302

CONSUMPTION OF

CHAP. XI.

there could be little occasion for money, and asthere was but little circulation, there could beno great loss by wear when compared with thequantity of it actually in existence. As thelow prices of all commodities had accompaniedor followed the diminution of the stock of goldand silver, the few articles that were purchasedby the great mass of the people had fallen tosuch an extent, that no piece of gold or even ofsilver could be so small as to pay for whatlabourers needed for their daily subsistence.When a loaf of bread sufficient for a week’s con-sumption for a man could be bought for a far-thing, silver money could not be used in thetransaction; to say nothing of the case of onewho wished to purchase food for a day.

The current money must then have beencomposed of the inferior metals, copper, tin, oriron; consequently but little loss on gold andsilver would arise in the way which constantlyoccurs on those metals at present. Gold andsilver would only be needed in the largeroperations of commerce, and chiefly in thatbranch which consisted in furnishing suchcommodities as were required'for military pur-poses.

The taste and tendency of those ages wereaverse to commerce. Every free man felt itdisgraceful to meddle with trade either foreignor domestic, or to occupy his attention with any