亚当·斯密：国富论·第V篇第II章·第1877段

No two characters seem more inconsistent than those of trader and sovereign. If the trading spirit of the English East India company renders them very bad sovereigns, the spirit of sovereignty seems to have rendered them equally bad traders. While they were traders only, they managed their trade successfully, and were able to pay from their profits a moderate dividend to the proprietors of their stock. Since they became sovereigns, with a revenue which, it is said, was originally more than three millions sterling, they have been obliged to beg the ordinary assistance of government, in order to avoid immediate bankruptcy. In their former situation, their servants in India considered themselves as the clerks of merchants; in their present situation, those servants consider themselves as the ministers of sovereigns.

出处： https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3300
定位：Book V, Chapter II, paragraph 1877 · 核对日期：2026-10-19 · 核验：逐字核对

本条为原文直读：保留原文与出处，白话与上下文待后续补充。

公版英文原典；批量导入，未附中文解读。

本文本为公版；底本与原文链接见上。 版权

← 返回原文库