Changing Concepts of the Virtue of Merchants in Seventeenth Century England

Seventeenth century moral attitudes often reflected the medieval view that social well-being required each class to perform its functions and enjoy proportionate rights.The social function of merchants was well understood by the Medieval Schoolmen. An Elizabethan tract noted that "Lawful tradyng and adventuring to bring in our want and to carry out our plenty hathe evere been allowed, and wythout such traffique no countreye nor kyngdome can floryshe" [Wilson, 1572, p. 203] .An early seventeenth century sermon affirmed this position:"The universall authoritie of the Church of Christ, hath alwayes approved the Trades of Buying and Selling" [Bourne, 1620, p. 27]. The very existence of trade was attributed to Divine design: "God hath distributed his commodities severally, one country hath not all commodities," thus there is "a necessity of marchantdizing for the distraction of commodities from one nation to another, for furnishing the necessities of each country" [Loe, 1620, p. 24].That is,"there are many things necessarie for the conservation of humane society, which cannot conveniently bee communicated by one, to the other, without this Calling of Buying and Selling" [Bourne 1620, p. 26]. But God had more in mind than simply satisfying mankind's material wants. Trade also nourished "peace, and amity, amonge the people and inhabitants of the earth" [Loe, 1620, p. 24]. And this interaction with other Nations helped spread Christianity:"the gospel of Christ Jesus has been unknowen to remote nations, unles by Marchantdizing they had heard there of." Furthermore, from trading contacts "we have gotten knowledge and experience in severall Sciences" [Bourne, 1620, p. 25]. However, the recognition of the social function performed by merchants did not allay concern about the virtue of their conduct. Business conduct, which was only an aspect of personal conduct, was suspect because business motives were so powerful. Merchants aimed not merely at livelihood, but at unlimited profit, so that what should be a means became an end. Thus business interests tended to interfere with a person's virtuous life. The identification of a virtuous life depends on the definition of virtue.This term generally relates to the value of an action, but the basis upon which value is assigned to the action varies. One sense of virtue is that an action is in accord with some moral standard; another sense is that an action achieves certain