Possession of the object is not interrupted for a moment during this
act; for, otherwise, I would acquire an object in this state as a
thing that had no possessor, and it would thus be acquired originally,
which is contrary to the idea of a contract. This continuity, however,
implies that it is not the particular will of either the promiser or
the acceptor, but their united will in common, that transfers what
is mine to another. And hence it is not accomplished in such a
manner that the promiser first relinquishes (derelinquit) his
possession for the benefit of another, or renounces his right
(renunciat), and thereupon the other at the same time enters upon
it; or conversely. The transfer (translatio) is therefore an act in
which the object belongs for a moment at the same time to both, just
as in the parabolic path of a projectile the object on reaching its
highest point may be regarded for a moment as at the same time both
rising and falling, and as thus passing in fact from the ascending
to the falling motion.
21. Acceptance and Delivery.
A thing is not acquired in a case of contract by the acceptance
(acceptatio) of the promise, but only by the delivery (traditio) of
the object promised. For all promise is relative to performance; and
if what was promised is a thing, the performance cannot be executed
otherwise than by an act whereby the acceptor is put by the promiser
into possession of the thing; and this is delivery.
Pages:
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82