18.15. 15. Of People who know the Use of Money.
Aristippus, being cast
away, swam and got safely to the next shore, where, beholding
geometrical figures traced in the sand, he was seized with a transport
of joy, judging that he was among Greeks, and not in a nation of
barbarians.
Should you ever happen to be cast by some adventure among an unknown
people; upon seeing a piece of money you may be assured that you have
arrived in a civilised country.
The culture of lands requires the use of money. This culture
supposes many inventions and many degrees of knowledge; and we always
see ingenuity, the arts, and a sense of want making their progress with
an equal pace. All this conduces to the establishment of a sign of
value.
Torrents and eruptions have made the discovery that metals are
contained in the bowels of the earth.
[6]
When once they have been
separated, they have easily been applied to their proper use.
Footnotes
[6]
It is thus that Diodorus, v. 35, tells us the shepherds found
gold in the Pyrenean mountains.
