edit, and sell all for ready money, he might turn usurer, and put his
own stock out to interest, or buy land with it, for he would have no
occasion for one shilling of it; but since that is not expected, nor can
be done, it is his business to act with prudence in both parts--I mean
of taking and giving credit--and the best rule to be given him for it
is, never to give so much credit as he takes, by at least one-third
part.

By giving credit, I do not mean, that even all the goods which he buys
upon credit, may not be sold upon credit; perhaps they are goods which
are usually sold so, and no otherwise; but the alternative is before him
thus--either he must not give so much credit in quantity of goods, or
not so long credit in relation to time--for example:

Suppose the young tradesman buys ten thousand pounds' value of goods on
credit, and this ten thousand pounds are sold for eleven thousand pounds
likewise on credit; if the time given be the same, the man is in a state
of apparent destruction, and it is a hundred to one but he is blown up:
perhaps he owes the ten thousand pounds to twenty men, perhaps the
eleven thousand pounds is owing to him by two hundred men--it is scarce
possible that these two hundred petty customers of his, should all so
punctually comply with their payments as to enable him to comply with
his; and if two or three thousand pounds fall short, the poor tradesman,
unless he has a fund to support the deficiency, must be undone.

But if the man had bought ten thousand pounds at six or eight months'
credit, and had sold them all again as above to his two hundred
customers, at three months' and four months' credit, then it might be
supposed all, or the greatest part of them, would have paid time enough
to make his payments good; if not, all would be lost still.

But, on the other hand, suppose he had sold but three thousand pounds'
worth of the ten for ready money, and had sold the rest for six months'
credit, it might be supposed that the three thousand pounds in cash, and
what else the two hundred debtors might pay in time, might stop the
months of the tradesman's creditors till the difference might be made
good.

So easy a thing is it for a tradesman to lose his credit in trade, and
so hard is it, once upon such a blow, to retrieve it again. What need,
then, is there for the tradesman to guard himself against running too
far into debt, or letting other people run too far into debt to him; for
i