ABSTRACT
Among the Puritan gentry there were many who subscribed to the view that diligence was a Christian duty which had relevance at all levels of society. Some Puritan squires settled so much property on their younger sons that they became major landowners in their own right; others considered it important that with the exception of the first-born their sons should take up careers in the outside world. The links between the Puritan gentry and the legal profession had always been very strong. While the Puritan divines saw nothing wrong in principle with the acquisition of riches they roundly condemned the sin of covetousness, by which they meant the pursuit of financial gain without regard to moral constraints or the interests of others. The investment of money in joint stock companies did not raise the same moral issues, primarily because there was no lender and borrower relationship in the normal sense.
