Quiz: Lectures on Jurisprudence

All 30 questions. A perfect score earns the gold medal; 80% earns silver.

1. 1. What does the story of the merchant who paid 10,000 ducats for water in the Arabian desert illustrate?

   That in scarcity the fortune of the bidders sets the price That water has no natural price, only a market one That labour is the true measure of all exchangeable value That merchants are cheated by the carriers they hire
2. 2. In a commercial society such as Britain, who, according to Smith, defends the state?

   The meanest, or lowest, rank The whole body of the people Foreign mercenaries only The highest order, from a principle of honour
3. 3. Why, according to Smith, do the Hungarians make more of their mines than the Turks on the other side of the same mountains?

   The Hungarians use Dutch capital The Hungarian mines are richer The Turks are forbidden to export metal The Hungarians employ free men, the Turks slaves
4. 4. What did Grotius call resident ambassadors, according to the lectures?

   Ministers of peace Resident spies Consuls of merchants Envoys extraordinary
5. 5. Whom does Smith credit as the first to attempt a regular system of natural jurisprudence?

   Pufendorf Grotius Hobbes Cocceji
6. 6. What advantage of a land tax does Smith stress?

   It is paid without the taxpayer feeling it It rises automatically with improvements It is levied at very little expense It falls mainly on merchants
7. 7. What are Smith’s four stages of society?

   Savagery, barbarism, feudalism and civilisation Fishing, hunting, herding and trading Hunting, pasturage, farming and commerce Tribe, city, kingdom and empire
8. 8. What do the lectures identify as the real foundation of the disposition to barter?

   The prudence of legislators The principle to persuade Differences of natural talent The laws of Sesostris
9. 9. To what does Smith compare the money of a country?

   The blood circulating in a body The high roads A reservoir that must be kept full Seed corn kept for the next harvest
10. 10. According to Smith, what first gave rise to regular government?

    Property in herds and flocks, which made fortunes unequal An agreement among the heads of families to keep peace The invention of writing and of written laws The building of fortified towns against invaders
11. 11. What does Smith say is the real principle behind our approval of punishment?

    Sympathy with the resentment of the sufferer Obedience to divine command Regard to public utility Fear of the crime being repeated
12. 12. How does Smith explain why the Dutch are the most faithful to their word?

    Frequent dealing makes reputation worth more than any single fraud Their national character is naturally honest Their Calvinist religion forbids lying Their courts punish breach of contract severely
13. 13. In the language of Change Alley, what is a “bear”?

    A buyer of stock for future delivery A government commissioner of the funds A seller of stock for future delivery A dealer who refuses to pay his losses
14. 14. On what two principles, according to Smith, was John Law’s scheme founded?

    That interest depends on stock, and that banks should hold full reserves That land is the only source of wealth, and that taxes should fall on rent That trade with France is ruinous, and that bullion must not be exported That public opulence consists in money, and that the value of money is arbitrary
15. 15. Which of these is not one of Smith’s five ways of acquiring property?

    Accession Prescription Labour Occupation
16. 16. Which two principles does Smith say lead people to obey civil government?

    Custom and the right of conquest Contract and consent Fear of punishment and religion Authority and utility
17. 17. Which does Smith say did not bring about the abolition of slavery in western Europe?

    The spirit of Christianity The influence of the clergy The interest of the king The poor cultivation of land by slaves
18. 18. In the lectures’ version of the pin example, how many pins can each worker make a day once the labour is divided?

    20,000 200 4,800 2,000
19. 19. Why does Smith say a gentleman with £10,000 a year is not the monster he might appear?

    He gives most of his income to the poor of his parish as alms His income maintains the workers who refine his necessaries He leads his tenants and their sons to war at his own expense He pays most of his income to the crown in land tax and excise
20. 20. Why, according to Smith, could ordinary citizens of ancient republics take part in public deliberations when modern ones do not?

    They were paid by the state from tribute Religion required every citizen to attend Their territories were too small to need representatives Slaves did their work, leaving them free to attend
21. 21. What is Smith’s judgment of perpetual entails?

    They are necessary to preserve liberty They are absurd, because the earth belongs to every generation They are a natural extension of the respect we owe to the wishes of the dead They are the best security for good cultivation
22. 22. What does Smith compare the claim of tacit consent by residence to?

    Holding a tenancy on a lord’s estate and so being bound to follow him in war Joining an army in wartime Carrying a man aboard ship, then saying he agreed to obey the master Signing a lease without reading it
23. 23. Which of these is not part of the natural price of labour as the lectures define it?

    Maintenance during the time of labour A share of the landlord’s rent Compensation for the risk of not succeeding The expense of education
24. 24. Which Scottish workers does Smith cite as evidence that unfree labour is a disadvantage even to masters?

    Highland clansmen on forfeited estates Glasgow porters Paisley and Kilmarnock weavers Colliers and salters
25. 25. According to the lectures, why is Paris less safe than London despite its many police regulations?

    Its streets are darker and narrower than London’s, and badly lit Its nobles keep many servants, who turn to crime when dismissed Its city guard is too small and too poorly paid for so large a city Its laws against theft are too lenient and seldom enforced by the courts
26. 26. What, according to the lectures, regulates the rate of interest?

    The balance of trade with other nations The quantity of stock The laws against usury The quantity of gold and silver
27. 27. What does Smith name as the four great objects of law?

    Legislation, judgement, execution and war Religion, morals, commerce and defence Justice, property, contract and crime Justice, police, revenue and arms
28. 28. What does Smith give as the main cause of the decline of the nobility’s power?

    Royal confiscation of their estates The loss of their sons in foreign wars The Church preaching against their privileges Spending on domestic luxury forced them to dismiss their retainers
29. 29. Why does Smith think slavery is least likely to be abolished under a free government?

    Its lawmakers are themselves slaveholders The church there forbids emancipation Slaves there have the vote Free governments depend on taxes paid by slaves
30. 30. What does Smith say about the difference between a porter and a philosopher?

    It is greater than the difference between a mastiff and a spaniel It proves that talent determines the division of labour It is chiefly an effect of their different occupations, not of nature It is visible from the first years of life