--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The commerce of minds was necessarily the…" description: "\"The commerce of minds was necessarily the first commerce in the world, ... since before bartering things one must barter signs, and it is necessary the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b63/paul-valery-1464_bartering_the-commerce-of-minds-was-necessarily-th_2835934.jpg" --- # The commerce of minds was necessarily the first commerce… ![“The commerce of minds was necessarily the first commerce in the world, ... since before bartering things one must barter signs, and it is necessary therefore that signs be instituted. There is no market or exchange without language. The first instrument of all commerce is language.” quote by Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b63/paul-valery-1464_bartering_the-commerce-of-minds-was-necessarily-th_2835934.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b63/paul-valery-1464_bartering_the-commerce-of-minds-was-necessarily-th_2835934.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b63/paul-valery-1464_bartering_the-commerce-of-minds-was-necessarily-th_2835934.jpg) > “The commerce of minds was necessarily the first commerce in the world, ... since before bartering things one must barter signs, and it is necessary therefore that signs be instituted. There is no market or exchange without language. The first instrument of all commerce is language.” [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Language is the first market, enabling all subsequent exchanges and commerce. **In simple terms:** Words are the original trade. Key Takeaway Cultivate clear communication. Themes language commerce communication Mood analytical thoughtful Type philosophical economic When to use this quote - business - education - media Key Concepts semiotics economics social interaction Questions to Reflect On - How does language shape economies? - What barriers exist in linguistic trade? A Different Perspective Assumes universal language. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bartering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bartering/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Commerce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commerce/) [E commerce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/e-commerce/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Ideas are refined and multiplied in the commerce of minds. In their splendor, images effect a very simple communion of souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/ideas-are-refined-and-multiplied-in-the-commerce-of-minds-in-their/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [Yes, e-commerce is a strange situation for an old guy like me. You can buy a TV online, OK, but to buy a dress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-azria/yes-e-commerce-is-a-strange-situation-for-an-old-guy-like-me-you-can/) [Max Azria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-azria/) > [Facts are to the mind what food is to the body. On the due digestion of the former depend the strength and wisdom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/facts-are-to-the-mind-what-food-is-to-the-body-on-the-due-digestion/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [You of the West are practical in business, practical in great inventions, but we of the East are practical in religion. You make commerce…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/you-of-the-west-are-practical-in-business-practical-in-great/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [War is not the best engine for us to resort to; nature has given us one in our commerce, which if properly managed, will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/war-is-not-the-best-engine-for-us-to-resort-to-nature-has-given-us/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The Supreme Court has never ruled that Congress can use the Commerce Clause to require individuals to engage in an activity they have chosen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cornyn/the-supreme-court-has-never-ruled-that-congress-can-use-the-commerce/) [John Cornyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cornyn/) > [The plea agreement negotiated by Janet Reno's Justice Department with Nora, Gene and Trisha Lum is a hoax. 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They may know commerce, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/q-tip/a-lot-of-people-who-curate-in-the-business-and-curate-the-art-don-t/) [Q-Tip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/q-tip/) > [Most of us carry at least one device, all the time, every day. 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Whether your vehicle be commerce,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-jay-chapman/if-you-are-to-reach-masses-of-people-in-this-world-you-must-do-it-by/) [John Jay Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-jay-chapman/) > [The Supreme Court, in 2005, emphasized and contrasted the great power of Congress under the Commerce Clause to regulate interstate commerce versus much more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ann-radnofsky/the-supreme-court-in-2005-emphasized-and-contrasted-the-great-power/) [Barbara Ann Radnofsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ann-radnofsky/) ## More by Paul Valery > [In the eyes of those lovers of perfection, a work is never finished a word that for them has no sense but abandoned; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/in-the-eyes-of-those-lovers-of-perfection-a-work-is-never-finished-a/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [“O Socrates, the universe cannot for one instant endure to be only what it is. It is strange to think that that which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/o-socrates-the-universe-cannot-for-one-instant-endure-to-be-only-what/) [Paul Valéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [We civilizations now know ourselves mortal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/we-civilizations-now-know-ourselves-mortal/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [It seems to me that the soul, when alone with itself and speaking to itself, uses only a small number of words, none of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/it-seems-to-me-that-the-soul-when-alone-with-itself-and-speaking-to/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [Serious people have few ideas. People with ideas are never serious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/serious-people-have-few-ideas-people-with-ideas-are-never-serious/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [“I am now going to make an admission. 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They seemed never to suspect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/the-most-ridiculous-were-those-who-on-their-own-authority-made/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [The folly of mistaking oneself for an oracle is built right into us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/the-folly-of-mistaking-oneself-for-an-oracle-is-built-right-into-us/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [Thought must be hidden in the verse like nutritional virtue in a fruit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/thought-must-be-hidden-in-the-verse-like-nutritional-virtue-in-a-fruit/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [To be sincere means to be the same person when one is with oneself; that is to say, alone - but that is all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/to-be-sincere-means-to-be-the-same-person-when-one-is-with-oneself/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [No work of art is ever completed, it is only abandoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/no-work-of-art-is-ever-completed-it-is-only-abandoned/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [Interruption, incoherence, surprise are the ordinary conditions of our life. They have even become real needs for many people, whose minds are no longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/interruption-incoherence-surprise-are-the-ordinary-conditions-of-our/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) [Explore all 215 Paul Valery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) ## More Bartering quotes > [Beware of bartering the Word of God for a more suitable conception of your own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/beware-of-bartering-the-word-of-god-for-a-more-suitable-conception-of/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [ ...\[We\] must stop these swarms of Jews who are trading, bartering and robbing. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-tecumseh-sherman/we-must-stop-these-swarms-of-jews-who-are-trading-bartering-and/) [William Tecumseh Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-tecumseh-sherman/) > [“I was afraid that if I did anything at all without bartering for at least some small thing in return, he might think I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaux-fragoso/i-was-afraid-that-if-i-did-anything-at-all-without-bartering-for-at/) [Margaux Fragoso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaux-fragoso/) > [I will not trade freedom for beneficence nor my dignity for a handout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-alfange/i-will-not-trade-freedom-for-beneficence-nor-my-dignity-for-a-handout/) [Dean Alfange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-alfange/) > [“He looked upon this verdant, blossoming spring, a spring Joanna would never see, he looked upon a field of brilliant blue flowers- the bluebells…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/he-looked-upon-this-verdant-blossoming-spring-a-spring-joanna-would/) [Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/) > [There are always those who are willing to surrender local self-government and turn over their affairs to some national authority in exchange for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-coolidge/there-are-always-those-who-are-willing-to-surrender-local-self/) [Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/) > [“I'd traded my soul for the chance to get even, bartering with the Devil with a life that was not my own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-s-thompson/i-d-traded-my-soul-for-the-chance-to-get-even-bartering-with-the/) [Nancy S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-s-thompson/) > [Bartering is not my strong point.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-garraway/bartering-is-not-my-strong-point/) [Kate Garraway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-garraway/) > [I pay my models to work with me, so there becomes this weird sort of economic bartering thing, which made me feel really sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/i-pay-my-models-to-work-with-me-so-there-becomes-this-weird-sort-of/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [Stop bartering away your body, heart, energy and time, seeking approval of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/stop-bartering-away-your-body-heart-energy-and-time-seeking-approval/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Just traded 2 Pumpkins for a bottle of Pinnacle Whip... I ¥ bartering!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-yvars/just-traded-2-pumpkins-for-a-bottle-of-pinnacle-whip-i-bartering/) Daniel Yvars > [Traditionally, marriage involved a kind of bartering, rather than mutual inter-dependence or role sharing. Husbands financially and economically supported wives, while wives emotionally, psychologically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bettina-arndt/traditionally-marriage-involved-a-kind-of-bartering-rather-than/) Bettina Arndt [Browse all 13 Bartering quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bartering/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The commerce of minds was necessarily the first commerce in the world, ... since before bartering things one must barter signs, and it is necessary therefore that signs be instituted. There is no market or exchange without language. 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