...that all the world lived on credit. I used to wonder why so many tradespeople, innkeepers, etc. would continue to do business with people who were chronic late (or never) payers, such as Sir Walter, Mr. Wickham, and Becky Sharp Crawley. British fiction from the 19th century is full of them. Apparently, it was fairly typical for people to live on credit, especially those who lived on annuities or periodic payments (profits) from their investments.