Essays on Political Economy | Page 7

the precious metals, there were capitalists in
the world; and I venture to say that at that time, as now, everybody was
a capitalist, to a certain extent.
What is capital, then? It is composed of three things:--
1st. Of the materials upon which men operate, when these materials
have already a value communicated by some human effort, which has
bestowed upon them the principle of remuneration--wool, flax, leather,
silk, wood, &c.
2nd. Instruments which are used for working--tools, machines, ships,
carriages, &c.
3rd. Provisions which are consumed during labour--victuals, stuffs,

houses, &c.
Without these things the labour of man would be unproductive and
almost void; yet these very things have required much work, especially
at first. This is the reason that so much value has been attached to the
possession of them, and also that it is perfectly lawful to exchange and
to sell them, to make a profit of them if used, to gain remuneration
from them if lent.
Now for my anecdotes.

The Sack of Corn.
Mathurin, in other respects as poor as Job, and obliged to earn his bread
by day-labour, became nevertheless, by some inheritance, the owner of
a fine piece of uncultivated land. He was exceedingly anxious to
cultivate it. "Alas!" said he, "to make ditches, to raise fences, to break
the soil, to clear away the brambles and stones, to plough it, to sow it,
might bring me a living in a year or two; but certainly not to-day, or
to-morrow. It is impossible to set about farming it, without previously
saving some provisions for my subsistence until the harvest; and I
know, by experience, that preparatory labour is indispensable, in order
to render present labour productive." The good Mathurin was not
content with making these reflections. He resolved to work by the day,
and to save something from his wages to buy a spade and a sack of corn;
without which things, he must give up his fine agricultural projects. He
acted so well, was so active and steady, that he soon saw himself in
possession of the wished-for sack of corn. "I shall take it to the mill,"
said he, "and then I shall have enough to live upon till my field is
covered with a rich harvest." Just as he was starting, Jerome came to
borrow his treasure of him. "If you will lend me this sack of corn," said
Jerome, "you will do me a great service; for I have some very lucrative
work in view, which I cannot possibly undertake, for want of
provisions to live upon until it is finished." "I was in the same case,"
answered Mathurin, "and if I have now secured bread for several
months, it is at the expense of my arms and my stomach. Upon what
principle of justice can it be devoted to the realisation of your
enterprise instead of _mine?_"
You may well believe that the bargain was a long one. However, it was
finished at length, and on these conditions:--

First--Jerome promised to give back, at the end of the year, a sack of
corn of the same quality, and of the same weight, without missing a
single grain. "This first clause is perfectly just," said he, "for without it
Mathurin would give, and not lend."
Secondly--He engaged to deliver five litres on every hectolitre. "This
clause is no less just than the other," thought he; "for without it
Mathurin would do me a service without compensation; he would
inflict upon himself a privation--he would renounce his cherished
enterprise--he would enable me to accomplish mine--he would cause
me to enjoy for a year the fruits of his savings, and all this gratuitously.
Since he delays the cultivation of his land, since he enables me to
realise a lucrative labour, it is quite natural that I should let him partake,
in a certain proportion, of the profits which I shall gain by the sacrifice
he makes of his own."
On his side, Mathurin, who was something of a scholar, made this
calculation:--"Since, by virtue of the first clause, the sack of corn will
return to me at the end of a year," he said to himself, "I shall be able to
lend it again; it will return to me at the end of the second year; I may
lend it again, and so on, to all eternity. However, I cannot deny that it
will have been eaten long ago. It is singular that I should be perpetually
the owner of a sack of corn, although the one I have lent has been
consumed for ever. But this is explained thus:--It will be consumed in
the service of Jerome. It will put it into the power of Jerome to produce
a superior value; and, consequently, Jerome will be able to restore me