Page:Reflections on the Formation and the Distribution of Riches by Anne Turgot.djvu/70

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S49
Concerning the reserve of annual products, accumulated to form capitals.

As soon as men were found whose property in land assured them an annual revenue more than sufficient to satisfy all their wants, there were sure to be found men who, either because they were anxious about the future, or for mere prudence, put in reserve a part of what they gathered each year; either to meet possible chances, or to increase their comfort. When the produce they gathered was difficult to keep, they must have sought to procure for themselves in exchange articles of a more durable nature, whose value would not be destroyed by time, or which could be employed in such a fashion as to obtain profits which would repair the loss of value with still further gain.

S50
Moveable riches. Accumulation of money.

Possessions of this kind, resulting from the accumulation of annual produce not consumed, are known by the name of moveable riches. Furniture, houses, plate, commodities in warehouses, the tools of each trade and cattle belong to this kind of wealth. It is evident that men worked hard to obtain as much as possible of this kind of wealth before they became acquainted with money; but it is no less clear that, as soon as it was known, as soon as it was proved to be