e he
deals in, and he cannot be too chary of it when he has it, or buy it too
dear when he wants it; it is a stock to his warehouse, it is current
money in his cash-chest, it accepts all his bills, for it is on the fund
of his credit that he has any bills to accept; demands would else be
made upon the spot, and he must pay for his goods before he has
them--therefore, I say, it accepts all his bills, and oftentimes pays
them too; in a word, it is the life and soul of his trade, and it
requires his utmost vigilance to preserve it.

If, then, his own credit should be of so much value to him, and he
should be so nice in his concern about it, he ought in some degree to
have the same care of his neighbour's. Religion teaches us not to
slander and defame our neighbour, that is to say, not to raise or
promote any slander or scandal upon his good name. As a good name is to
another man, and which the wise man says, 'is better than life,' the
same is credit to a tradesman--it is the life of his trade; and he that
wounds a tradesman's credit without cause, is as much a murderer in
trade, as he that kills a man in the dark is a murderer in matters of
blood.

Besides, there is a particular nicety in the credit of a tradesman,
which does not reach in other cases: a man is slandered in his
character, or reputation, and it is injurious; and if it comes in the
way of a marriage, or of a preferment, or post, it may disappoint and
ruin him; but if this happens to a tradesman, he is immediately and
unavoidably blasted and undone; a tradesman has but two sorts of enemies
to encounter with, namely, thieves breaking open his shop, and ill
neighbours blackening and blasting his reputation; and the latter are
the worst thieves of the two, by a great deal; and, therefore, people
should indeed be more chary of their discourse of tradesmen, than of
other men, and that as they would not be guilty of murder. I knew an
author of a book, who was drawn in unwarily, and without design, to
publish a scandalous story of a tradesman in London. He (the author) was
imposed upon by a set of men, who did it maliciously, and he was utterly
ignorant of the wicked design; nor did he know the person, but rashly
published the thing, being himself too fond of a piece of news, which he
thought would be grateful to his readers; nor yet did he publish the
person's name, so cautious he was, though that was not enough, as it
proved, for the person was presently publishe