Our public credit is good, but the abundance of paper has…
“Our public credit is good, but the abundance of paper has produced a spirit of gambling in the funds, which has laid up our ships at the wharves as too slow instruments of profit, and has even disarmed the hand of the tailor of his needle and thimble. They say the evil will cure itself. I wish it may; but I have rarely seen a gamester cured, even by the disasters of his vocation.”
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
Excessive credit fuels speculation, slowing real trade and harming craftsmen; crises rarely self‑correct without intervention.
In simple terms: Too much credit leads to gambling and stalled commerce.
Regulate credit to prevent speculation.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- banking policy
- government oversight
- economic reform
- craftsmen livelihoods
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- How can policy curb speculative credit?
- What safeguards protect small producers?
Self‑correction is unlikely without policy action.