Introduction, by Henry Higgs
Introduction, by Henry Higgs
The
Essai sur la Nature du Commerce en Général, written between 1730 and 1734, is now printed for the first time in England. It follows the French text of 1755 with all faults of grammar, spelling, accent and punctuation. The imperfections, unimportant in themselves, go far to refute the assertion of some authorities that the
Essai is a
traduction supposée, or, in other words, was composed in French as it stands.
The pagination of the original is indicated by italic figures within square brackets in the text to facilitate reference to quotations by other writers.
The English version, which is printed opposite the French pages, has been collated with the numerous parallel passages in Postlethwayt’s
Dictionary (see Appendix A); and the phrasing of the
Dictionary has been adopted in many instances for the reasons stated on p. 384. The complete English translation of the
Essai now offered is the first of its kind, and may be considered a bicentenary tribute to the original.
The
article by Jevons, written in the first rapture of discovery, deserves in form and substance to be associated with this edition.
The
concluding article corrects some of Jevons’s facts, resolves some of his doubts, and adds a further contribution to our knowledge of Cantillon’s life and work.
My best thanks are due to Mr and Mrs Bowes Daly for their permission to reproduce the portraits of Cantillon’s wife and daughter.
July 1931