4P Li gç(' TRANSACTIONS

MAISTRE NICOLE ORESME
LE LIVRE DE YCONOMIQUE
with an
ENGLISH TRANSLATION
ILE LJ\RE DE YCONOMIQUEI * THE BOOK OF ECONOMICS
LIVRE I]
(329a) Cy commence le livre appellé Yconomique,
lequel composa Aristote et ouquel it determine de
gouvernement de maison. Et contient ii. petis livres
parcialz. On premier it determine generalment de
toutes les parties de maison et de toutes les communications
qul stint en maison. Et contient .vii. chapitres. /
(329b) 1. Le f'renhier cha/'itre est le proheme, on ii
met son intention et declare a neon-es choses qui sun-i a
son pro pos.
T. Yconomique et politique ne different pas seulement
tant 1 comme different maison et cite, lesqueles
clioses sunt les subjects ou les matieres de cestes
sciences.
G. Car maison est cc de quoi traicte yconomique et cite
est cc de quol traicte politique.
T. Mes ovequcs cc elles different en cc qtie politique
est de pluseurs princes et yconomique est monarchic.
G. Car si comme it apl)ert par Ic Viii.e chapitre du tiers
de Poliliques, .iii. especes sunt de bonne policie. En one,
ce est assavoir en royalme, ou un seul tient le souverain
princey et est nionarche; et en chescune des .ii. autres, qui
stint aristocracie et commune polici, pluseurs tiennent Ic
princey. Ales en toute bonne yconomie un seul est seigneur.
Et pour cc est cite dicte monarchic, de monos en grec, que
est un; et de arciws, qu'est prince onseigneur et est cdliii
qu l'en appelle en latin paterfamilias- Pour miex entendre
cest livre len doit savoir ciue science morale est pour
reguler les operations humaines voluntaires et pour adrecier
les a bien et a vertu. Et de ceste science sunt .iii. parties.
Une est dicte ethique, dc ethos en grec, qu'est incurs ou
acoustumance; et (Ic ycos, quest science. Et aucuns l'appellent
mottosfique, qu'est de monos en grec, qu'est on; et de
yeas, qu'est science, non pas pource quelle soit dc vie solitaire,
mes pource que par elle on homme se scet 2 gonverner
absolument et generalnient // (3290 en tant comme
hotnine 1 et non pas en especial, coinme partie de maison ou
de cite. L'autre partie est dicte yconomique, de ycon en
grec, que est ymage ou signe; et de nomos, qu'est regle; et
de yeas, quest science. Car par dIe sait le principal dc la
* Throughout the French text, superscript numbers refer to
tOe textual emendations and variant readings, compiled oil 848.
Black face numerals, followed by a, b, c, or d, have been inserted
in parentheses to indicate the folio numbers and the
columnar divisions in the Avranches Ms. 223. The single I
indicates the end of a column, the double 1/ indicates the end
of a page. Parallel passages in the accompanying English version
are similarly indicated.
807
BOOK I
(329a) Here begins the book called Economics,
which Aristotle wrote and in which he sets forth the
rules for household management. And it contains two
short, separate books. In the first, he examines broadly
all the parts of the household and all the interrelated
divisions of a household. And it contains seven chapters.
/
(329b) 1. The first chapter is the introduction, in
which he states the purpose of his -investigation and
clarifies certain matters pertinent to his project.
T. Household management is different from statecraft
not only as a household is different from a city—
and these topics constitute the subject matter of these
respective sciences, economics and politics.
G. For economics treats of the household and politics
deals with the city or state.
T. But they differ also because politics is concerned
with the shared authority of several rulers, while economics
is concerned with one authority only.
G. For as demonstrated in Politics 111. 4 [1279a 26 ff.],i
there are three types of good government. In one, the
kingdom, one man holds sovereign power and is the monarch.
And in each of the other two types, that is, in an
aristocracy and in a constitutional government, power is
shared among several persons. But in every good household
one man alone is master. And for this reason it is
called a monarchy, from nio;ros in Greek, which is one;
and from archos, which is prince or master and he is the
one called paterfamilias iii Latin. To understand this book
better, one should know that moral science seeks to regulate
voluntary human activities and direct them towards
the good and virtuous. There are three divisions of this
science. One is called ethics, from ethos in Greek, which
means mores or custom; and from vcos, which means science.
And some call this monastic, which is from the
1 Oresnies references to the Politics and Ft/ne: indicate the
Books and chapters according to the divisions found in his
translations of these works; the chapter numbers do not correspond
with those commonly used in other editions. His references
to the Ethics correspond with the chapter divisions in
.tlaisfre Nicole Ores-me: Le Livre de Ethziqucs, ed. Menut, New
York, Stechert. 1940, and have been retained here. His references
to the Politics have been made to conform to the Book
and chapter division commonly employed in modern editions,
specifically to that found in An sf of/c. the Politics, ed. H. Rackham,
Loch Classical Library, New York, Putnam, 1932, with
the columnar references from I. Bekker's edition of the Greek
text, Berlin, 1831. Oresme's chapter numeration has been retained
in the French text.