摘要：In 1458 Benedikt Kotruljević completed his work Della mercatura et del mercante perfetto (On Trade and the Perfect Merchant), first published in Venice in 1573, under the editorship of Frane Petrić. An established merchant himself, in his treatise Kotruljević laid down the rules of successful trade, offering advice on how to become a perfect merchant. “Practice being the daughter of theory”, each practical step should be preceded by internal deliberation and consideration of the matters we intend to deal with in practice. Such considerations on trade lead us to the rules of successful commerce. Once a merchant masters them, he is able to conduct business fairly and contribute to the welfare of mankind with prospects of profit. Profit and accumulation of wealth Kotruljević considers the main goals of successful trade. He describes the values proper to the ideal merchant. Given the communicative nature of his work, a merchant should be a treasure of human virtues. When a merchant sets a fair price, he makes a fair profit. Kotruljević adds that such a merchant, although profit-oriented, shows concern for the well-being of others and that is precisely what makes him a perfect merchant. According to Aristotle, the welfare of others is a basic feature of justice which, for this reason, is being understood as a perfect virtue. As a perfect virtue in Aristotle’s philosophy, in order to be accomplished it requires the middle, no more nor less, and presumes the accomplishment of other virtues. Although in the chapter “On Merchant’s Justice” of the third book Kotruljević refers to Augustine’s definition of justice, the aim of this article is to question the relationship between Aristotle’s understanding of justice and Kotruljević’s idea of the perfect merchant and successful trade.
