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Letter X
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SUR LE COMMERCE.
Depuis le malheur de Carthage, aucun peuple ne fut puissant à la fois par le commerce et par où Venise donna cet exemple. Les Portugais, pour avoir passé le cap de Bonne-Espérance, ont quelque temps été de grands seigneurs sur les côtes de l’Inde, et jamais redoutables en Europe. Les Provinces-Unies n’ont été guerrières que malgré elles; et ce n’est pas comme unies entre elles, mais comme unies avec l’Angleterre, qu’elles ont prêté la main pour tenir la balance de l’Europe au commencement du XVIIIe siècle.
Carthage, Venise et Amsterdam, ont été puissantes; mais elles ont fait comme ceux qui, parmi nous, ayant amassé de l’argent par le négoce, achètent des terres seigneuriales. Ni Carthage, ni Venise, ni la Hollande, ni aucun peuple, n’a commencé par être guerrier, et même conquérant, pour finir par être marchand. Les Anglais sont les seuls; ils se sont battus longtemps avant de savoir compter. Ils ne savaient pas, quand ils gagnaient les batailles d’Azincourt, de Crécy, et de Poitiers, qu’ils pouvaient vendre beaucoup de blé et fabriquer de beaux draps qui leur vaudraient bien davantage. Ces seules connaissances ont augmenté, enrichi, fortifié la nation. Londres était pauvre et agreste lorsque Édouard III conquérait la moitié de la France. C’est uniquement parce que les Anglais sont devenus négociants que Londres l’emporte sur Paris par l’étendue de la ville et le nombre des citoyens; qu’ils peuvent mettre en mer deux cents vaisseaux de guerre, et soudoyer des rois alliés. Les peuples d’Écosse sont nés guerriers et spirituels: d’où vient que leur pays est devenu, sous le nom d’union, une province d’Angleterre? C’est que l’Écosse n’a que du charbon, et que l’Angleterre a de l’étain fin, de belles laines, d’excellents blés, des manufactures, et des compagnies de commerce.
Quand Louis XIV faisait trembler l’Italie, et que ses armées, déjà maîtresses de la Savoie et du Piémont, étaient prêtes de prendre Turin, il fallut que le prince Eugène marchât du fond de l’Allemagne au secours du duc de Savoie; il n’avait point
d’argent, sans quoi on ne prend ni ne défend les villes. Il eut recours à des marchands anglais: en une demi-heure de temps on lui prêta cinq millions; avec cela il délivra Turin, battit les Français, et écrivit à ceux qui avaient prêté cette somme ce petit billet: « Messieurs, j’ai reçu votre argent, et je me flatte de l’avoir bien employé à votre satisfaction. »
Tout cela donne un juste orgueil à un marchand anglais, et fait qu’il ose se comparer, non sans quelque raison, à un citoyen romain. Aussi le cadet d’un pair du royaume ne dédaigne point le négoce. Milord Townshend, ministre d’État, a un frère qui se contente d’être marchand dans la Cité. Dans le temps que milord Orford gouvernait l’Angleterre, son cadet était facteur à Alep, d’où il ne voulut pas revenir, et où il est mort.
Cette coutume, qui pourtant commence trop à se passer, paraît monstrueuse à des Allemands entêtés de leurs quartiers; ils ne sauraient concevoir que le fils d’un pair d’Angleterre ne soit qu’un riche et puissant bourgeois, au lieu qu’en Allemagne tout est prince; on a vu jusqu’à trente altesses du même nom n’ayant pour tout bien que des armoiries et une noble fierté.
En France, est marquis qui veut; et quiconque arrive à Paris du fond d’une province avec de l’argent à dépenser, et un nom en ac ou en ille, peut dire: Un homme comme moi, un homme de ma qualité, et mépriser souverainement un négociant. Le négociant entend lui-même parler si souvent avec dédain de sa profession qu’il est assez sot pour en rougir; je ne sais pourtant lequel est le plus utile à un État, ou un seigneur bien poudré qui sait précisément à quelle heure le roi se lève, à quelle heure il se couche, et qui se donne des airs de grandeur en jouant le rôle d’esclave dans l’antichambre d’un ministre, ou un négociant qui enrichit son pays, donne de son cabinet des ordres à Surate et au Caire, et contribue au bonheur du monde.
Musean translation
Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from the French text of all twenty-four letters (Garnier edition, 1879, French Wikisource) for fidelity, the author’s force and cadence, and modern clarity.
On Commerce
Since the calamity of Carthage, no people has been powerful at once through commerce and war; Venice furnished an example of this. The Portuguese, for having passed the Cape of Good Hope, were for a time great lords on the coasts of India, but never formidable in Europe. The United Provinces became warlike only against their will; and it was not as provinces united among themselves, but as allies of England, that they lent a hand in maintaining the balance of Europe at the beginning of the eighteenth century.
Carthage, Venice, and Amsterdam were powerful; but they behaved like those among us who, having amassed money in trade, buy landed estates. Neither Carthage nor Venice nor Holland nor any other people began as warriors, even conquerors, only to end as merchants. The English alone did so; they fought for a long time before they learned to reckon. When they won the battles of Agincourt, Crécy, and Poitiers, they did not know that they could sell a great deal of wheat and manufacture fine cloth that would bring them far more. That knowledge alone has made the nation larger, richer, stronger. London was poor and rustic when Edward III was conquering half of France. It is solely because the English became traders that London surpasses Paris in the size of the city and the number of its inhabitants; that they can put two hundred warships to sea and pay the wages of allied kings. The people of Scotland were born warlike and ingenious: how is it that their country has become, under the name of union, a province of England? Because Scotland has only coal, whereas England has fine tin, splendid wool, excellent wheat, manufactures, and trading companies.
When Louis XIV was making Italy tremble, and his armies, already masters of Savoy and Piedmont, stood ready to take Turin, Prince Eugene had to march from the depths of Germany to the aid of the duke of Savoy; he had no money, without which one can neither take nor defend cities. He appealed to English merchants: in half an hour they lent him five million; with it he freed Turin, defeated the French, and wrote this little note to those who had lent the sum: “Gentlemen, I have received your money, and I flatter myself that I have put it to good use, to your satisfaction.”
All this gives an English merchant a rightful pride and makes him dare to compare himself, not without some reason, to a Roman citizen. Thus the younger son of a peer of the realm does not disdain trade. Lord Townshend, a minister of state, has a brother content to be a merchant in the City. When Lord Orford governed England, his younger brother was an agent in Aleppo, from which he refused to return, and where he died.
This custom, though it is already falling too much into disuse, seems monstrous to Germans obsessed with their pedigrees; they cannot conceive that the son of an English peer should be no more than a rich and powerful commoner, whereas in Germany everyone is a prince; as many as thirty highnesses of the same name have been seen possessing nothing but coats of arms and noble pride.
In France, anyone who wishes can be a marquis; and anyone who arrives in Paris from the depths of a province with money to spend and a name ending in ac or ille can say, “A man like me, a man of my rank,” and look down utterly upon a merchant. The merchant himself hears his profession spoken of with contempt so often that he is foolish enough to blush for it. Yet I do not know which is more useful to a state: a well-powdered lord who knows precisely when the king rises and when he goes to bed, and affects an air of greatness while playing the slave in a minister’s antechamber; or a merchant who enriches his country, issues orders from his office to Surat and Cairo, and contributes to the happiness of the world.
Plain English translation
Mouseia’s complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from the French text of all twenty-four letters (Garnier edition, 1879, French Wikisource).
On Trade
Since Carthage's downfall, no people have been powerful both through trade and through war. Venice set that example. For a time, after sailing around the Cape of Good Hope, the Portuguese were great lords on the coasts of India, but they were never feared in Europe. The United Provinces became warriors only against their will. And at the beginning of the eighteenth century, they helped keep Europe's balance of power not by acting together on their own, but by joining with England.
Carthage, Venice, and Amsterdam were powerful. But they acted like people among us who make money in trade and then buy estates with noble titles. Neither Carthage nor Venice nor Holland nor any other people began as fighters, even conquerors, only to end as merchants. The English alone did that. They fought for a long time before they learned to count. When they won the battles of Agincourt, Crécy, and Poitiers, they did not know they could sell a great deal of wheat and make fine cloth that would bring them much more. That knowledge alone has made the nation larger, richer, and stronger. London was poor and rough when Edward III conquered half of France. It is only because the English became merchants that London now exceeds Paris in the size of the city and the number of its people. That is why they can put two hundred warships to sea and pay allied kings. The Scots are born fighters and clever people. So why has their country become a province of England under the name of a union? Because Scotland has only coal, while England has fine tin, fine wool, excellent wheat, factories, and trading companies.
When Louis XIV made Italy tremble, and his armies had already taken Savoy and Piedmont and were about to take Turin, Prince Eugene had to march from deep in Germany to help the Duke of Savoy. He had no money, and without it you can neither take nor defend cities. He turned to English merchants. In half an hour they lent him five million. With that money he freed Turin and defeated the French. He then wrote this short note to the people who had lent him the sum: “Gentlemen, I have received your money, and I trust I have used it well, to your satisfaction.”
All this gives an English merchant a fair reason for pride. He even dares, with some justification, to compare himself to a Roman citizen. The younger son of a peer of the realm does not look down on trade either. Lord Townshend, a minister of state, has a brother content to be a merchant in the City. When Lord Orford governed England, his younger brother was a trading agent in Aleppo. He refused to come back and died there.
This custom, though it is already becoming far too rare, seems monstrous to Germans obsessed with their noble ancestry. They cannot understand how the son of an English peer can be no more than a rich and powerful ordinary citizen. In Germany, by contrast, everyone is a prince. As many as thirty Highnesses with the same name have been seen, owning nothing but coats of arms and noble pride.
In France, anyone who wants to be a marquis can be one. Anyone who arrives in Paris from a distant province with money to spend and a name ending in ac or ille can say, “A man like me, a man of my rank,” and look down completely on a merchant. The merchant himself hears his profession spoken of with contempt so often that he is foolish enough to be ashamed of it. Yet I do not know which is more useful to a country: a well-powdered lord who knows exactly when the king gets up and goes to bed, and who puts on airs of grandeur while playing the slave in a minister's waiting room; or a merchant who enriches his country, sends orders from his office to Surat and Cairo, and helps make the world happier.