works published by MM. Glaumin et Cie., Paris, 1864, says in his Atant-Propos:

"Les vues de Copernic sur la monnoie se rapprochent beaucoup de celles de Nicole Oresme; ce sont les mêmes aperçus, sains et vigoureux c'est la même entente de l'importance attachée à ce que l'instrument des échanges soit maintenu droit de titre et de poids, c'est le même jugement porté sur la nature du pouvoir du prince, en ce qui concerne le règlement de la valeur monétaire. Le rapprochement des indications fournies par ces deux grands esprits donne lieu à une étude aussi féconde qu'attrayante."

Séquin's Histoire des Évéques-Comtes de Lisieux, published in 1832, says of Nicole Oresme, " 33 évêque et 19° comte.":

"Ce savant évêque, après avoir fait ses études dans son pays, alla à Paris; il fut grand maître du collége de Navarre; il

était le plus habile dans les sciences et les beaux-arts, qui fut dans l'université de Paris."

Dubois, Huet, Mézeray, and others bear similar testimony to the worth of

Oresme and Charles V.

153

this grand liberal bishop of the fourteenth century, who first translated into French, the Ethics, Politics, and Economics of Aristotle, was commissioned by Charles V. to translate the Bible into French, wrote against the Ultramontanes, was unsuccessfully accused of heresy,' and proved himself a master of theology, mathematics, and political economy.2

Our people are so inventive, and have such confidence in their intuitive ability to determine any question, that a thorough study of even the bibliology of such a science as that of money is generally not considered necessary for an American lawmaker or economic writer. Even in England, writers on the money question commonly ignore the older continental writers, and continually speak of the law that poorer money will drive out better

1 On account of the sermon which he preached before Pope Urbain V. and the College of Cardinals, "Sur les déréglements des princes de l'Eglise."

2 Many other illustrious churchmen have highly appreciated the moral importance of the currency question. In the XIII Century St. Thomas Aquinas was the foremost writer on Political Economy and Currency.

money is being a great discovery of Sir Thomas Gresham, the mouncillor of Queen Elizabeth, although the muncillor of the French king had plainly written cể là 194 years before and the French Goremment had considered and acted upon this very view:

Henry Dunning Macleod, a most titra and intolerant gaid mccometallist, a voluminous writer on political ecocomics, etc., and wiose ability is vouched for by many great English law lords, and to whom Mn. Justice Stephen wrote, “I should doubt whether any one living had studied questions of political economy and the branches of law which relate to it

1 Regarding the effects of debased money, Oresme writes: "et encores, qui est pire chose, les changeurs et banquiers qui spavent ou For a cours à plus hault pris, chacun en sa figure, bz, par secrets cautelles, en diminuent le pays, et l'envoient ou vendent dehors aux marthans, en recevant d'iceux autres pièces d'or, mixtes et de bas alcy, desquelles ilz emplissent le page."

Copernicus also stated this law most explicitly as follows: "Cum autem minime conveniat novam ac bonam monetam introducere antiqua viliore remanente, quanto hic magis erratum est vetere meliore remanente viliorem novam introducendoque non solum infecit antiquam, sed, ut ita dicam, expugnavit."

Henry Dunning Macleod. 155

more thoroughly and successfully than you," in a book on Bimetalism,1 lately published by Longmans, has helped the discussion of the gold and silver question. by clearly and authoritatively stating the case of monometallism against bimetallism, and by a brief analysis of the monetary writings of Oresme2 and Copernicus, and a concise summary of some of the coinage views of Gresham, Petty, Locke, Harris, Bacon, Newton, Adam Smith, Lord Liverpool, Steuart, Pole, Herries, Hankinson, Peel, Mill, and other great authorities.

Macleod says: "All these illustrious writers, except those who declared for a single standard, pointed out that the law must regulate the value of the coins ac

1 He spells thus metalist,' 'Bimetallic," "Monometallic."

'Bimetalism," "Monometalism," 'Bi

2 Roscher, in German, in 1862, and Wolowski, in French, in 1864, had published more important notes on Oresme's noble treatise, and Wolowski had published, in, 1864 very important notes on the great treatise of Copernicus.

That these works of Oresme and Copernicus have not been translated into English is most astonishing when we consider the wonderful originality and genius they display, and which no summary can adequately represent.

carling as the place marke mikke of the metals in Belen Tas vis for a Long time attempted to be done: but the attempt was frally abandoned as broe lena and is only led to mastant disturbances in the coinage"

Jotometalllam, when established would "reg late the value of the colts according to the market value of the metals" wit ost leading to disturbances in the coinage"

That my plan of joint-metallism was not invented when these great authorities wrote, does not invalidate it; other valuable discoveries have also been made since then.

It is interesting to note how the difficulties which these great political economists find in maintaining a just bimetallism are avoided by joint-metallism, which is a scientific and honest bimetallism. Their writings show how strongly many of

1 See page 121. See also page 5, where the plan was stated in a concrete manner, as was necessary for newspaper publication, but the details as to the gold coin to be selected for the standard weight and the periods to be considered, are of course not essential.