MONDAY

The second day of the week is so called, and me«ns, literally, the day of the moon. Its equivalents in Fr. and Germ, are respectively Lundi and Montag, signifying also day of the moon. MONEY. * In Political Economy, the name given to the commodity adopted to serve as the marchandise bannale, or universal equivalent of all other commodities; and for which individuals readily exchange their surplus products or services. Without the use of money of some sort or other exchanges must have been greatly embarra ed, and the division of employments never could have been carried to any considerable extent. Innumerable difficulties would occur in attempting to carry on trade by barter. A., for example, has a quantity of corn which he wishes to exchange for cloth belongfng to B.; but the latter being already sufficiently supplied with corn, no exchange can take place between them. A. must therefore, if he continue anxious to get po e ion of the cloth, learn what commodity B. will accept in exchange for it; and having learned this, he must seek out some third person willing to part with the equivalent demanded by B. in exchange for corn. It might not, perhaps, be ( * Etymologists differ respecting the derivation of the word money. Some contend that it comes frofti monere (to admonish, to inform), because the stamp impre ed on coins indicates their weight and finene . Others contend that it originates in the circumstance of silver being originally coined at Rome, in the temple of admonishing Juno, or Jiino Monefa. 7(Jl MONEY. po ible for A. to get his purpose effected so easily as has here been supposed, or without negotiating several subsidiary exchanges; hut what has now been stated is sufficient to evince the extreme difficulty of carrjing on commerce in this way. Individuals so placed would naturally endeavour, in seeking their own advantage, to obviate, in as far as practicable, such inconveniences; and it would require but little sagacity to perceive that the best way of accomplishing this would be to acquire some portion of that article, whatever it might be, which was observed to be most in demand, or which pa ed most readily from hand to hand in exchange for others; because, when po e ed of it, one would be able, with comparatively little difficulty, to get whatever else he wanted. Now, this generally desirable article, whether it be corn, salt, cowries, hides, or whatever else, is in fact money. But though this grand instrument of exchange may be one thing in one country and one state of society, and another thing in another country and another state of society, it is never the result of invention or contrivance. It originates in the circumstances natural to society; and is changed, improved, and perfected, according as experience serves to make individuals better acquainted with its nature and functions. An article that has been adopted from a sense of its suitablene to serve as the ordinary equivalent for other things, or as the common medium of exchange, comes in the course of time to be used also as a measure of value, or as a standard by which to compare and estimate the values of other things. Thus, instead of saying that an individual is worth 1000 sheep, 1000 quarters of wheat, or 1000 acres of land, these are rated or estimated at their value in money; and it is said that their owners are worth certain amounts of the latter. Not only, therefore, does the introduction of money contribute in the most effectual manner to the facilitating of exchanges, but it also gives precision to statements as to values that would otherwise be all but unintelligible. The statement, for example, that an individual was worth 1000 head of cattle, or 1000 packs of wool, would convey no clear idea even to dealers in these articles, as their qualities differ so very widely; and supposing these to be ascertained, there are very few individuals who know anything of the value either of cattle or wool. But by rating them in money, all these difficulties and ambiguities vanish in an instant; reference is then made to a measure with which every body is familiar, and everyone has a distinct idea and full knowledge of the value of the articles, or wealth of the parties referred to. Qualities required in a Commodity fitted to serve as Money — An immense variety of commodities have been adopted to serve as money in different countries and states of society; but, in the course of no very long period, it is ascertained that no commodity can be advantageously employed as money unle it po e certain properties. First, it should be easy of transportation, and, therefore, should po e great value in small bulk: 2d, it should admit of being rubbed and carried about without losing much from the wear, and it should admit of being hoarded or kept for an indefinite period without lo : 3d, as the products to be exchanged for money are of very different value, it should also admit of being divided into the smallest portions without injury: 4th, the commodity used as money should be perfectly homogenous; that is, a given quantity of money in London should be precisely identical with the same quantity in Edinburgh, Dublin, and every where else: and, 5th, the value of money or its power of exchanging for or buying other things should be as invariable as po ible, or should change only by slow degrees. These seem to be the qualities most e ential to any commodity adopted to serve as money; and the money of any country may be said to be good or bad according to the degree in which it po e es or wants these qualities. Now, it will be found that the precious metals po e all the qualities enumerated above in a far higher degree than any other products with which we are acquainted; and this has doubtle formed the irresistible reason that has led all civilized communities to adopt them as money. The cost of their production, especially of gold, is so very considerable that they po e great value in small bulk; their firm and compact texture makes them diflicult to wear, and they may be kept for any length of time without deteriorating; they are divisible into any number of parts, and have the valuable property of being easily reunited by means of fusion without lo ; they are perfectly identical, the physical qualities of an ounce of pure gold or silver taken from the mines in any part of the world being precisely the same with those of an ounce taken from the mines in any other quarter; and though their value be not invariable, it changes, speaking generally, only by slow degrees, and is le susceptible of fluctuation than that of most other articles. No wonder, therefore, when almost all the qualities nece ary to constitute money are po e ed in so eminent a [s. 774]