and the type of coinage must be specified—­not the exact amount of the price—according to the sounder view.

The principal must utter a phrase that shows his consent, such as: “I appoint you as my agent for this matter,” “I have entrusted it to you,” or “You are my agent in it.” If he merely says, “Sell” or “Manumit,” the authorization is effected. A verbal statement of acceptance from the agent is not required, although one opinion does require it, while another requires the formal contract wording—“I appoint you”—and not simple imperative forms.

If he says, “Whenever I dismiss you, you are my agent,” the agency takes effect immediately, according to the sounder position. Whether the agency returns after dismissal is a matter of the two well-known opinions on conditional appointments, and the same two opinions apply to dismissals that are themselves made conditional.

Section

An agent who is given an unrestricted mandate to sell may not sell for anything other than the local currency, nor on credit, nor at a grossly inequitable reduction (ghabn fāḥish, i.e. a loss that people usually find intolerable). Should he sell in any of these ways and deliver the goods, he is liable.

If the principal tells him to sell on deferred terms and fixes the period, that period must be observed. If he authorizes a deferred sale without specifying the term, the authorization is valid, according to the sounder view, and the term is determined by what is customary for that type of transaction.

He may not sell to himself or to his minor child. The preferable opinion, however, allows him to sell to his father or to his adult son. The selling agent is entitled to receive the price and to hand over the merchandise, but he must not deliver the goods until he has received the price; otherwise he is liable.

When the principal appoints him to purchase, he must not buy a defective item. If he buys on credit and, despite the defect, the article is still worth what he paid, the purchase is attributed to the principal if the agent was unaware of the defect; if he knew of it, then—according to the sounder view—it is not. If the item is worth less than the price, the purchase does not count for the principal if the agent knew of the defect, but if he was unaware, it does, again according to the sounder position. Once the sale is attributed to the principal, both agent and principal have the right to rescind.

An agent may not appoint another agent without permission so long as he is able to carry out the task himself. If he cannot—because he lacks the skill or because the task does not suit him—he may delegate. Even if the duties are numerous and he can perform only part of them, the preferred view is that he may appoint another for what exceeds his capacity.

If the principal permits delegation and says, “Appoint someone on your own behalf,” and the agent does so, the second person is the agent of the first agent, and the sounder opinion is that he is dismissed when the first agent is dismissed or ceases to act. If the principal instead says, “Appoint someone on my behalf,” the second person becomes the principal’s agent; and the same ruling, according to the sound view, applies when the wording is left unrestricted.

I say: In these two cases neither of the two agents dismisses the other, nor is either dismissed by the other’s cessation; and wherever we permit