CHAP. XXI.

THE PRECIOUS METALS.

127

commodities, which are never measured by them-selves. But if silver or gold be measured bycorn, meat, cloth, or other articles, those whowant such articles can procure a larger quantityof them for the same weight of those metals. Theholder of silver has thus a larger surplus of hispeculiar goods, which may be, and a part probablywill be, destined to be converted into goods ofsilver, as well as applied to other luxurious in-dulgences.

As the conversion of money into plate dependsmuch on the low prices of the precious metals,so it is forwarded by peace and prosperity, andgenerally retrogrades in seasons of war or tur-bulence. The beginning of the century was aseason of more than usual tranquillity. In Eng-land, till the civil wars under Charles the firstbegan, there was external and internal peace. InFrance , till the year 1620, there was no foreignwar; and the internal war concerning religion,though furious whilst it continued, lasted, withpeaceful intervals between, not more than eightyears. Spain , though not reconciled to the lossof the Netherlands , ceased to carry on war there,and was only disturbed for a few years by thePortuguese having separated themselves from thatkingdom. The prosperity of Holland was rapidlyapproaching to its greatest height. Germany wassubject to that tremendous scourge the thirtyyears’ war on account of religion, in which the