positively to tie themselves up to a limited price, and bid them a
little and a little more, till they come so near the sellers' price,
that they, the sellers, cannot find in their hearts to refuse it, and
then they are tempted to take it, notwithstanding their first words to
the contrary. It is common, indeed, for the tradesman to say, 'I cannot
abate anything,' when yet they do and can afford it; but the tradesman
should indeed not be understood strictly and literally to his words, but
as he means it, namely, that 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