PHI LOS 0 P H Y . - Classic Works of Apologetics Online

PrOiiliscs. 107
both pClrties; and this belief of his is the precise cir.
CUIDstance \vhich sets him free. The foundation of
the rule is plainly this; a man is bound only to satis.
fy the expectation which he intended to excite j
whatever condition, therefore, he intended to sub.
ject that expectation to, becomes an essential condi.
tion of the promise.
Errors, which co~e". not within t~is descripti~n"
do not annul the oblIgatIon of a pro!lllse. I pronusel
a candidate my vote; presently another candidate
appears, for whom I certainly would hove reserved"
it, had I been acquainted with his design. " Here,
therefore, as before, lny promise proceeded from an
error; and I never should have given such a promise,
had I been aware of the truth of ~he case, .as it
has turned out; but the pro!Jlise£ did not know thishe
did not receive the promise subject to any such.
condition, or as proceeding from any such supposition;
nor did I at the time imagine he. so· received.
it. This error, therefore, of mine, must faIl upoa
. my own head, and the promist! be observed notwithstanding.
A father promises a certain fortune with"
his daughter, supposing himself to be worth so much; -
his circumstances turn out, upon eY.llminatiQB,·.:
worse tllan he was aware of. Here agail;l the· prom~
ise \\'as erl·oneous, but, for the reason assigned in the
last case, will neverrhel{:ss be obligatory.
1'he case of erroneous promises is attended with
sonle difficulty; for to allow every mistake, or 'l
change of circumstances to dissolve the obligatioll ot" •
a promise, would be to allow a latitude, which Inight . t
c,7acuate tIle force of allll0s~ all pronlises; and, 011 ,
the other hand, to gird the obligation so tight, as to .
make no allowances for manifest and fUlldamental
errors, would, in many instances, be productive G-f
great hardship and absurdity.
It hclS long been controverted amongst moralists, "/
whe~he"r promi~es be binding, w_hkh anu~xtor.!£d by 9j
vi2re.n~e orlear. The obligation of all promises re·