It might be
objected that, if A has done all that he is bound to do, he ought
to be able to sue B, since performance or readiness to perform
was all that was necessary to give him that right, and conversely
the same might be said of B. On the other hand, considering
either B or A as defendant, the same facts would be a complete
defence. The puzzle is largely one of words.
A and B have, it is true, each performed all that they promised
to do at the present stage, because they each only promised to
act in the event of the other being ready and willing to act at
the same time. But the readiness and willingness, although not
necessary to the performance of either promise, and therefore not
a duty, was necessary in order to present a case to which the
promise of action on the other side would apply. Hence, although
A and B have each performed their own promise, they have not
performed the condition to their right of demanding more from the
other side. The performance of that condition is purely optional
until one side has brought it within the [322] scope of the
other's undertaking by performing it himself. But it is
performance in the latter sense, that is, the satisfying of all
conditions, as well as the keeping of his own promises, which is
necessary to give A or B a right of action.
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