her own price Proclaims how she esteem'd him and his virtue; What kind of man he is."1 Election, in the law, is the choice between alternating or inconsistent rights or claims.2 The right may arise, either under contract or independently of contract, as where one has the right, in case of loss, either to pay a certain sum, or rebuild the property destroyed, the decision of which course would be pursued, would be called making one's election. This right is of especial importance in equity practice, where constantly recurring instances are arising of the assertion of the right. In the sense in which the term is used here, it is rather 1 Cymbeline, Act I, Scene I. 2 Bouvier's Law Dictionary. In this same play, a Lord is made to say: sin to make a true election, she is damned." "2 Lord. If it be a (Act I, Scene III.) to indicate the choice or selection of a particular person, over another, than one of two inconsistent rights or remedies. Sec. 417. Advocate. "Queen. For you, Posthumus, So soon as I can win the offended king, I will be known your advocate." An advocate is generally defined as the "patron of a cause," and in Rome, those who assisted their clients with advice and pleaded their cause in the time of the Republic, were called by that name. The advocate, in Rome, conducted the cause in public, and was assisted by the procurator or attorney, who looked up the evidence and assisted the advocate.3 The Queen, therefore, rightly selected the broader term, in promising to assist Posthumus in his suit for the hand of Imogen. Sec. 418. Conditions of wager contract. "Iach. By the gods, it is one:-If I bring you no sufficient testimony that I have enjoyed the dearest bodily part of your mistress, my ten thousand ducats are yours; so is your diamond, too. If I come off and leave her in such honour as you have trust in, she your jewel, this your jewel, and my gold are yours. Post. I embrace these conditions; let us have articles betwixt us. Iach. Your hand; a covenant: We will have these things set down by lawful counsel, and straight away for Britain; lest the bargain should catch cold and starve: I will fetch my gold and have our two wagers recorded. 1 Cymbeline, Act I, Scene II. 2 Bouvier's Law Dictionary. 'Ulpian, Dig. 50, tit. 13; Tacitus, Annal. X. 6. Post. Agreed. French. Will this hold, think you?" A condition is a limitation or restriction placed in a written agreement upon the performance of which an estate, interest or right becomes fixed or vested, but on the non-performance of which the estate determines.2 A condition necessarily refers to a future event or contingency, and not to a present or past event. Conditions are either expressed or implied, and by the express terms of this contract of wager, the gold of Iachimo was to be transferred to Posthumus, if he did not succeed in his attempt upon the chastity of Imogen, while Posthumus' ring was to be his, if he succeeded in seducing her. Iachimo, after Posthumus agrees to the conditions of the wager, demands that covenants be entered into, for the performance of the contract, and suggests that these things "should be set down, by lawful counsel," "lest the bargain should catch cold and starve." By this latter expression, he means that if the contract is not reduced to writing, in lawful form, the undertaking would amount to nothing, and in this he was correct, as he was in referring to the necessity of recording the wager, since the depositing of such documents in a public repository was a custom resulting from the Saxon usage continued long after the invasion of the Normans, whereby not only purchases of land, but testaments and other agreements were filed for safekeeping.3 The doubt, expressed by the Frenchman, as to the legal effect of this covenant, in the question: "Will this hold, think you?" is most pertinent to the subject matter of the agreement, for, of course, the undertaking upon which the condition rested, i. e., the seduction of a chaste female, is of such an illegal nature as to render the agreement 'Cymbeline, Act I, Scene V. 2 Bouvier's Law Dictionary; Lawson, Contracts (2d ed.) 238. 'I Reeve's Hist. Eng. Law, p. 346. utterly void, in law. The law, in such cases, leaves the parties to illegal agreements where it finds them, refusing to interfere, either to enforce or relieve against agreements contrary to public policy." Sec. 419. Lawyer's duty to understand case. "Clo. I will make One of her women lawyer to me; for I yet not understand the case myself." Cloten's soliloquy, wherein he reflects that gold had often sav'd the thief, whereupon he concludes to try its effect upon the women attendants upon Imogen, is a fitting application of his revery to himself, but in placing them in the category of lawyers, by inducing them to betray their clients, he mistakes the primal duty of the lawyer. Loyalty to his client is the first duty of the lawyer and this duty is rarely broken by lawyers. It is likewise the duty of the lawyer to thoroughly understand his client's case, and in this respect Cloten's conclusion is proper, for while a client may not, himself, understand his cause, his lawyer ought always to know not only the facts, but the law applicable to those facts, in his client's favor. Sec. 420. Witness to action.— "Clo. You have abus'd me:His meanest garment? Imogen. Ay; I said so, sir, If you will mak't an action, call witness to't." Cloten complains that he has been abused and Imogen, instead of withdrawing the objectionable speech, challenges him to bring his action, if he will and call his witness. 1 1 Lawson, on Contracts, (2d ed.) Chap. Illegal Considerations. 2 Lawson, Contracts, (2d ed.) supra. 'Cymbeline, Act II, Scene III. 'Cymbeline, Act II, Scene III. An action is the form of a suit, for the recovery, by the law, of that which is one's due, or, in other words, it is the legal demand, according to approved proceedings, for the enforcement of the right. The successful maintenance of an action, at law, depends upon the proof of the facts on which it is based and as this can only be done by witnesses, a witness is one of the main essentials to every action at law. Sec. 421. Forfeiters. "Imogen. Lovers And men in dangerous bonds pray not alike; 3 By the Statute Merchant, of England, debtors were required to enter into bond, before the mayor of London," or the chief warden of other cities or towns, and the lands of the debtor were conveyed to the creditor, until out of the rents and profits his debt was paid and satisfied. If the debtor forfeited his bond, he was liable to be thrown in jail, until the penalty was discharged, hence he would pray to be relieved of the bond, but the lover would pray that the bonds of love might hold him forever. 'Coke's Litt. 285. In A Lover's Complaint, the "fickle maid" on perusal of her letters, cried: "O false blood, thou register of lies, What unapproved witness dost thou bear: Ink would have seem'd more black and damned here." 'Cymbeline, Act III, Scene II. . 13 Edw. I, c. 1. 2 Bl. Comm. 160; Cruise, Dig. tit. 14, sec. 7. Bacon, Abr. (52, 54.) The lines just preceding those quoted above refer to the formula of sealing such bonds as were exacted of debtors, by creditors, for while sealing was required, signature was not essential to the validity of such obligations. Rolfe's Cymbeline, p. 214, notes. |