Trader’s personality traits

Chapter III T rader’ s personality traits That lower things and creatures are under the rule and influence of higher or heavenly bodies who were given that power by God is an old and well known saying promoted by writers. The condition was to provide these lower beings with rules and methods. Only human beings have the ability to guard against this influence because only they were given this privilege by God. Despite the fact that, being under the influence of the stars, they will always display more talent for one job than another, they received the gift of free will and all the accompanying dignity at the moment their soul was forged. Thus they are free enough to resist their natural inclinations which would sway them in various directions, depending on the current position of the changing stars. This is what the old and famous saying by Ptolomei means: “The wise men dominate the stars.” No matter how hard it is to resist such powerful and compelling inclinations, people endowed with a strong mind and spirit can defy them and thus have the upper hand in directing their own life. However, it is very common that people who attempt to engage in activities that the stars did not provide them with a talent for, usually fail to persevere in that job. Therefore, one who wishes his son or another child in his care or related to him to become a trader must be extremely cautious. If the child displayed interest in some other or completely different job, he might make progress with great difficulty or give up half way through and will eventually fail to

achieve the goal of making a fortune in an honorable manner. Thus, it is important to carefully consider what a child’s aptitudes and interests are before pushing him in the trade business. A child’s natural interest and inclination can be discovered by observing what he prefers to do and speak about at an early age. If a person is of a dynamic nature, pleasing to the eye, has an excellent character, is not a whimsical wanderer but rather aspires to having a reputable status and personal gain, and also desires to make a good profit, then we can justly conclude that this person has the right disposition for a job where one aims to honorably amass wealth. In the case that our sons or cousins possess such an aptitude, they must be encouraged to the job to which they are obviously inclined to rather than try to fight Nature because Nature is mightier than the best of men. The story of the Titans serves as a reminder of this truth. The poets spoke of their attempt to dethrone Jupiter, but despite their enormous might, he struck them with his thunder and killed them. Cicero also speaks in support of this. He tells a similar story in his book On Old Age, where among other things, he says: “T o resist Nature is equal to fighting Gods, as the Titans did.” Other examples are the Greeks and Romans. At the time when they were at their peak, they held on to the rule that children should be directed toward those professions that suit their natural talents best. As a result, both of these nations had among their people the most prominent and estimable men in all the reputable professions, more so than in any other past or future period. Further evidence can be found regarding all the intellectual and physical

skills. Among the Greeks, many great philosophers were born, such as Pitagora, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. Then there were the famous mathematicians such as Euclides, Archimedes, Ptolomei and many others, and among the poets were Homer, Hesiod, Pindar, V ergil, Ovid and Horatius. The excellent orators were Demosten, Eshin, Hortensius and Cicero, and the historians were Thucidides, Herodotus, Polibius, Livius, Cornelius T acitus and Justinian. Masterful in art were Apelles, Zeuxis and other painters, whereas Feidias and Praxiteles were talented as sculptors. Alexander, Lisimah, Caesar and Scipio were famous for their military skills. Not to mention the barbarians, we will point out Hamilkar, Hazdrubal and Hanibal. I highly respect Apolonius of Alabanda who was asked to teach rhetoric in Athens and accepted all students. However, he urged those who did not demonstrate an adequate talent for this skill to pursue success in some other profession because they were wasting their valuable time. Apart from this natural inclination that a child must have to pursue a successful career in trade, there is another condition that must be fulfilled because it arises not only from common sense but also experience, and that is that the child should be born to a trader. A child resembles its father not only in face and figure, but also in character. This why Cecco d’ Ascoli, a poet, inspired by Aristotle’s idea, said: “ Appearance reveals the nature of the heart.” If one’s outside appearance, which resembles that of his father, reflects his inner qualities, we can assume, without a doubt, that his virtues will also be equal to the virtues of his father. Disregarding all other evidence, I myself have certainly

observed the reflection of my own father in my person, not only regarding my practical talents but also regarding my fortune which so perfectly matched his. Furthermore, in addition to heritage, a child needs to be raised with the help of someone who will, from an early age, familiarize him with the rules and customs of the profession. Quintilianus emphasizes already at the beginning of his work that this job should be trusted to someone who is taught to be an orator. He claims that a wet nurse and everybody else in contact with the boy should be hired for their eloquence so that language itself can be smoothly acquired while the child is being breastfed. Members of the household should be eloquent so that the child can pick up on some of that skill from early childhood. A similar impact is produced by having a trader in the house because the child can observe and pick up on the gestures, manners, customs and the trader’s way of life. This is why it is said that Cornelia, the mother of the Gracchus brothers, had contributed significantly to her sons’ great eloquence. T o these two prerequisites, a third one should be added: being familiar with the T en Commandments and church commandments, an academic degree and continuous experience in the field. This will help a person become a perfect trader who will succeed in meeting his purpose, especially if luck is occasionally on his side, and those who act in accordance with reason and common sense are usually lucky, whereas those who are foolish and reckless often run out of luck. An old proverb says: “Luck never knocks on a fool’s door, and if it does, her visit is brief.” If it should happen that someone whose conduct is not positive

nevertheless has fortune on his side, this is to be regarded as a very rare exception, and the opposite should be taken as the rule. All the above mentioned features refer to the trader’s character. However, although a positive mental and emotional state is more beneficial and crucial in meeting one’s aims, and hence is the main precondition for success, physical capacity is not to be disregarded. When choosing the title for this chapter, I specifically opted for the word personality because I wanted a term that would encompass both body and soul. If somebody were to rashly decide that it is pointless to discuss physical aptitudes, he would free himself of that prejudice after giving it some thought because this aspect is everything but irrelevant and obsolete. Therefore, if one wants to make a good profit and fulfill the purpose of trading, it is essential that all things are put aside except those that are vital to achieving this goal, and those are to be put in the forefront. This often requires great efforts day and night, such as walking, riding, travelling by sea and land, buying and selling, supervising the transport of goods bought and sold. These jobs need to be done with the greatest possible care, leaving aside all other concerns, not only trivial ones but also those that are important for basic survival. Hence, sometimes one should even postpone eating meals, drinking, sleeping and, moreover deal with hunger, thirst and the effort to stay awake should be made no matter how excruciating it might be. If the body is not as enduring as a well made tool, it could not tolerate – or only barely at best – such discomfort and exhaustion, after which feebleness and eventually death would ensue.

Out of two possible negative outcomes, one would surely happen: either the job would not be properly done so there would be no gain and the job would not be done honorably, or the job would be done but the trader would not be fit to continue the work, and if he were, he would soon be very ill or die. Since both of these possible outcomes are extreme and negative, they should be avoided. Once again, we strongly advise that a person involved in such activities must be physically apt for them, which is both crucial and advantageous. The body can then serve as a suitable tool for achieving the goal in the same way a hammer is the tool a blacksmith uses to drive a nail. Similarly, the body and the soul of the trader take part in his work to the same extent as an artist when creating his masterpiece. Although it has been stated that the body must be capable of great strain and effort, one must also be aware that – as Aristotle put it in part II of his Ethics – nothing is as beneficial as moderation, so my advice is: many bodies are able to tolerate great physical discomfort and possess such strength that exceeds average physical stamina, but we do not intend to imply that the trader should have the frame of a baggage carrier. Generally speaking, men with a strong frame and good physical health are not naturally endowed with equally enviable intellectual capacity, because the truth is, if Nature deprives one of something, it will compensate for this in some other respect. Philosophers teach, including Aristotle, that a man with a weaker frame has a better capacity for understanding and vice versa. Therefore the trader must endure great strains on his body, but at the same time be of a more gentle physique, which is clear evidence of his fine

mind. They must not have a weak constitution and be incapable of work, or be strong carriers who are often ignorant simpletons who never made an honest living, which is utterly opposite of what a trader should be. Hence the proverb: “Strength brings misfortune to the house.”