26

ON THE NATURE

the direct assertion, that ‘although money
may increase inits power of purchasing, it does
not necessarily increase in value*” If Mr.
Malthus thus abandons his own definition; what
other will he put in its place ?
I have already shown, that the power of purchasing,
 or the power of commanding other
objects in exchange, can be expressed only by
quantity. In other words, the value of one
commodity can be expressed only by the quantity
 of some other object for which it will exchange.
 When a hat is said to be twenty
shillings in value, it is obvious that the value of
the hat is expressed by the quantity of silver:
when a yard of cloth is said to be worth two
bushels of wheat, the value of the cloth is expressed
 by the quantity of wheat. It is impossible
 to designate, or express the value of
a commodity, except by a quantity of some
other commodity.
The power of purchasing, or the value of an
object in relation vo some other object, admits
* Pace 62.