[Footnote 1: Ecclesiasticus vii. 5, 6.]
[Footnote 2: Eccles. vi. 7, and following verses.]
[Footnote 3: Eccles. vi. 15-18.]
[Footnote 4: Eccles. ix. 10.]
[Footnote 5: Eccles. ix, 20-22.]
[Footnote 6: Eccles. xxvii. 16, &c.]
[Footnote 7: Cicero 'de Amicitiâ', and in the 'De Officiis' he says
(Bk. II.),
'difficile dicta est, quantopere conciliet animos hominum comitas,
affabilitasque sermonia.']
* * * * *
No. 69. Saturday, May 19, 1711. Addison.
'Hic segetes, illic veniunt felicius uvæ:
Arborei foetus alibi, atque injussa virescunt
Gramina. Nonne vides, croceos ut Tmolus odores,
India mittit ebur, molles sua thura Sabæi?
At Chalybes nudi ferrum, virosaque Pontus
Castorea, Eliadum palmas Epirus equarum?
Continuo has leges æternaque foedera certis
Imposuit Natura locis ...'
Virg.
There is no Place in the Town which I so much love to frequent as the
_Royal-Exchange_. It gives me a secret Satisfaction, and in some
measure, gratifies my Vanity, as I am an _Englishman_, to see so rich an
Assembly of Countrymen and Foreigners consulting together upon the
private Business of Mankind, and making this Metropolis a kind of
_Emporium_ for the whole Earth. I must confess I look upon High-Change
to be a great Council, in which all considerable Nations have their
Representatives. Factors in the Trading World are what Ambassadors are
in the Politick World; they negotiate Affairs, conclude Treaties, and
maintain a good Correspondence between those wealthy Societies of Men
that are divided from one another by Seas and Oceans, or live on the
different Extremities of a Continent. I have often been pleased to hear
Disputes adjusted between an Inhabitant of _Japan_ and an Alderman of
_London_, or to see a Subject of the _Great Mogul_ entering into a
League with one of the _Czar of Muscovy_. I am infinitely delighted in
mixing with these several Ministers of Commerce, as they are
distinguished by their different Walks and different Languages:
Sometimes I am justled among a Body of _Armenians_; Sometimes I am lost
in a Crowd of _Jews_; and sometimes make one in a Groupe of _Dutchmen_.
I am a _Dane_, _Swede_, or _Frenchman_ at different times; or rather
fancy my self like the old Philosopher, who upon being asked what
Countryman he was, replied, That he was a Citizen of the World.
Though I very frequently visit this busie Multitude of People, I am
known to no Body there but my Friend, Sir ANDREW, who often smiles upon
me as he sees me bustling in the Crowd, but at the same time connives at
my Presence without taking any further Notice of me. There is indeed a
Merchant of _Egypt_, who just knows me by sight, having formerly
remitted me some Mony to _Grand Cairo_; [1] but as I am not versed in
the Modern _Coptick_, our Conferences go no further than a Bow and a
Grimace.
This grand Scene of Business gives me an infinite Variety of solid and
substantial Entertainments. As I am a great Lover of Mankind, my Heart
naturally overflows with Pleasure at the sight of a prosperous and happy
Multitude, insomuch that at many publick Solemnities I cannot forbear
expressing my Joy with Tears that have stolen down my Cheeks. For this
Reason I am wonderfully delighted to see such a Body of Men thriving in
their own private Fortunes, and at the same time promoting the Publick
Stock; or in other Words, raising Estates for their own Families, by
bringing into their Country whatever is wanting, and carrying out of it
whatever is superfluous.
Nature seems to have taken a particular Care to disseminate her
Blessings among the different Regions of the World, with an Eye to this
mutual Intercourse and Traffick among Mankind, that the Natives of the
several Parts of the Globe might have a kind of Dependance upon one
another, and be united together by their common Interest. Almost every
_Degree_ produces something peculiar to it. The Food often grows in one
Country, and the Sauce in another. The Fruits of _Portugal_ are
corrected by the Products of _Barbadoes:_ The Infusion of a _China_
Plant sweetned with the Pith of an _Indian_ Cane. The _Philippick_
Islands give a Flavour to our _European_ Bowls. The single Dress of a
Woman of Quality is often the Product of a hundred Climates. The Muff
and the Fan come together from the different Ends of the Earth. The
Scarf is sent from the Torrid Zone, and the Tippet from beneath the
Pole. The Brocade Petticoat rises out of the Mines of _Peru_, and the
Diamond Necklace out of the Bowels of _Indostan_.
If we consider our own Country in its natural Prospect, without any of
the Benefits and Advantages of Commerce, what a barren uncomfortable
Spot of Earth falls to our Share! Natural Historians tell us, that no
Fruit grows Originally among us, besides Hips and Haws, Acorns and
Pig-Nutts, with other Delicates of the like Nature; That our Climate of
itself, and without the Assistances of Art, can make no further Advances
towards a Plumb than to a Sloe, and carries an Apple to no greater a
Perfection than a Crab: That [our [2]] Melons, our Peaches, our Figs,
our Apricots, and Cherries, are Strangers among us, imported in
different Ages, and naturalized in our _English_ Gardens; and that they
would all degenerate and fall away into the Trash of our own Country, if
they were wholly neglected by the Planter, and left to the Mercy of our
Sun and Soil. Nor has Traffick more enriched our Vegetable World, than
it has improved the whole Face of Nature among us. Our Ships are laden
with the Harvest of every Climate: Our Tables are stored with Spices,
and Oils, and Wines: Our Rooms are filled with Pyramids of _China_, and
adorned with the Workmanship of _Japan_: Our Morning's Draught comes to
us from the remotest Corners of the Earth: We repair our Bodies by the
Drugs of _America_, and repose ourselves under _Indian_ Canopies. My
Friend Sir ANDREW calls the Vineyards of _France_ our Gardens; the
Spice-Islands our Hot-beds; the _Persians_ our Silk-Weavers, and the
_Chinese_ our Potters. Nature indeed furnishes us with the bare
Necessaries of Life, but Traffick gives us greater Variety of what is
Useful, and at the same time supplies us with every thing that is
Convenient and Ornamental. Nor is it the least Part of this our
Happiness, that whilst we enjoy the remotest Products of the North and
South, we are free from those Extremities of Weather [which [3]] give
them Birth; That our Eyes are refreshed with the green Fields of
_Britain_, at the same time that our Palates are feasted with Fruits
that rise between the Tropicks.
For these Reasons there are no more useful Members in a Commonwealth
than Merchants. They knit Mankind together in a mutual Intercourse of
good Offices, distribute the Gifts of Nature, find Work for the Poor,
add Wealth to the Rich, and Magnificence to the Great. Our _English_
Merchant converts the Tin of his own Country into Gold, and exchanges
his Wool for Rubies. The _Mahometans_ are clothed in our _British_
Manufacture, and the Inhabitants of the frozen Zone warmed with the
Fleeces of our Sheep.
When I have been upon the _'Change_, I have often fancied one of our old
Kings standing in Person, where he is represented in Effigy, and looking
down upon the wealthy Concourse of People with which that Place is every
Day filled. In this Case, how would he be surprized to hear all the
Languages of _Europe_ spoken in this little Spot of his former
Dominions, and to see so many private Men, who in his Time would have
been the Vassals of some powerful Baron, negotiating like Princes for
greater Sums of Mony than were formerly to be met with in the Royal
Treasury! Trade, without enlarging the _British_ Territories, has given
us a kind of additional Empire: It has multiplied the Number of the
Rich, made our Landed Estates infinitely more Valuable than they were
formerly, and added to them an Accession of other Estates as Valuable as
the Lands themselves.