Spain

Miguel de Cervantes, Luis de Góngora y Argote, Philip II, Josep Pla i Casadevall, Jacinto Benavente, Pablo Picasso, Gonzalo Torrente Ballester, Calderón de la Barca, Francisco Gomez de Quevedo, and a host of Catalan sayings are about the subject of money. A number of Catalan sayings and Francisco Gomez de Quevedo deal with fortune and poverty. Francisco Suarez warns that: “The greater the truth, the greater the libel”. Cervantes, Luis de Molina, and Diego de Covarrubia define value. Luis Saravia de la Calle and Tomás de Mercado discourse on the just price, Francisco de Vitoria on the right of ownership, Martin de Azpilcueta on inflation, and Quevedo and Francisco de Vitoria on honour. For Francisco de Vitoria, pacifism should be the preferred strategy. He decries collectivism and proffers advice for drawing up a sale contract. Cervantes urges perseverance in overcoming fatigue. Francisco Suarez recalls the hierarchy in the laws of nature: self-preservation, ahead of the preservation of the species. He argues ruling in a tyrannical fashion is cause to depose even a lawful ruler. Miguel Delibes makes the point that progress does not serve its purpose if it brings untold woes.