Chrysal (Volume 1-2); Or the Adventures of a Guinea (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: to some other; and so preserve the equipoise in the whole; and this obviates the only shadow of an argument, that can be brought in defence of this too common practice. "As for the former, of avoiding private wrong, that is more difficult, and less defensible, if possible, than even this. For where all the powers of the mind are turned to make advantage, it is very hard to refrain from taking it, where we ought not, and bringing the great business of life into common practice, in its minutest concerns. "The man, whose soul is on stretch to take advantage, in a bargain for thousands, on the exchange, will be apt perhaps in sensibly to overlook an error that is not to his disadvantage, in a tradesman's bill, or to take no notice of a guinea given instead of a shilling in change at the tavern, though either is as great dishonesty, as if he took them in a manner punishable with death by the laws; not to mention the innumerable little instances of temptation to this kind of wrong, which occur in every moment's dealing. That we may avoid temptation, is one of the petitions of the divine prayer, and never more necessary to be offered up than in this profession, whose constant practice opens innumerable instances of it upon ua. " in a -word, my son, there are so many and so strong arguments of this nature, to be given against all trade, that the general advantage of the commonwealth alone can, in any way,, support it against them. This therefore should be written in the deepest characters, on the heart of every merchant, that he should never let private interest tempt him to engage in any trade or scheme that can interfere with the public interest, or is forbidden by the laws of his country.?I shall say no more; nor burthen your mind with farther advice. Observe this, and be happ...