t he cannot reasonably abate, and that he
cannot afford to abate: and there he may be in earnest, namely, that he
cannot make a reasonable profit of his goods, if he is obliged to abate,
and so the meaning is honest, that he cannot abate; and yet rather than
not take your money, he may at last resolve to do it, in hopes of
getting a better price for the remainder, or being willing to abate his
ordinary gain, rather than disoblige the customer; or being perhaps
afraid he should not sell off the quantity; and many such reasons may be
given why he submits to sell at a lower price than he really intended,
or can afford to do; and yet he cannot be said to be dishonest, or to
lie, in saying at first he cannot, or could not, abate.

A man in trade is properly to be said not to be able to do what he
cannot do to his profit and advantage. The English cannot trade to
Hungary, and into Slavonia--that is to say, they cannot do it to
advantage; but it is better for them to trade to Venice with their
goods, and let the Venetians carry on a trade into Hungary through
Dalmatia, Croatia, &c, and the like in other places.

To bring it down to particular cases: one certain merchant cannot deal
in one sort of goods which another merchant is eminent for; the other
merchant is as free to the trade as he, but he cannot do it to profit;
for he is unacquainted with the trade, and it is out of his way, and
therefore he cannot do it.

Thus, to the case in hand. The tradesman says he cannot sell his goods
under such a price, which in the sense of his business is true; that is
to say, he cannot do it to carry on his trade with the usual and
reasonable advantage which he ought to expect, and which others make in
the same way of business.

Or, he cannot, without underselling the market, and undervaluing the
goods, and seeming to undersell his neighbour-shopkeepers, to whom there
is a justice due in trade, which respects the price of sale; and to
undersell is looked upon as an unfair kind of trading.

All these, and many more, are the reasons why a tradesman may be said
not to lie, though he should say he _cannot_ abate, or _cannot_ sell his
goods under such a price, and yet may after think fit to sell you his
goods something lower than he so intended, or can afford to do, rather
than lose your custom, or rather than lose the selling of his goods, and
taking your ready money, which at that time he may have occasion for.

In these cases, I cannot