Adam Smith：The Wealth of Nations, Book IV, Chapter IX, Paragraph 1555

Mercantile stock is equally barren and unproductive with manufacturing stock. It only continues the existence of its own value, without producing any new value. Its profits are only the repayment of the maintenance which its employer advances to himself during the time that he employs it, or till he receives the returns of it. They are only the repayment of a part of the expense which must be laid out in employing it.

Source： https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3300
Locator：Book IV, Chapter IX, paragraph 1555 · Verified：2026-10-19 · Verification：Exact match

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