Trader’s cunning

Chapter IX T rader’ s cunning Cunning or shrewdness is a trait that a trader should exhibit moderately: never harm another person, but do avoid being a victim of fraud. The trader must come to a reasonable understanding whether something is a lie and a deception, simple or intricate, for trade is such a profession that even in our time so many traps, frauds and deceits are a common occurrence. Cunning should not be exercised in pursuit of an evil end. The second epistle to the Corinthians, 4: “But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully…” Shrewdness is an asset that can spare one from being defrauded. However, it can also be the source of fraud and deceit. In Ethics, the Philosopher refers to cunning as evil. Christ teaches us: “Be wise as a snake” , meaning that we should not let someone deceive us, “and artless as a dove” , in our conduct. As far as a trader is concerned, he should always remain artless and of pure heart, and never consider fraud or deceit as the means to an end.