livres, the same as "francs;" Lat. iibra

idéales, i.e. the mark of silver was supposée! to be worth 40 francs, and therefore to hâve the purchasing povver which 40 francs had had; but no législation could give it this value, which therefore remained "idéal" or fictitious.

ressource fatale âr'e. This requires some explanation. Colbert, in order to make profit for the government, had "pushed the value of the mark" (as Voltaire puts it) to 28 francs, others had pushed it still further to 40 francs: i.e. the same amount of silver, a mark, or 8 ounces, made 40 francs as formerly made 26. Thus the government in paying its debts, in buying stores &c., made a large profit; for they paid only a mark of silver for goods valued at 40 francs, for which they would hâve had to give more than a mark and a half some time before. But if the government gained in paying, it lost in receiving; for the tax-payer who owed 40 francs now only gave them a mark of silver, whereas he would hâve had formerly to give them nearly a mark and a half. Thus the government lost as much one way as it gained the other. It really lost much more, for debasement of the coinage ruins crédit and checks enterprise, and therefore diminishes the sources whence the government draws its supplies. Moreover, as a rise in priées inevitably follows a debasement of the coinage, the profit which the government made in payments would be short-lived, while the loss it suffered in receipts would be permanent.

1. 10. dérangèrent &=€. Any artificial shifting of the value of coinage, whether in the direction of increase or decrease, déranges trade; for if such changes are fréquent, the buyer cannot tell that he will not hâve paid more, or the seller that he will not hâve received less, than the article is really worth. Thus calculations are felt to be uncertain, and trade is checked.