The Project Gutenberg eBook of A History of Greek Economic Thought, by Albert Augustus Trever

707. Or. xxxvi. 44: εἰ δὲ τοῦτ᾽ ἀγνοεῖς, ὅτι πίστις ἀφορμὴ τῶν πασῶν ἐστὶ μεγίστη πρὸς χρηματισμόν, πᾶν ἂν ἀγνοήσειας.

709. Cf. p. 105, n. 7, on Souchon; E. Boehm von Bawerk (Capital und Capitalzins, [1900] I, 17 f.) says: “Die Geschäftsleute und Praktiker standen sicher auf der zinsfreundlichen Seite.” He accounts for the fact that almost the only passages against interest are in the philosophers by the inference that to uphold interest was superfluous, and to oppose it was useless. Poehlmann exaggerates both the degree of credit operations, and the prejudice of Aristotle.

710. For the Greek terms, cf. p. 40.

711. Pol. 1257a15-17.

712. Ibid. 22-28; N. Eth. v. 5. 1133b26-28.

713. Pol. 1257a30 ff. These two periods of οἰκονομική and χρηματιστική correspond well to the German terms Naturalwirtschaft and Geldwirtschaft. Kautz (op. cit., p. 137, n. 4) says that this antithesis was about as dear to Aristotle as it is to moderns. For the terms, cf. infra.

714. N. Eth. v. 4. 1132b11-1133b28; cf. also under value and money, above; cf. Mag. mor. i. 33. 1193b19 ff.

715. 1132b11-20; cf. Rep. 369B-C; 370B, for a similar idea of Plato.

717. Ibid. 32-34, especially τῷ ἀντιποιεῖν ἀνάλογον συμμένει ἡ πίλις; 17 f.; Stewart, op. cit., I, 449.

718. 1133a5-10, cited on p. 83, nn. 2-7; cf. Eud. Eth. vii. 10. 1243b28-38.

720. Cf. p. 83, n. 7. The less valuable product must make up in quantity what it lacks in quality. The proportion thus becomes, γεωργός : σκυτοτόμος : : x pairs of shoes : a quantity of grain of equal value (1133a32 f.). Cf. other methods of statement, 1133b4 f., 22 Stewart, op. cit., I, 453 f.

722. 1133a11 f.; 16-18: ἑτέρων καὶ οὐκ ἴσων. Cf. Rep. 369C, 370B; Ar. Pol. 1261a22 for a similar idea. Stewart (op. cit., I, 464 f.), following Jackson, interprets, on the basis of 1132a33, the buyer’s two advantages to be, if he buys too cheaply, the part of the article still unpaid for, and the money he should have paid for it. Cf. ibid. pp. 455-67 for other interpretations.

723. 1133a15 f.: ἀνῃροῦντο γὰρ ἄν, εἰ μὴ ὁ ἐποίει τὸ ποιοῦν καὶ ὅσον καὶ οἷον, καὶ τὸ πάσχειν ἔπασχε τοῦτο και τοσοῦτον καὶ τοιοῦτον. I follow Jackson, note, pp. 97 f.; Rassow, Forsch., p. 18 (Peters’ trans., p. 154, n. 2), in accepting this difficult passage as an integral part of its context, and in interpreting it as above, though aside from the context, it would hardly bear this meaning. Stewart (op. cit., I, 455 ff.) thinks it is an interpolation or note, referring merely to the mechanical fact in the arts that material is receptive to the impression.

724. 1133a18 f.; 25-28; 1133b6-8; 19 f.; cf. Rep. 369C.

725. 1133a19-29; cf. Stewart’s excellent comments, op. cit., I, 459 ff.

726. 1133b14-16; 20-22: τοῦτο γὰρ πάντα ποιεῖ σύμμετρα; e.g., if a house is equal to five minae and a bed is worth one, five beds equal one house (23-26).

727. Handwörterbuch der Staatswwissenschaft, art. “Geld,” 2d ed., Bd. IV, 82 f.

728. Op. cit., p. 384.

729. Cf. citations above, p. 42, n. 7, and p. 44, n. 2. Cf. DuBois, op. cit., p. 46.

730. Cf. Haney, op. cit., p. 48.

731. Pol. 1259a2 f.; 33-35.

732. iv (vii). 6. 1327a25-30.

733. Rhet. i. 4. 7: περὶ τῶν εἰσαγομένων καὶ ἐξαγομένων, as among the subjects for a statesman’s consideration; cf. also 11.

734. Pp. 89 and notes.

735. Pol. 1257a28-30; vi (iv). 4. 1291a4-6; 1291b19 f.; vii (vi). 7. 1321a6, all seem to take retail and wholesale trade in the state for granted. But it is not named in the list of necessary callings in the ideal state, 1328b24 ff.; 5 ff.; cf. also 1329a40 ff. Of course the citizens are not to engage in it (1328b37 ff.).

736. N. Eth. v. 8. 1132b4 f.; 1133a27; all of chap. 8; cf. above, on just exchange.

737. Pol. iv (vii). 6. 1327a25-28.

738. vii (vi). 5. 1320a39: ἀφορμὴν ἐμπορίας. Cf. p. 96.

739. Cf. discussion above of just exchange.

740. Pol. i. chaps. 8-11. Ruskin does not seem to have used the term “chrematistik,” and he has no reference to this passage, though, as seen above, he has much to say in the same general spirit.

741. Pol. 1256a11 f.; cf. p. 40 on Plato’s terms for trade. For the word χρηματιστική, cf. Rep. 415E, contrasted to soldiers; Gorg. 477E, the art that frees from poverty; 452C; Euthyd. 304C, of the Sophists; Xen. Econ. ii. 18, where no prejudice is implied.

742. Pol. i. 8. 1256a10-12; but cf. N. Eth. i. 1. 1094a9: τέλος οἰκονομικῆς δὲ πλοῦτος; and Pol. iii. 4. 1277b24 f.: ἐπεὶ καὶ οἰκονομία ἑτέρα ἀνδρὸς καὶ γυναικός· τοῦ μὲν γὰρ κτᾶσθαι τῆς δὲ φυλάττειν ἔργον ἐστίν. An American economist would hardly make the latter distinction. Newman (op. cit., II, 166) thinks that in these two passages he states the actual condition, but cf. infra, where Aristotle admits a degree of acquisition in domestic economy.

745. Ibid. 30-37; cf. above on the definition of wealth.

746. 1258a19 ff. He would combat the common idea that the first business of economics is to provide unlimited revenue (1259a35; 1254a1 f.)

747. 1256b40-42; 1257a4 f.; 17 f.; cf. Eud. Eth. iii. 4. 1232a6-9.

748. 1257b1 f.; 9 f.

749. 1257a18 f., 28-30; 1257b19 f.; 31 ff.

750. 1257a31 ff. Poehlmann (op. cit., I, 599) cites Schaeffle, Bau und Leben des sozialen Körpers, I, 256, that this analysis of the change from natural to capitalistic economy holds “im Kern die ganze moderne Kritik des Kapitals,” but the standpoint of the two is essentially different.

751. 1258a1-14. Extreme desire demands superfluity (ὑπερβολή).

754. Ibid. 35 f. The two uses overlap (ἐπαλλάττει).

757. Ibid. 19 ff. The other function is secondary (ὑπερετική).

761. Ibid. 1 f.; cf. 1256a40 ff., where καπηλεία is opposed to αὐτόφυτον ἔχουσι τὴν ἐργασίαν.

763. Ibid. 25-27. This contrasted yet overlapping relation between the two kinds of finance is well represented by Haney, op. cit., 46. Cf. also Ashley, op. cit., p. 340, for a synopsis of the divisions of κτητική.

765. Op. cit., pp. 333 ff., more satisfactory than Jowett’s idea that the intermediateness consists either in exchange for money of the direct products of the earth, or else that wood-cutting and mining are themselves the intermediate form; or than Newman’s (op. cit., II, 202 f.) theory that it consists in the fact that in this type wealth is sought, not from fruits or animals, but from things, just as exchange seeks wealth from other men or from money, as Ashley shows. However, two questions still remain unanswered: why Aristotle has three forms in chap. 11 and only two elsewhere; and why the terms, ἀκάρπων, wood-cutting, and mining are so prominent, if their relation to the thought is only incidental.

766. Pol. iv (vii). 1328b39 ff.; 1327a29-31.

767. This was a common Greek feeling (Dem. xxv. 46).

768. But he seems to recognize it elsewhere (N. Eth. v. 8).

769. Cf. DuBois, op. cit., p. 48.

770. Cf. the entire criticism of chrematistik, and especially 1257b40-42, the contrast between ζῆν and εὐ ζῆν. On this point, cf. above, pp. 109 f. and 87 ff. Zmavc (Zeitschrift, etc., p. 52), rightly states that even Adam Smith made his economic theory a subordinate part of his practical philosophy.

771. An unfair criticism, as seen above.

772. Pol. 1266b8-14; iv (vii). 1335b22 ff.

775. Cf. iv (vii). 4. 1326a25-30, especially, τῶν γοῦν δοκουσῶν πολιτεύεσθαι καλῶς οὐδεμίαν ὁρῶμεν οὖσαν ἀνειμένην πρὸς τὸ πλῆθος. Cf. entire chapter.

776. 1130b ff.; cf. under value, money, and exchange. The terms are διανομή or ἡ τῶν κοινῶν διανομή.

778. Ibid. 21: καὶ ἡ αὐτὴ ἔσται ἱσότης, οἷς καὶ ἐν οἶς. Cf. above, pp. 55 f. and 60 f., on Plato’s idea of equality; cf. infra for further comments on Aristotle.

779. 1132b32 f.; cf. pp. 107 ff. and notes for a more detailed discussion, and for Greek expressions.

780. 1131b27-32: ἡ διανομὴ ἔσται κατὰ τὸν λόγον τὸν αὐτὸν ὅνπερ ἔχουσι πρὸς ἄλληλα τὰ εἰσενεχθέντα. Cf. Mag. mor. i. 33. 1193b36 ff. Stewart (op. cit., I, 432) says that the expression ἡ τῶν κοινῶν διανομή must mean more than distribution by some central authority, for the most important form of it is the distribution of wealth, operating under economic laws that regulate wages and profits.

782. Ibid. 22-24. For Plato, cf. pp. 55 f.

784. Ibid.; Pol. iii. 1280a7 ff.; 1282b23 ff.

785. Cf. above, pp. 113, and 93 ff. on labor.

786. Pol. ii. 4. 1262b2 f.

787. 1264a11-17; 36-38; 1264b11-13, all discussed above under Plato.

788. iv (vii). 1329b41 ff.

789. 1271a29-37; 1272a12-21.

790. N. Eth. v. chaps. 4-5, discussed above.

791. Pol. vi (iv). 1295b35 ff.

792. v (vi). 1320a33 ff.; cf. pp. 95 f.; cf. especially 35: τεχναστέον οὖν ὅπως, ἂν εὐπορία γένοιτο χρόνιος, and 1267b3 ff. on the insatiety of the masses. He believed that the state doles for mere consumption aggravated the evil—a very sane doctrine which our city charity organizations are prone to overlook.

793. Cf. Poehlmann, op. cit., II, 339 f., on this passage.

794. Cf. above, n. 4 above, and pp. 95 f.

795. 1320a36: ἐπεὶ δὲ συμφέρει τοῦτο καὶ τοῖς εὐπόροις, and 34, τοῦτο γὰρ αἴτιον τοῦ μοχθηρὰν εἶναι τὴν δημοκρατίαν; viz., undue poverty of the masses.

796. Op. cit., p. 7; cf. Poehlmann, op. cit., I, 600, on this point.

797. Pol. ii. 7. 1266b14-25, as advocated by Phaleas; cf. above. Cf. infra for Aristotle’s advocacy of equality in landed property.

800. 1267b1-4; vii (vi). 1320a31; cf. p. 117 on this idea. He does not consider the rise in the cost of living.

802. Cf. Bonar, op. cit., p. 45.

803. Aristotle, like Plato, strongly emphasizes education as a great cure for the ills of the state (1310a15 ff.). It should be common to all citizens, and be publicly supervised (1336a22 ff.).

805. 1266b38-1267a2.

806. Ecclesiazusae. Poehlmann (op. cit., I, 403) argues that such ideas were widespread in Greece.

807. Pol. iii. 9. 1280a14-21: σχεδὸν δ᾽ οἱ πλεῖστοι φαῦλοι κριταὶ περὶ τῶν οἰκείων. Cf. 7-31, his discriminating remarks on equality in general.

808. vii (vi). 5; iii. 10; cf. Haney op. cit., p. 45.

809. Cf. above on fair exchange; also p. 116 and notes.

810. vi (iv). 4. 1292a4-38.

811. vii (vi). 3. 1318b1-5, especially οἱ δὲ κρατοῦντες οὐδὲν φροντίζουσιν; cf. iii. 9. 1280a, especially 22-30, on the false idea of equality on both sides.

812. i. 1: ζῷον πολιτικόν; 1280a31 ff.; 1252b30 f.; cf. all of chap. 9 to 1281a10.

813. 1280b10-12, against Lycophron; cf., above, p. 16; καὶ ὁ νόμος συνθήκη καὶ ... ἐγγυητὴς ἀλλήλοις τῶν δικαίων, ἀλλ᾽ οὐχ οἵος ποιεῖν ἀγαθοὺς καὶ δικαίους τοὺς πολίτας.

814. Op. cit., II, 304.

815. Pol. v (viii). 1. 1337a27-30, a remarkable passage, suggestive of Plato and of St. Paul’s analogy of the body. Aristotle paints vividly the antithesis between political and economic equality, whereby there grows up a state within a state (1295b13 ff.), for he believes with the author of Eud. Eth. vii. 10. 1242a, that man is not only a πολιτικόν, but also an οἰκονομικόν ζῷον. Cl. Poehlmann, op. cit., I, 276 ff.

816. 1266b8-14; 1265a38-42; unfair to Plato, as seen above.

817. 1266b24-28; 1265a28-38.

820. Cf. his criticism of the Spartan system, 1270a40 ff.

821. On its wisdom, cf. infra; on its feasibility, cf. 1263b29: πάμπαν ἀδύνατος.

822. 1261a16-1261b15.

823. 1261b30-32; 24-28.

827. 1262a40-1262b3.

828. 1263b30 ff., and preceding note.

831. 26-30, citing the proverb κοινὰ τὰ φίλων. Cf. 1329b14 ff. N. Eth. viii; 8 f. on φιλία; Pol. 1252b29; 1280a25; cf. Xen. Laced. Pol. vi. 3-4.

832. Cf. preceding note, and 1261b32 ff.

833. 1261a30 f. N. Eth. v. 5.

835. 37-42. But Plato used both methods.

836. 1263b27-29; e.g., besides the personal satisfaction (1263a40 f.), the opportunity for liberality (1263b11-13).

837. iv (vii). 10. 1330a5 ff. He would make part of the land public. In the Laws, the expense is met by making the product public.

839. Ibid. 28 f.; 1272a12-21.

840. Cf. above on socialism in the Laws.

841. Pol. ii. 1270a21 f.; viii (v). 1309a23-25, though rather a measure for an oligarchy; vii (vi). 1319a8-13, for a democracy, also against mortgage on land; cf. Guiraud, La Prop. fonc., p. 591. Like Plato, he opposes free disposal of dowries (1270a23-25).

842. Cf. p. 122, n. 1.

845. iv (vii). 1329a18-21.

846. 1330a25-31; 1328b40; 1329a2; cf. Souchon, op. cit., pp. 169 f., on his system as compared with that of the Laws.