In this treatise we find an insightful analysis concerning how monetary debasement and inflation increase prices, which proceeds to illustrate how such increases do not affect everyone equally—in effect, causing a revolution in fortunes. In a parallel argument, Mariana explains how government, if given control of other forms of private property, would also debase the values of those forms and use them according to its own interests.

A Treatise on the Alteration of Money (Sources in Early Modern Economics, Ethics, and Law)

Juan de Mariana

Ethics & Professional Responsibility

CLP Academic

A Treatise on Money is a selection from Luis de Molina’s larger work On Justice and Right. In these selections, he examines the various kinds of contracts and businessmen of his day and applies the scholastic method to analyze the nature of currency and exchange, offering a unique and indispensable look into the origins of modern monetary theory.

A Treatise on Money (Sources in Early Modern Economics, Ethics, and Law)

Molina, Luis de

This translation is a selection from Lessius’ treatment of contract law in his larger work On Justice and Right. By drawing on diverse sources ranging from Roman and canon law to moral philosophy, Lessius offers practical advice in commercial and financial matters. These chapters on sale, securities, and insurance engage perennial questions concerning the lawfulness of insider trading, the sale of toxic debt, and asymmetric information in insurance markets.

On Sale, Securities, and Insurance (Sources in Early Modern Economics, Ethics, and Law)

Lessius, Leonardus

On the Law in General is a single chapter of Girolamo Zanchi’s Tractatus de Redemptione, part of what has been called an unfinished Protestant “summa” akin to that of Thomas Aquinas. In this selection, Zanchi examines the relationship of natural law to human law, church tradition, customs, divine laws, and the Mosaic Law. This treatment offers a rigorous analysis of the nature of law in general, thus constituting a seminal work in early modern political and legal theory.

On the Law in General (Sources in Early Modern Economics, Ethics, and Law)

Girolamo Zanchi

Common Grace: The Historical Section, 3 volumes

Abraham Kuyper

The Dicaeologicae was an immense Latin work that sought to construct a single comprehensive juridical system by collating the Decalogue, Jewish law, Roman law, and various streams of European customary law. The translated sections comprising On Law and Power address such topics as: common law, natural law, private or individual (civil) law, the nature of sovereign public authority, and limitations on public power.

On Law and Power (Sources in Early Modern Economics, Ethics, and Law)

Johannes Althusius

This text is a translation of Wolfgang Musculus’ commentary on Psalm 15 and his related appendices on the topics of oaths and usury. In these selections from his expansive exegetical work, Musculus presents a theological exposition of the psalm and gives guidance in matters of enduring relevance for Christian living—particularly how to preserve truth and honesty in one’s relationships, speech, and economic practices.

On Righteousness, Oaths, and Usury (Sources in Early Modern Economics, Ethics, and Law)

Wolfgang Musculus

Originally appearing as an appendix to Azpilcueta's Manual de confesores y penitentes, this commentary on Gregory IX’s prohibition of nautical usury goes far beyond the consideration of that famous text by exploring various economic realities, including exchange practices, supply and demand, and the nature of money. In an era of economic development that was increasingly putting pressure on the church’s traditional stance against usury and certain kinds of exchange contracts, Azpilcueta, in conversation with traditional church authorities and his contemporaries, argues that many of the trade and exchange practices of his day are licit. Furthermore, his account of the fluctuation of the value of money marks a significant development in early modern economic thought.

On Exchange: An Adjudicative Commentary (Sources in Early Modern Economics, Ethics, and Law)

De Azpilcueta, Martín

This treatise, appearing in English for the first time, engages the perennial question of how the laws of Moses ought to be applied to contemporary political situations. Through clear distinctions and theses, and by drawing on diverse sources ranging from Greek and Roman law to medieval Christian theology, Junius develops a method of classifying and interpreting the Mosaic laws that honors both their particular Jewish context and their universal and perpetual significance. Junius’ Mosaic Polity also reveals the interdisciplinary nature of early modern theology, law, and politics, and the influence of Junius’ treatise and method is evident in such Reformed political luminaries as Johannes Althusius and Abraham Kuyper.

The Mosaic Polity (Sources in Early Modern Economics, Ethics, and Law)

Junius, Franciscus

This critical edition is the first ever publication of Hale’s Of the Law of Nature, which previously existed only in manuscript form. After discussing and defining law in general, Hale examines the natural law in particular, its discovery and divine origin, and how it relates to both biblical and human laws. Hale’s treatise, which was likely written as part of his personal meditations and was circulated among English lawyers after his death, reveals not only the close relationship between law and theology in his thought, but also the importance of natural law to early modern legal thought.

Of the Law of Nature (Sources in Early Modern Economics, Ethics, and Law)

Hale, Matthew

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