This
raises the question how a thing must be dealt with, in order to
make it a consideration.
It is said that consideration must not be confounded with motive.
It is true that it must not be confounded with what may be the
prevailing or chief motive in actual fact. A man may promise to
paint a picture for five hundred dollars, while his chief motive
may be a desire for fame. A consideration may be given and
accepted, in fact, solely for the purpose of making a promise
binding. But, nevertheless, it is the essence of a consideration,
that, by the terms of the agreement, it is given and accepted as
the motive or inducement of the promise. Conversely, the promise
must be made and accepted as the conventional motive or
inducement for furnishing the consideration. The root of the
whole matter is the relation of reciprocal [294] conventional
inducement, each for the other, between consideration and
promise.
A good example of the former branch of the proposition is to be
found in a Massachusetts case. The plaintiff refused to let
certain wood be removed from his land by one who had made an oral
bargain and given his note for it, unless he received additional
security. The purchaser and the plaintiff accordingly went to the
defendant, and the defendant put his name upon the note.
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