15G

CHAP. VI.

PRICES IN GREECE.

CHAPTER VI.

On the effect of the increased quantity of the precious metalson prices from the earliest period of history till the esta-blishment of the Roman Empire under Augustus .

If the two precious metals be in fact com-modities like all others, except in possessing thefaculty of being used as the measure of the valueof all property, they must like the others beaffected by their scarcity or abundance, thoughtheir denomination or their value with respectto each other may remain unchanged. If goldand silver are rare, they will exchange for alarger portion of food, clothing, or other neces-saries ; if the supply of them be large, they willexchange for smaller quantities of those articles.It is not then that other articles are dearer orcheaper, but that gold and silver are scarcer 01-more plentiful.

There are some difficulties in the way of mark-ing with precision these variations in the valueof the precious metals, by ascertaining the pricesof other commodities. Such commodities aresubject to variations, arising from their ownscarcity or abundance, which may be caused by