Sometimes I do not cause harm myself. Something that belongs to me does.

My dog bites the mail carrier. A tile falls from my roof onto the neighbor’s greenhouse. I did not do that. It is not my deed.

Still, I must answer for it. Why?

Because these things belong to me. They are under my control. I ought to watch over them. But only more or less. A dog is harder to steer than a tile is to fasten. Depending on the nature of the thing, the burden falls on me more or less.

This also applies to my own body, by the way. If I trip and knock someone over, I did not want that. But it falls back on me.

Summary: I must answer for harm my things cause, even when it is not my deed. How much depends on how far they are under my watch.