[De la richesse commerciale, Sismondi, 1803, Original, 179-80]
Le capital immatériel des particuliers, celui qu’ils font naître par leur emprunts directs ou indirects, a toujours la même origine. Un banquier en tirant sur ses correspondan[t]s, et en levant des fonds par circulation, paroît [paraît] souvent user de son crédit pour créer un capital immatériel, dont il se procure la disposition; il emprunte en quelque sorte sans le consentement de personne; au moyen de ses traites sur son correspondant et des retraites de celui-ci que l’un et l’autre négocient, ils trouvent tous deux de l’argent. Mais celui qui leur prêté cet argent sans s’en douter, c’est celui auquel ils négocient leur papier pour comptant; et celui-ci en donnant de l’argent, transmet son droit sur une richesse mobiliare [mobilière] et déjà existante, qui constitue seule la valeur de l’argent livré. Si cette richesse venoit [venait] à manquer, ils ne trouveroient [trouveraient] plus personne qui voulût prendre le papier qu’ils offrent, il leur seroit [serait] impossible d’emprunter; ils ne crèent [créent] donc point non plus des capitaux, mais ils se proeurent la disposition d’une partie de la richesse mobiliaire [mobilière], dont ils n’altèrent point l’usage, s’ils la destinent à un travail productif, et qui ne sera par conséquent ni plus ni moins utile à l’État, à cause de la rapide circulation de leurs lettres de change.
[Translation]
The intangible capital of individuals, that to which they gives birth on their direct or indirect borrowing, always has the same origin. It seems that a banker always uses his credit, by drawing upon his correspondents and raising money by circulation, in order to create an intangible capital, which gets at his own disposition. He makes a loan in a sense without consent of any one else. By means of his bills upon a correspondent and the reverse bills of the latter, which both parties negotiate, both find some money. But the person who lends them this money without knowing he does is that to whom they negotiate their bills for cash. He transfers, by offering some money, his right to a movable and already existent wealth, which constitute as much as the value of the offered money. If this wealth had vanished, they would not find any one who would like to take the bills they offer, and it would be impossible for them to borrow. Nor do they therefore create capital, but they have a part of the movable wealth at their disposition, whose use they do not change if they allocate it for productive labour, and which consequently will be of none the more or less use to the state because of rapid circulation of their bills of exchange.
