登陆注册
5166700000039

第39章

You are aware that our great difficulty with these gentlemen is to keep them from usury- an object to accomplish which our fathers have been at particular pains; for they hold this vice in such abhorrence that Escobar declares 'it is heresy to say that usury is no sin';and Father Bauny has filled several pages of his Summary of Sins with the pains and penalties due to usurers.He declares them 'infamous during their life, and unworthy of sepulture after their death.'""O dear! " cried I, "I had no idea he was so severe.""He can be severe enough when there is occasion for it," said the monk; "but then this learned casuist, having observed that some are allured into usury merely from the love of gain, remarks in the same place that 'he would confer no small obligation on society, who, while he guarded it against the evil effects of usury, and of the sin which gives birth to it, would suggest a method by which one's money might secure as large, if not a larger profit, in some honest and lawful employment than he could derive from usurious dealings.""Undoubtedly, father, there would be no more usurers after that.""Accordingly," continued he, "our casuist has suggested 'a general method for all sorts of persons- gentlemen, presidents, councillors,' &c.; and a very simple process it is, consisting only in the use of certain words which must be pronounced by the person in the act of lending his money; after which he may take his interest for it without fear of being a usurer, which he certainly would be on any other plan.""And pray what may those mysterious words be, father?""I will give you them exactly in his own words," said the father; "for he has written his Summary in French, you know, 'that it may be understood by everybody,' as he says in the preface: 'The person from whom the loan is asked must answer, then, in this manner: I have got no money to lend, I have got a little, however, to lay out for an honest and lawful profit.If you are anxious to have the sum you mention in order to make something of it by your industry, dividing the profit and loss between us, I may perhaps be able to accommodate you.But now I think of it, as it may be a matter of difficulty to agree about the profit, if you will secure me a certain portion of it, and give me so much for my principal, so that it incur no risk, we may come to terms much sooner, and you shall touch the cash immediately.' Is not that an easy plan for gaining money without sin? And has not Father Bauny good reason for concluding with these words: 'Such, in my opinion, is an excellent plan by which a great many people, who now provoke the just indignation of God by their usuries, extortions, and illicit bargains, might save themselves, in the way of making good, honest, and legitimate profits'?""O sir!" I exclaimed, "what potent words these must be!

Doubtless they must possess some latent virtue to chase away the demon of usury which I know nothing of, for, in my poor judgement, Ialways thought that that vice consisted in recovering more money that what was lent.""You know little about it indeed," he replied."Usury, according to our fathers, consists in little more than the intention of taking the interest as usurious.Escobar, accordingly, shows you how you may avoid usury by a simple shift of the intention.'It would be downright usury,' says he 'to take interest from the borrower, if we should exact it as due in point of justice; but if only exacted as due in point of gratitude, it is not usury.Again, it is not lawful to have directly the intention of profiting by the money lent; but to claim it through the medium of the benevolence of the borrower-media benevolentia- is not usury.' These are subtle methods; but, to my mind, the best of them all (for we have a great choice of them)is that of the Mohatra bargain."

"The Mohatra, father!"

"You are not acquainted with it, I see," returned he."The name is the only strange thing about it.Escobar will explain it to you:

'The Mohatra bargain is effected by the needy person purchasing some goods at a high price and on credit, in order to sell them over again, at the same time and to the same merchant, for ready money and at a cheap rate.' This is what we call the Mohatra- a sort of bargain, you perceive, by which a person receives a certain sum of ready money by becoming bound to pay more.""But, sir, I really think nobody but Escobar has employed such a term as that; is it to be found in any other book?""How little you do know of what is going on, to be sure!" cried the father."Why, the last work on theological morality, printed at Paris this very year, speaks of the Mohatra, and learnedly, too.It is called Epilogus Summarum, and is an abridgment of all the summaries of divinity- extracted from Suarez, Sanchez, Lessius, Fagundez, Hurtado, and other celebrated casuists, as the title bears.There you will find it said, on p.54, that 'the Mohatra bargain takes place when a man who has occasion for twenty pistoles purchases from a merchant goods to the amount of thirty pistoles, payable within a year, and sells them back to him on the spot for twenty pistoles ready money.' This shows you that the Mohatra is not such an unheard-of term as you supposed.""But, father, is that sort of bargain lawful?""Escobar," replied he, "tells us in the same place that there are laws which prohibit it under very severe penalties.""It is useless, then, I suppose?"

同类推荐
  • 解蔽

    解蔽

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 禅行法想经

    禅行法想经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • Heroes of the Telegraph

    Heroes of the Telegraph

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 上清修身要事经

    上清修身要事经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 提婆菩萨释楞伽经中外道小乘涅槃论

    提婆菩萨释楞伽经中外道小乘涅槃论

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 昨日之蛇

    昨日之蛇

    《昨日之蛇》是由洛夫先生亲自编定的一本诗歌选集。作者在长达七十年的写作生涯中,创作了大量各类题材的诗歌,其中一个题材是诗人着力很深的,那就是“动物题材”,蝶、鱼、鸟、蟋蟀、河蚌、蛾、猿、蛇、灰蝉、浣熊、泥鳅、雪雁、乌鸦、蜘蛛、苍蝇、蚯蚓,蚕、蟹……都在作者的诗笔下得到传神的表现。
  • 永恒契约之灵

    永恒契约之灵

    一场流星雨降临,尘封已久的契约再度激活。古老的金字塔,神秘的亚特兰蒂斯,那些匪夷所思的遗迹都将复苏。神话和传说都慢慢揭开,现代科技与原始力量的撞击,这是崭新的时代,也是混乱的时代。那些背负重任的人能否在这一世平定黑暗?觉醒吧,永恒契约之灵!
  • 倾心计:第一皇妃

    倾心计:第一皇妃

    他是杀伐决断,果敢狠辣的王。她是艳绝天下,唯我不二的幽冥宫宫主。风起云涌,她金戈铁马,谈笑间令千军万马灰飞烟灭。凤凰涅槃,谁家江山?回首一瞥,那一身火红衣衫,尽乱世人眸眼。她曾说“我尹逝不得的东西,宁毁不留!”言犹在耳,可是谁又是舍了心,只为那曾经不堪一击的温情,甘愿纵身火海,落下万丈深渊。他一身玄袍冷眼看尽世间,自认为舍去的只是一枚棋子,可最终为何空了心,丢了一腔想念?那鲜红的景象还在眼前,他怀中那僵硬的尸身笑意不去。死了心,可伊人再见,兵临城下,她火红长袖一挥,将他逼出百米远,冷声道“你是谁?”
  • 拒绝交接

    拒绝交接

    李老汉醒得早。当清晨第一缕阳光透过木格窗棂上那灰蒙蒙的窗玻璃,照射到窗台下那张黑黢黢抽头桌面上时,李老汉已穿戴整齐,站在窗前沉思了好久。炕里头,蒙头酣睡的大儿子精细,不知又在做着什么噩梦,嘴里呜哩哇啦吆喝着,裹紧被子,蜷作一团。李老汉连忙匍匐到炕上,一边使劲儿推搡着那个瑟瑟发抖的棉团,一边着急地呼喊着:“精细别怕!精细别怕!爹在这里!”
  • 权王的糖妃

    权王的糖妃

    为了赶去参加死党的生日party的杨凌婴因在高速路上开车时梦到可爱的糕点到流口水的地步而发生车祸,华丽消失了当她再次醒来时,她竟然成了一个不知名的王朝权王的第三十八号待妾云澜梦,杨美女直接来个华丽的晕倒,再第N次叹气之后,她终于认命了,她穿越了可是这第三十八号待妾,她是如何都无法接受的,况且还是个不受宠的...经过半下子的犹豫,她终于决定要离府出走,当然走时还不忘了毁尸灭迹,来一把大火...然后当起寡妇...他,赫连逸烜,当朝权王,连太子也要巴结他这个弟弟来确保自己的皇位,一次就送了他七个美人,他从来不缺女人,但却深陷只见过两次的寡妇情网无法自拔,可是寡妇却嫌他是千手货,只直退货..被一个寡妇嫌弃,真的很丢脸更麻烦的是,竟然还有不少人在窥视他的小寡妇,一个天下首富,一个天下第一庄庄主,就连他刚扶上皇位的弟弟也要来插上一脚为了早日将这小寡妇藏起来,他不但遣散了三十七个美女,还沦为妻奴,但当他为情沦为妻奴时才发现这寡妇原来是自己的逃妾..他悔啊,可是不敢说
  • 学为人师的教育家(2)(世界名人成长历程)

    学为人师的教育家(2)(世界名人成长历程)

    《世界名人成长历程——学为人师的教育家(2)》本书分为吴稚晖、梅贻琦、黄现璠等部分。
  • 腾游九天

    腾游九天

    龙腾因家族变故遭人追杀,被一块神秘玉佩所搭救,重生于剑灵大陆,这是死亡的结束,又是生命的开始!他是一个外表随意、什么都不在乎的人;他是一个心思缜密,睚眦必报的人;他也是一个让无数男人嫉妒得人。
  • 凤舞九天,帝临长洲

    凤舞九天,帝临长洲

    顾朝歌,郦城顾家大小姐,一朝之间家破人亡。“这是你们欠我的,我自然要一件件讨回来”“小歌儿还是那么暴躁,不过我喜欢”“我愿护你一世周全”“从遇到你那一刻我便知道,你是我的”
  • 斐之故事集

    斐之故事集

    短篇小说,本书中含大大小小故事。本故事纯属虚构,如有雷同,纯属巧合。
  • 归来的“另类”艺术

    归来的“另类”艺术

    关伟,1957年生于北京,1986年毕业于首都师范大学美术系,1989年至1993年先后被澳大利亚塔斯马尼亚大学艺术学院,堪培拉国立大学艺术学院和悉尼现代艺术中心邀请为客座艺术家。在这之后多次获得澳大利亚政府艺术基金,包括2008~2010年度澳大利亚政府颁发的最高荣誉艺术基金。2008年在北京建立工作室,此后参与了多项有影响的中澳艺术交流活动,现生活、工作于北京和悉尼。关伟的作品在复杂的象征性绘画符号中,有力地体现了当今社会、环境的两重性。他的作品是他丰富的文化储备,对社会、政治的高度关注,以及他对艺术史的广博知识的产物。关伟曾在世界各地举办了超过50届个人展览,如何香凝美术馆OCT当代艺术中心“魔咒-关伟2011”;同时还应邀参加了许多重要的当代国际艺术展,如2009年第十届哈瓦那双年展。欧阳昱作为澳大利亚卧龙岗大学“Globalizing Australian Literature”(澳大利亚文学全球化)项目博士后研究员,曾为该项目而于2010年3月18日在北京天伦王朝饭店,以中文采访了关伟,后译成英文,此为梁余晶的中文回译。