Liber II, Pars III — Quot sunt species pecuniativae, et quae illarum est laudabilis, et quae vituperabilis. Cap. X.

Liber II, Pars III — Quot sunt species pecuniativae, et quae illarum est laudabilis, et quae vituperabilis. Cap. X.

It's fitting to discuss money after talking about possessions, because having possessions and being abundant in wine and grain means being rich in natural wealth; but being rich in coins and currency, as is clear from the Philosopher, is about artificial wealth. I. Pol. It is to be rich in artificial wealth. If art presupposes nature, and where the operation of nature ends, the operation of art begins, it is appropriate to discuss money after the treatise on possessions, from which natural wealth arises, as it connects to the discussion of coins, which are artificial wealth. Therefore, if we need to determine about coins after discussing possessions, and after we have said what the necessity was to invent money and currency, it remains to say how many kinds of wealth there are. The Philosopher distinguishes these. In Pol. There are four types of wealth. These are namely: natural wealth, campsorian wealth, obolostatic wealth, and usury; for these four ways are how wealth is commonly acquired. The first type of wealth is said to be almost natural, which comes from the exchange of natural goods for money. If someone, therefore, is abundant in wine and grain, which are produced naturally, and from them acquires money, such wealth would be considered almost natural because it begins with natural things. The second type of wealth is called campsorian. This is because, according to the Philosopher, it was originally discovered by chance and simply, but later became artificial through experience. For any coin, when speaking of it in itself, is worth more in its own region. This is because any coin, when considered in itself, has greater value in its own region. It happens that some people have certain coins that are highly valued in their region, because they are not native to that area. Therefore, when they go to those regions where those coins are native, it happens that they receive more for those coins than they would in their own regions; for this reason, they use the currency exchange. But from this situation, the art of currency exchange originated, so that later people would artificially consider which coins are spent in which regions, and later the currency exchange became a means of making money. This kind of currency exchange should not be called natural; because it neither begins from natural things nor ends with natural things. But in this (according to Aristotle in the first book of Politics), the coin is both an element and a limit, that is, a beginning and an end. For this art begins with the coin given and ends with the coin received. Therefore, the coin must be called the end and the beginning. The third type of currency is called obolostatic, or excessive in weight: which was likely discovered in this way. For just as a mass of metal is divided into coins and stamped with a public mark, so sometimes, when a certain necessity arises, for the purpose of making vessels or for some other reason, coins are resolved back into mass. Therefore, it happens that from the same number of coins, a mass of greater weight is formed; from this circumstance, the art took its origin, so that all coins would be weighed, and those that were of greater weight would be resolved back into mass, so that profit could be made from this. This art of obolostatics, or excessive weight, took its origin from the excess of weight found in coins. The fourth type of monetary practice is called tachos, which in Latin means the same as partus. This art seems to produce and generate coins, which we commonly call usury; for nothing grows in itself unless through parturition or generation. For example, if someone has ten sheep, and later at the beginning of the year has twenty, this is because those sheep have given birth and produced. If someone, therefore, wants to have twelve coins from ten coins after some time, which constitutes usurious profit, as is clearly evident, they want those coins to produce and generate. Therefore, usury is rightly called the birthing of coins. According to the Philosopher in the Politics, there are four types of these. The first type, which is economic and somewhat natural, is commendable. However, the other three are rightly condemned according to him. For every art that begins with money and ends with money seems to place its goal in money. Therefore, usury, obolostatics, and campsoria, since they exist almost entirely in money, because they begin with money and end with money, are to be condemned according to the Philosopher; for it seems too much to be greedy for money, whose actions begin with money and end with money. Whatever may be said about campsoria and obolostatics, usury is to be utterly detested in all cases, as will be shown in the next chapter. No one should practice usury; however, campsoria and obolostatics, if permitted to merchants or others, are not fitting for kings and princes, who ought to act as if they were semi-divine. For the first type of economic activity, which is economic and somewhat natural, is fitting. It's fitting for them to abound in possessions and revenues, from whose fruits they can provide for the defense of the kingdom and other necessities.