

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当代数学对公平合同公平的贡献，1751-1867

摘要 乍一看，合同法和数学是非常不可能的同床异梦。然而，每个学科对另一个学科的影响都是显着的。本文的主要主张是，股权在 18 世纪下半叶对概率数学的接受导致了在下个世纪初的一项引人注目的规则的发展，根据该规则，销售某些类型的合同如果偏离公平价格，无论多么微小，都可以撤销财产。一个几乎纯粹的数学问题基本上是唯一相关的问题。这一显着事件的遗迹今天仍然可见，最终在 1867 年取消了这一异常规则的法定条款，即 1925 年《财产法法》第 174 条保留的《销售归还法》。本文揭示并重构了这一现在完全处于休眠状态的条款中丰富的跨学科方面。在这样做的过程中，对于 18 世纪下半叶至 1867 年间备受争议的合同公平问题出现了一个非常新颖的观点：合同公平是早期概率的核心，随后，概率是英语合同公平的核心法律。