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Wealth

‹ 8 · Outline · 10 ›

9.The nature and function of money, credit and banking

9a.The origin and use of money and coinage

Thomas Hobbes, Of Man, Being the First Part of LeviathanVol. 34

p. 394Contract examples include buying and selling, exchange of goods or lands.read · scan

John Dryden, Dedication of the AeneisVol. 13

p. 66Word borrowing likened to commerce and coin circulating for national enrichment.read · scan

David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human UnderstandingVol. 37

p. 358The poor artisan expects to sell goods and use money to obtain subsistence, relying on others' actions.read · scan

Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of NationsVol. 10

p. 27Once division of labour is established every man lives by exchanging, and barter's difficulties lead prudent men to keep a commodity others will accept.read · scan
p. 28Cattle, salt, shells and other commodities served as money before metals were preferred as durable and divisible.read · scan
p. 29Origin of coined money: weighing and assaying metals was troublesome and open to fraud, so public stamps were affixed to certify quantity and goodness.read · scan
p. 30Coinage's stamp certified fineness and weight of metal, sparing the trouble of weighing in exchange.read · scan
p. 30Traces how coin denominations (pound, shilling, penny) originally expressed real weights of metal in Rome, England, France and Scotland.read · scan
p. 42–43Smith explains how metals became money and the standard measure of value, with Roman copper as example.read · scan
p. 43Traces which metals served as standard money and legal tender in England, and how their proportions came to be fixed.read · scan
p. 44Shows how changing the legal ratio of gold to silver makes one metal seem the invariable measure of value.read · scan
p. 358Coinage costs paid by government in England, by a duty in France, make computed exchange misleading about real exchange.read · scan
p. 394Gold and silver are the universal instruments of commerce, cheap to transport and easily received, facilitating round-about foreign trade; loss of Portugal trade would only briefly embarrass merchants.read · scan

Articles of ConfederationVol. 43

p. 163Congress regulates the value of coin and postage.read · scan

Ralph Waldo Emerson, New England ReformersVol. 5

p. 253One reformer held that the use of money was the cardinal evil.read · scan

Charles Darwin, The Voyage of the BeagleVol. 29

p. 231Barter of fish and crabs for rags, each side thinking the other foolish.read · scan
p. 232–233Fuegians understand barter, returning fish for a nail.read · scan
p. 236–237Barter for skins and feathers; tobacco preferred to tools.read · scan
p. 282–283Money is scarcely worth anything; goods are bartered at small prices.read · scan
p. 409Tahitians understand the value of money, prefer it to clothes, and chiefs accumulate sums to buy boats and horses.read · scan
p. 425–426Chief's ignorance of money's value in bargaining for guide's pay.read · scan

Richard Henry Dana, Jr., Two Years Before the MastVol. 23

p. 80With no credit, banks or investment except cattle, silver and hides serve as the only currency.read · scan

9b.Debasement, paper money and the controversy over currency

Aristophanes, The FrogsVol. 8

p. 460–461The debased coinage image contrasts old sterling gold with worthless pinchbeck.read · scan

Dante Alighieri, HellVol. 20

p. 123–125He debased the florin coin with three carats of alloy, falsifying money.read · scan

Dante Alighieri, ParadiseVol. 20

p. 324The florin's covetous desire is said to have excited much evil.read · scan

Sir Thomas More, UtopiaVol. 36

p. 157–160Councillors propose debasing coinage and manipulating money to fill the king's coffers.read · scan

Benjamin Franklin, His AutobiographyVol. 1

p. 29–30Franklin displays silver and a watch to journeymen used to paper money, provoking his brother's offense.read · scan
p. 62–63Franklin argues for more paper money as increasing trade, employment and inhabitants, though quantity has limits.read · scan
p. 128Interest-bearing orders on the loan office gain credit, are bought eagerly and circulate as money, funded by paper currency interest and excise.read · scan
p. 161Taxing of proprietary estates, and the £100,000 paper money whose repeal would ruin many.read · scan
p. 161–162Franklin's engagement secured the credit of the paper money spread across the province.read · scan

Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of NationsVol. 10

p. 30–32Debasement of coinage reduced metal content; money became universal instrument of commerce; debtors gain and creditors lose.read · scan
p. 45Value of the most precious metal regulates the value of the whole coin; degraded silver still passes at legal ratio to gold.read · scan
p. 45Explains fluctuations in bullion price through importers' misjudged demand and coin wear, and steady price differences as due to coin state.read · scan
p. 46–47Money is an accurate measure of value only as coin matches its standard; worn coin makes prices adjust to actual content.read · scan
p. 230Substituting paper money for gold and silver is a cheaper instrument of commerce, freeing funds that put industry into motion and raise the annual produce.read · scan
p. 234Smith argues substituting paper for gold and silver money frees capital to maintain more industry and raises the annual produce of land and labour.read · scan
p. 248–249Paper money circulation makes a country vulnerable; circulation divides into dealer-to-dealer and dealer-to-consumer branches needing differing money stocks.read · scan
p. 249–250Recommends limiting small-denomination bank notes so paper money stays in dealer circulation, avoiding bankruptcies of petty bankers harming the poor.read · scan
p. 250–251Where paper fills consumer circulation it banishes gold and silver; banks can still aid commerce by discounting bills and cash accounts.read · scan
p. 251–252Readily redeemable bank notes equal gold and silver in value.read · scan
p. 252Argues paper money need not raise prices since it displaces gold and silver; only conditional or delayed-payment notes fall below metal value.read · scan
p. 253Optional clauses making note payment uncertain degraded Scottish notes below gold and silver, distorting exchange until parliament suppressed them.read · scan
p. 254Colonial paper payable years later was worth far less than face value; exchange rates varied with quantity issued.read · scan
p. 255Pennsylvania's moderate paper issues held value; raising coin denomination failed to stop gold export as prices rose proportionally.read · scan
p. 256Analyzes paper money, bank money and the agio of Amsterdam; the value of gold and silver depends on the labour needed to bring them to market.read · scan
p. 357Worn and debased coin makes computed exchange differ from real exchange; the value of currency follows actual silver content.read · scan
p. 563Debasing the coin to pay national debt defrauds creditors and moves capital from frugal, industrious hands to idle, profuse debtors.read · scan

Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in FranceVol. 24

p. 177–178Commerce expiring, bankruptcy, worthless paper currency after property principle subvertedread · scan
p. 255Confiscated church lands, paper currency and debt schemes are shown to be financially mad, depreciating land and diverting money from trade.read · scan
p. 256–257Church spoil and forced paper currency became the sole security of the Assembly's power and finance.read · scan
p. 285Forced paper currency backed by plundered land destroys property and the maxims that give it stability and circulation.read · scan
p. 322Confiscation and forced paper currency are said to be the cement of the republics, and will fail if credit collapses.read · scan
p. 323Paper currency and transmuting confiscated land into paper make property volatile and uncertain, placing money and land power in managers' hands.read · scan
p. 324Unstable paper money destroys the value of pay and savings, so industry and economy wither.read · scan
p. 325–326Assignats and monied circulation give the few who manage speculation power over every man's property, especially over the countryside.read · scan
p. 361–362French paper money represents want and power, whereas English bank-paper is convertible on deposit, valuable because law does not enforce it, and symbolizes prosperity.read · scan
p. 364Burke mocks the reliance on assignats and church plunder as a universal remedy, issuing ever more paper despite experience of its failure.read · scan
p. 370Assignats depreciate, revenue collectors profit from the difference, and Necker sees the state cannot live on paper without real silver.read · scan
p. 370–372Burke compares the assignats with Law's Mississippi scheme, judging the Assembly's finance a worse fraud, and mocks coining church bells into money.read · scan

Articles of ConfederationVol. 43

p. 164Congress ascertains sums to be raised, borrows money and emits bills of credit.read · scan

Constitution of the United StatesVol. 43

p. 186–187States barred from coining money, issuing bills of credit or impairing contracts.read · scan

Ralph Waldo Emerson, CompensationVol. 5

p. 95–96Wealth and credit are only signs, like paper money, of the knowledge and virtue that cannot be counterfeited.read · scan

Ralph Waldo Emerson, English TraitsVol. 5

p. 400–401Financial crises, paper money and false principles enriched England in appearance while impoverishing the poor; England fails to rule her wealth.read · scan

John Stuart Mill, AutobiographyVol. 25

p. 23Political economy studied through Ricardo and Adam Smith, including money and the Bullion controversy.read · scan
p. 76Mill wrote on the Commercial Crisis of 1825, currency debates and reciprocity in commerce.read · scan
p. 187–188Mill notes the shallow proposals to reach universal wealth and happiness by reorganizing the currency, sent to him as a political economist.read · scan

9c.Banks and the circulation of capital

Benvenuto Cellini, The Autobiography of Benvenuto CelliniVol. 31

p. 156He draws money from the Mint discreetly, keeping a credit balance and obtaining lodgings and appointments.read · scan

John Dryden, Dedication of the AeneisVol. 13

p. 64Uses metaphor of coinage, bankruptcy and credit to describe exhausting his vocabulary.read · scan

Jonathan Swift, A Letter of Advice to a Young PoetVol. 27

p. 119–120Suggests poetry share in a bank charter as a fund as real as stocks.read · scan

Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of NationsVol. 10

p. 230–231Banks issuing notes need keep only a fifth in gold and silver; the surplus metal overflows the circulation channel and is sent abroad to seek profit.read · scan
p. 235Scottish banking companies' paper money increased the country's trade and industry, bringing it great benefit.read · scan
p. 235–236Scotland's gold and silver diminished after the union yet its real riches, agriculture, manufactures and trade grew; banks profit by discounting bills.read · scan
p. 236–237Cash accounts on easy repayment terms let Scottish banks issue notes and carry nearly all the country's money business, spurring trade.read · scan
p. 237–238Cash accounts let the Edinburgh merchant keep no idle money, so he trades more, profits more and employs more people than his London counterpart.read · scan
p. 238–239Paper money in circulation cannot exceed the gold and silver it replaces; excess returns on banks as a run for specie, and banks bear costs.read · scan
p. 239–240A bank issuing excess paper faces disproportionately rising costs of holding and replenishing gold and silver, which is exported abroad.read · scan
p. 240–241Worked example shows excess note issue yields no interest gain but costs of collecting specie; the Bank of England lost on coinage.read · scan
p. 241–242Excess paper forced Scottish banks into costly London agents and bill-drawing, and the Bank of England into ruinous recoinage as coin was exported or melted.read · scan
p. 243Banks should advance only the idle ready-money part of a merchant's capital, against real bills; then circulation stays absorbable and coffers stay full.read · scan
p. 243–244Banks should check that customers' repayments match advances over short periods; Scottish banks required regular repayments to keep coffers full.read · scan
p. 244–245Explains how Scottish banks kept paper money issues within what circulation could absorb, using regular repayments to gauge debtors and capital.read · scan
p. 246Smith argues banks can supply only circulating capital, not slow-returning fixed capital of forges, mines and land improvement.read · scan
p. 246–247Banking turns dead stock of gold and silver into active productive capital, increasing industry, though paper money is riskier than metal.read · scan
p. 256Banking regulation and free competition among bankers increase public security; competition in any trade benefits the public.read · scan
p. 358–359Bank money's agio over common currency distorts computed exchange, so it does not show the real balance of trade.read · scan
p. 461Banking, insurance and canal or water undertakings can be reduced to strict rule, so joint stock companies manage them well without exclusive privileges.read · scan
p. 470–471States derive revenue from lending money at interest, pawn-shops, and Pennsylvania's paper bills of credit; success depends on credit and moderation.read · scan

John Marshall, Opinion of Chief Justice Marshall in the Case of McCulloch vs. the State of MarylandVol. 43

p. 223The utility of a bank for finances is affirmed, even statesmen opposed to it yielding to national exigencies.read · scan

Ralph Waldo Emerson, English TraitsVol. 5

p. 396–397The Bank, more potent than steam, governs population, trade and cities; money moulds the social system and enriches proprietors.read · scan

Richard Henry Dana, Jr., Twenty-Four Years AfterVol. 23

p. 397Tom weighs taking his savings home in gold or bills during the financial crisis of 1837, on a banker's advice.read · scan

9d.Usury and lending at interest

The Book of PsalmsVol. 44

p. 156–158The upright does not lend money at interest or take bribes against the innocent.read · scan

Marcus Tullius Cicero, Letters of CiceroVol. 9

p. 142Moneylending, interest rates and Brutus's hidden financial interest in the Salaminian debt.read · scan
p. 147–148He fixes twelve per cent interest for the Greeks and satisfies the tax-farmers with courtesy.read · scan

Tacitus, GermanyVol. 33

p. 107Ignorance of usury and interest guards better than prohibition; land held in common and redistributed, cultivating only corn.read · scan

Pliny the Younger, Letters of PlinyVol. 9

p. 385–387Interest rates, lending of public money, and lack of land to buy are discussed.read · scan

Chapters from the KoranVol. 45

p. 960–961Usury doubly doubled is forbidden; alms are commended in prosperity and adversity.read · scan
p. 983–984Jews are condemned for taking usury and devouring people's wealth in vain.read · scan

Stories from the Thousand and One NightsVol. 16

p. 362Ala-ed-Din sells golden plates cheaply, unaware of their worth, to a usurious Jew who exploits his ignorance.read · scan

Dante Alighieri, HellVol. 20

p. 45Usury is named as an offence against divine goodness.read · scan
p. 48Notes say the usurer places hope in lent wealth and scorns nature's means of gaining livelihood.read · scan
p. 69Sinners wear money pouches with heraldic emblems on which their eyes feed, showing fixation on gold.read · scan
p. 69Usurers identified by heraldic money pouches; a Paduan usurer mocks Florentine neighbors and awaits a fellow moneylender.read · scan

Martin Luther, Address to the Christian Nobility of the German NationVol. 36

p. 332Luther condemns usury and the great fortunes of companies like the Fuggers, preferring agriculture to commerce and questioning how money breeds money.read · scan

Benvenuto Cellini, The Autobiography of Benvenuto CelliniVol. 31

p. 340–341The brother-in-law pawned his goods and was devoured by interest rather than touch Cellini's money.read · scan
p. 383–385Cellini sacrifices his pay and leaves capital with Bindo at 15 percent interest for life; a lopsided money bargain.read · scan

Francis Bacon, Essays, Civil and MoralVol. 3

p. 100–101Bacon weighs objections to usury, holds it must be permitted since borrowing is necessary and men are hard of heart, and urges weighing its harms and benefits.read · scan
p. 102Bacon weighs usury's harms and benefits: it hinders merchants, concentrates treasure in few hands, deadens industry, yet eases borrowing and sustains trade.read · scan
p. 102–103Argues usury cannot be abolished since borrowing needs profit; proposes a low general rate of five percent and higher licensed rate for merchants.read · scan
p. 103–104Details licensed lending at somewhat easier rates, limited to principal trading towns, so borrowers gain ease while lenders keep incentive.read · scan

Nathaniel Ward, The Body of LibertiesVol. 43

p. 69–70Interest capped and usury forbidden as contrary to the law of God.read · scan

Philip Massinger, A New Way to Pay Old DebtsVol. 47

p. 884–885Overreach grows in wealth and lordships by usury and extortion, feeding high and keeping many servants.read · scan

William Penn, Some Fruits of SolitudeVol. 1

p. 337–338Interest has the security though not the virtue of a principle.read · scan

Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of NationsVol. 10

p. 279Loans are really transfers of goods, not money; borrowing on mortgage replaces spent capital, and lenders assign a right to part of the annual produce.read · scan
p. 279Lendable stock is set by the value of annual produce, not the money; the same coins serve many loans and purchases as instrument of conveyance.read · scan
p. 279–281Smith explains capital lent at interest as an assignment of part of the annual produce, and how the monied interest grows with stock.read · scan
p. 284–285Too high a legal rate sends capital to prodigals and projectors; a moderate rate directs it to sober borrowers.read · scan

Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in FranceVol. 24

p. 241Driving men from independence to live on alms is great cruelty; scraps fed to harpies of usury.read · scan
p. 323–324Money-dealers and usurers who buy church lands will speculate, not farm; they prefer directing treasuries to the plough.read · scan

Richard Brinsley Sheridan, The School for ScandalVol. 18

p. 124–125Charles's debts, annuities and moneylenders are gossiped about with mockery.read · scan
p. 142–143Moneylender Moses discusses advances to the ruined Charles and the prospect of loans from the broker Premium.read · scan
p. 143–144Moses coaches Sir Oliver in usury, exorbitant interest scaled to the borrower's distress, as a profitable trade.read · scan
p. 144–145Usury and the Annuity Bill: protecting minors from moneylenders' rapacity, lamented in character by the pretended lender.read · scan
p. 152–153Toast 'Success to usury'; Careless calls usury prudence and industry, while Sir Oliver demurs at the toast.read · scan
p. 153–155Extravagant Charles frankly borrows at fifty per cent from a supposed moneylender, offering no land or stock, only expectations from a rich uncle.read · scan
p. 155–156Charles proposes a post-obit bond on his uncle's life, borrowing against an expected inheritance.read · scan
p. 188–189Sir Oliver disguised as needy Stanley and Charles's dealings with the broker Premium involve borrowing and money-lending.read · scan

Ralph Waldo Emerson, CompensationVol. 5

p. 98–99Bargains and contracts are guaranteed by nature, with compound interest on withheld payment.read · scan

9e.Debt, creditors and borrowing

Herodotus, An Account of EgyptVol. 33

p. 67–68Because money circulated slowly, the law let a man borrow by pledging his father's body and tomb.read · scan

Aristophanes, The FrogsVol. 8

p. 455The hostesses complain about unpaid bills for loaves, stew and fish.read · scan

Marcus Tullius Cicero, Letters of CiceroVol. 9

p. 90Regrets squandering money and depending on his brother's means to satisfy creditors.read · scan
p. 142Debts owed to Brutus and Pompey by the impoverished king Ariobarzanes, interest payments, taxes and lack of treasury.read · scan
p. 149Cicero inquires about a payment of sestertia and a balance due to him, while insisting no money was exacted from his province beyond debt payment.read · scan

Virgil, The AeneidVol. 13

p. 325Magus offers silver and gold as ransom for his life, and Aeneas rejects it.read · scan

Plutarch, CoriolanusVol. 12

p. 150Debtors stripped of property and imprisoned by wealthy money-lenders; the senate sides with creditors against the poor.read · scan

Plutarch, CiceroVol. 12

p. 252–253He marries a young heiress whose money can satisfy his creditors.read · scan

Plutarch, CaesarVol. 12

p. 271–272Caesar, deeply in debt, is backed by rich Crassus, and later regulates debtor-creditor payments in Spain.read · scan
p. 295Caesar relieves debtors by remitting part of interest owed.read · scan

Pliny the Younger, Letters of PlinyVol. 9

p. 239Pliny lent him money without interest to pay honorable debts.read · scan
p. 246–248He borrows freely from his wife's mother and discusses economy.read · scan
p. 281Attilius's debt and arrears of interest; his frugality is his only support, so loss presses hard.read · scan
p. 410–411Debts owed to cities and the claim against Piso for a gift of forty thousand denarii raise questions of property and public funds.read · scan

Stories from the Thousand and One NightsVol. 16

p. 123The lady buys costly gold-thread cloth on credit, and the narrator generously pays a profit for her.read · scan
p. 134–135His father left debts; the son pays the creditors by trading and rebuilds the capital.read · scan
p. 135He incurs debt to merchants for her goods and fears bankruptcy.read · scan
p. 136Merchants press him for payment and he is nearly ruined before she repays with a surplus.read · scan
p. 148–149His father's property is fetched, and the Jew receives a large sum of money from the host.read · scan
p. 400Ala-ed-Din returns the borrowed jewels to their owners and needs no one's treasure.read · scan

Jean Froissart, The Chronicles of FroissartVol. 35

p. 14–16Great riches, cloth, jewels and ransoms are taken; the king buys the constable of France for twenty thousand nobles.read · scan
p. 18Towns try to buy off burning with a sum of florins, then refuse to pay once the host departs.read · scan
p. 20Ransom is remitted, with a reward of a hundred nobles, to a prisoner who guides the army over the ford.read · scan
p. 48–50The squire wins a heavy ransom and is made a knight by the profit.read · scan
p. 51The king says he is so great a lord he can make them all rich, appeasing them with ransom.read · scan
p. 54Captors are enriched by ransoms, gold, silver and jewels.read · scan
p. 56Ransoms set low so knights may pay comfortably and maintain their rank.read · scan
p. 58The prince buys prisoners for ready money and pays two thousand nobles to Morbeke.read · scan
p. 99–100Prisoners are ransomed rather than held, treating captives as a source of payment.read · scan
p. 100The Scots gained two hundred thousand francs in ransoms, making it their most profitable journey.read · scan

Traditional BalladsVol. 40

p. 133–135The knight lost his riches, has only ten shillings, and his lands are pledged to the abbot for four hundred pounds.read · scan
p. 142–144He refuses larger sums for a release and pays the four hundred pounds from a bag.read · scan
p. 144–146Robin's loan saved them from beggary, and the knight saves up to repay it.read · scan
p. 157–159Robin's loan to the knight is reclaimed by treating the monk's abbey as debtor.read · scan
p. 161–163The knight repays four hundred pounds, and Robin declines to be paid twice, calling it shame.read · scan

Benvenuto Cellini, The Autobiography of Benvenuto CelliniVol. 31

p. 250Fees and costs are extracted from him, and he loses money entrusted to a ruined cashier.read · scan
p. 386–387The bad bargain with Bindo teaches Cellini the faith of merchants.read · scan

Ambroise Paré, Journeys in Diverse PlacesVol. 38

p. 41–42Prisoners are valued as ransom; soldiers sell an unrecognised gentleman for thirty crowns, unaware of his worth.read · scan
p. 42–43Ransom bargaining, with security from Antwerp merchants and sums rising from fifteen to forty thousand crowns.read · scan

Miguel de Cervantes, The History of Don Quixote of the Mancha, Part IVol. 14

p. 130The innkeeper cares only about being paid what he is owed, against Quixote's chivalric claims.read · scan
p. 131The innkeeper seeks payment for the lodging, and the refusal leads to Sancho being tossed in a blanket.read · scan
p. 131Sancho escapes without paying, the innkeeper keeping his wallets as payment.read · scan
p. 347–348The innkeeper insists on payment for wine and bags, refusing chivalry's privileges as an excuse to avoid paying.read · scan
p. 349The hostess laments the costs Quixote causes and demands payment, rejecting the claim that knights-errant owe nothing.read · scan
p. 350The parson promises to pay for the damages to wine, bags and the hostess's tail to pacify the innkeepers.read · scan
p. 392–393Ransom price and labour pressure captives to write for money; status as gentleman determines ransom.read · scan
p. 399She sends ducats; her father is very rich and she is sole heir.read · scan
p. 399–400She offers great store of gold to ransom the captives.read · scan
p. 401Zoraida sends thousands of ducats from her father's treasure; ransom paid through a merchant.read · scan
p. 403Zoraida gives two thousand more ducats to fund ransom and escape.read · scan
p. 413He offers any ransom, suspecting the Christians will only free him for profit.read · scan
p. 458Money settles the quarrels: the curate pays the barber, Don Fernando pays the innkeeper's reckoning for damages.read · scan

Edward Haies, Sir Humphrey Gilbert's Voyage to NewfoundlandVol. 33

p. 296The crew demand pay to get home while the captain is impaired by charges.read · scan

William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of DenmarkVol. 46

p. 109Neither borrower nor lender be: loans lose both money and friend and dull thrift.read · scan

John Webster, The Duchess of MalfiVol. 47

p. 837He suggests tracing Antonio via moneylenders, since he is in want.read · scan

Philip Massinger, A New Way to Pay Old DebtsVol. 47

p. 859–862Wellborn's land was lost through mortgages to his uncle Overreach, and Tapwell has risen on the profit of his former patron.read · scan
p. 919Tapwell and Froth fear losing money owed and custom as Wellborn pays creditors by a new way.read · scan
p. 920–922Wellborn pays creditors who trusted him, rewarding their patience; debts cleared by a new way.read · scan
p. 931Overreach threatens to jail Wellborn for a thousand-pound loan unless he mortgages his new possessions.read · scan
p. 931–933Dispute over the land Overreach acquired from Wellborn's father and the debt he claims.read · scan

Thomas Hobbes, Of Man, Being the First Part of LeviathanVol. 34

p. 404–405Private men may remit debts but not robberies, which injure the commonwealth.read · scan

John Bunyan, The Pilgrim's ProgressVol. 15

p. 141–142Debt to the shopkeeper illustrates sin's unpaid score in God's book.read · scan

Voltaire, Letters on the EnglishVol. 34

p. 75–76Penn inherits estates and Crown debts, insecure moneys paid in land instead.read · scan

Benjamin Franklin, His AutobiographyVol. 1

p. 32–33Collins continually borrows Vernon's money from Franklin, causing him distress.read · scan
p. 33Collins leaves owing money he never repays.read · scan
p. 48–49Ralph's unpaid debt of twenty-seven pounds kept Franklin poor.read · scan
p. 60–61Meredith's father cannot pay; the merchant sues and the press faces sale at half price.read · scan
p. 61Debts, advances and buyout terms settle the partnership.read · scan
p. 113Trustees struggle with ground-rent and debts of the building.read · scan
p. 132Franklin advances his own money and gives his bond to guarantee payment to doubting owners.read · scan
p. 136–137Owners demand payment of the bond, near twenty thousand pounds, which would have ruined Franklin until Shirley ordered payment.read · scan

John Woolman, The Journal of John WoolmanVol. 1

p. 195–196He gives up merchandise, sees credit and debt ruin the poor, and advises them to buy useful, inexpensive goods.read · scan

Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of NationsVol. 10

p. 278–279Lent stock is capital to the lender; borrowers using it productively repay with profit, while borrowing to spend ruins both parties.read · scan

Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, Minna von Barnhelm, or The Soldier's FortuneVol. 26

p. 299–300Landlord evicts the Major over late payment.read · scan
p. 300–301Just argues the Major always paid and owes nothing despite delaying payment.read · scan
p. 304–305Major has no ready money after the War Office denied his claims; holds Werner's money in trust.read · scan
p. 305–306Debt, money and property in trust for the orphan.read · scan
p. 307–308The servant's account of debts and advances; Tellheim cancels what Just owes rather than remain in his debt.read · scan
p. 309–310Tellheim, nearly penniless, has his last ring pawned to pay the innkeeper's bill.read · scan
p. 311–313Werner offers his money freely to the Major; Just explains they live on credit and pledges when refused.read · scan
p. 318–319The landlord shows a ring pledged by Tellheim and claims to have advanced eighty pistoles on it.read · scan
p. 319–320Pledged ring, debts and creditors; Minna offers gold and notes to pay them all.read · scan
p. 331–332The landlord haggles over the pledged ring and a debt of pistoles, adding it to Minna's bill.read · scan
p. 333–334Werner reveals the Major has plenty of money owed to him while the landlord ejected him, thinking him penniless.read · scan
p. 334–335Werner wants to lend money to a widow and to return his deposited louis d'ors; the Major pawns property rather than accept money.read · scan
p. 336–337Werner tries to repay debts and lend money to the impoverished Major, who refuses; money, debt and appearing richer than one is.read · scan
p. 337–338Debate over borrowing: Tellheim refuses to be a debtor without means of repaying; Werner offers his purse.read · scan
p. 338–339Money as means of advancement; Werner insists on lending Tellheim money, claiming to do it for interest.read · scan
p. 354Lost equipage, deposits and advanced money; Tellheim advanced his own cash for war contributions.read · scan
p. 359–360Tellheim borrows money from Werner, who readily gives his gold and would sell his farm at a discount to help.read · scan
p. 365–366The ring is redeemed by Minna and the Treasury reimburses the sum advanced.read · scan
p. 374Tellheim offers to be Werner's banker, calling generous friends spendthrifts needing guardians.read · scan

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, EgmontVol. 19

p. 279–280Steward proposes suing a debtor and withholding pensions; Egmont refuses to hurt the poor pensioners.read · scan

Richard Brinsley Sheridan, The School for ScandalVol. 18

p. 149–150Servant Trip seeks loans by annuity, mortgage and post-obit on his master's clothes, satirizing debt and luxury.read · scan

Robert Burns, Poems and SongsVol. 6

p. 333–334Creditors rejoice over principal and interest; debt as motive.read · scan

William Wordsworth, PoemsVol. 41

p. 617–620Surety for a kinsman's son forces a heavy forfeiture; Michael must sell land or send Luke to a prosperous kinsman in trade.read · scan
p. 620Half of the inheritance was encumbered until age forty; the land is now threatened by loss through a debt.read · scan

Treaty with Great Britain (1783)Vol. 43

p. 175–177Fishing rights on the Newfoundland banks and coasts are secured, and creditors guaranteed recovery of bona fide debts in sterling.read · scan

Alessandro Manzoni, I Promessi Sposi (The Betrothed)Vol. 21

p. 93–95Tonio's debt of twenty-five livres is bought off by Renzo to secure his service; the pawned necklace and polenta show poverty.read · scan
p. 117–118Tonio redeems a pledged necklace with new coins, insisting on a written receipt for the debt to the curate.read · scan
p. 242–243The landlord searches the drunken guest's pockets and settles the account before he can be seized.read · scan
p. 243–244The landlord secures payment of the reckoning from the sleeping guest.read · scan

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, Household TalesVol. 17

p. 187–188The old man's property dwindled to poverty and debtor's prison until Bearskin's gold rescued him.read · scan
p. 192Bargain over selling three cows for two hundred thalers; the wife accepts a pledge instead of payment.read · scan

Percy Bysshe Shelley, The CenciVol. 18

p. 313–314Cenci borrowed his son's wife's dowry, denied the loan, and left him in poverty, ragged children and lost office.read · scan

Richard Henry Dana, Jr., Two Years Before the MastVol. 23

p. 232–233A Yankee trader grows fat on mortgages and forestalled cattle, grinding the impoverished Bandinis and taking their jewels.read · scan
p. 261S buys a place home by paying Harris thirty dollars and clothes.read · scan

Richard Henry Dana, Jr., Twenty-Four Years AfterVol. 23

p. 398Disputes over pepper weights and money owed by the trade lead to the seizure.read · scan

Walter Bagehot, John MiltonVol. 28

p. 180Milton's father, a scrivener, lent money to Powell, and the debt was never wholly repaid.read · scan
p. 180–182Pecuniary reasons, the father's debt to Milton's family, may have driven the marriage.read · scan

Convention Between the United States and the Republic of PanamaVol. 43

p. 458–459Rights granted free of prior debts, liens and concessions; claimants for indemnity must resort to Panama, not the United States.read · scan

9f.The price of gold and silver and the mines

Stories from the Thousand and One NightsVol. 16

p. 364Ala-ed-Din learns the market and discovers his 'glass' fruits are jewels worth more than kings possess.read · scan

Sir Thomas More, UtopiaVol. 36

p. 189–191Utopians hoard gold and silver only as a war treasure, and hold that nature gave them no real use compared with iron.read · scan
p. 196Gems are valued by changing fashion and warranted as genuine, though their worth is only opinion.read · scan

William Harrison, A Description of Elizabethan EnglandVol. 35

p. 322English pewter prized abroad; tin fell into contempt when silver became common.read · scan
p. 323–324Englishmen treat their own nation harshly once foreigners are shut out; foreigners govern mines that yield small profit.read · scan

Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of NationsVol. 10

p. 172Metal prices are set by the most fertile mine worldwide, so most mines pay little rent; labour and profit form most of price.read · scan
p. 173Taxes on Peruvian silver and Cornish tin encroach on mine rent; rent forms a larger share of tin's price than silver's.read · scan
p. 173–174Silver mining is a ruinous lottery, yet sovereigns encourage new mines for revenue, sacrificing private property rights to public revenue.read · scan
p. 174–175Smith explains taxes, rent and lowest price of gold and silver, price fixed by stock, food and profits needed to bring metals to market.read · scan
p. 175Highest price of precious metals set by scarcity; utility, beauty and scarcity ground their value; the rich enjoy riches chiefly in parade.read · scan
p. 176–177Value of precious stones and metals derives from scarcity; abundant mines would add little to the world's real wealth, only cheapen frivolous ornaments.read · scan
p. 177Food is the principal riches; abundance of food gives value to gold and gems, as Cuban natives' indifference to gold shows.read · scan
p. 178–179Improvement raises demand for non-food produce and minerals; silver's real price may fall if new fertile mines increase supply.read · scan
p. 200–201The quantity and real price of precious metals in a country depend on its purchasing power and industry and on the fertility of the mines supplying the world.read · scan
p. 201Discovery of richer or barren mines changes only nominal value; real wealth, measured in labour commanded, stays the same.read · scan
p. 201–203Improvement diminishes the real price of manufactures; plate's cheapness or dearness is a trifling matter for the world.read · scan
p. 375–376Falling corn prices are attributed to rising real value of silver, not the bounty, which necessarily keeps home prices higher.read · scan
p. 380Silver's degradation peculiar to one country from its institutions makes everybody poorer and lets foreigners undersell its industry, as with Spain and Portugal.read · scan
p. 402Mining projects absorb capital and profit; the value of the metals arises from scarcity and the labour needed to get them.read · scan

Charles Darwin, The Voyage of the BeagleVol. 29

p. 264–265Poor pay must support clothing and families; English buyers gained rich veins cheaply from Chilean ignorance.read · scan
p. 321Chanuncillo yielded silver worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.read · scan
p. 341Gold washers uncertain of gains are unthrifty and poor; capital deficient so farmers sell green corn standing.read · scan
p. 344English mining associations lost fortunes through folly on rich mines that a practical man of business would have made profitable.read · scan
p. 348–349Silver mines make Chilian fortunes; owners lose ore to theft.read · scan
p. 354Land value depends on irrigation; the silver-mines revived decaying Copiapo.read · scan
p. 368Nitrate mine economics: price at the ship's side, with transport the chief expense.read · scan

Richard Henry Dana, Jr., Two Years Before the MastVol. 23

p. 298Ice that would make a fortune in Boston is worthless here, a wry comparison.read · scan

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