,an ,essay on the ,principle of         
,population  ,thomas ,malthus    #agih  
,,an ,,essay ,,on ,,the ,,principle ,,of
 ,,population1 ,,as ,,it ,,affects ,,the
 ,,future ,,improvement ,,of ,,society  
,,with ,,remarks ,,on ,,the             
,,speculations ,,of ,,mr4 ,,godwin1 ,m4 
,,condorcet1 ,,and ,,other ,,writers4   
,,london1 ,,printed ,,for ,j4 ,,johnson1
 ,,in ,,st4 ,,paul',s ,,church-,,yard1  
#agih4     ,preface   ,the following    
,essay owes its origin to a conversation
 with a friend1 on the subject of ,mr   
,godwin's essay on avarice and          
profusion1 in his ,enquirer4 ,the       
discussion started the general question 
of the future improvement of society1   
and the ,author at first sat down with  
an intention of merely stating his      
thoughts to his friend1 upon paper1 in a
 clearer manner than he thought he could
 do in conversation4 ,but as the subject
 opened upon him1 some ideas occurred1  
which he did not recollect to have met  
with before2 and as he conceived that   

every least light1 on a topic so        
generally interesting1 might be received
 with candour1 he determined to put his 
thoughts in a form for publication4     
,the ,essay might1 undoubtedly1 have    
been rendered much more complete by a   
collection of a greater number of facts 
in elucidation of the general argument4 
,but a long and almost total            
interruption from very particular       
business1 joined to a desire 7perhaps   
imprudent7 of not delaying the          
publication much beyond the time that he
 originally proposed1 prevented the     
,author from giving to the subject an   
undivided attention4 ,he presumes1      
however1 that the facts which he has    
adduced will be found to form no        
inconsiderable evidence for the truth of
 his opinion respecting the future      
improvement of mankind4 ,as the ,author 
contemplates this opinion at present1   
little more appears to him to be        
necessary than a plain statement1 in    
addition to the most cursory view of    

society1 to establish it4  ,it is an    
obvious truth1 which has been taken     
notice of by many writers1 that         
population must always be kept down to  
the level of the means of subsistence2  
but no writer that the ,author          
recollects has inquired particularly    
into the means by which this level is   
effected3 and it is a view of these     
means which forms1 to his mind1 the     
strongest obstacle in the way to any    
very great future improvement of        
society4 ,he hopes it will appear that1 
in the discussion of this interesting   
subject1 he is actuated solely by a love
 of truth1 and not by any prejudices    
against any particular set of men1 or of
 opinions4 ,he professes to have read   
some of the speculations on the future  
improvement of society in a temper very 
different from a wish to find them      
visionary1 but he has not acquired that 
command over his understanding which    
would enable him to believe what he     
wishes1 without evidence1 or to refuse  

his assent to what might be unpleasing1 
when accompanied with evidence4  ,the   
view which he has given of human life   
has a melancholy hue1 but he feels      
conscious that he has drawn these dark  
tints from a conviction that they are   
really in the picture1 and not from a   
jaundiced eye or an inherent spleen of  
disposition4 ,the theory of mind which  
he has sketched in the two last chapters
 accounts to his own understanding in a 
satisfactory manner for the existence of
 most of the evils of life1 but whether 
it will have the same effect upon others
 must be left to the judgement of his   
readers4  ,if he should succeed in      
drawing the attention of more able men  
to what he conceives to be the principal
 difficulty in the way to the           
improvement of society and should1 in   
consequence1 see this difficulty        
removed1 even in theory1 he will gladly 
retract his present opinions and rejoice
 in a conviction of his error4          
#g ,june #agih     ,,chapter #a         

,question stated--,little prospect of a 
determination of it1 from the enmity of 
the opposing parties--,the principal    
argument against the perfectibility of  
man and of society has never been fairly
 answered--,nature of the difficulty    
arising from population--,outline of the
 principal argument of the ,essay   ,the
 great and unlooked for discoveries that
 have taken place of late years in      
natural philosophy1 the increasing      
diffusion of general knowledge from the 
extension of the art of printing1 the   
ardent and unshackled spirit of inquiry 
that prevails throughout the lettered   
and even unlettered world1 the new and  
extraordinary lights that have been     
thrown on political subjects which      
dazzle and astonish the understanding1  
and particularly that tremendous        
phenomenon in the political horizon1 the
 ,french ,revolution1 which1 like a     
blazing comet1 seems destined either to 
inspire with fresh life and vigour1 or  
to scorch up and destroy the shrinking  

inhabitants of the earth1 have all      
concurred to lead many able men into the
 opinion that we were touching on a     
period big with the most important      
changes1 changes that would in some     
measure be decisive of the future fate  
of mankind4  ,it has been said that the 
great question is now at issue1 whether 
man shall henceforth start forwards with
 accelerated velocity towards           
illimitable1 and hitherto unconceived   
improvement1 or be condemned to a       
perpetual oscillation between happiness 
and misery1 and after every effort      
remain still at an immeasurable distance
 from the wished-for goal4  ,yet1       
anxiously as every friend of mankind    
must look forwards to the termination of
 this painful suspense1 and eagerly as  
the inquiring mind would hail every ray 
of light that might assist its view into
 futurity1 it is much to be lamented    
that the writers on each side of this   
momentous question still keep far aloof 
from each other4 ,their mutual arguments

 do not meet with a candid examination4 
,the question is not brought to rest on 
fewer points1 and even in theory        
scarcely seems to be approaching to a   
decision4  ,the advocate for the present
 order of things is apt to treat the    
sect of speculative philosophers either 
as a set of artful and designing knaves 
who preach up ardent benevolence and    
draw captivating pictures of a happier  
state of society only the better to     
enable them to destroy the present      
establishments and to forward their own 
deep-laid schemes of ambition1 or as    
wild and mad-headed enthusiasts whose   
silly speculations and absurd paradoxes 
are not worthy the attention of any     
reasonable man4  ,the advocate for the  
perfectibility of man1 and of society1  
retorts on the defender of              
establishments a more than equal        
contempt4 ,he brands him as the slave of
 the most miserable and narrow          
prejudices2 or as the defender of the   
abuses of civil society only because he 

profits by them4 ,he paints him either  
as a character who prostitutes his      
understanding to his interest1 or as one
 whose powers of mind are not of a size 
to grasp any thing great and noble1 who 
cannot see above five yards before him1 
and who must therefore be utterly unable
 to take in the views of the enlightened
 benefactor of mankind4  ,in this       
unamicable contest the cause of truth   
cannot but suffer4 ,the really good     
arguments on each side of the question  
are not allowed to have their proper    
weight4 ,each pursues his own theory1   
little solicitous to correct or improve 
it by an attention to what is advanced  
by his opponents4  ,the friend of the   
present order of things condemns all    
political speculations in the gross4 ,he
 will not even condescend to examine the
 grounds from which the perfectibility  
of society is inferred4 ,much less will 
he give himself the trouble in a fair   
and candid manner to attempt an         
exposition of their fallacy4  ,the      

speculative philosopher equally offends 
against the cause of truth4 ,with eyes  
fixed on a happier state of society1 the
 blessings of which he paints in the    
most captivating colours1 he allows     
himself to indulge in the most bitter   
invectives against every present        
establishment1 without applying his     
talents to consider the best and safest 
means of removing abuses and without    
seeming to be aware of the tremendous   
obstacles that threaten1 even in theory1
 to oppose the progress of man towards  
perfection4  ,it is an acknowledged     
truth in philosophy that a just theory  
will always be confirmed by experiment4 
,yet so much friction1 and so many      
minute circumstances occur in practice1 
which it is next to impossible for the  
most enlarged and penetrating mind to   
foresee1 that on few subjects can any   
theory be pronounced just1 till all the 
arguments against it have been maturely 
weighed and clearly and consistently    
refuted4  ,i have read some of the      

speculations on the perfectibility of   
man and of society with great pleasure4 
,i have been warmed and delighted with  
the enchanting picture which they hold  
forth4 ,i ardently wish for such happy  
improvements4 ,but ,i see great1 and1 to
 my understanding1 unconquerable        
difficulties in the way to them4 ,these 
difficulties it is my present purpose to
 state1 declaring1 at the same time1    
that so far from exulting in them1 as a 
cause of triumph over the friends of    
innovation1 nothing would give me       
greater pleasure than to see them       
completely removed4  ,the most important
 argument that ,i shall adduce is       
certainly not new4 ,the principles on   
which it depends have been explained in 
part by ,hume1 and more at large by ,dr 
,adam ,smith4 ,it has been advanced and 
applied to the present subject1 though  
not with its proper weight1 or in the   
most forcible point of view1 by ,mr     
,wallace1 and it may probably have been 
stated by many writers that ,i have     

never met with4 ,i should certainly     
therefore not think of advancing it     
again1 though ,i mean to place it in a  
point of view in some degree different  
from any that ,i have hitherto seen1 if 
it had ever been fairly and             
satisfactorily answered4  ,the cause of 
this neglect on the part of the         
advocates for the perfectibility of     
mankind is not easily accounted for4 ,i 
cannot doubt the talents of such men as 
,godwin and ,condorcet4 ,i am unwilling 
to doubt their candour4 ,to my          
understanding1 and probably to that of  
most others1 the difficulty appears     
insurmountable4 ,yet these men of       
acknowledged ability and penetration    
scarcely deign to notice it1 and hold on
 their course in such speculations with 
unabated ardour and undiminished        
confidence4 ,i have certainly no right  
to say that they purposely shut their   
eyes to such arguments4 ,i ought rather 
to doubt the validity of them1 when     
neglected by such men1 however forcibly 

their truth may strike my own mind4 ,yet
 in this respect it must be acknowledged
 that we are all of us too prone to err4
 ,if ,i saw a glass of wine repeatedly  
presented to a man1 and he took no      
notice of it1 ,i should be apt to think 
that he was blind or uncivil4 ,a juster 
philosophy might teach me rather to     
think that my eyes deceived me and that 
the offer was not really what ,i        
conceived it to be4  ,in entering upon  
the argument ,i must premise that ,i put
 out of the question1 at present1 all   
mere conjectures1 that is1 all          
suppositions1 the probable realization  
of which cannot be inferred upon any    
just philosophical grounds4 ,a writer   
may tell me that he thinks man will     
ultimately become an ostrich4 ,i cannot 
properly contradict him4 ,but before he 
can expect to bring any reasonable      
person over to his opinion1 he ought to 
shew that the necks of mankind have been
 gradually elongating1 that the lips    
have grown harder and more prominent1   

that the legs and feet are daily        
altering their shape1 and that the hair 
is beginning to change into stubs of    
feathers4 ,and till the probability of  
so wonderful a conversion can be shewn1 
it is surely lost time and lost         
eloquence to expatiate on the happiness 
of man in such a state2 to describe his 
powers1 both of running and flying1 to  
paint him in a condition where all      
narrow luxuries would be contemned1     
where he would be employed only in      
collecting the necessaries of life1 and 
where1 consequently1 each man's share of
 labour would be light1 and his portion 
of leisure ample4  ,i think ,i may      
fairly make two postulata4  ,first1     
,that food is necessary to the existence
 of man4  ,secondly1 ,that the passion  
between the sexes is necessary and will 
remain nearly in its present state4     
,these two laws1 ever since we have had 
any knowledge of mankind1 appear to have
 been fixed laws of our nature1 and1 as 
we have not hitherto seen any alteration

 in them1 we have no right to conclude  
that they will ever cease to be what    
they now are1 without an immediate act  
of power in that ,being who first       
arranged the system of the universe1 and
 for the advantage of his creatures1    
still executes1 according to fixed laws1
 all its various operations4  ,i do not 
know that any writer has supposed that  
on this earth man will ultimately be    
able to live without food4 ,but ,mr     
,godwin has conjectured that the passion
 between the sexes may in time be       
extinguished4 ,as1 however1 he calls    
this part of his work a deviation into  
the land of conjecture1 ,i will not     
dwell longer upon it at present than to 
say that the best arguments for the     
perfectibility of man are drawn from a  
contemplation of the great progress that
 he has already made from the savage    
state and the difficulty of saying where
 he is to stop4 ,but towards the        
extinction of the passion between the   
sexes1 no progress whatever has hitherto

 been made4 ,it appears to exist in as  
much force at present as it did two     
thousand or four thousand years ago4    
,there are individual exceptions now as 
there always have been4 ,but1 as these  
exceptions do not appear to increase in 
number1 it would surely be a very       
unphilosophical mode of arguing to      
infer1 merely from the existence of an  
exception1 that the exception would1 in 
time1 become the rule1 and the rule the 
exception4  ,assuming then my postulata 
as granted1 ,i say1 that the power of   
population is indefinitely greater than 
the power in the earth to produce       
subsistence for man4  ,population1 when 
unchecked1 increases in a geometrical   
ratio4 ,subsistence increases only in an
 arithmetical ratio4 ,a slight          
acquaintance with numbers will shew the 
immensity of the first power in         
comparison of the second4  ,by that law 
of our nature which makes food necessary
 to the life of man1 the effects of     
these two unequal powers must be kept   

equal4  ,this implies a strong and      
constantly operating check on population
 from the difficulty of subsistence4    
,this difficulty must fall somewhere and
 must necessarily be severely felt by a 
large portion of mankind4  ,through the 
animal and vegetable kingdoms1 nature   
has scattered the seeds of life abroad  
with the most profuse and liberal hand4 
,she has been comparatively sparing in  
the room and the nourishment necessary  
to rear them4 ,the germs of existence   
contained in this spot of earth1 with   
ample food1 and ample room to expand in1
 would fill millions of worlds in the   
course of a few thousand years4         
,necessity1 that imperious all pervading
 law of nature1 restrains them within   
the prescribed bounds4 ,the race of     
plants and the race of animals shrink   
under this great restrictive law4 ,and  
the race of man cannot1 by any efforts  
of reason1 escape from it4 ,among plants
 and animals its effects are waste of   
seed1 sickness1 and premature death4    

,among mankind1 misery and vice4 ,the   
former1 misery1 is an absolutely        
necessary consequence of it4 ,vice is a 
highly probable consequence1 and we     
therefore see it abundantly prevail1 but
 it ought not1 perhaps1 to be called an 
absolutely necessary consequence4 ,the  
ordeal of virtue is to resist all       
temptation to evil4  ,this natural      
inequality of the two powers of         
population and of production in the     
earth1 and that great law of our nature 
which must constantly keep their effects
 equal1 form the great difficulty that  
to me appears insurmountable in the way 
to the perfectibility of society4 ,all  
other arguments are of slight and       
subordinate consideration in comparison 
of this4 ,i see no way by which man can 
escape from the weight of this law which
 pervades all animated nature4 ,no      
fancied equality1 no agrarian           
regulations in their utmost extent1     
could remove the pressure of it even for
 a single century4 ,and it appears1     

therefore1 to be decisive against the   
possible existence of a society1 all the
 members of which should live in ease1  
happiness1 and comparative leisure2 and 
feel no anxiety about providing the     
means of subsistence for themselves and 
families4  ,consequently1 if the        
premises are just1 the argument is      
conclusive against the perfectibility of
 the mass of mankind4  ,i have thus     
sketched the general outline of the     
argument1 but ,i will examine it more   
particularly1 and ,i think it will be   
found that experience1 the true source  
and foundation of all knowledge1        
invariably confirms its truth4          
,,chapter #b  ,the different ratio in   
which population and food increase--,the
 necessary effects of these different   
ratios of increase--,oscillation        
produced by them in the condition of the
 lower classes of society--,reasons why 
this oscillation has not been so much   
observed as might be expected--,three   
propositions on which the general       

argument of the ,essay depends--,the    
different states in which mankind have  
been known to exist proposed to be      
examined with reference to these three  
propositions4   ,i said that population1
 when unchecked1 increased in a         
geometrical ratio1 and subsistence for  
man in an arithmetical ratio4  ,let us  
examine whether this position be just4  
,i think it will be allowed1 that no    
state has hitherto existed 7at least    
that we have any account of7 where the  
manners were so pure and simple1 and the
 means of subsistence so abundant1 that 
no check whatever has existed to early  
marriages1 among the lower classes1 from
 a fear of not providing well for their 
families1 or among the higher classes1  
from a fear of lowering their condition 
in life4 ,consequently in no state that 
we have yet known has the power of      
population been left to exert itself    
with perfect freedom4  ,whether the law 
of marriage be instituted or not1 the   
dictate of nature and virtue seems to be

 an early attachment to one woman4      
,supposing a liberty of changing in the 
case of an unfortunate choice1 this     
liberty would not affect population till
 it arose to a height greatly vicious2  
and we are now supposing the existence  
of a society where vice is scarcely     
known4  ,in a state therefore of great  
equality and virtue1 where pure and     
simple manners prevailed1 and where the 
means of subsistence were so abundant   
that no part of the society could have  
any fears about providing amply for a   
family1 the power of population being   
left to exert itself unchecked1 the     
increase of the human species would     
evidently be much greater than any      
increase that has been hitherto known4  
,in the ,united ,states of ,america1    
where the means of subsistence have been
 more ample1 the manners of the people  
more pure1 and consequently the checks  
to early marriages fewer1 than in any of
 the modern states of ,europe1 the      
population has been found to double     

itself in twenty-five years4  ,this     
ratio of increase1 though short of the  
utmost power of population1 yet as the  
result of actual experience1 we will    
take as our rule1 and say1 that         
population1 when unchecked1 goes on     
doubling itself every twenty-five years 
or increases in a geometrical ratio4    
,let us now take any spot of earth1 this
 ,island for instance1 and see in what  
ratio the subsistence it affords can be 
supposed to increase4 ,we will begin    
with it under its present state of      
cultivation4  ,if ,i allow that by the  
best possible policy1 by breaking up    
more land and by great encouragements to
 agriculture1 the produce of this       
,island may be doubled in the first     
twenty-five years1 ,i think it will be  
allowing as much as any person can well 
demand4  ,in the next twenty-five years1
 it is impossible to suppose that the   
produce could be quadrupled4 ,it would  
be contrary to all our knowledge of the 
qualities of land4 ,the very utmost that

 we can conceive1 is1 that the increase 
in the second twenty-five years might   
equal the present produce4 ,let us then 
take this for our rule1 though certainly
 far beyond the truth1 and allow that1  
by great exertion1 the whole produce of 
the ,island might be increased every    
twenty-five years1 by a quantity of     
subsistence equal to what it at present 
produces4 ,the most enthusiastic        
speculator cannot suppose a greater     
increase than this4 ,in a few centuries 
it would make every acre of land in the 
,island like a garden4  ,yet this ratio 
of increase is evidently arithmetical4  
,it may be fairly said1 therefore1 that 
the means of subsistence increase in an 
arithmetical ratio4 ,let us now bring   
the effects of these two ratios         
together4  ,the population of the       
,island is computed to be about seven   
millions1 and we will suppose the       
present produce equal to the support of 
such a number4 ,in the first twenty-five
 years the population would be fourteen 

millions1 and the food being also       
doubled1 the means of subsistence would 
be equal to this increase4 ,in the next 
twenty-five years the population would  
be twenty-eight millions1 and the means 
of subsistence only equal to the support
 of twenty-one millions4 ,in the next   
period1 the population would be         
fifty-six millions1 and the means of    
subsistence just sufficient for half    
that number4 ,and at the conclusion of  
the first century the population would  
be one hundred and twelve millions and  
the means of subsistence only equal to  
the support of thirty-five millions1    
which would leave a population of       
seventy-seven millions totally          
unprovided for4  ,a great emigration    
necessarily implies unhappiness of some 
kind or other in the country that is    
deserted4 ,for few persons will leave   
their families1 connections1 friends1   
and native land1 to seek a settlement in
 untried foreign climes1 without some   
strong subsisting causes of uneasiness  

where they are1 or the hope of some     
great advantages in the place to which  
they are going4  ,but to make the       
argument more general and less          
interrupted by the partial views of     
emigration1 let us take the whole earth1
 instead of one spot1 and suppose that  
the restraints to population were       
universally removed4 ,if the subsistence
 for man that the earth affords was to  
be increased every twenty-five years by 
a quantity equal to what the whole world
 at present produces1 this would allow  
the power of production in the earth to 
be absolutely unlimited1 and its ratio  
of increase much greater than we can    
conceive that any possible exertions of 
mankind could make it4  ,taking the     
population of the world at any number1 a
 thousand millions1 for instance1 the   
human species would increase in the     
ratio of--#a1 #b1 #d1 #h1 #af1 #cb1 #fd1
 #abh1 #bef1 #eab1 etc4 and subsistence 
as--#a1 #b1 #c1 #d1 #e1 #f1 #g1 #h1 #i1 
#aj1 etc4 ,in two centuries and a       

quarter1 the population would be to the 
means of subsistence as #eab to #aj3 in 
three centuries as #djif to #ac1 and in 
two thousand years the difference would 
be almost incalculable1 though the      
produce in that time would have         
increased to an immense extent4  ,no    
limits whatever are placed to the       
productions of the earth2 they may      
increase for ever and be greater than   
any assignable quantity1 yet still the  
power of population being a power of a  
superior order1 the increase of the     
human species can only be kept          
commensurate to the increase of the     
means of subsistence by the constant    
operation of the strong law of necessity
 acting as a check upon the greater     
power4  ,the effects of this check      
remain now to be considered4  ,among    
plants and animals the view of the      
subject is simple4 ,they are all        
impelled by a powerful instinct to the  
increase of their species1 and this     
instinct is interrupted by no reasoning 

or doubts about providing for their     
offspring4 ,wherever therefore there is 
liberty1 the power of increase is       
exerted1 and the superabundant effects  
are repressed afterwards by want of room
 and nourishment1 which is common to    
animals and plants1 and among animals by
 becoming the prey of others4  ,the     
effects of this check on man are more   
complicated4 ,impelled to the increase  
of his species by an equally powerful   
instinct1 reason interrupts his career  
and asks him whether he may not bring   
beings into the world for whom he cannot
 provide the means of subsistence4 ,in a
 state of equality1 this would be the   
simple question4 ,in the present state  
of society1 other considerations occur4 
,will he not lower his rank in life8    
,will he not subject himself to greater 
difficulties than he at present feels8  
,will he not be obliged to labour       
harder8 and if he has a large family1   
will his utmost exertions enable him to 
support them8 ,may he not see his       

offspring in rags and misery1 and       
clamouring for bread that he cannot give
 them8 ,and may he not be reduced to the
 grating necessity of forfeiting his    
independence1 and of being obliged to   
the sparing hand of charity for support8
  ,these considerations are calculated  
to prevent1 and certainly do prevent1 a 
very great number in all civilized      
nations from pursuing the dictate of    
nature in an early attachment to one    
woman4 ,and this restraint almost       
necessarily1 though not absolutely so1  
produces vice4 ,yet in all societies1   
even those that are most vicious1 the   
tendency to a virtuous attachment is so 
strong that there is a constant effort  
towards an increase of population4 ,this
 constant effort as constantly tends to 
subject the lower classes of the society
 to distress and to prevent any great   
permanent amelioration of their         
condition4  ,the way in which1 these    
effects are produced seems to be this4  
,we will suppose the means of           

subsistence in any country just equal to
 the easy support of its inhabitants4   
,the constant effort towards population1
 which is found to act even in the most 
vicious societies1 increases the number 
of people before the means of           
subsistence are increased4 ,the food    
therefore which before supported seven  
millions must now be divided among seven
 millions and a half or eight millions4 
,the poor consequently must live much   
worse1 and many of them be reduced to   
severe distress4 ,the number of         
labourers also being above the          
proportion of the work in the market1   
the price of labour must tend toward a  
decrease1 while the price of provisions 
would at the same time tend to rise4    
,the labourer therefore must work harder
 to earn the same as he did before4     
,during this season of distress1 the    
discouragements to marriage1 and the    
difficulty of rearing a family are so   
great that population is at a stand4 ,in
 the mean time the cheapness of labour1 

the plenty of labourers1 and the        
necessity of an increased industry      
amongst them1 encourage cultivators to  
employ more labour upon their land1 to  
turn up fresh soil1 and to manure and   
improve more completely what is already 
in tillage1 till ultimately the means of
 subsistence become in the same         
proportion to the population as at the  
period from which we set out4 ,the      
situation of the labourer being then    
again tolerably comfortable1 the        
restraints to population are in some    
degree loosened1 and the same retrograde
 and progressive movements with respect 
to happiness are repeated4  ,this sort  
of oscillation will not be remarked by  
superficial observers1 and it may be    
difficult even for the most penetrating 
mind to calculate its periods4 ,yet that
 in all old states some such vibration  
does exist1 though from various         
transverse causes1 in a much less       
marked1 and in a much more irregular    
manner than ,i have described it1 no    

reflecting man who considers the subject
 deeply can well doubt4  ,many reasons  
occur why this oscillation has been less
 obvious1 and less decidedly confirmed  
by experience1 than might naturally be  
expected4  ,one principal reason is that
 the histories of mankind that we       
possess are histories only of the higher
 classes4 ,we have but few accounts that
 can be depended upon of the manners and
 customs of that part of mankind where  
these retrograde and progressive        
movements chiefly take place4 ,a        
satisfactory history of this kind1 on   
one people1 and of one period1 would    
require the constant and minute         
attention of an observing mind during a 
long life4 ,some of the objects of      
inquiry would be1 in what proportion to 
the number of adults was the number of  
marriages1 to what extent vicious       
customs prevailed in consequence of the 
restraints upon matrimony1 what was the 
comparative mortality among the children
 of the most distressed part of the     

community and those who lived rather    
more at their ease1 what were the       
variations in the real price of labour1 
and what were the observable differences
 in the state of the lower classes of   
society with respect to ease and        
happiness1 at different times during a  
certain period4  ,such a history would  
tend greatly to elucidate the manner in 
which the constant check upon population
 acts and would probably prove the      
existence of the retrograde and         
progressive movements that have been    
mentioned1 though the times of their    
vibrations must necessarily be rendered 
irregular from the operation of many    
interrupting causes1 such as the        
introduction or failure of certain      
manufactures1 a greater or less         
prevalent spirit of agricultural        
enterprise1 years of plenty1 or years of
 scarcity1 wars and pestilence1 poor    
laws1 the invention of processes for    
shortening labour without the           
proportional extension of the market for

 the commodity1 and1 particularly1 the  
difference between the nominal and real 
price of labour1 a circumstance which   
has perhaps more than any other         
contributed to conceal this oscillation 
from common view4  ,it very rarely      
happens that the nominal price of labour
 universally falls1 but we well know    
that it frequently remains the same1    
while the nominal price of provisions   
has been gradually increasing4 ,this is1
 in effect1 a real fall in the price of 
labour1 and during this period the      
condition of the lower orders of the    
community must gradually grow worse and 
worse4 ,but the farmers and capitalists 
are growing rich from the real cheapness
 of labour4 ,their increased capitals   
enable them to employ a greater number  
of men4 ,work therefore may be          
plentiful1 and the price of labour would
 consequently rise4 ,but the want of    
freedom in the market of labour1 which  
occurs more or less in all communities1 
either from parish laws1 or the more    

general cause of the facility of        
combination among the rich1 and its     
difficulty among the poor1 operates to  
prevent the price of labour from rising 
at the natural period1 and keeps it down
 some time longer2 perhaps till a year  
of scarcity1 when the clamour is too    
loud and the necessity too apparent to  
be resisted4  ,the true cause of the    
advance in the price of labour is thus  
concealed1 and the rich affect to grant 
it as an act of compassion and favour to
 the poor1 in consideration of a year of
 scarcity1 and1 when plenty returns1    
indulge themselves in the most          
unreasonable of all complaints1 that the
 price does not again fall1 when a      
little rejection would shew them that it
 must have risen long before but from an
 unjust conspiracy of their own4  ,but  
though the rich by unfair combinations  
contribute frequently to prolong a      
season of distress among the poor1 yet  
no possible form of society could       
prevent the almost constant action of   

misery upon a great part of mankind1 if 
in a state of inequality1 and upon all1 
if all were equal4  ,the theory on which
 the truth of this position depends     
appears to me so extremely clear that ,i
 feel at a loss to conjecture what part 
of it can be denied4  ,that population  
cannot increase without the means of    
subsistence is a proposition so evident 
that it needs no illustration4  ,that   
population does invariably increase     
where there are the means of            
subsistence1 the history of every people
 that have ever existed will abundantly 
prove4  ,and that the superior power of 
population cannot be checked without    
producing misery or vice1 the ample     
portion of these too bitter ingredients 
in the cup of human life and the        
continuance of the physical causes that 
seem to have produced them bear too     
convincing a testimony4  ,but1 in order 
more fully to ascertain the validity of 
these three propositions1 let us examine
 the different states in which mankind  

have been known to exist4 ,even a       
cursory review will1 ,i think1 be       
sufficient to convince us that these    
propositions are incontrovertible       
truths4     ,,chapter #c  ,the savage or
 hunter state shortly reviewed--,the    
shepherd state1 or the tribes of        
barbarians that overran the ,roman      
,empire--,the superiority of the power  
of population to the means of           
subsistence--the cause of the great tide
 of ,northern ,emigration4   ,in the    
rudest state of mankind1 in which       
hunting is the principal occupation1 and
 the only mode of acquiring food2 the   
means of subsistence being scattered    
over a large extent of territory1 the   
comparative population must necessarily 
be thin4 ,it is said that the passion   
between the sexes is less ardent among  
the ,north ,american ,indians1 than     
among any other race of men4 ,yet1      
notwithstanding this apathy1 the effort 
towards population1 even in this people1
 seems to be always greater than the    

means to support it4 ,this appears1 from
 the comparatively rapid population that
 takes place1 whenever any of the tribes
 happen to settle in some fertile spot1 
and to draw nourishment from more       
fruitful sources than that of hunting2  
and it has been frequently remarked that
 when an ,indian family has taken up its
 abode near any ,european settlement1   
and adopted a more easy and civilized   
mode of life1 that one woman has reared 
five1 or six1 or more children2 though  
in the savage state it rarely happens   
that above one or two in a family grow  
up to maturity4 ,the same observation   
has been made with regard to the        
,hottentots near the ,cape4 ,these facts
 prove the superior power of population 
to the means of subsistence in nations  
of hunters1 and that this power always  
shews itself the moment it is left to   
act with freedom4  ,it remains to       
inquire whether this power can be       
checked1 and its effects kept equal to  
the means of subsistence1 without vice  

or misery4  ,the ,north ,american       
,indians1 considered as a people1 cannot
 justly be called free and equal4 ,in   
all the accounts we have of them1 and1  
indeed1 of most other savage nations1   
the women are represented as much more  
completely in a state of slavery to the 
men than the poor are to the rich in    
civilized countries4 ,one half the      
nation appears to act as ,helots to the 
other half1 and the misery that checks  
population falls chiefly1 as it always  
must do1 upon that part whose condition 
is lowest in the scale of society4 ,the 
infancy of man in the simplest state    
requires considerable attention1 but    
this necessary attention the women      
cannot give1 condemned as they are to   
the inconveniences and hardships of     
frequent change of place and to the     
constant and unremitting drudgery of    
preparing every thing for the reception 
of their tyrannic lords4 ,these         
exertions1 sometimes during pregnancy or
 with children at their backs1 must     

occasion frequent miscarriages1 and     
prevent any but the most robust infants 
from growing to maturity4 ,add to these 
hardships of the women the constant war 
that prevails among savages1 and the    
necessity which they frequently labour  
under of exposing their aged and        
helpless parents1 and of thus violating 
the first feelings of nature1 and the   
picture will not appear very free from  
the blot of misery4 ,in estimating the  
happiness of a savage nation1 we must   
not fix our eyes only on the warrior in 
the prime of life3 he is one of a       
hundred3 he is the gentleman1 the man of
 fortune1 the chances have been in his  
favour and many efforts have failed ere 
this fortunate being was produced1 whose
 guardian genius should preserve him    
through the numberless dangers with     
which he would be surrounded from       
infancy to manhood4 ,the true points of 
comparison between two nations seem to  
be the ranks in each which appear       
nearest to answer to each other4 ,and in

 this view1 ,i should compare the       
warriors in the prime of life with the  
gentlemen1 and the women1 children1 and 
aged1 with the lower classes of the     
community in civilized states4  ,may we 
not then fairly infer from this short   
review1 or rather1 from the accounts    
that may be referred to of nations of   
hunters1 that their population is thin  
from the scarcity of food1 that it would
 immediately increase if food was in    
greater plenty1 and that1 putting vice  
out of the question among savages1      
misery is the check that represses the  
superior power of population and keeps  
its effects equal to the means of       
subsistence4 ,actual observation and    
experience tell us that this check1 with
 a few local and temporary exceptions1  
is constantly acting now upon all savage
 nations1 and the theory indicates that 
it probably acted with nearly equal     
strength a thousand years ago1 and it   
may not be much greater a thousand years
 hence4  ,of the manners and habits that

 prevail among nations of shepherds1 the
 next state of mankind1 we are even more
 ignorant than of the savage state4 ,but
 that these nations could not escape the
 general lot of misery arising from the 
want of subsistence1 ,europe1 and all   
the fairest countries in the world1 bear
 ample testimony4 ,want was the goad    
that drove the ,scythian shepherds from 
their native haunts1 like so many       
famished wolves in search of prey4 ,set 
in motion by this all powerful cause1   
clouds of ,barbarians seemed to collect 
from all points of the northern         
hemisphere4 ,gathering fresh darkness   
and terror as they rolled on1 the       
congregated bodies at length obscured   
the sun of ,italy and sunk the whole    
world in universal night4 ,these        
tremendous effects1 so long and so      
deeply felt throughout the fairest      
portions of the earth1 may be traced to 
the simple cause of the superior power  
of population to the means of           
subsistence4  ,it is well known that a  

country in pasture cannot support so    
many inhabitants as a country in        
tillage1 but what renders nations of    
shepherds so formidable is the power    
which they possess of moving all        
together and the necessity they         
frequently feel of exerting this power  
in search of fresh pasture for their    
herds4 ,a tribe that was rich in cattle 
had an immediate plenty of food4 ,even  
the parent stock might be devoured in a 
case of absolute necessity4 ,the women  
lived in greater ease than among nations
 of hunters4 ,the men bold in their     
united strength and confiding in their  
power of procuring pasture for their    
cattle by change of place1 felt1        
probably1 but few fears about providing 
for a family4 ,these combined causes    
soon produced their natural and         
invariable effect1 an extended          
population4 ,a more frequent and rapid  
change of place became then necessary4  
,a wider and more extensive territory   
was successively occupied4 ,a broader   

desolation extended all around them4    
,want pinched the less fortunate members
 of the society1 and1 at length1 the    
impossibility of supporting such a      
number together became too evident to be
 resisted4 ,young scions were then      
pushed out from the parent-stock and    
instructed to explore fresh regions and 
to gain happier seats for themselves by 
their swords4 ',the world was all before
 them where to choose4' ,restless from  
present distress1 flushed with the hope 
of fairer prospects1 and animated with  
the spirit of hardy enterprise1 these   
daring adventurers were likely to become
 formidable adversaries to all who      
opposed them4 ,the peaceful inhabitants 
of the countries on which they rushed   
could not long withstand the energy of  
men acting under such powerful motives  
of exertion4 ,and when they fell in with
 any tribes like their own1 the contest 
was a struggle for existence1 and they  
fought with a desperate courage1        
inspired by the rejection that death was

 the punishment of defeat and life the  
prize of victory4  ,in these savage     
contests many tribes must have been     
utterly exterminated4 ,some1 probably1  
perished by hardship and famine4        
,others1 whose leading star had given   
them a happier direction1 became great  
and powerful tribes1 and1 in their      
turns1 sent off fresh adventurers in    
search of still more fertile seats4 ,the
 prodigious waste of human life         
occasioned by this perpetual struggle   
for room and food was more than supplied
 by the mighty power of population1     
acting1 in some degree1 unshackled from 
the consent habit of emigration4 ,the   
tribes that migrated towards the ,south1
 though they won these more fruitful    
regions by continual battles1 rapidly   
increased in number and power1 from the 
increased means of subsistence4 ,till at
 length the whole territory1 from the   
confines of ,china to the shores of the 
,baltic1 was peopled by a various race  
of ,barbarians1 brave1 robust1 and      

enterprising1 inured to hardship1 and   
delighting in war4 ,some tribes         
maintained their independence4 ,others  
ranged themselves under the standard of 
some barbaric chieftain who led them to 
victory after victory1 and what was of  
more importance1 to regions abounding in
 corn1 wine1 and oil1 the long wished   
for consummation1 and great reward of   
their labours4 ,an ,alaric1 an ,attila1 
or a ,zingis ,khan1 and the chiefs      
around them1 might fight for glory1 for 
the fame of extensive conquests1 but the
 true cause that set in motion the great
 tide of northern emigration1 and that  
continued to propel it till it rolled at
 different periods against ,china1      
,persia1 ,italy1 and even ,egypt1 was a 
scarcity of food1 a population extended 
beyond the means of supporting it4  ,the
 absolute population at any one period1 
in proportion to the extent of          
territory1 could never be great1 on     
account of the unproductive nature of   
some of the regions occupied2 but there 

appears to have been a most rapid       
succession of human beings1 and as fast 
as some were mowed down by the scythe of
 war or of famine1 others rose in       
increased numbers to supply their place4
 ,among these bold and improvident      
,barbarians1 population was probably but
 little checked1 as in modern states1   
from a fear of future difficulties4 ,a  
prevailing hope of bettering their      
condition by change of place1 a constant
 expectation of plunder1 a power even1  
if distressed1 of selling their children
 as slaves1 added to the natural        
carelessness of the barbaric character1 
all conspired to raise a population     
which remained to be repressed          
afterwards by famine or war4  ,where    
there is any inequality of conditions1  
and among nations of shepherds this soon
 takes place1 the distress arising from 
a scarcity of provisions must fall      
hardest upon the least fortunate members
 of the society4 ,this distress also    
must frequently have been felt by the   

women1 exposed to casual plunder in the 
absence of their husbands1 and subject  
to continual disappointments in their   
expected return4  ,but without knowing  
enough of the minute and intimate       
history of these people1 to point out   
precisely on what part the distress for 
want of food chiefly fell1 and to what  
extent it was generally felt1 ,i think  
we may fairly say1 from all the accounts
 that we have of nations of shepherds1  
that population invariably increased    
among them whenever1 by emigration or   
any other cause1 the means of           
subsistence were increased1 and that a  
further population was checked1 and the 
actual population kept equal to the     
means of subsistence1 by misery and     
vice4  ,for1 independently of any       
vicious customs that might have         
prevailed amongst them with regard to   
women1 which always operate as checks to
 population1 it must be acknowledged1 ,i
 think1 that the commission of war is   
vice1 and the effect of it misery1 and  

none can doubt the misery of want of    
food4     ,,chapter #d  ,state of       
civilized nations--,probability that    
,europe is much more populous now than  
in the time of ,julius ,caesar--,best   
criterion of population--,probable error
 of ,hume in one the criterions that he 
proposes as assisting in an estimate of 
population--,slow increase of population
 at present in most of the states of    
,europe--,the two principal checks to   
population--,the first1 or preventive   
check examined with regard to ,england4 
,in examining the next state of mankind 
with relation to the question before us1
 the state of mixed pasture and tillage1
 in which with some variation in the    
proportions the most civilized nations  
must always remain1 we shall be assisted
 in our review by what we daily see     
around us1 by actual experience1 by     
facts that come within the scope of     
every man's observation4                
,notwithstanding the exaggerations of   
some old historians1 there can remain no

 doubt in the mind of any thinking man  
that the population of the principal    
countries of ,europe1 ,france1 ,england1
 ,germany1 ,russia1 ,poland1 ,sweden1   
and ,denmark is much greater than ever  
it was in former times4 ,the obvious    
reason of these exaggerations is the    
formidable aspect that even a thinly    
peopled nation must have1 when collected
 together and moving all at once in     
search of fresh seats4 ,if to this      
tremendous appearance be added a        
succession at certain intervals of      
similar emigrations1 we shall not be    
much surprised that the fears of the    
timid nations of the ,south represented 
the ,north as a region absolutely       
swarming with human beings4 ,a nearer   
and juster view of the subject at       
present enables us to see that the      
inference was as absurd as if a man in  
this country1 who was continually       
meeting on the road droves of cattle    
from ,wales and the ,north1 was         
immediately to conclude that these      

countries were the most productive of   
all the parts of the kingdom4  ,the     
reason that the greater part of ,europe 
is more populous now than it was in     
former times1 is that the industry of   
the inhabitants has made these countries
 produce a greater quantity of human    
subsistence4 ,for ,i conceive that it   
may be laid down as a position not to be
 controverted1 that1 taking a sufficient
 extent of territory to include within  
it exportation and importation1 and     
allowing some variation for the         
prevalence of luxury1 or of frugal      
habits1 that population constantly bears
 a regular proportion to the food that  
the earth is made to produce4 ,in the   
controversy concerning the populousness 
of ancient and modern nations1 could it 
be clearly ascertained that the average 
produce of the countries in question1   
taken altogether1 is greater now than it
 was in the times of ,julius ,caesar1   
the dispute would be at once determined4
  ,when we are assured that ,china is   

the most fertile country in the world1  
that almost all the land is in tillage1 
and that a great part of it bears two   
crops every year1 and further1 that the 
people live very frugally1 we may infer 
with certainty that the population must 
be immense1 without busying ourselves in
 inquiries into the manners and habits  
of the lower classes and the            
encouragements to early marriages4 ,but 
these inquiries are of the utmost       
importance1 and a minute history of the 
customs of the lower ,chinese would be  
of the greatest use in ascertaining in  
what manner the checks to a further     
population operate2 what are the vices1 
and what are the distresses that prevent
 an increase of numbers beyond the      
ability of the country to support4      
,hume1 in his essay on the populousness 
of ancient and modern nations1 when he  
intermingles1 as he says1 an inquiry    
concerning causes with that concerning  
facts1 does not seem to see with his    
usual penetration how very little some  

of the causes he alludes to could enable
 him to form any judgement of the actual
 population of ancient nations4 ,if any 
inference can be drawn from them1       
perhaps it should be directly the       
reverse of what ,hume draws1 though ,i  
certainly ought to speak with great     
diffidence in dissenting from a man who 
of all others on such subjects was the  
least likely to be deceived by first    
appearances4 ,if ,i find that at a      
certain period in ancient history1 the  
encouragements to have a family were    
great1 that early marriages were        
consequently very prevalent1 and that   
few persons remained single1 ,i should  
infer with certainty that population was
 rapidly increasing1 but by no means    
that it was then actually very great1   
rather2 indeed1 the contrary1 that it   
was then thin and that there was room   
and food for a much greater number4 ,on 
the other hand1 if ,i find that at this 
period the difficulties attending a     
family were very great1 that1           

consequently1 few early marriages took  
place1 and that a great number of both  
sexes remained single1 ,i infer with    
certainty that population was at a      
stand1 and1 probably1 because the actual
 population was very great in proportion
 to the fertility of the land and that  
there was scarcely room and food for    
more4 ,the number of footmen1           
housemaids1 and other persons remaining 
unmarried in modern states1 ,hume allows
 to be rather an argument against their 
population4 ,i should rather draw a     
contrary inference and consider it an   
argument of their fullness1 though this 
inference is not certain1 because there 
are many thinly inhabited states that   
are yet stationary in their population4 
,to speak1 therefore1 correctly1 perhaps
 it may be said that the number of      
unmarried persons in proportion to the  
whole number1 existing at different     
periods1 in the same or different states
 will enable us to judge whether        
population at these periods was         

increasing1 stationary1 or decreasing1  
but will form no criterion by which we  
can determine the actual population4    
,there is1 however1 a circumstance taken
 notice of in most of the accounts we   
have of ,china that it seems difficult  
to reconcile with this reasoning4 ,it is
 said that early marriages very         
generally prevail through all the ranks 
of the ,chinese4 ,yet ,dr ,adam ,smith  
supposes that population in ,china is   
stationary4 ,these two circumstances    
appear to be irreconcilable4 ,it        
certainly seems very little probable    
that the population of ,china is fast   
increasing4 ,every acre of land has been
 so long in cultivation that we can     
hardly conceive there is any great      
yearly addition to the average produce4 
,the fact1 perhaps1 of the universality 
of early marriages may not be           
sufficiently ascertained4 ,if it be     
supposed true1 the only way of          
accounting for the difficulty1 with our 
present knowledge of the subject1       

appears to be that the redundant        
population1 necessarily occasioned by   
the prevalence of early marriages1 must 
be repressed by occasional famines1 and 
by the custom of exposing children1     
which1 in times of distress1 is probably
 more frequent than is ever acknowledged
 to ,europeans4 ,relative to this       
barbarous practice1 it is difficult to  
avoid remarking1 that there cannot be a 
stronger proof of the distresses that   
have been felt by mankind for want of   
food1 than the existence of a custom    
that thus violates the most natural     
principle of the human heart4 ,it       
appears to have been very general among 
ancient nations1 and certainly tended   
rather to increase population4  ,in     
examining the principal states of modern
 ,europe1 we shall find that though they
 have increased very considerably in    
population since they were nations of   
shepherds1 yet that at present their    
progress is but slow1 and instead of    
doubling their numbers every twenty-five

 years they require three or four       
hundred years1 or more1 for that        
purpose4 ,some1 indeed1 may be          
absolutely stationary1 and others even  
retrograde4 ,the cause of this slow     
progress in population cannot be traced 
to a decay of the passion between the   
sexes4 ,we have sufficient reason to    
think that this natural propensity      
exists still in undiminished vigour4    
,why then do not its effects appear in a
 rapid increase of the human species8   
,an intimate view of the state of       
society in any one country in ,europe1  
which may serve equally for all1 will   
enable us to answer this question1 and  
to say that a foresight of the          
difficulties attending the rearing of a 
family acts as a preventive check1 and  
the actual distresses of some of the    
lower classes1 by which they are        
disabled from giving the proper food and
 attention to their children1 act as a  
positive check to the natural increase  
of population4  ,england1 as one of the 

most flourishing states of ,europe1 may 
be fairly taken for an example1 and the 
observations made will apply with but   
little variation to any other country   
where the population increases slowly4  
,the preventive check appears to operate
 in some degree through all the ranks of
 society in ,england4 ,there are some   
men1 even in the highest rank1 who are  
prevented from marrying by the idea of  
the expenses that they must retrench1   
and the fancied pleasures that they must
 deprive themselves of1 on the          
supposition of having a family4 ,these  
considerations are certainly trivial1   
but a preventive foresight of this kind 
has objects of much greater weight for  
its contemplation as we go lower4  ,a   
man of liberal education1 but with an   
income only just sufficient to enable   
him to associate in the rank of         
gentlemen1 must feel absolutely certain 
that if he marries and has a family he  
shall be obliged1 if he mixes at all in 
society1 to rank himself with moderate  

farmers and the lower class of          
tradesmen4 ,the woman that a man of     
education would naturally make the      
object of his choice would be one       
brought up in the same tastes and       
sentiments with himself and used to the 
familiar intercourse of a society       
totally different from that to which she
 must be reduced by marriage4 ,can a man
 consent to place the object of his     
affection in a situation so discordant1 
probably1 to her tastes and             
inclinations8 ,two or three steps of    
descent in society1 particularly at this
 round of the ladder1 where education   
ends and ignorance begins1 will not be  
considered by the generality of people  
as a fancied and chimerical1 but a real 
and essential evil4 ,if society be held 
desirable1 it surely must be free1      
equal1 and reciprocal society1 where    
benefits are conferred as well as       
received1 and not such as the dependent 
finds with his patron or the poor with  
the rich4  ,these considerations        

undoubtedly prevent a great number in   
this rank of life from following the    
bent of their inclinations in an early  
attachment4 ,others1 guided either by a 
stronger passion1 or a weaker judgement1
 break through these restraints1 and it 
would be hard indeed1 if the            
gratification of so delightful a passion
 as virtuous love1 did not1 sometimes1  
more than counterbalance all its        
attendant evils4 ,but ,i fear it must be
 owned that the more general            
consequences of such marriages are      
rather calculated to justify than to    
repress the forebodings of the prudent4 
,the sons of tradesmen and farmers are  
exhorted not to marry1 and generally    
find it necessary to pursue this advice 
till they are settled in some business  
or farm that may enable them to support 
a family4 ,these events may not1        
perhaps1 occur till they are far        
advanced in life4 ,the scarcity of farms
 is a very general complaint in         
,england4 ,and the competition in every 

kind of business is so great that it is 
not possible that all should be         
successful4  ,the labourer who earns    
eighteen pence a day and lives with some
 degree of comfort as a single man1 will
 hesitate a little before he divides    
that pittance among four or five1 which 
seems to be but just sufficient for one4
 ,harder fare and harder labour he would
 submit to for the sake of living with  
the woman that he loves1 but he must    
feel conscious1 if he thinks at all1    
that should he have a large family1 and 
any ill luck whatever1 no degree of     
frugality1 no possible exertion of his  
manual strength could preserve him from 
the heart-rending sensation of seeing   
his children starve1 or of forfeiting   
his independence1 and being obliged to  
the parish for their support4 ,the love 
of independence is a sentiment that     
surely none would wish to be erased from
 the breast of man1 though the parish   
law of ,england1 it must be confessed1  
is a system of all others the most      

calculated gradually to weaken this     
sentiment1 and in the end may eradicate 
it completely4  ,the servants who live  
in gentlemen's families have restraints 
that are yet stronger to break through  
in venturing upon marriage4 ,they       
possess the necessaries1 and even the   
comforts of life1 almost in as great    
plenty as their masters4 ,their work is 
easy and their food luxurious compared  
with the class of labourers4 ,and their 
sense of dependence is weakened by the  
conscious power of changing their       
masters1 if they feel themselves        
offended4 ,thus comfortably situated at 
present1 what are their prospects in    
marrying8 ,without knowledge or capital1
 either for business1 or farming1 and   
unused and therefore unable1 to earn a  
subsistence by daily labour1 their only 
refuge seems to be a miserable          
ale-house1 which certainly offers no    
very enchanting prospect of a happy     
evening to their lives4 ,by much the    
greater part1 therefore1 deterred by    

this uninviting view of their future    
situation1 content themselves with      
remaining single where they are4  ,if   
this sketch of the state of society in  
,england be near the truth1 and ,i do   
not conceive that it is exaggerated1 it 
will be allowed that the preventive     
check to population in this country     
operates1 though with varied force1     
through all the classes of the          
community4 ,the same observation will   
hold true with regard to all old states4
 ,the effects1 indeed1 of these         
restraints upon marriage are but too    
conspicuous in the consequent vices that
 are produced in almost every part of   
the world1 vices that are continually   
involving both sexes in inextricable    
unhappiness4     ,,chapter #e  ,the     
second1 or positive check to population 
examined1 in ,england--,the true cause  
why the immense sum collected in        
,england for the poor does not better   
their condition--,the powerful tendency 
of the poor laws to defeat their own    

purpose--,palliative of the distresses  
of the poor proposed--,the absolute     
impossibility1 from the fixed laws of   
our nature1 that the pressure of want   
can ever be completely removed from the 
lower classes of society--,all the      
checks to population may be resolved    
into misery or vice4   ,the positive    
check to population1 by which ,i mean   
the check that represses an increase    
which is already begun1 is confined     
chiefly1 though not perhaps solely1 to  
the lowest orders of society4  ,this    
check is not so obvious to common view  
as the other ,i have mentioned1 and1 to 
prove distinctly the force and extent of
 its operation would require1 perhaps1  
more data than we are in possession of4 
,but ,i believe it has been very        
generally remarked by those who have    
attended to bills of mortality that of  
the number of children who die annually1
 much too great a proportion belongs to 
those who may be supposed unable to give
 their offspring proper food and        

attention1 exposed as they are          
occasionally to severe distress and     
confined1 perhaps1 to unwholesome       
habitations and hard labour4 ,this      
mortality among the children of the poor
 has been constantly taken notice of in 
all towns4 ,it certainly does not       
prevail in an equal degree in the       
country1 but the subject has not        
hitherto received sufficient attention  
to enable anyone to say that there are  
not more deaths in proportion among the 
children of the poor1 even in the       
country1 than among those of the        
middling and higher classes4 ,indeed1 it
 seems difficult to suppose that a      
labourer's wife who has six children1   
and who is sometimes in absolute want of
 bread1 should be able always to give   
them the food and attention necessary to
 support life4 ,the sons and daughters  
of peasants will not be found such rosy 
cherubs in real life as they are        
described to be in romances4 ,it cannot 
fail to be remarked by those who live   

much in the country that the sons of    
labourers are very apt to be stunted in 
their growth1 and are a long while      
arriving at maturity4 ,boys that you    
would guess to be fourteen or fifteen   
are1 upon inquiry1 frequently found to  
be eighteen or nineteen4 ,and the lads  
who drive plough1 which must certainly  
be a healthy exercise1 are very rarely  
seen with any appearance of calves to   
their legs3 a circumstance which can    
only be attributed to a want either of  
proper or of sufficient nourishment4    
,to remedy the frequent distresses of   
the common people1 the poor laws of     
,england have been instituted2 but it is
 to be feared1 that though they may have
 alleviated a little the intensity of   
individual misfortune1 they have spread 
the general evil over a much larger     
surface4 ,it is a subject often started 
in conversation and mentioned always as 
a matter of great surprise that1        
notwithstanding the immense sum that is 
annually collected for the poor in      

,england1 there is still so much        
distress among them4 ,some think that   
the money must be embezzled1 others that
 the church-wardens and overseers       
consume the greater part of it in       
dinners4 ,all agree that somehow or     
other it must be very ill-managed4 ,in  
short the fact that nearly three        
millions are collected annually for the 
poor and yet that their distresses are  
not removed is the subject of continual 
astonishment4 ,but a man who sees a     
little below the surface of things would
 be very much more astonished if the    
fact were otherwise than it is observed 
to be1 or even if a collection          
universally of eighteen shillings in the
 pound1 instead of four1 were materially
 to alter it4 ,i will state a case which
 ,i hope will elucidate my meaning4     
,suppose that by a subscription of the  
rich the eighteen pence a day which men 
earn now was made up five shillings1 it 
might be imagined1 perhaps1 that they   
would then be able to live comfortably  

and have a piece of meat every day for  
their dinners4 ,but this would be a very
 false conclusion4 ,the transfer of     
three shillings and sixpence a day to   
every labourer would not increase the   
quantity of meat in the country4 ,there 
is not at present enough for all to have
 a decent share4 ,what would then be the
 consequence8 ,the competition among the
 buyers in the market of meat would     
rapidly raise the price from sixpence or
 sevenpence1 to two or three shillings  
in the pound1 and the commodity would   
not be divided among many more than it  
is at present4 ,when an article is      
scarce1 and cannot be distributed to    
all1 he that can shew the most valid    
patent1 that is1 he that offers most    
money1 becomes the possessor4 ,if we can
 suppose the competition among the      
buyers of meat to continue long enough  
for a greater number of cattle to be    
reared annually1 this could only be done
 at the expense of the corn1 which would
 be a very disadvantagous exchange1 for 

it is well known that the country could 
not then support the same population1   
and when subsistence is scarce in       
proportion to the number of people1 it  
is of little consequence whether the    
lowest members of the society possess   
eighteen pence or five shillings4 ,they 
must at all events be reduced to live   
upon the hardest fare and in the        
smallest quantity4  ,it will be said1   
perhaps1 that the increased number of   
purchasers in every article would give a
 spur to productive industry and that   
the whole produce of the island would be
 increased4 ,this might in some degree  
be the case4 ,but the spur that these   
fancied riches would give to population 
would more than counterbalance it1 and  
the increased produce would be to be    
divided among a more than proportionably
 increased number of people4 ,all this  
time ,i am supposing that the same      
quantity of work would be done as       
before4 ,but this would not really take 
place4 ,the receipt of five shillings a 

day1 instead of eighteen pence1 would   
make every man fancy himself            
comparatively rich and able to indulge  
himself in many hours or days of        
leisure4 ,this would give a strong and  
immediate check to productive industry1 
and1 in a short time1 not only the      
nation would be poorer1 but the lower   
classes themselves would be much more   
distressed than when they received only 
eighteen pence a day4  ,a collection    
from the rich of eighteen shillings in  
the pound1 even if distributed in the   
most judicious manner1 would have a     
little the same effect as that resulting
 from the supposition ,i have just made1
 and no possible contributions or       
sacrifices of the rich1 particularly in 
money1 could for any time prevent the   
recurrence of distress among the lower  
members of society1 whoever they were4  
,great changes might1 indeed1 be made4  
,the rich might become poor1 and some of
 the poor rich1 but a part of the       
society must necessarily feel a         

difficulty of living1 and this          
difficulty will naturally fall on the   
least fortunate members4  ,it may at    
first appear strange1 but ,i believe it 
is true1 that ,i cannot by means of     
money raise a poor man and enable him to
 live much better than he did before1   
without proportionably depressing others
 in the same class4 ,if ,i retrench the 
quantity of food consumed in my house1  
and give him what ,i have cut off1 ,i   
then benefit him1 without depressing any
 but myself and family1 who1 perhaps1   
may be well able to bear it4 ,if ,i turn
 up a piece of uncultivated land1 and   
give him the produce1 ,i then benefit   
both him and all the members of the     
society1 because what he before consumed
 is thrown into the common stock1 and   
probably some of the new produce with   
it4 ,but if ,i only give him money1     
supposing the produce of the country to 
remain the same1 ,i give him a title to 
a larger share of that produce than     
formerly1 which share he cannot receive 

without diminishing the shares of       
others4 ,it is evident that this effect1
 in individual instances1 must be so    
small as to be totally imperceptible2   
but still it must exist1 as many other  
effects do1 which1 like some of the     
insects that people the air1 elude our  
grosser perceptions4  ,supposing the    
quantity of food in any country to      
remain the same for many years together1
 it is evident that this food must be   
divided according to the value of each  
man's patent1 or the sum of money that  
he can afford to spend on this commodity
 so universally in request4 7,mr ,godwin
 calls the wealth that a man receives   
from his ancestors a mouldy patent4 ,it 
may1 ,i think1 very properly be termed a
 patent1 but ,i hardly see the propriety
 of calling it a mouldy one1 as it is an
 article in such constant use47 ,it is a
 demonstrative truth1 therefore1 that   
the patents of one set of men could not 
be increased in value without           
diminishing the value of the patents of 

some other set of men4 ,if the rich were
 to subscribe and give five shillings a 
day to five hundred thousand men without
 retrenching their own tables1 no doubt 
can exist1 that as these men would      
naturally live more at their ease and   
consume a greater quantity of           
provisions1 there would be less food    
remaining to divide among the rest1 and 
consequently each man's patent would be 
diminished in value or the same number  
of pieces of silver would purchase a    
smaller quantity of subsistence4  ,an   
increase of population without a        
proportional increase of food will      
evidently have the same effect in       
lowering the value of each man's patent4
 ,the food must necessarily be          
distributed in smaller quantities1 and  
consequently a day's labour will        
purchase a smaller quantity of          
provisions4 ,an increase in the price of
 provisions would arise either from an  
increase of population faster than the  
means of subsistence1 or from a         

different distribution of the money of  
the society4 ,the food of a country that
 has been long occupied1 if it be       
increasing1 increases slowly and        
regularly and cannot be made to answer  
any sudden demands1 but variations in   
the distribution of the money of a      
society are not infrequently occurring1 
and are undoubtedly among the causes    
that occasion the continual variations  
which we observe in the price of        
provisions4  ,the poor laws of ,england 
tend to depress the general condition of
 the poor in these two ways4 ,their     
first obvious tendency is to increase   
population without increasing the food  
for its support4 ,a poor man may marry  
with little or no prospect of being able
 to support a family in independence4   
,they may be said therefore in some     
measure to create the poor which they   
maintain1 and as the provisions of the  
country must1 in consequence of the     
increased population1 be distributed to 
every man in smaller proportions1 it is 

evident that the labour of those who are
 not supported by parish assistance will
 purchase a smaller quantity of         
provisions than before and consequently 
more of them must be driven to ask for  
support4  ,secondly1 the quantity of    
provisions consumed in workhouses upon a
 part of the society that cannot in     
general be considered as the most       
valuable part diminishes the shares that
 would otherwise belong to more         
industrious and more worthy members1 and
 thus in the same manner forces more to 
become dependent4 ,if the poor in the   
workhouses were to live better than they
 now do1 this new distribution of the   
money of the society would tend more    
conspicuously to depress the condition  
of those out of the workhouses by       
occasioning a rise in the price of      
provisions4  ,fortunately for ,england1 
a spirit of independence still remains  
among the peasantry4 ,the poor laws are 
strongly calculated to eradicate this   
spirit4 ,they have succeeded in part1   

but had they succeeded as completely as 
might have been expected their          
pernicious tendency would not have been 
so long concealed4  ,hard as it may     
appear in individual instances1         
dependent poverty ought to be held      
disgraceful4 ,such a stimulus seems to  
be absolutely necessary to promote the  
happiness of the great mass of mankind1 
and every general attempt to weaken this
 stimulus1 however benevolent its       
apparent intention1 will always defeat  
its own purpose4 ,if men are induced to 
marry from a prospect of parish         
provision1 with little or no chance of  
maintaining their families in           
independence1 they are not only unjustly
 tempted to bring unhappiness and       
dependence upon themselves and children1
 but they are tempted1 without knowing  
it1 to injure all in the same class with
 themselves4 ,a labourer who marries    
without being able to support a family  
may in some respects be considered as an
 enemy to all his fellow-labourers4  ,i 

feel no doubt whatever that the parish  
laws of ,england have contributed to    
raise the price of provisions and to    
lower the real price of labour4 ,they   
have therefore contributed to impoverish
 that class of people whose only        
possession is their labour4 ,it is also 
difficult to suppose that they have not 
powerfully contributed to generate that 
carelessness and want of frugality      
observable among the poor1 so contrary  
to the disposition frequently to be     
remarked among petty tradesmen and small
 farmers4 ,the labouring poor1 to use a 
vulgar expression1 seem always to live  
from hand to mouth4 ,their present wants
 employ their whole attention1 and they 
seldom think of the future4 ,even when  
they have an opportunity of saving they 
seldom exercise it1 but all that is     
beyond their present necessities goes1  
generally speaking1 to the ale-house4   
,the poor laws of ,england may therefore
 be said to diminish both the power and 
the will to save among the common       

people1 and thus to weaken one of the   
strongest incentives to sobriety and    
industry1 and consequently to happiness4
  ,it is a general complaint among      
master manufacturers that high wages    
ruin all their workmen1 but it is       
difficult to conceive that these men    
would not save a part of their high     
wages for the future support of their   
families1 instead of spending it in     
drunkenness and dissipation1 if they did
 not rely on parish assistance for      
support in case of accidents4 ,and that 
the poor employed in manufactures       
consider this assistance as a reason why
 they may spend all the wages they earn 
and enjoy themselves while they can     
appears to be evident from the number of
 families that1 upon the failure of any 
great manufactory1 immediately fall upon
 the parish1 when perhaps the wages     
earned in this manufactory while it     
flourished were sufficiently above the  
price of common country labour to have  
allowed them to save enough for their   

support till they could find some other 
channel for their industry4  ,a man who 
might not be deterred from going to the 
ale-house from the consideration that on
 his death1 or sickness1 he should leave
 his wife and family upon the parish    
might yet hesitate in thus dissipating  
his earnings if he were assured that1 in
 either of these cases1 his family must 
starve or be left to the support of     
casual bounty4 ,in ,china1 where the    
real as well as nominal price of labour 
is very low1 sons are yet obliged by law
 to support their aged and helpless     
parents4 ,whether such a law would be   
advisable in this country ,i will not   
pretend to determine4 ,but it seems at  
any rate highly improper1 by positive   
institutions1 which render dependent    
poverty so general1 to weaken that      
disgrace1 which for the best and most   
humane reasons ought to attach to it4   
,the mass of happiness among the common 
people cannot but be diminished when one
 of the strongest checks to idleness and

 dissipation is thus removed1 and when  
men are thus allured to marry with      
little or no prospect of being able to  
maintain a family in independence4      
,every obstacle in the way of marriage  
must undoubtedly be considered as a     
species of unhappiness4 ,but as from the
 laws of our nature some check to       
population must exist1 it is better that
 it should be checked from a foresight  
of the difficulties attending a family  
and the fear of dependent poverty than  
that it should be encouraged1 only to be
 repressed afterwards by want and       
sickness4  ,it should be remembered     
always that there is an essential       
difference between food and those       
wrought commodities1 the raw materials  
of which are in great plenty4 ,a demand 
for these last will not fail to create  
them in as great a quantity as they are 
wanted4 ,the demand for food has by no  
means the same creative power4 ,in a    
country where all the fertile spots have
 been seized1 high offers are necessary 

to encourage the farmer to lay his      
dressing on land from which he cannot   
expect a profitable return for some     
years4 ,and before the prospect of      
advantage is sufficiently great to      
encourage this sort of agricultural     
enterprise1 and while the new produce is
 rising1 great distresses may be        
suffered from the want of it4 ,the      
demand for an increased quantity of     
subsistence is1 with few exceptions1    
constant everywhere1 yet we see how     
slowly it is answered in all those      
countries that have been long occupied4 
,the poor laws of ,england were         
undoubtedly instituted for the most     
benevolent purpose1 but there is great  
reason to think that they have not      
succeeded in their intention4 ,they     
certainly mitigate some cases of very   
severe distress which might otherwise   
occur1 yet the state of the poor who are
 supported by parishes1 considered in   
all its circumstances1 is very far from 
being free from misery4 ,but one of the 

principal objections to them is that for
 this assistance which some of the poor 
receive1 in itself almost a doubtful    
blessing1 the whole class of the common 
people of ,england is subjected to a set
 of grating1 inconvenient1 and          
tyrannical laws1 totally inconsistent   
with the genuine spirit of the          
constitution4 ,the whole business of    
settlements1 even in its present amended
 state1 is utterly contradictory to all 
ideas of freedom4 ,the parish           
persecution of men whose families are   
likely to become chargeable1 and of poor
 women who are near lying-in1 is a most 
disgraceful and disgusting tyranny4 ,and
 the obstructions continuity occasioned 
in the market of labour by these laws   
have a constant tendency to add to the  
difficulties of those who are struggling
 to support themselves without          
assistance4  ,these evils attendant on  
the poor laws are in some degree        
irremediable4 ,if assistance be to be   
distributed to a certain class of       

people1 a power must be given somewhere 
of discriminating the proper objects and
 of managing the concerns of the        
institutions that are necessary1 but any
 great interference with the affairs of 
other people is a species of tyranny1   
and in the common course of things the  
exercise of this power may be expected  
to become grating to those who are      
driven to ask for support4 ,the tyranny 
of ,justices1 ,church-wardens1 and      
,overseers1 is a common complaint among 
the poor1 but the fault does not lie so 
much in these persons1 who probably1    
before they were in power1 were not     
worse than other people1 but in the     
nature of all such institutions4  ,the  
evil is perhaps gone too far to be      
remedied1 but ,i feel little doubt in my
 own mind that if the poor laws had     
never existed1 though there might have  
been a few more instances of very severe
 distress1 yet that the aggregate mass  
of happiness among the common people    
would have been much greater than it is 

at present4  ,mr ,pitt's ,poor ,bill has
 the appearance of being framed with    
benevolent intentions1 and the clamour  
raised against it was in many respects  
ill directed1 and unreasonable4 ,but it 
must be confessed that it possesses in a
 high degree the great and radical      
defect of all systems of the kind1 that 
of tending to increase population       
without increasing the means for its    
support1 and thus to depress the        
condition of those that are not         
supported by parishes1 and1             
consequently1 to create more poor4  ,to 
remove the wants of the lower classes of
 society is indeed an arduous task4 ,the
 truth is that the pressure of distress 
on this part of a community is an evil  
so deeply seated that no human ingenuity
 can reach it4 ,were ,i to propose a    
palliative1 and palliatives are all that
 the nature of the case will admit1 it  
should be1 in the first place1 the total
 abolition of all the present           
parish-laws4 ,this would at any rate    

give liberty and freedom of action to   
the peasantry of ,england1 which they   
can hardly be said to possess at        
present4 ,they would then be able to    
settle without interruption1 wherever   
there was a prospect of a greater plenty
 of work and a higher price for labour4 
,the market of labour would then be     
free1 and those obstacles removed which1
 as things are now1 often for a         
considerable time prevent the price from
 rising according to the demand4        
,secondly1 premiums might be given for  
turning up fresh land1 and it possible  
encouragements held out to agriculture  
above manufactures1 and to tillage above
 grazing4 ,every endeavour should be    
used to weaken and destroy all those    
institutions relating to corporations1  
apprenticeships1 etc41 which cause the  
labours of agriculture to be worse paid 
than the labours of trade and           
manufactures4 ,for a country can never  
produce its proper quantity of food     
while these distinctions remain in      

favour of artisans4 ,such encouragements
 to agriculture would tend to furnish   
the market with an increasing quantity  
of healthy work1 and at the same time1  
by augmenting the produce of the        
country1 would raise the comparative    
price of labour and ameliorate the      
condition of the labourer4 ,being now in
 better circumstances1 and seeing no    
prospect of parish assistance1 he would 
be more able1 as well as more inclined1 
to enter into associations for providing
 against the sickness of himself or     
family4  ,lastly1 for cases of extreme  
distress1 county workhouses might be    
established1 supported by rates upon the
 whole kingdom1 and free for persons of 
all counties1 and indeed of all nations4
 ,the fare should be hard1 and those    
that were able obliged to work4 ,it     
would be desirable that they should not 
be considered as comfortable asylums in 
all difficulties1 but merely as places  
where severe distress might find some   
alleviation4 ,a part of these houses    

might be separated1 or others built for 
a most beneficial purpose1 which has not
 been infrequently taken notice of1 that
 of providing a place where any person1 
whether native or foreigner1 might do a 
day's work at all times and receive the 
market price for it4 ,many cases would  
undoubtedly be left for the exertion of 
individual benevolence4  ,a plan of this
 kind1 the preliminary of which should  
be an abolition of all the present      
parish laws1 seems to be the best       
calculated to increase the mass of      
happiness among the common people of    
,england4 ,to prevent the recurrence of 
misery1 is1 alas6 beyond the power of   
man4 ,in the vain endeavour to attain   
what in the nature of things is         
impossible1 we now sacrifice not only   
possible but certain benefits4 ,we tell 
the common people that if they will     
submit to a code of tyrannical          
regulations1 they shall never be in     
want4 ,they do submit to these          
regulations4 ,they perform their part of

 the contract1 but we do not1 nay       
cannot1 perform ours1 and thus the poor 
sacrifice the valuable blessing of      
liberty and receive nothing that can be 
called an equivalent in return4         
,notwithstanding1 then1 the institution 
of the poor laws in ,england1 ,i think  
it will be allowed that considering the 
state of the lower classes altogether1  
both in the towns and in the country1   
the distresses which they suffer from   
the want of proper and sufficient food1 
from hard labour and unwholesome        
habitations1 must operate as a constant 
check to incipient population4  ,to     
these two great checks to population1 in
 all long occupied countries1 which ,i  
have called the preventive and the      
positive checks1 may be added vicious   
customs with respect to women1 great    
cities1 unwholesome manufactures1       
luxury1 pestilence1 and war4  ,all these
 checks may be fairly resolved into     
misery and vice4 ,and that these are the
 true causes of the slow increase of    

population in all the states of modern  
,europe1 will appear sufficiently       
evident from the comparatively rapid    
increase that has invariably taken place
 whenever these causes have been in any 
considerable degree removed4            
,,chapter #f  ,new colonies--,reasons   
for their rapid increase--,north        
,american ,colonies--,extraordinary     
instance of increase in the back        
settlements--,rapidity with which even  
old states recover the ravages of war1  
pestilence1 famine1 or the convulsions  
of nature4   ,it has been universally   
remarked that all new colonies settled  
in healthy countries1 where there was   
plenty of room and food1 have constantly
 increased with astonishing rapidity in 
their population4 ,some of the colonies 
from ancient ,greece1 in no very long   
period1 more than equalled their parent 
states in numbers and strength4 ,and not
 to dwell on remote instances1 the      
,european settlements in the new world  
bear ample testimony to the truth of a  

remark1 which1 indeed1 has never1 that  
,i know of1 been doubted4 ,a plenty of  
rich land1 to be had for little or      
nothing1 is so powerful a cause of      
population as to overcome all other     
obstacles4 ,no settlements could well   
have been worse managed than those of   
,spain in ,mexico1 ,peru1 and ,quito4   
,the tyranny1 superstition1 and vices of
 the mother-country were introduced in  
ample quantities among her children4    
,exorbitant taxes were exacted by the   
,crown4 ,the most arbitrary restrictions
 were imposed on their trade4 ,and the  
governors were not behind hand in       
rapacity and extortion for themselves as
 well as their master4 ,yet1 under all  
these difficulties1 the colonies made a 
quick progress in population4 ,the city 
of ,lima1 founded since the conquest1 is
 represented by ,ulloa as containing    
fifty thousand inhabitants near fifty   
years ago4 ,quito1 which had been but a 
hamlet of indians1 is represented by the
 same author as in his time equally     

populous4 ,mexico is said to contain a  
hundred thousand inhabitants1 which1    
notwithstanding the exaggerations of the
 ,spanish writers1 is supposed to be    
five times greater than what it         
contained in the time of ,montezuma4    
,in the ,portuguese colony of ,brazil1  
governed with almost equal tyranny1     
there were supposed to be1 thirty years 
since1 six hundred thousand inhabitants 
of ,european extraction4  ,the ,dutch   
and ,french colonies1 though under the  
government of exclusive companies of    
merchants1 which1 as ,dr ,adam ,smith   
says very justly1 is the worst of all   
possible governments1 still persisted in
 thriving under every disadvantage4     
,but the ,english ,north ,american      
colonies1 now the powerful people of the
 ,united ,states of ,america1 made by   
far the most rapid progress4 ,to the    
plenty of good land which they possessed
 in common with the ,spanish and        
,portuguese settlements1 they added a   
greater degree of liberty and equality4 

,though not without some restrictions on
 their foreign commerce1 they were      
allowed a perfect liberty of managing   
their own internal affairs4 ,the        
political institutions that prevailed   
were favourable to the alienation and   
division of property4 ,lands that were  
not cultivated by the proprietor within 
a limited time were declared grantable  
to any other person4 ,in ,pennsylvania  
there was no right of primogeniture1 and
 in the provinces of ,new ,england the  
eldest had only a double share4 ,there  
were no tithes in any of the ,states1   
and scarcely any taxes4 ,and on account 
of the extreme cheapness of good land a 
capital could not be more advantageously
 employed than in agriculture1 which at 
the same time that it supplies the      
greatest quantity of healthy work       
affords much the most valuable produce  
to the society4  ,the consequence of    
these favourable circumstances united   
was a rapidity of increase probably     
without parallel in history4 ,throughout

 all the northern colonies1 the         
population was found to double itself in
 twenty-five years4 ,the original number
 of persons who had settled in the four 
provinces of new ,england in #afdc was  
#ba1bjj47;,i take these figures from ,dr
 ,price's two volumes of ,observations2 
not having ,dr ,styles' pamphlet1 from  
which he quotes1 by me47 ,afterwards1 it
 is supposed that more left them than   
went to them4 ,in the year #agfj1 they  
were increased to half a million4 ,they 
had therefore all along doubled their   
own number in twenty-five years4 ,in    
,new ,jersey the period of doubling     
appeared to be twenty-two years2 and in 
,rhode island still less4 ,in the back  
settlements1 where the inhabitants      
applied themselves solely to            
agriculture1 and luxury was not known1  
they were found to double their own     
number in fifteen years1 a most         
extraordinary instance of increase4     
,along the sea coast1 which would       
naturally be first inhabited1 the period

 of doubling was about thirty-five      
years2 and in some of the maritime      
towns1 the population was absolutely at 
a stand4  7,in instances of this kind   
the powers of the earth appear to be    
fully equal to answer it the demands for
 food that can be made upon it by man4  
,but we should be led into an error if  
we were thence to suppose that          
population and food ever really increase
 in the same ratio4 ,the one is still a 
geometrical and the other an            
arithmetical ratio1 that is1 one        
increases by multiplication1 and the    
other by addition4 ,where there are few 
people1 and a great quantity of fertile 
land1 the power of the earth to afford a
 yearly increase of food may be compared
 to a great reservoir of water1 supplied
 by a moderate stream4 ,the faster      
population increases1 the more help will
 be got to draw off the water1 and      
consequently an increasing quantity will
 be taken every year4 ,but the sooner1  
undoubtedly1 will the reservoir be      

exhausted1 and the streams only remain4 
,when acre has been added to acre1 till 
all the fertile land is occupied1 the   
yearly increase of food will depend upon
 the amelioration of the land already in
 possession2 and even this moderate     
stream will be gradually diminishing4   
,but population1 could it be supplied   
with food1 would go on with unexhausted 
vigour1 and the increase of one period  
would furnish the power of a greater    
increase the next1 and this without any 
limit47  ,these facts seem to shew that 
population increases exactly in the     
proportion that the two great checks to 
it1 misery and vice1 are removed1 and   
that there is not a truer criterion of  
the happiness and innocence of a people 
than the rapidity of their increase4    
,the unwholesomeness of towns1 to which 
some persons are necessarily driven from
 the nature of their trades1 must be    
considered as a species of misery1 and  
every the slightest check to marriage1  
from a prospect of the difficulty of    

maintaining a family1 may be fairly     
classed under the same head4 ,in short  
it is difficult to conceive any check to
 population which does not come under   
the description of some species of      
misery or vice4  ,the population of the 
thirteen ,american ,states before the   
war was reckoned at about three         
millions4 ,nobody imagines that ,great  
,britain is less populous at present for
 the emigration of the small parent     
stock that produced these numbers4 ,on  
the contrary1 a certain degree of       
emigration is known to be favourable to 
the population of the mother country4   
,it has been particularly remarked that 
the two ,spanish provinces from which   
the greatest number of people emigrated 
to ,america1 became in consequence more 
populous4 ,whatever was the original    
number of ,british emigrants that       
increased so fast in the ,north         
,american ,colonies1 let us ask1 why    
does not an equal number produce an     
equal increase in the same time in      

,great ,britain8 ,the great and obvious 
cause to be assigned is the want of room
 and food1 or1 in other words1 misery1  
and that this is a much more powerful   
cause even than vice appears            
sufficiently evident from the rapidity  
with which even old states recover the  
desolations of war1 pestilence1 or the  
accidents of nature4 ,they are then for 
a short time placed a little in the     
situation of new states1 and the effect 
is always answerable to what might be   
expected4 ,if the industry of the       
inhabitants be not destroyed by fear or 
tyranny1 subsistence will soon increase 
beyond the wants of the reduced numbers1
 and the invariable consequence will be 
that population which before1 perhaps1  
was nearly stationary1 will begin       
immediately to increase4  ,the fertile  
province of ,flanders1 which has been so
 often the seat of the most destructive 
wars1 after a respite of a few years1   
has appeared always as fruitful and as  
populous as ever4 ,even the ,palatinate 

lifted up its head again after the      
execrable ravages of ,louis the         
,fourteenth4 ,the effects of the        
dreadful plague in ,london in #afff were
 not perceptible fifteen or twenty years
 afterwards4 ,the traces of the most    
destructive famines in ,china and       
,indostan are by all accounts very soon 
obliterated4 ,it may even be doubted    
whether ,turkey and ,egypt are upon an  
average much less populous for the      
plagues that periodically lay them      
waste4 ,if the number of people which   
they contain be less now than formerly1 
it is1 probably1 rather to be attributed
 to the tyranny and oppression of the   
government under which they groan1 and  
the consequent discouragements to       
agriculture1 than to the loss which they
 sustain by the plague4 ,the most       
tremendous convulsions of nature1 such  
as volcanic eruptions and earthquakes1  
if they do not happen so frequently as  
to drive away the inhabitants1 or to    
destroy their spirit of industry1 have  

but a trifling effect on the average    
population of any state4 ,naples1 and   
the country under ,vesuvius1 are still  
very populous1 notwithstanding the      
repeated eruptions of that mountain4    
,and ,lisbon and ,lima are now1         
probably1 nearly in the same state with 
regard to population as they were before
 the last earthquakes4     ,,chapter #g 
,a probable cause of                    
epidemics--,extracts from ,mr           
,suessmilch's tables--,periodical       
returns of sickly seasons to be expected
 in certain cases--,proportion of births
 to burials for short periods in any    
country an inadequate criterion of the  
real average increase of                
population--,best criterion of a        
permanent increase of population--,great
 frugality of living one of the causes  
of the famines of ,china and            
,indostan--,evil tendency of one of the 
clauses in ,mr ,pitt's ,poor            
,bill--,only one proper way of          
encouraging population--,causes of the  

,happiness of nations--,famine1 the last
 and most dreadful mode by which nature 
represses a redundant population--,the  
three propositions considered as        
established4   ,by great attention to   
cleanliness1 the plague seems at length 
to be completely expelled from ,london4 
,but it is not improbable that among the
 secondary causes that produce even     
sickly seasons and epidemics ought to be
 ranked a crowded population and        
unwholesome and insufficient food4 ,i   
have been led to this remark1 by looking
 over some of the tables of ,mr         
,suessmilch1 which ,dr ,price has       
extracted in one of his notes to the    
postscript on the controversy respecting
 the population of ,england and ,wales4 
,they are considered as very correct1   
and if such tables were general1 they   
would throw great light on the different
 ways by which population is repressed  
and prevented from increasing beyond the
 means of subsistence in any country4 ,i
 will extract a part of the tables1 with

 ,dr ,price's remarks4     ,,in ,,the   
,,kingdom ,,of ,,prussia1 ,,and         
,,dukedom ,,of ,,lithuania              
,proportion   ,proportion               
,births  ,burials ,marriages of ,births 
to of ,births to                        
,marriages     ,burials   #aj ,yrs to   
#agjb   #ba1ifc  #ad1gah   #e1ibh       
#cg to #aj    #aej to #ajj   #e ,yrs to 
#agaf    #ba1fjb  #aa1ihd   #d1ifh      
#cg to #aj    #ahj to #ajj   #e ,yrs to 
#agef    #bh1cib  #ai1aed   #e1eii      
#ej to #aj    #adh to #ajj  ,n4,b4 ,in  
#agji and #agaj1 a pestilence carried   
off #bdg1gcc of the inhabitants of this 
country1 and in #agcf and #agcg1        
epidemics prevailed1 which again checked
 its increase4   ,it may be remarked1   
that the greatest proportion of births  
to burials1 was in the five years after 
the great pestilence4     ,,duchy ,,of  
,,pomerania                             
,proportion   ,proportion   ,annual     
,average   ,births  ,burials ,marriages 
of ,births to of ,births to             

,marriages     ,burials   #f yrs to     
#agjb   #f1edj     #d1fdg   #a1haj      
#cf to #aj    #adj to #ajj   #f yrs to  
#agjh   #g1dee     #d1bjh   #a1hge      
#ci to #aj    #agg to #ajj   #f yrs to  
#agbf   #h1dcb     #e1fbg   #b1aca      
#ci to #aj    #aej to #ajj   #f yrs to  
#agef  #ab1gfg     #i1bha   #b1ieg      
#dc to #aj    #acg to #ajj  ,in this    
instance the inhabitants appear to have 
been almost doubled in fifty-six years1 
no very bad epidemics having once       
interrupted the increase1 but the three 
years immediately follow ing the last   
period 7to #agei7 were so sickly that   
the births were sunk to #aj1bbi and the 
burials raised to #ae1jfh4   ,is it not 
probable that in this case the number of
 inhabitants had increased faster than  
the food and the accommodations         
necessary to preserve them in health8   
,the mass of the people would1 upon this
 supposition1 be obliged to live harder1
 and a greater number would be crowded  
together in one house1 and it is not    

surely improbable that these were among 
the natural causes that produced the    
three sickly years4 ,these causes may   
produce such an effect1 though the      
country1 absolutely considered1 may not 
be extremely crowded and populous4 ,in a
 country even thinly inhabited1 if an   
increase of population take place1      
before more food is raised1 and more    
houses are built1 the inhabitants must  
be distressed in some degree for room   
and subsistence4 ,were the marriages in 
,england1 for the next eight or ten     
years1 to be more prolifick than usual1 
or even were a greater number of        
marriages than usual to take place1     
supposing the number of houses to remain
 the same1 instead of five or six to a  
cottage1 there must be seven or eight1  
and this1 added to the necessity of     
harder living1 would probably have a    
very unfavourable effect on the health  
of the common people4     ,,neumark ,,of
 ,,brandenburgh                         
,proportion   ,proportion   ,annual     

,average   ,births  ,burials ,marriages 
of ,births to of ,births to             
,marriages    ,burials   #e yrs to #agja
    #e1dcc    #c1dhc  #a1dcf      #cg to
 #aj    #aee to #ajj   #e yrs to #agbf  
#g1jab    #d1bed  #a1gac      #dj to #aj
    #afd to #ajj   #e yrs to #agef      
#g1igh    #e1efg  #a1hia      #db to #aj
    #adc to #ajj  ,epidemics prevailed  
for six years1 from #agcf1 to #agda1    
which checked the increase4             
,,dukedom ,,of ,,magdeburgh             
,proportion   ,proportion   ,annual     
,average   ,births  ,burials ,marriages 
of ,births to of ,births to             
,marriages    ,burials   #e yrs to #agjb
    #f1dca   #d1ajc   #a1fha      #ch to
 #aj    #aef to #ajj   #e yrs to #agag  
#g1eij   #e1cce   #b1jgf      #cf to #aj
    #adb to #ajj   #e yrs to #agef      
#h1hej   #h1jfi   #b1aic      #dj to #aj
    #aji to #ajj  ,the years #agch1     
#agdj1 #agej1 and #agea1 were           
particularly sickly4   ,for further     
information on this subject1 ,i refer   

the reader to ,mr ,suessmilch's tables4 
,the extracts that ,i have made are     
sufficient to shew the periodical1      
though irregular1 returns of sickly     
seasons1 and it seems highly probable   
that a scantiness of room and food was  
one of the principal causes that        
occasioned them4  ,it appears from the  
tables that these countries were        
increasing rather fast for old states1  
notwithstanding the occasional seasons  
that prevailed4 ,cultivation must have  
been improving1 and marriages1          
consequently1 encouraged4 ,for the      
checks to population appear to have been
 rather of the positive1 than of the    
preventive kind4 ,when from a prospect  
of increasing plenty in any country1 the
 weight that represses population is in 
some degree removed1 it is highly       
probable that the motion will be        
continued beyond the operation of the   
cause that first impelled it4 ,or1 to be
 more particular1 when the increasing   
produce of a country1 and the increasing

 demand for labour1 so far ameliorate   
the condition of the labourer as greatly
 to encourage marriage1 it is probable  
that the custom of early marriages will 
continue till the population of the     
country has gone beyond the increased   
produce1 and sickly seasons appear to be
 the natural and necessary consequence4 
,i should expect1 therefore1 that those 
countries where subsistence was         
increasing sufficiency at times to      
encourage population but not to answer  
all its demands1 would be more subject  
to periodical epidemics than those where
 the population could more completely   
accommodate itself to the average       
produce4  ,an observation the converse  
of this will probably also be found     
true4 ,in those countries that are      
subject to periodical sicknesses1 the   
increase of population1 or the excess of
 births above the burials1 will be      
greater in the intervals of these       
periods than is usual1 caeteris paribus1
 in the countries not so much subject to

 such disorders4 ,if ,turkey and ,egypt 
have been nearly stationary in their    
average population for the last century1
 in the intervals of their periodical   
plagues1 the births must have exceeded  
the burials in a greater proportion than
 in such countries as ,france and       
,england4  ,the average proportion of   
births to burials in any country for a  
period of five to ten years1 will hence 
appear to be a very inadequate criterion
 by which to judge of its real progress 
in population4 ,this proportion         
certainly shews the rate of increase    
during those five or ten years2 but we  
can by no means thence infer what had   
been the increase for the twenty years  
before1 or what would be the increase   
for the twenty years after4 ,dr ,price  
observes that ,sweden1 ,norway1 ,russia1
 and the kingdom of ,naples1 are        
increasing fast2 but the extracts from  
registers that he has given are not for 
periods of sufficient extent to         
establish the fact4 ,it is highly       

probable1 however1 that ,sweden1        
,norway1 and ,russia1 are really        
increasing their population1 though not 
at the rate that the proportion of      
births to burials for the short periods 
that ,dr ,price takes would seem to     
shew4 7,see ,dr ,price's ,observations1 
,vol4 ii1 postscript to the controversy 
on the population of ,england and       
,wales47 ,for five years1 ending in     
#aggg1 the proportion of births to      
burials in the kingdom of ,naples was   
#add to #ajj1 but there is reason to    
suppose that this proportion would      
indicate an increase much greater than  
would be really found to have taken     
place in that kingdom during a period of
 a hundred years4  ,dr ,short compared  
the registers of many villages and      
market towns in ,england for two        
periods2 the first1 from ,queen         
,elizabeth to the middle of the last    
century1 and the second1 from different 
years at the end of the last century to 
the middle of the present4 ,and from a  

comparison of these extracts1 it appears
 that in the former period the births   
exceeded the burials in the proportion  
of #abd to #ajj1 but in the latter1 only
 in the proportion of #aaa to #ajj4 ,dr 
,price thinks that the registers in the 
former period are not to be depended    
upon1 but1 probably1 in this instance   
they do not give incorrect proportions4 
,at least there are many reasons for    
expecting to find a greater excess of   
births above the burials in the former  
period than in the latter4 ,in the      
natural progress of the population of   
any country1 more good land will1       
caeteris paribus1 be taken into         
cultivation in the earlier stages of it 
than in the later4 7,i say 'caeteris    
paribus'1 because the increase of the   
produce of any country will always very 
greatly depend on the spirit of industry
 that prevails1 and the way in which it 
is directed4 ,the knowledge and habits  
of the people1 and other temporary      
causes1 particularly the degree of civil

 liberty and equality existing at the   
time1 must always have great influence  
in exciting and directing this spirit47 
,and a greater proportional yearly      
increase of produce will almost         
invariably be followed by a greater     
proportional increase of population4    
,but1 besides this great cause1 which   
would naturally give the excess of      
births above burials greater at the end 
of ,queen ,elizabeth's reign than in the
 middle of the present century1 ,i      
cannot help thinking that the occasional
 ravages of the plague in the former    
period must have had some tendency to   
increase this proportion4 ,if an average
 of ten years had been taken in the     
intervals of the returns of this        
dreadful disorder1 or if the years of   
plague had been rejected as accidental1 
the registers would certainly give the  
proportion of births to burials too high
 for the real average increase of the   
population4 ,for some few years after   
the great plague in #afff1 it is        

probable that there was a more than     
usual excess of births above burials1   
particularly if ,dr ,price's opinion be 
founded1 that ,england was more populous
 at the revolution 7which happened only 
twenty-two years afterwards7 than it is 
at present4  ,mr ,king1 in #afic1 stated
 the proportion of the births to the    
burials throughout the ,kingdom1        
exclusive of ,london1 as #aae to #ajj4  
,dr ,short makes it1 in the middle of   
the present century1 #aaa to #ajj1      
including ,london4 ,the proportion in   
,france for five years1 ending in #aggd1
 was #aag to #ajj4 ,if these statements 
are near the truth2 and if there are no 
very great variations at particular     
periods in the proportions1 it would    
appear that the population of ,france   
and ,england has accommodated itself    
very nearly to the average produce of   
each country4 ,the discouragements to   
marriage1 the consequent vicious habits1
 war1 luxury1 the silent though certain 
depopulation of large towns1 and the    

close habitations1 and insufficient food
 of many of the poor1 prevent population
 from increasing beyond the means of    
subsistence2 and1 if ,i may use an      
expression which certainly at first     
appears strange1 supercede the necessity
 of great and ravaging epidemics to     
repress what is redundant4 ,were a      
wasting plague to sweep off two millions
 in ,england1 and six millions in       
,france1 there can be no doubt whatever 
that1 after the inhabitants had         
recovered from the dreadful shock1 the  
proportion of births to burials would be
 much above what it is in either country
 at present4  ,in ,new ,jersey1 the     
proportion of births to deaths on an    
average of seven years1 ending in #agdc1
 was as #cjj to #ajj4 ,in ,france and   
,england1 taking the highest proportion1
 it is as #aag to #ajj4 ,great and      
astonishing as this difference is1 we   
ought not to be so wonder-struck at it  
as to attribute it to the miraculous    
interposition of heaven4 ,the causes of 

it are not remote1 latent and           
mysterious2 but near us1 round about us1
 and open to the investigation of every 
inquiring mind4 ,it accords with the    
most liberal spirit of philosophy to    
suppose that not a stone can fall1 or a 
plant rise1 without the immediate agency
 of divine power4 ,but we know from     
experience that these operations of what
 we call nature have been conducted     
almost invariably according to fixed    
laws4 ,and since the world began1 the   
causes of population and depopulation   
have probably been as constant as any of
 the laws of nature with which we are   
acquainted4  ,the passion between the   
sexes has appeared in every age to be so
 nearly the same that it may always be  
considered1 in algebraic language1 as a 
given quantity4 ,the great law of       
necessity which prevents population from
 increasing in any country beyond the   
food which it can either produce or     
acquire1 is a law so open to our view1  
so obvious and evident to our           

understandings1 and so completely       
confirmed by the experience of every    
age1 that we cannot for a moment doubt  
it4 ,the different modes which nature   
takes to prevent or repress a redundant 
population do not appear1 indeed1 to us 
so certain and regular1 but though we   
cannot always predict the mode we may   
with certainty predict the fact4 ,if the
 proportion of births to deaths for a   
few years indicate an increase of       
numbers much beyond the proportional    
increased or acquired produce of the    
country1 we may be perfectly certain    
that unless an emigration takes place1  
the deaths will shortly exceed the      
births2 and that the increase that had  
taken place for a few years cannot be   
the real average increase of the        
population of the country4 ,were there  
no other depopulating causes1 every     
country would1 without doubt1 be subject
 to periodical pestilences or famine4   
,the only true criterion of a real and  
permanent increase in the population of 

any country is the increase of the means
 of subsistence4 ,but even1 this        
criterion is subject to some slight     
variations which are1 however1          
completely open to our view and         
observations4 ,in some countries        
population appears to have been forced1 
that is1 the people have been habituated
 by degrees to live almost upon the     
smallest possible quantity of food4     
,there must have been periods in such   
counties when population increased      
permanently1 without an increase in the 
means of subsistence4 ,china seems to   
answer to this description4 ,if the     
accounts we have of it are to be        
trusted1 the lower classes of people are
 in the habit of living almost upon the 
smallest possible quantity of food and  
are glad to get any putrid offals that  
,european labourers would rather starve 
than eat4 ,the law in ,china which      
permits parents to expose their children
 has tended principally thus to force   
the population4 ,a nation in this state 

must necessarily be subject to famines4 
,where a country is so populous in      
proportion to the means of subsistence  
that the average produce of it is but   
barely sufficient to support the lives  
of the inhabitants1 any deficiency from 
the badness of seasons must be fatal4   
,it is probable that the very frugal    
manner in which the ,gentoos are in the 
habit of living contributes in some     
degree to the famines of ,indostan4  ,in
 ,america1 where the reward of labour is
 at present so liberal1 the lower       
classes might retrench very considerably
 in a year of scarcity without          
materially distressing themselves4 ,a   
famine therefore seems to be almost     
impossible4 ,it may be expected that in 
the progress of the population of       
,america1 the labourers will in time be 
much less liberally rewarded4 ,the      
numbers will in this case permanently   
increase without a proportional increase
 in the means of subsistence4  ,in the  
different states of ,europe there must  

be some variations in the proportion    
between the number of inhabitants and   
the quantity of food consumed1 arising  
from the different habits of living that
 prevail in each state4 ,the labourers  
of the ,south of ,england are so        
accustomed to eat fine wheaten bread    
that they will suffer themselves to be  
half starved before they will submit to 
live like the ,scotch peasants4 ,they   
might perhaps in time1 by the constant  
operation of the hard law of necessity1 
be reduced to live even like the ,lower 
,chinese1 and the country would then1   
with the same quantity of food1 support 
a greater population4 ,but to effect    
this must always be a most difficult1   
and1 every friend to humanity will hope1
 an abortive attempt4 ,nothing is so    
common as to hear of encouragements that
 ought to be given to population4 ,if   
the tendency of mankind to increase be  
so great as ,i have represented it to   
be1 it may appear strange that this     
increase does not come when it is thus  

repeatedly called for4 ,the true reason 
is that the demand for a greater        
population is made without preparing the
 funds necessary to support it4         
,increase the demand for agricultural   
labour by promoting cultivation1 and    
with it consequently increase the       
produce of the country1 and ameliorate  
the condition of the labourer1 and no   
apprehensions whatever need be          
entertained of the proportional increase
 of population4 ,an attempt to effect   
this purpose in any other way is        
vicious1 cruel1 and tyrannical1 and in  
any state of tolerable freedom cannot   
therefore succeed4 ,it may appear to be 
the interest of the rulers1 and the rich
 of a state1 to force population1 and   
thereby lower the price of labour1 and  
consequently the expense of fleets and  
armies1 and the cost of manufactures for
 foreign sale2 but every attempt of the 
kind should be carefully watched and    
strenuously resisted by the friends of  
the poor1 particularly when it comes    

under the deceitful garb of benevolence1
 and is likely1 on that account1 to be  
cheerfully and cordially received by the
 common people4  ,i entirely acquit ,mr 
,pitt of any sinister intention in that 
clause of his ,poor ,bill which allows a
 shilling a week to every labourer for  
each child he has above three4 ,i       
confess1 that before the bill was       
brought into ,parliament1 and for some  
time after1 ,i thought that such a      
regulation would be highly beneficial1  
but further reflection on the subject   
has convinced me that if its object be  
to better the condition of the poor1 it 
is calculated to defeat the very purpose
 which it has in view4 ,it has no       
tendency that ,i can discover to        
increase the produce of the country1 and
 if it tend to increase the population1 
without increasing the produce1 the     
necessary and inevitable consequence    
appears to be that the same produce must
 be divided among a greater number1 and 
consequently that a day's labour will   

purchase a smaller quantity of          
provisions1 and the poor therefore in   
general must be more distressed4  ,i    
have mentioned some cases where         
population may permanently increase     
without a proportional increase in the  
means of subsistence4 ,but it is evident
 that the variation in different states1
 between the food and the numbers       
supported by it1 is restricted to a     
limit beyond which it cannot pass4 ,in  
every country1 the population of which  
is not absolutely decreasing1 the food  
must be necessarily sufficient to       
support1 and to continue1 the race of   
labourers4  ,other circumstances being  
the same1 it may be affirmed that       
countries are populous according to the 
quantity of human food which they       
produce1 and happy according to the     
liberality with which that food is      
divided1 or the quantity which a day's  
labour will purchase4 ,corn countries   
are more populous than pasture          
countries1 and rice countries more      

populous than corn countries4 ,the lands
 in ,england are not suited to rice1 but
 they would all bear potatoes2 and ,dr  
,adam ,smith observes that if potatoes  
were to become the favourite vegetable  
food of the common people1 and if the   
same quantity of land was employed in   
their culture as is now employed in the 
culture of corn1 the country would be   
able to support a much greater          
population1 and would consequently in a 
very short time have it4  ,the happiness
 of a country does not depend1          
absolutely1 upon its poverty or its     
riches1 upon its youth or its age1 upon 
its being thinly or fully inhabited1 but
 upon the rapidity with which it is     
increasing1 upon the degree in which the
 yearly increase of food approaches to  
the yearly increase of an unrestricted  
population4 ,this approximation is      
always the nearest in new colonies1     
where the knowledge and industry of an  
old state operate on the fertile        
unappropriated land of a new one4 ,in   

other cases1 the youth or the age of a  
state is not in this respect of very    
great importance4 ,it is probable that  
the food of ,great ,britain is divided  
in as great plenty to the inhabitants1  
at the present period1 as it was two    
thousand1 three thousand1 or four       
thousand years ago4 ,and there is reason
 to believe that the poor and thinly    
inhabited tracts of the ,scotch         
,highlands are as much distressed by an 
overcharged population as the rich and  
populous province of ,flanders4  ,were a
 country never to be overrun by a people
 more advanced in arts1 but left to its 
own natural progress in civilization2   
from the time that its produce might be 
considered as an unit1 to the time that 
it might be considered as a million1    
during the lapse of many hundred years1 
there would not be a single period when 
the mass of the people could be said to 
be free from distress1 either directly  
or indirectly1 for want of food4 ,in    
every state in ,europe1 since we have   

first had accounts of it1 millions and  
millions of human existences have been  
repressed from this simple cause2 though
 perhaps in some of these states an     
absolute famine has never been known4   
,famine seems to be the last1 the most  
dreadful resource of nature4 ,the power 
of population is so superior to the     
power in the earth to produce           
subsistence for man1 that premature     
death must in some shape or other visit 
the human race4 ,the vices of mankind   
are active and able ministers of        
depopulation4 ,they are the precursors  
in the great army of destruction2 and   
often finish the dreadful work          
themselves4 ,but should they fail in    
this war of extermination1 sickly       
seasons1 epidemics1 pestilence1 and     
plague1 advance in terrific array1 and  
sweep off their thousands and ten       
thousands4 ,should success be still     
incomplete1 gigantic inevitable famine  
stalks in the rear1 and with one mighty 
blow levels the population with the food

 of the world4  ,must it not then be    
acknowledged by an attentive examiner of
 the histories of mankind1 that in every
 age and in every state in which man has
 existed1 or does now exist4  ,that the 
increase of population is necessarily   
limited by the means of subsistence4    
,that population does invariably        
increase when the means of subsistence  
increase4 ,and that the superior power  
of population it repressed1 and the     
actual population kept equal to the     
means of subsistence1 by misery and     
vice8     ,,chapter #h  ,mr             
,wallace--,error of supposing that the  
difficulty arising from population is at
 a great distance--,mr ,condorcet's     
sketch of the progress of the human     
mind--,period when the oscillation1     
mentioned by ,mr ,condorcet1 ought to be
 applied to the human race4   ,to a     
person who draws the preceding obvious  
inferences1 from a view of the past and 
present state of mankind1 it cannot but 
be a matter of astonishment that all the

 writers on the perfectibility of man   
and of society who have noticed the     
argument of an overcharged population1  
treat it always very slightly and       
invariably represent the difficulties   
arising from it as at a great and almost
 immeasurable distance4 ,even ,mr       
,wallace1 who thought the argument      
itself of so much weight as to destroy  
his whole system of equality1 did not   
seem to be aware that any difficulty    
would occur from this cause till the    
whole earth had been cultivated like a  
garden and was incapable of any further 
increase of produce4 ,were this really  
the case1 and were a beautiful system of
 equality in other respects practicable1
 ,i cannot think that our ardour in the 
pursuit of such a scheme ought to be    
damped by the contemplation of so remote
 a difficulty4 ,an event at such a      
distance might fairly be left to        
providence1 but the truth is that if the
 view of the argument given in this     
,essay be just the difficulty1 so far   

from being remote1 would be imminent and
 immediate4 ,at every period during the 
progress of cultivation1 from the       
present moment to the time when the     
whole earth was become like a garden1   
the distress for want of food would be  
constantly pressing on all mankind1 if  
they were equal4 ,though the produce of 
the earth might be increasing every     
year1 population would be increasing    
much faster1 and the redundancy must    
necessarily be repressed by the         
periodical or constant action of misery 
or vice4  ,mr ,condorcet's ,esquisse    
d'un ,tableau ,historique des ,progres  
de l',esprit ,humain1 was written1 it is
 said1 under the pressure of that cruel 
proscription which terminated in his    
death4 ,if he had no hopes of its being 
seen during his life and of its         
interesting ,france in his favour1 it is
 a singular instance of the attachment  
of a man to principles1 which every     
day's experience was so fatally for     
himself contradicting4 ,to see the human

 mind in one of the most enlightened    
nations of the world1 and after a lapse 
of some thousand years1 debased by such 
a fermentation of disgusting passions1  
of fear1 cruelty1 malice1 revenge1      
ambition1 madness1 and folly as would   
have disgraced the most savage nation in
 the most barbarous age must have been  
such a tremendous shock to his ideas of 
the necessary and inevitable progress of
 the human mind that nothing but the    
firmest conviction of the truth of his  
principles1 in spite of all appearances1
 could have withstood4  ,this posthumous
 publication is only a sketch of a much 
larger work1 which he proposed should be
 executed4 ,it necessarily1 therefore1  
wants that detail and application which 
can alone prove the truth of any theory4
 ,a few observations will be sufficient 
to shew how completely the theory is    
contradicted when it is applied to the  
real1 and not to an imaginary1 state of 
things4  ,in the last division of the   
work1 which treats of the future        

progress of man towards perfection1 he  
says1 that comparing1 in the different  
civilized nations of ,europe1 the actual
 population with the extent of          
territory1 and observing their          
cultivation1 their industry1 their      
divisions of labour1 and their means of 
subsistence1 we shall see that it would 
be impossible to preserve the same means
 of subsistence1 and1 consequently1 the 
same population1 without a number of    
individuals who have no other means of  
supplying their wants than their        
industry4 ,having allowed the necessity 
of such a class of men1 and adverting   
afterwards to the precarious revenue of 
those families that would depend so     
entirely on the life and health of their
 chief1 he says1 very justly3 ',there   
exists then1 a necessary cause of       
inequality1 of dependence1 and even of  
misery1 which menaces1 without ceasing1 
the most numerous and active class of   
our societies4' 7,to save time and long 
quotations1 ,i shall here give the      

substance of some of ,mr ,condorcet's   
sentiments1 and hope ,i shall not       
misrepresent them4 ,but ,i refer the    
reader to the work itself1 which will   
amuse1 if it does not convince him47    
,the difficulty is just and well stated1
 and ,i am afraid that the mode by which
 he proposes it should be removed will  
be found inefficacious4 ,by the         
application of calculations to the      
probabilities of life and the interest  
of money1 he proposes that a fund should
 be established which should assure to  
the old an assistance1 produced1 in     
part1 by their own former savings1 and1 
in part1 by the savings of individuals  
who in making the same sacrifice die    
before they reap the benefit of it4 ,the
 same1 or a similar fund1 should give   
assistance to women and children who    
lose their husbands1 or fathers1 and    
afford a capital to those who were of an
 age to found a new family1 sufficient  
for the proper development of their     
industry4 ,these establishments1 he     

observes1 might be made in the name and 
under the protection of the society4    
,going still further1 he says that1 by  
the just application of calculations1   
means might be found of more completely 
preserving a state of equality1 by      
preventing credit from being the        
exclusive privilege of great fortunes1  
and yet giving it a basis equally solid1
 and by rendering the progress of       
industry1 and the activity of commerce1 
less dependent on great capitalists4    
,such establishments and calculations   
may appear very promising upon paper1   
but when applied to real life they will 
be found to be absolutely nugatory4 ,mr 
,condorcet allows that a class of people
 which maintains itself entirely by     
industry is necessary to every state4   
,why does he allow this8 ,no other      
reason can well be assigned than that he
 conceives that the labour necessary to 
procure subsistence for an extended     
population will not be performed without
 the goad of necessity4 ,if by          

establishments of this kind of spur to  
industry be removed1 if the idle and the
 negligent are placed upon the same     
footing with regard to their credit1 and
 the future support of their wives and  
families1 as the active and industrious1
 can we expect to see men exert that    
animated activity in bettering their    
condition which now forms the master    
spring of public prosperity8 ,if an     
inquisition were to be established to   
examine the claims of each individual   
and to determine whether he had or had  
not exerted himself to the utmost1 and  
to grant or refuse assistance           
accordingly1 this would be little else  
than a repetition upon a larger scale of
 the ,english poor laws and would be    
completely destructive of the true      
principles of liberty and equality4     
,but independent of this great objection
 to these establishments1 and supposing 
for a moment that they would give no    
check to productive industry1 by far the
 greatest difficulty remains yet behind4

  ,were every man sure of a comfortable 
provision for his family1 almost every  
man would have one1 and were the rising 
generation free from the 'killing frost'
 of misery1 population must rapidly     
increase4 ,of this ,mr ,condorcet seems 
to be fully aware himself1 and after    
having described further improvements1  
he says3  ,but in this process of       
industry and happiness1 each generation 
will be called to more extended         
enjoyments1 and in consequence1 by the  
physical constitution of the human      
frame1 to an increase in the number of  
individuals4 ,must not there arrive a   
period then1 when these laws1 equally   
necessary1 shall counteract each other8 
,when the increase of the number of men 
surpassing their means of subsistence1  
the necessary result must be either a   
continual diminution of happiness and   
population1 a movement truly retrograde1
 or1 at least1 a kind of oscillation    
between good and evil8 ,in societies    
arrived at this term1 will not this     

oscillation be a constantly subsisting  
cause of periodical misery8 ,will it not
 mark the limit when all further        
amelioration will become impossible1 and
 point out that term to the             
perfectibility of the human race which  
it may reach in the course of ages1 but 
can never pass8  ,he then adds1  ,there 
is no person who does not see how very  
distant such a period is from us1 but   
shall we ever arrive at it8 ,it is      
equally impossible to pronounce for or  
against the future realization of an    
event which cannot take place but at an 
era when the human race will have       
attained improvements1 of which we can  
at present scarcely form a conception4  
,mr ,condorcet's picture of what may be 
expected to happen when the number of   
men shall surpass the means of their    
subsistence is justly drawn4 ,the       
oscillation which he describes will     
certainly take place and will without   
doubt be a constantly subsisting cause  
of periodical misery4 ,the only point in

 which ,i differ from ,mr ,condorcet    
with regard to this picture is the      
period when it may be applied to the    
human race4 ,mr ,condorcet thinks that  
it cannot possibly be applicable but at 
an era extremely distant4 ,if the       
proportion between the natural increase 
of population and food which ,i have    
given be in any degree near the truth1  
it will appear1 on the contrary1 that   
the period when the number of men       
surpass their means of subsistence has  
long since arrived1 and that this       
necessity oscillation1 this constantly  
subsisting cause of periodical misery1  
has existed ever since we have had any  
histories of mankind1 does exist at     
present1 and will for ever continue to  
exist1 unless some decided change take  
place in the physical constitution of   
our nature4  ,mr ,condorcet1 however1   
goes on to say that should the period1  
which he conceives to be so distant1    
ever arrive1 the human race1 and the    
advocates for the perfectibility of man1

 need not be alarmed at it4 ,he then    
proceeds to remove the difficulty in a  
manner which ,i profess not to          
understand4 ,having observed1 that the  
ridiculous prejudices of superstition   
would by that time have ceased to throw 
over morals a corrupt and degrading     
austerity1 he alludes1 either to a      
promiscuous concubinage1 which would    
prevent breeding1 or to something else  
as unnatural4 ,to remove the difficulty 
in this way will1 surely1 in the opinion
 of most men1 be to destroy that virtue 
and purity of manners1 which the        
advocates of equality1 and of the       
perfectibility of man1 profess to be the
 end and object of their views4         
,,chapter #i  ,mr ,condorcet's          
conjecture concerning the organic       
perfectibility of man1 and the          
indefinite prolongation of human        
life--,fallacy of the argument1 which   
infers an unlimited progress from a     
partial improvement1 the limit of which 
cannot be ascertained1 illustrated in   

the breeding of animals1 and the        
cultivation of plants4   ,the last      
question which ,mr ,condorcet proposes  
for examination is the organic          
perfectibility of man4 ,he observes that
 if the proofs which have been already  
given and which1 in their development   
will receive greater force in the work  
itself1 are sufficient to establish the 
indefinite perfectibility of man upon   
the supposition of the same natural     
faculties and the same organization     
which he has at present1 what will be   
the certainty1 what the extent of our   
hope1 if this organization1 these       
natural faculties themselves1 are       
susceptible of amelioration8  ,from the 
improvement of medicine1 from the use of
 more wholesome food and habitations1   
from a manner of living which will      
improve the strength of the body by     
exercise without impairing it by excess1
 from the destruction of the two great  
causes of the degradation of man1       
misery1 and too great riches1 from the  

gradual removal of transmissible and    
contagious disorders by the improvement 
of physical knowledge1 rendered more    
efficacious by the progress of reason   
and of social order1 he infers that     
though man will not absolutely become   
immortal1 yet that the duration between 
his birth and natural death will        
increase without ceasing1 will have no  
assignable term1 and may properly be    
expressed by the word 'indefinite'4 ,he 
then defines this word to mean either a 
constant approach to an unlimited       
extent1 without ever reaching it1 or an 
increase4 ,in the immensity of ages to  
an extent greater than any assignable   
quantity4  ,but surely the application  
of this term in either of these senses  
to the duration of human life is in the 
highest degree unphilosophical and      
totally unwarranted by any appearances  
in the laws of nature4 ,variations from 
different causes are essentially        
distinct from a regular and unretrograde
 increase4 ,the average duration of     

human life will to a certain degree vary
 from healthy or unhealthy climates1    
from wholesome or unwholesome food1 from
 virtuous or vicious manners1 and other 
causes1 but it may be fairly doubted    
whether there is really the smallest    
perceptible advance in the natural      
duration of human life since first we   
have had any authentic history of man4  
,the prejudices of all ages have indeed 
been directly contrary to this          
supposition1 and though ,i would not lay
 much stress upon these prejudices1 they
 will in some measure tend to prove that
 there has been no marked advance in an 
opposite direction4  ,it may perhaps be 
said that the world is yet so young1 so 
completely in its infancy1 that it ought
 not to be expected that any difference 
should appear so soon4  ,if this be the 
case1 there is at once an end of all    
human science4 ,the whole train of      
reasonings from effects to causes will  
be destroyed4 ,we may shut our eyes to  
the book of nature1 as it will no longer

 be of any use to read it4 ,the wildest 
and most improbable conjectures may be  
advanced with as much certainty as the  
most just and sublime theories1 founded 
on careful and reiterated experiments4  
,we may return again to the old mode of 
philosophising and make facts bend to   
systems1 instead of establishing systems
 upon facts4 ,the grand and consistent  
theory of ,newton will be placed upon   
the same footing as the wild and        
eccentric hypotheses of ,descartes4 ,in 
short1 if the laws of nature are thus   
fickle and inconstant1 if it can be     
affirmed and be believed that they will 
change1 when for ages and ages they have
 appeared immutable1 the human mind will
 no longer have any incitements to      
inquiry1 but must remain fixed in       
inactive torpor1 or amuse itself only in
 bewildering dreams and extravagant     
fancies4  ,the constancy of the laws of 
nature and of effects and causes is the 
foundation of all human knowledge1      
though far be it from me to say that the

 same power which framed and executes   
the laws of nature may not change them  
all 'in a moment1 in the twinkling of an
 eye4'  ,such a change may undoubtedly  
happen4 ,all that ,i mean to say is that
 it is impossible to infer it from      
reasoning4 ,if without any previous     
observable symptoms or indications of a 
change1 we can infer that a change will 
take place1 we may as well make any     
assertion whatever and think it as      
unreasonable to be contradicted in      
affirming that the moon will come in    
contact with the earth tomorrow1 as in  
saying that the sun will rise at its    
usual time4  ,with regard to the        
duration of human life1 there does not  
appear to have existed from the earliest
 ages of the world to the present moment
 the smallest permanent symptom or      
indication of increasing prolongation4  
,the observable effects of climate1     
habit1 diet1 and other causes1 on length
 of life have furnished the pretext for 
asserting its indefinite extension2 and 

the sandy foundation on which the       
argument rests is that because the limit
 of human life is undefined2 because you
 cannot mark its precise term1 and say  
so far exactly shall it go and no       
further2 that therefore its extent may  
increase for ever1 and be properly      
termed indefinite or unlimited4 ,but the
 fallacy and absurdity of this argument 
will sufficiently appear from a slight  
examination of what ,mr ,condorcet calls
 the organic perfectibility1 or         
degeneration1 of the race of plants and 
animals1 which he says may be regarded  
as one of the general laws of nature4   
,i am told that it is a maxim among the 
improvers of cattle that you may breed  
to any degree of nicety you please1 and 
they found this maxim upon another1     
which is that some of the offspring will
 possess the desirable qualities of the 
parents in a greater degree4 ,in the    
famous ,leicestershire breed of sheep1  
the object is to procure them with small
 heads and small legs4 ,proceeding upon 

these breeding maxims1 it is evident    
that we might go on till the heads and  
legs were evanescent quantities1 but    
this is so palpable an absurdity that we
 may be quite sure that the premises are
 not just and that there really is a    
limit1 though we cannot see it or say   
exactly where it is4 ,in this case1 the 
point of the greatest degree of         
improvement1 or the smallest size of the
 head and legs1 may be said to be       
undefined1 but this is very different   
from unlimited1 or from indefinite1 in  
,mr ,condorcet's acceptation of the     
term4 ,though ,i may not be able in the 
present instance to mark the limit at   
which further improvement will stop1 ,i 
can very easily mention a point at which
 it will not arrive4 ,i should not      
scruple to assert that were the breeding
 to continue for ever1 the head and legs
 of these sheep would never be so small 
as the head and legs of a rat4  ,it     
cannot be true1 therefore1 that among   
animals1 some of the offspring will     

possess the desirable qualities of the  
parents in a greater degree1 or that    
animals are indefinitely perfectible4   
,the progress of a wild plant to a      
beautiful garden flower is perhaps more 
marked and striking than anything that  
takes place among animals1 yet even here
 it would be the height of absurdity to 
assert that the progress was unlimited  
or indefinite4  ,one of the most obvious
 features of the improvement is the     
increase of size4 ,the flower has grown 
gradually larger by cultivation4 ,if the
 progress were really unlimited it might
 be increased ad infinitum1 but this is 
so gross an absurdity that we may be    
quite sure that among plants as well as 
among animals there is a limit to       
improvement1 though we do not exactly   
know where it is4 ,it is probable that  
the gardeners who contend for flower    
prizes have often applied stronger      
dressing without success4 ,at the same  
time it would be highly presumptuous in 
any man to say that he had seen the     

finest carnation or anemone that could  
ever be made to grow4 ,he might however 
assert without the smallest chance of   
being contradicted by a future fact1    
that no carnation or anemone could ever 
by cultivation be increased to the size 
of a large cabbage2 and yet there are   
assignable quantities much greater than 
a cabbage4 ,no man can say that he has  
seen the largest ear of wheat1 or the   
largest oak that could ever grow2 but he
 might easily1 and with perfect         
certainty1 name a point of magnitude at 
which they would not arrive4 ,in all    
these cases therefore1 a careful        
distinction should be made1 between an  
unlimited progress1 and a progress where
 the limit is merely undefined4  ,it    
will be said1 perhaps1 that the reason  
why plants and animals cannot increase  
indefinitely in size is1 that they would
 fall by their own weight4 ,i answer1   
how do we know this but from            
experience8--from experience of the     
degree of strength with which these     

bodies are formed4 ,i know that a       
carnation1 long before it reached the   
size of a cabbage1 would not be         
supported by its stalk1 but ,i only know
 this from my experience of the weakness
 and want of tenacity in the materials  
of a carnation stalk4 ,there are many   
substances in nature of the same size   
that would support as large a head as a 
cabbage4  ,the reasons of the mortality 
of plants are at present perfectly      
unknown to us4 ,no man can say why such 
a plant is annual1 another biennial1 and
 another endures for ages4 ,the whole   
affair in all these cases1 in plants1   
animals1 and in the human race1 is an   
affair of experience1 and ,i only       
conclude that man is mortal because the 
invariable experience of all ages has   
proved the mortality of those materials 
of which his visible body is made3      
,what can we reason1 but from what we   
know8  ,sound philosophy will not       
authorize me to alter this opinion of   
the mortality of man on earth1 till it  

can be clearly proved that the human    
race has made1 and is making1 a decided 
progress towards an illimitable extent  
of life4 ,and the chief reason why ,i   
adduced the two particular instances    
from animals and plants was to expose   
and illustrate1 if ,i could1 the fallacy
 of that argument which infers an       
unlimited progress1 merely because some 
partial improvement has taken place1 and
 that the limit of this improvement     
cannot be precisely ascertained4  ,the  
capacity of improvement in plants and   
animals1 to a certain degree1 no person 
can possibly doubt4 ,a clear and decided
 progress has already been made1 and    
yet1 ,i think1 it appears that it would 
be highly absurd to say that this       
progress has no limits4 ,in human life1 
though there are great variations from  
different causes1 it may be doubted     
whether1 since the world began1 any     
organic improvement whatever in the     
human frame can be clearly ascertained4 
,the foundations1 therefore1 on which   

the arguments for the organic           
perfectibility of man rest1 are         
unusually weak1 and can only be         
considered as mere conjectures4 ,it does
 not1 however1 by any means seem        
impossible that by an attention to      
breed1 a certain degree of improvement1 
similar to that among animals1 might    
take place among men4 ,whether intellect
 could be communicated may be a matter  
of doubt3 but size1 strength1 beauty1   
complexion1 and perhaps even longevity  
are in a degree transmissible4 ,the     
error does not seem to lie in supposing 
a small degree of improvement possible1 
but in not discriminating between a     
small improvement1 the limit of which is
 undefined1 and an improvement really   
unlimited4 ,as the human race1 however1 
could not be improved in this way1      
without condemning all the bad specimens
 to celibacy1 it is not probable that an
 attention to breed should ever become  
general2 indeed1 ,i know of no          
well-directed attempts of this kind1    

except in the ancient family of the     
,bickerstaffs1 who are said to have been
 very successful in whitening the skins 
and increasing the height of their race 
by prudent marriages1 particularly by   
that very judicious cross with ,maud1   
the milk-maid1 by which some capital    
defects in the constitutions of the     
family were corrected4  ,it will not be 
necessary1 ,i think1 in order more      
completely to shew the improbability of 
any approach in man towards immortality 
on earth1 to urge the very great        
additional weight that an increase in   
the duration of life would give to the  
argument of population4  ,many1 ,i doubt
 not1 will think that the attempting    
gravely to controvert so absurd a       
paradox as the immortality of man on    
earth1 or indeed1 even the              
perfectibility of man and society1 is a 
waste of time and words1 and that such  
unfounded conjectures are best answered 
by neglect4 ,i profess1 however1 to be  
of a different opinion4 ,when paradoxes 

of this kind are advanced by ingenious  
and able men1 neglect has no tendency to
 convince them of their mistakes4       
,priding themselves on what they        
conceive to be a mark of the reach and  
size of their own understandings1 of the
 extent and comprehensiveness of their  
views1 they will look upon this neglect 
merely as an indication of poverty1 and 
narrowness1 in the mental exertions of  
their contemporaries1 and only think    
that the world is not yet prepared to   
receive their sublime truths4  ,on the  
contrary1 a candid investigation of     
these subjects1 accompanied with a      
perfect readiness to adopt any theory   
warranted by sound philosophy1 may have 
a tendency to convince them that in     
forming improbable and unfounded        
hypotheses1 so far from enlarging the   
bounds of human science1 they are       
contracting it1 so far from promoting   
the improvement of the human mind1 they 
are obstructing it2 they are throwing us
 back again almost into the infancy of  

knowledge and weakening the foundations 
of that mode of philosophising1 under   
the auspices of which science has of    
late made such rapid advances4 ,the     
present rage for wide and unrestrained  
speculation seems to be a kind of mental
 intoxication1 arising1 perhaps1 from   
the great and unexpected discoveries    
which have been made of late years1 in  
various branches of science4 ,to men    
elate and giddy with such successes1    
every thing appeared to be within the   
grasp of human powers2 and1 under this  
illusion1 they confounded subjects where
 no real progress could be proved with  
those where the progress had been       
marked1 certain1 and acknowledged4      
,could they be persuaded to sober       
themselves with a little severe and     
chastised thinking1 they would see1 that
 the cause of truth1 and of sound       
philosophy1 cannot but suffer by        
substituting wild flights and           
unsupported assertions for patient      
investigation1 and well authenticated   

proofs4  ,mr ,condorcet's book may be   
considered not only as a sketch of the  
opinions of a celebrated individual1 but
 of many of the literary men in ,france 
at the beginning of the ,revolution4 ,as
 such1 though merely a sketch1 it seems 
worthy of attention4     ,,chapter #aj  
,mr ,godwin's system of equality--,error
 of attributing all the vices of mankind
 to human institutions--,mr ,godwin's   
first answer to the difficulty arising  
from population totally                 
insufficient--,mr ,godwin's beautiful   
system of equality supposed to be       
realized--,its utter destruction simply 
from the principle of population in so  
short a time as thirty years4   ,in     
reading ,mr ,godwin's ingenious and able
 work on political justice1 it is       
impossible not to be struck with the    
spirit and energy of his style1 the     
force and precision of some of his      
reasonings1 the ardent tone of his      
thoughts1 and particularly with that    
impressive earnestness of manner which  

gives an air of truth to the whole4 ,at 
the same time1 it must be confessed that
 he has not proceeded in his inquiries  
with the caution that sound philosophy  
seems to require4 ,his conclusions are  
often unwarranted by his premises4 ,he  
fails sometimes in removing the         
objections which he himself brings      
forward4 ,he relies too much on general 
and abstract propositions which will not
 admit of application4 ,and his         
conjectures certainly far outstrip the  
modesty of nature4  ,the system of      
equality which ,mr ,godwin proposes is1 
without doubt1 by far the most beautiful
 and engaging of any that has yet       
appeared4 ,an amelioration of society to
 be produced merely by reason and       
conviction wears much more the promise  
of permanence than any change effected  
and maintained by force4 ,the unlimited 
exercise of private judgement is a      
doctrine inexpressibly grand and        
captivating and has a vast superiority  
over those systems where every          

individual is in a manner the slave of  
the public4 ,the substitution of        
benevolence as the master-spring and    
moving principle of society1 instead of 
self-love1 is a consummation devoutly to
 be wished4 ,in short1 it is impossible 
to contemplate the whole of this fair   
structure without emotions of delight   
and admiration1 accompanied with ardent 
longing for the period of its           
accomplishment4 ,but1 alas6 that moment 
can never arrive4 ,the whole is little  
better than a dream1 a beautiful phantom
 of the imagination4 ,these 'gorgeous   
palaces' of happiness and immortality1  
these 'solemn temples' of truth and     
virtue will dissolve1 'like the baseless
 fabric of a vision'1 when we awaken to 
real life and contemplate the true and  
genuine situation of man on earth4 ,mr  
,godwin1 at the conclusion of the third 
chapter of his eighth book1 speaking of 
population1 says3  ,there is a principle
 in human society1 by which population  
is perpetually kept down to the level of

 the means of subsistence4 ,thus among  
the wandering tribes of ,america and    
,asia1 we never find through the lapse  
of ages that population has so increased
 as to render necessary the cultivation 
of the earth4  ,this principle1 which   
,mr ,godwin thus mentions as some       
mysterious and occult cause and which he
 does not attempt to investigate1 will  
be found to be the grinding law of      
necessity1 misery1 and the fear of      
misery4  ,the great error under which   
,mr ,godwin labours throughout his whole
 work is the attributing almost all the 
vices and misery that are seen in civil 
society to human institutions4          
,political regulations and the          
established administration of property  
are with him the fruitful sources of all
 evil1 the hotbeds of all the crimes    
that degrade mankind4 ,were this really 
a true state of the case1 it would not  
seem a hopeless task to remove evil     
completely from the world1 and reason   
seems to be the proper and adequate     

instrument for effecting so great a     
purpose4 ,but the truth is1 that though 
human institutions appear to be the     
obvious and obtrusive causes of much    
mischief to mankind1 yet in reality they
 are light and superficial1 they are    
mere feathers that float on the surface1
 in comparison with those deeper seated 
causes of impurity that corrupt the     
springs and render turbid the whole     
stream of human life4  ,mr ,godwin1 in  
his chapter on the benefits attendant on
 a system of equality1 says3  ,the      
spirit of oppression1 the spirit of     
servility1 and the spirit of fraud1     
these are the immediate growth of the   
established administration of property4 
,they are alike hostile to intellectual 
improvement4 ,the other vices of envy1  
malice1 and revenge are their           
inseparable companions4 ,in a state of  
society where men lived in the midst of 
plenty and where all shared alike the   
bounties of nature1 these sentiments    
would inevitably expire4 ,the narrow    

principle of selfishness would vanish4  
,no man being obliged to guard his      
little store or provide with anxiety and
 pain for his restless wants1 each would
 lose his individual existence in the   
thought of the general good4 ,no man    
would be an enemy to his neighbour1 for 
they would have no subject of           
contention1 and1 of consequence1        
philanthropy would resume the empire    
which reason assigns her4 ,mind would be
 delivered from her perpetual anxiety   
about corporal support1 and free to     
expatiate in the field of thought1 which
 is congenial to her4 ,each would assist
 the inquiries of all4  ,this would1    
indeed1 be a happy state4 ,but that it  
is merely an imaginary picture1 with    
scarcely a feature near the truth1 the  
reader1 ,i am afraid1 is already too    
well convinced4  ,man cannot live in the
 midst of plenty4 ,all cannot share     
alike the bounties of nature4 ,were     
there no established administration of  
property1 every man would be obliged to 

guard with force his little store4      
,selfishness would be triumphant4 ,the  
subjects of contention would be         
perpetual4 ,every individual mind would 
be under a constant anxiety about       
corporal support1 and not a single      
intellect would be left free to         
expatiate in the field of thought4  ,how
 little ,mr ,godwin has turned the      
attention of his penetrating mind to the
 real state of man on earth will        
sufficiently appear from the manner in  
which he endeavours to remove the       
difficulty of an overcharged population4
 ,he says3  ,the obvious answer to this 
objection1 is1 that to reason thus is to
 foresee difficulties at a great        
distance4 ,three fourths of the         
habitable globe is now uncultivated4    
,the parts already cultivated are       
capable of immeasurable improvement4    
,myriads of centuries of still          
increasing population may pass away1 and
 the earth be still found sufficient for
 the subsistence of its inhabitants4  ,i

 have already pointed out the error of  
supposing that no distress and          
difficulty would arise from an          
overcharged population before the earth 
absolutely refused to produce any more4 
,but let us imagine for a moment ,mr    
,godwin's beautiful system of equality  
realized in its utmost purity1 and see  
how soon this difficulty might be       
expected to press under so perfect a    
form of society4 ,a theory that will not
 admit of application cannot possibly be
 just4  ,let us suppose all the causes  
of misery and vice in this island       
removed4 ,war and contention cease4     
,unwholesome trades and manufactories do
 not exist4 ,crowds no longer collect   
together in great and pestilent cities  
for purposes of court intrigue1 of      
commerce1 and vicious gratifications4   
,simple1 healthy1 and rational          
amusements take place of drinking1      
gaming1 and debauchery4 ,there are no   
towns sufficiently large to have any    
prejudicial effects on the human        

constitution4 ,the greater part of the  
happy inhabitants of this terrestrial   
paradise live in hamlets and farmhouses 
scattered over the face of the country4 
,every house is clean1 airy1            
sufficiently roomy1 and in a healthy    
situation4 ,all men are equal4 ,the     
labours of luxury are at end4 ,and the  
necessary labours of agriculture are    
shared amicably among all4 ,the number  
of persons1 and the produce of the      
island1 we suppose to be the same as at 
present4 ,the spirit of benevolence1    
guided by impartial justice1 will divide
 this produce among all the members of  
the society according to their wants4   
,though it would be impossible that they
 should all have animal food every day1 
yet vegetable food1 with meat           
occasionally1 would satisfy the desires 
of a frugal people and would be         
sufficient to preserve them in health1  
strength1 and spirits4  ,mr ,godwin     
considers marriage as a fraud and a     
monopoly4 ,let us suppose the commerce  

of the sexes established upon principles
 of the most perfect freedom4 ,mr       
,godwin does not think himself that this
 freedom would lead to a promiscuous    
intercourse1 and in this ,i perfectly   
agree with him4 ,the love of variety is 
a vicious1 corrupt1 and unnatural taste 
and could not prevail in any great      
degree in a simple and virtuous state of
 society4 ,each man would probably      
select himself a partner1 to whom he    
would adhere as long as that adherence  
continued to be the choice of both      
parties4 ,it would be of little         
consequence1 according to ,mr ,godwin1  
how many children a woman had or to whom
 they belonged4 ,provisions and         
assistance would spontaneously flow from
 the quarter in which they abounded1 to 
the quarter that was deficient4 7,see   
,bk ,,viii1 ch4 #h2 in the third        
edition1 ,vol ,,ii1 p4 #eab7 ,and every 
man would be ready to furnish           
instruction to the rising generation    
according to his capacity4  ,i cannot   

conceive a form of society so favourable
 upon the whole to population4 ,the     
irremediableness of marriage1 as it is  
at present constituted1 undoubtedly     
deters many from entering into that     
state4 ,an unshackled intercourse on the
 contrary would be a most powerful      
incitement to early attachments1 and as 
we are supposing no anxiety about the   
future support of children to exist1 ,i 
do not conceive that there would be one 
woman in a hundred1 of twenty-three1    
without a family4  ,with these          
extraordinary encouragements to         
population1 and every cause of          
depopulation1 as we have supposed1      
removed1 the numbers would necessarily  
increase faster than in any society that
 has ever yet been known4 ,i have       
mentioned1 on the authority of a        
pamphlet published by a ,dr ,styles and 
referred to by ,dr ,price1 that the     
inhabitants of the back settlements of  
,america doubled their numbers in       
fifteen years4 ,england is certainly a  

more healthy country than the back      
settlements of ,america1 and as we have 
supposed every house in the island to be
 airy and wholesome1 and the            
encouragements to have a family greater 
even than with the back settlers1 no    
probable reason can be assigned why the 
population should not double itself in  
less1 if possible1 than fifteen years4  
,but to be quite sure that we do not go 
beyond the truth1 we will only suppose  
the period of doubling to be twenty-five
 years1 a ratio of increase which is    
well known to have taken place          
throughout all the ,northern ,states of 
,america4  ,there can be little doubt   
that the equalization of property which 
we have supposed1 added to the          
circumstance of the labour of the whole 
community being directed chiefly to     
agriculture1 would tend greatly to      
augment the produce of the country4 ,but
 to answer the demands of a population  
increasing so rapidly1 ,mr ,godwin's    
calculation of half an hour a day for   

each man would certainly not be         
sufficient4 ,it is probable that the    
half of every man's time must be        
employed for this purpose4 ,yet with    
such1 or much greater exertions1 a      
person who is acquainted with the nature
 of the soil in this country1 and who   
reflects on the fertility of the lands  
already in cultivation1 and the         
barrenness of those that are not        
cultivated1 will be very much disposed  
to doubt whether the whole average      
produce could possibly be doubled in    
twenty-five years from the present      
period4 ,the only chance of success     
would be the ploughing up all the       
grazing countries and putting an end    
almost entirely to the use of animal    
food4 ,yet a part of this scheme might  
defeat itself4 ,the soil of ,england    
will not produce much without dressing1 
and cattle seem to be necessary to make 
that species of manure which best suits 
the land4 ,in ,china it is said that the
 soil in some of the provinces is so    

fertile as to produce two crops of rice 
in the year without dressing4 ,none of  
the lands in ,england will answer to    
this description4  ,difficult1 however1 
as it might be to double the average    
produce of the island in twenty-five    
years1 let us suppose it effected4 ,at  
the expiration of the first period      
therefore1 the food1 though almost      
entirely vegetable1 would be sufficient 
to support in health the doubled        
population of fourteen millions4        
,during the next period of doubling1    
where will the food be found to satisfy 
the importunate demands of the          
increasing numbers8 ,where is the fresh 
land to turn up8 ,where is the dressing 
necessary to improve that which is      
already in cultivation8 ,there is no    
person with the smallest knowledge of   
land but would say that it was          
impossible that the average produce of  
the country could be increased during   
the second twenty-five years by a       
quantity equal to what it at present    

yields4 ,yet we will suppose this       
increase1 however improbable1 to take   
place4 ,the exuberant strength of the   
argument allows of almost any           
concession4 ,even with this concession1 
however1 there would be seven millions  
at the expiration of the second term    
unprovided for4 ,a quantity of food     
equal to the frugal support of          
twenty-one millions1 would be to be     
divided among twenty-eight millions4    
,alas6 what becomes of the picture where
 men lived in the midst of plenty1 where
 no man was obliged to provide with     
anxiety and pain for his restless wants1
 where the narrow principle of          
selfishness did not exist1 where ,mind  
was delivered from her perpetual anxiety
 about corporal support and free to     
expatiate in the field of thought which 
is congenial to her4 ,this beautiful    
fabric of imagination vanishes at the   
severe touch of truth4 ,the spirit of   
benevolence1 cherished and invigorated  
by plenty1 is repressed by the chilling 

breath of want4 ,the hateful passions   
that had vanished reappear4 ,the mighty 
law of self-preservation expels all the 
softer and more exalted emotions of the 
soul4 ,the temptations to evil are too  
strong for human nature to resist4 ,the 
corn is plucked before it is ripe1 or   
secreted in unfair proportions1 and the 
whole black train of vices that belong  
to falsehood are immediately generated4 
,provisions no longer flow in for the   
support of the mother with a large      
family4 ,the children are sickly from   
insufficient food4 ,the rosy flush of   
health gives place to the pallid cheek  
and hollow eye of misery4 ,benevolence1 
yet lingering in a few bosoms1 makes    
some faint expiring struggles1 till at  
length self-love resumes his wonted     
empire and lords it triumphant over the 
world4  ,no human institutions here     
existed1 to the perverseness of which   
,mr ,godwin ascribes the original sin of
 the worst men4 7,bk ,,viii1 ch4 #c2 in 
the third edition1 ,vol4 ,,ii1 p4 #dfb7 

,no opposition had been produced by them
 between public and private good4 ,no   
monopoly had been created of those      
advantages which reason directs to be   
left in common4 ,no man had been goaded 
to the breach of order by unjust laws4  
,benevolence had established her reign  
in all hearts3 and yet in so short a    
period as within fifty years1 violence1 
oppression1 falsehood1 misery1 every    
hateful vice1 and every form of         
distress1 which degrade and sadden the  
present state of society1 seem to have  
been generated by the most imperious    
circumstances1 by laws inherent in the  
nature of man1 and absolutely           
independent of it human regulations4    
,if we are not yet too well convinced of
 the reality of this melancholy picture1
 let us but look for a moment into the  
next period of twenty-five years2 and we
 shall see twenty-eight millions of     
human beings without the means of       
support2 and before the conclusion of   
the first century1 the population would 

be one hundred and twelve millions1 and 
the food only sufficient for thirty-five
 millions1 leaving seventy-seven        
millions unprovided for4 ,in these ages 
want would be indeed triumphant1 and    
rapine and murder must reign at large3  
and yet all this time we are supposing  
the produce of the earth absolutely     
unlimited1 and the yearly increase      
greater than the boldest speculator can 
imagine4  ,this is undoubtedly a very   
different view of the difficulty arising
 from population from that which ,mr    
,godwin gives1 when he says1 ',myriads  
of centuries of still increasing        
population may pass away1 and the earth 
be still found sufficient for the       
subsistence of its inhabitants4'  ,i am 
sufficiently aware that the redundant   
twenty-eight millions1 or seventy-seven 
millions1 that ,i have mentioned1 could 
never have existed4 ,it is a perfectly  
just observation of ,mr ,godwin1 that1  
',there is a principle in human society1
 by which population is perpetually kept

 down to the level of the means of      
subsistence4' ,the sole question is1    
what is this principle8 is it some      
obscure and occult cause8 ,is it some   
mysterious interference of heaven which1
 at a certain period1 strikes the men   
with impotence1 and the women with      
barrenness8 ,or is it a cause1 open to  
our researches1 within our view1 a      
cause1 which has constantly been        
observed to operate1 though with varied 
force1 in every state in which man has  
been placed8 ,is it not a degree of     
misery1 the necessary and inevitable    
result of the laws of nature1 which     
human institutions1 so far from         
aggravating1 have tended considerably to
 mitigate1 though they never can remove8
  ,it may be curious to observe1 in the 
case that we have been supposing1 how   
some of the laws which at present govern
 civilized society1 would be            
successively dictated by the most       
imperious necessity4 ,as man1 according 
to ,mr ,godwin1 is the creature of the  

impressions to which he is subject1 the 
goadings of want could not continue     
long1 before some violations of public  
or private stock would necessarily take 
place4 ,as these violations increased in
 number and extent1 the more active and 
comprehensive intellects of the society 
would soon perceive1 that while         
population was fast increasing1 the     
yearly produce of the country would     
shortly begin to diminish4 ,the urgency 
of the case would suggest the necessity 
of some mediate measures to be taken for
 the general safety4 ,some kind of      
convention would then be called1 and the
 dangerous situation of the country     
stated in the strongest terms4 ,it would
 be observed1 that while they lived in  
the midst of plenty1 it was of little   
consequence who laboured the least1 or  
who possessed the least1 as every man   
was perfectly willing and ready to      
supply the wants of his neighbour4 ,but 
that the question was no longer whether 
one man should give to another that     

which he did not use himself1 but       
whether he should give to his neighbour 
the food which was absolutely necessary 
to his own existence4 ,it would be      
represented1 that the number of those   
that were in want very greatly exceeded 
the number and means of those who should
 supply them2 that these pressing wants1
 which from the state of the produce of 
the country could not all be gratified1 
had occasioned some flagrant violations 
of justice2 that these violations had   
already checked the increase of food1   
and would1 if they were not by some     
means or other prevented1 throw the     
whole community in confusion2 that      
imperious necessity seemed to dictate   
that a yearly increase of produce       
should1 if possible1 be obtained at all 
events2 that in order to effect this    
first1 great1 and indispensable purpose1
 it would be advisable to make a more   
complete division of land1 and to secure
 every man's stock against violation by 
the most powerful sanctions1 even by    

death itself4  ,it might be urged       
perhaps by some objectors that1 as the  
fertility of the land increased1 and    
various accidents occurred1 the share of
 some men might be much more than       
sufficient for their support1 and that  
when the reign of self-love was once    
established1 they would not distribute  
their surplus produce without some      
compensation in return4 ,it would be    
observed1 in answer1 that this was an   
inconvenience greatly to be lamented2   
but that it was an evil which bore no   
comparison to the black train of        
distresses that would inevitably be     
occasioned by the insecurity of         
property2 that the quantity of food     
which one man could consume was         
necessarily limited by the narrow       
capacity of the human stomach2 that it  
was not certainly probable that he      
should throw away the rest2 but that    
even if he exchanged his surplus food   
for the labour of others1 and made them 
in some degree dependent on him1 this   

would still be better than that these   
others should absolutely starve4  ,it   
seems highly probable1 therefore1 that  
an administration of property1 not very 
different from that which prevails in   
civilized states at present1 would be   
established1 as the best1 though        
inadequate1 remedy for the evils which  
were pressing on the society4  ,the next
 subject that would come under          
discussion1 intimately connected with   
the preceding1 is the commerce between  
the sexes4 ,it would be urged by those  
who had turned their attention to the   
true cause of the difficulties under    
which the community laboured1 that while
 every man felt secure that all his     
children would be well provided for by  
general benevolence1 the powers of the  
earth would be absolutely inadequate to 
produce food for the population which   
would inevitably ensue2 that even if the
 whole attention and labour of the      
society were directed to this sole      
point1 and if1 by the most perfect      

security of property1 and every other   
encouragement that could be thought of1 
the greatest possible increase of       
produce were yearly obtained2 yet still1
 that the increase of food would by no  
means keep pace with the much more rapid
 increase of population2 that some check
 to population therefore was imperiously
 called for2 that the most natural and  
obvious check seemed to be to make every
 man provide for his own children2 that 
this would operate in some respect as a 
measure and guide in the increase of    
population1 as it might be expected that
 no man would bring beings into the     
world1 for whom he could not find the   
means of support2 that where this       
notwithstanding was the case1 it seemed 
necessary1 for the example of others1   
that the disgrace and inconvenience     
attending such a conduct should fall    
upon the individual1 who had thus       
inconsiderately plunged himself and     
innocent children in misery and want4   
,the institution of marriage1 or at     

least1 of some express or implied       
obligation on every man to support his  
own children1 seems to be the natural   
result of these reasonings in a         
community under the difficulties that we
 have supposed4  ,the view of these     
difficulties presents us with a very    
natural origin of the superior disgrace 
which attends a breach of chastity in   
the woman than in the man4 ,it could not
 be expected that women should have     
resources sufficient to support their   
own children4 ,when therefore a woman   
was connected with a man1 who had       
entered into no compact to maintain her 
children1 and1 aware of the             
inconveniences that he might bring upon 
himself1 had deserted her1 these        
children must necessarily fall for      
support upon the society1 or starve4    
,and to prevent the frequent recurrence 
of such an inconvenience1 as it would be
 highly unjust to punish so natural a   
fault by personal restraint or          
infliction1 the men might agree to      

punish it with disgrace4 ,the offence is
 besides more obvious and conspicuous in
 the woman1 and less liable to any      
mistake4 ,the father of a child may not 
always be known1 but the same           
uncertainty cannot easily exist with    
regard to the mother4 ,where the        
evidence of the offence was most        
complete1 and the inconvenience to the  
society at the same time the greatest1  
there it was agreed that the large share
 of blame should fall4 ,the obligation  
on every man to maintain his children1  
the society would enforce1 if there were
 occasion2 and the greater degree of    
inconvenience or labour1 to which a     
family would necessarily subject him1   
added to some portion of disgrace which 
every human being must incur who leads  
another into unhappiness1 might be      
considered as a sufficient punishment   
for the man4  ,that a woman should at   
present be almost driven from society   
for an offence which men commit nearly  
with impunity1 seems to be undoubtedly a

 breach of natural justice4 ,but the    
origin of the custom1 as the most       
obvious and effectual method of         
preventing the frequent recurrence of a 
serious inconvenience to a community1   
appears to be natural1 though not       
perhaps perfectly justifiable4 ,this    
origin1 however1 is now lost in the new 
train of ideas which the custom has     
since generated4 ,what at first might be
 dictated by state necessity is now     
supported by female delicacy1 and       
operates with the greatest force on that
 part of society where1 if the original 
intention of the custom were preserved1 
there is the least real occasion for it4
  ,when these two fundamental laws of   
society1 the security of property1 and  
the institution of marriage1 were once  
established1 inequality of conditions   
must necessarily follow4 ,those who were
 born after the division of property    
would come into a world already         
possessed4 ,if their parents1 from      
having too large a family1 could not    

give them sufficient for their support1 
what are they to do in a world where    
everything is appropriated8 ,we have    
seen the fatal effects that would result
 to a society1 if every man had a valid 
claim to an equal share of the produce  
of the earth4 ,the members of a family  
which was grown too large for the       
original division of land appropriated  
to it could not then demand a part of   
the surplus produce of others1 as a debt
 of justice4 ,it has appeared1 that from
 the inevitable laws of our nature some 
human beings must suffer from want4     
,these are the unhappy persons who1 in  
the great lottery of life1 have drawn a 
blank4 ,the number of these claimants   
would soon exceed the ability of the    
surplus produce to supply4 ,moral merit 
is a very difficult distinguishing      
criterion1 except in extreme cases4 ,the
 owners of surplus produce would in     
general seek some more obvious mark of  
distinction4 ,and it seems both natural 
and just that1 except upon particular   

occasions1 their choice should fall upon
 those who were able1 and professed     
themselves willing1 to exert their      
strength in procuring a further surplus 
produce2 and thus at once benefiting the
 community1 and enabling these          
proprietors to afford assistance to     
greater numbers4 ,all who were in want  
of food would be urged by imperious     
necessity to offer their labour in      
exchange for this article so absolutely 
essential to existence4 ,the fund       
appropriated to the maintenance of      
labour would be the aggregate quantity  
of food possessed by the owners of land 
beyond their own consumption4 ,when the 
demands upon this fund were great and   
numerous1 it would naturally be divided 
in very small shares4 ,labour would be  
ill paid4 ,men would offer to work for a
 bare subsistence1 and the rearing of   
families would be checked by sickness   
and misery4 ,on the contrary1 when this 
fund was increasing fast1 when it was   
great in proportion to the number of    

claimants1 it would be divided in much  
larger shares4 ,no man would exchange   
his labour without receiving an ample   
quantity of food in return4 ,labourers  
would live in ease and comfort1 and     
would consequently be able to rear a    
numerous and vigorous offspring4  ,on   
the state of this fund1 the happiness1  
or the degree of misery1 prevailing     
among the lower classes of people in    
every known state at present chiefly    
depends4 ,and on this happiness1 or     
degree of misery1 depends the increase1 
stationariness1 or decrease of          
population4  ,and thus it appears1 that 
a society constituted according to the  
most beautiful form that imagination can
 conceive1 with benevolence for its     
moving principle1 instead of self-love1 
and with every evil disposition in all  
its members corrected by reason and not 
force1 would1 from the inevitable laws  
of nature1 and not from any original    
depravity of man1 in a very short period
 degenerate into a society constructed  

upon a plan not essentially different   
from that which prevails in every known 
state at present2 ,i mean1 a society    
divided into a class of proprietors1 and
 a class of labourers1 and with         
self-love the main-spring of the great  
machine4  ,in the supposition ,i have   
made1 ,i have undoubtedly taken the     
increase of population smaller1 and the 
increase of produce greater1 than they  
really would be4 ,no reason can be      
assigned why1 under the circumstances ,i
 have supposed1 population should not   
increase faster than in any known       
instance4 ,if then we were to take the  
period of doubling at fifteen years1    
instead of twenty-five years1 and       
reflect upon the labour necessary to    
double the produce in so short a time1  
even if we allow it possible1 we may    
venture to pronounce with certainty that
 if ,mr ,godwin's system of society was 
established in its utmost perfection1   
instead of myriads of centuries1 not    
thirty years could elapse before its    

utter destruction from the simple       
principle of population4  ,i have taken 
no notice of emigration for obvious     
reasons4 ,if such societies were        
instituted in other parts of ,europe1   
these countries would be under the same 
difficulties with regard to population1 
and could admit no fresh members into   
their bosoms4 ,if this beautiful society
 were confined to this island1 it must  
have degenerated strangely from its     
original purity1 and administer but a   
very small portion of the happiness it  
proposed2 in short1 its essential       
principle must be completely destroyed1 
before any of its members would         
voluntarily consent to leave it1 and    
live under such governments as at       
present exist in ,europe1 or submit to  
the extreme hardships of first settlers 
in new regions4 ,we well know1 from     
repeated experience1 how much misery and
 hardship men will undergo in their own 
country1 before they can determine to   
desert it2 and how often the most       

tempting proposals of embarking for new 
settlements have been rejected by people
 who appeared to be almost starving4    
,,chapter #aa  ,mr ,godwin's conjecture 
concerning the future extinction of the 
passion between the sexes--,little      
apparent grounds for such a             
conjecture--,passion of love not        
inconsistent either with reason or      
virtue4   ,we have supported ,mr        
,godwin's system of society once        
completely established4 ,but it is      
supposing an impossibility4 ,the same   
causes in nature which would destroy it 
so rapidly1 were it once established1   
would prevent the possibility of its    
establishment4 ,and upon what grounds we
 can presume a change in these natural  
causes1 ,i am utterly at a loss to      
conjecture4 ,no move towards the        
extinction of the passion between the   
sexes has taken place in the five or six
 thousand years that the world has      
existed4 ,men in the decline of life    
have in all ages declaimed against a    

passion which they have ceased to feel1 
but with as little reason as success4   
,those who from coldness of             
constitutional temperament have never   
felt what love is1 will surely be       
allowed to be very incompetent judges   
with regard to the power of this passion
 to contribute to the sum of pleasurable
 sensations in life4 ,those who have    
spent their youth in criminal excesses  
and have prepared for themselves1 as the
 comforts of their age1 corporeal       
debility and mental remorse may well    
inveigh against such pleasures as vain  
and futile1 and unproductive of lasting 
satisfaction4 ,but the pleasures of pure
 love will bear the contemplation of the
 most improved reason1 and the most     
exalted virtue4 ,perhaps there is       
scarcely a man who has once experienced 
the genuine delight of virtuous love1   
however great his intellectual pleasure 
may have been1 that does not look back  
to the period as the sunny spot in his  
whole life1 where his imagination loves 

to bask1 which he recollects and        
contemplates with the fondest regrets1  
and which he would most wish to live    
over again4 ,the superiority of         
intellectual to sensual pleasures       
consists rather in their filling up more
 time1 in their having a larger range1  
and in their being less liable to       
satiety1 than in their being more real  
and essential4  ,intemperance in every  
enjoyment defeats its own purpose4 ,a   
walk in the finest day through the most 
beautiful country1 if pursued too far1  
ends in pain and fatigue4 ,the most     
wholesome and invigorating food1 eaten  
with an unrestrained appetite1 produces 
weakness instead of strength4 ,even     
intellectual pleasures1 though certainly
 less liable than others to satiety1    
pursued with too little intermission1   
debilitate the body1 and impair the     
vigour of the mind4 ,to argue against   
the reality of these pleasures from     
their abuse seems to be hardly just4    
,morality1 according to ,mr ,godwin1 is 

a calculation of consequences1 or1 as   
,archdeacon ,paley very justly expresses
 it1 the will of ,god1 as collected from
 general expediency4 ,according to      
either of these definitions1 a sensual  
pleasure not attended with the          
probability of unhappy consequences does
 not offend against the laws of         
morality1 and if it be pursued with such
 a degree of temperance as to leave the 
most ample room for intellectual        
attainments1 it must undoubtedly add to 
the sum of pleasurable sensations in    
life4 ,virtuous love1 exalted by        
friendship1 seems to be that sort of    
mixture of sensual and intellectual     
enjoyment particularly suited to the    
nature of man1 and most powerfully      
calculated to awaken the sympathies of  
the soul1 and produce the most exquisite
 gratifications4  ,mr ,godwin says1 in  
order to shew the evident inferiority of
 the pleasures of sense1 ',strip the    
commerce of the sexes of all its        
attendant circumstances1 and it would be

 generally despised' 7,bk4 ,i1 ch4 #e2  
in the third edition1 ,vol4 ,i1 pp4     
#ga-gb74 ,he might as well say to a man 
who admired trees3 strip them of their  
spreading branches and lovely foliage1  
and what beauty can you see in a bare   
pole8 ,but it was the tree with the     
branches and foliage1 and not without   
them1 that excited admiration4 ,one     
feature of an object may be as distinct1
 and excite as different emotions1 from 
the aggregate as any two things the most
 remote1 as a beautiful woman1 and a map
 of ,madagascar4 ,it is 'the symmetry of
 person1 the vivacity1 the voluptuous   
softness of temper1 the affectionate    
kindness of feelings1 the imagination   
and the wit' of a woman that excite the 
passion of love1 and not the mere       
distinction of her being female4 ,urged 
by the passion of love1 men have been   
driven into acts highly prejudicial to  
the general interests of society1 but   
probably they would have found no       
difficulty in resisting the temptation1 

had it appeared in the form of a woman  
with no other attractions whatever but  
her sex4 ,to strip sensual pleasures of 
all their adjuncts1 in order to prove   
their inferiority1 is to deprive a      
magnet of some of its most essential    
causes of attraction1 and then to say   
that it is weak and inefficient4  ,in   
the pursuit of every enjoyment1 whether 
sensual or intellectual1 reason1 that   
faculty which enables us to calculate   
consequences1 is the proper corrective  
and guide4 ,it is probable therefore    
that improved reason will always tend to
 prevent the abuse of sensual pleasures1
 though it by no means follows that it  
will extinguish them4  ,i have          
endeavoured to expose the fallacy of    
that argument which infers an unlimited 
progress from a partial improvement1 the
 limits of which cannot be exactly      
ascertained4 ,it has appeared1 ,i think1
 that there are many instances in which 
a decided progress has been observed1   
where yet it would be a gross absurdity 

to suppose that progress indefinite4    
,but towards the extinction of the      
passion between the sexes1 no observable
 progress whatever has hitherto been    
made4 ,to suppose such an extinction1   
therefore1 is merely to offer an        
unfounded conjecture1 unsupported by any
 philosophical probabilities4  ,it is a 
truth1 which history ,i am afraid makes 
too clear1 that some men of the highest 
mental powers have been addicted not    
only to a moderate1 but even to an      
immoderate indulgence in the pleasures  
of sensual love4 ,but allowing1 as ,i   
should be inclined to do1               
notwithstanding numerous instances to   
the contrary1 that great intellectual   
exertions tend to diminish the empire of
 this passion over man1 it is evident   
that the mass of mankind must be        
improved more highly than the brightest 
ornaments of the species at present     
before any difference can take place    
sufficient sensibly to affect           
population4 ,i would by no means suppose

 that the mass of mankind has reached   
its term of improvement1 but the        
principal argument of this essay tends  
to place in a strong point of view the  
improbability that the lower classes of 
people in any country should ever be    
sufficiently free from want and labour  
to obtain any high degree of            
intellectual improvement4     ,,chapter 
#ab  ,mr ,godwin's conjecture concerning
 the indefinite prolongation of human   
life--,improper inference drawn from the
 effects of mental stimulants on the    
human frame1 illustrated in various     
instances--,conjectures not founded on  
any indications in the past not to be   
considered as philosophical             
conjectures--,mr ,godwin's and ,mr      
,condorcet's conjecture respecting the  
approach of man towards immortality on  
earth1 a curious instance of the        
inconsistency of scepticism4   ,mr      
,godwin's conjecture respecting the     
future approach of man towards          
immortality on earth seems to be rather 

oddly placed in a chapter which         
professes to remove the objection to his
 system of equality from the principle  
of population4 ,unless he supposes the  
passion between the sexes to decrease   
faster than the duration of life        
increases1 the earth would be more      
encumbered than ever4 ,but leaving this 
difficulty to ,mr ,godwin1 let us       
examine a few of the appearances from   
which the probable immortality of man is
 inferred4  ,to prove the power of the  
mind over the body1 ,mr ,godwin         
observes1 ,how often do we find a piece 
of good news dissipating a distemper8   
,how common is the remark that those    
accidents which are to the indolent a   
source of disease are forgotten and     
extirpated in the busy and active8 ,i   
walk twenty miles in an indolent and    
half determined temper and am extremely 
fatigued4 ,i walk twenty miles full of  
ardour1 and with a motive that engrosses
 my soul1 and ,i come in as fresh and as
 alert as when ,i began my journey4     

,emotion excited by some unexpected     
word1 by a letter that is delivered to  
us1 occasions the most extraordinary    
revolutions in our frame1 accelerates   
the circulation1 causes the heart to    
palpitate1 the tongue to refuse its     
office1 and has been known to occasion  
death by extreme anguish or extreme joy4
 ,there is nothing indeed of which the  
physician is more aware than of the     
power of the mind in assisting or       
reading convalescence4  ,the instances  
here mentioned are chiefly instances of 
the effects of mental stimulants on the 
bodily frame4 ,no person has ever for a 
moment doubted the near1 though         
mysterious1 connection of mind and body4
 ,but it is arguing totally without     
knowledge of the nature of stimulants to
 suppose1 either that they can be       
applied continually with equal strength1
 or if they could be so applied1 for a  
time1 that they would not exhaust and   
wear out the subject4 ,in some of the   
cases here noticed1 the strength of the 

stimulus depends upon its novelty and   
unexpectedness4 ,such a stimulus cannot1
 from its nature1 be repeated often with
 the same effect1 as it would by        
repetition lose that property which     
gives it its strength4  ,in the other   
cases1 the argument is from a small and 
partial effect1 to a great and general  
effect1 which will in numberless        
instances be found to be a very         
fallacious mode of reasoning4 ,the busy 
and active man may in some degree       
counteract1 or what is perhaps nearer   
the truth1 may disregard those slight   
disorders of frame which fix the        
attention of a man who has nothing else 
to think of2 but this does not tend to  
prove that activity of mind will enable 
a man to disregard a high fever1 the    
smallpox1 or the plague4  ,the man who  
walks twenty miles with a motive that   
engrosses his soul does not attend to   
his slight fatigue of body when he comes
 in2 but double his motive1 and set him 
to walk another twenty miles1 quadruple 

it1 and let him start a third time1 and 
so on2 and the length of his walk will  
ultimately depend upon muscle and not   
mind4 ,powell1 for a motive of ten      
guineas1 would have walked further      
probably than ,mr ,godwin1 for a motive 
of half a million4 ,a motive of uncommon
 power acting upon a frame of moderate  
strength would1 perhaps1 make the man   
kill himself by his exertions1 but it   
would not make him walk a hundred miles 
in twenty-four hours4 ,this statement of
 the case shews the fallacy of supposing
 that the person was really not at all  
tired in his first walk of twenty miles1
 because he did not appear to be so1 or1
 perhaps1 scarcely felt any fatigue     
himself4 ,the mind cannot fix its       
attention strongly on more than one     
object at once4 ,the twenty thousand    
pounds so engrossed his thoughts that he
 did not attend to any slight soreness  
of foot1 or stiffness of limb4 ,but had 
he been really as fresh and as alert1 as
 when he first set off1 he would be able

 to go the second twenty miles with as  
much ease as the first1 and so on1 the  
third1 c4 ,which leads to a palpable    
absurdity4 ,when a horse of spirit is   
nearly half tired1 by the stimulus of   
the spur1 added to the proper management
 of the bit1 he may be put so much upon 
his mettle1 that he would appear to a   
standerby1 as fresh and as high spirited
 as if he had not gone a mile4 ,nay1    
probably1 the horse himself1 while in   
the heat and passion occasioned by this 
stimulus1 would not feel any fatigue2   
but it would be strangely contrary to   
all reason and experience1 to argue from
 such an appearance that1 if the        
stimulus were continued1 the horse would
 never be tired4 ,the cry of a pack of  
hounds will make some horses1 after a   
journey of forty miles on the road1     
appear as fresh1 and as lively1 as when 
they first set out4 ,were they then to  
be hunted1 no perceptible abatement     
would at first be felt by their riders  
in their strength and spirits1 but      

towards the end of a hard day1 the      
previous fatigue would have its full    
weight and effect1 and make them tire   
sooner4 ,when ,i have taken a long walk 
with my gun1 and met with no success1 ,i
 have frequently returned home feeling a
 considerable degree of                 
uncomfortableness from fatigue4 ,another
 day1 perhaps1 going over nearly the    
same extent of ground with a good deal  
of sport1 ,i have come home fresh1 and  
alert4 ,the difference in the sensation 
of fatigue upon coming in1 on the       
different days1 may have been very      
striking1 but on the following mornings 
,i have found no such difference4 ,i    
have not perceived that ,i was less     
stiff in my limbs1 or less footsore1 on 
the morning after the day of the sport1 
than on the other morning4  ,in all     
these cases1 stimulants upon the mind   
seem to act rather by taking off the    
attention from the bodily fatigue1 than 
by really and truly counteracting it4   
,if the energy of my mind had really    

counteracted the fatigue of my body1 why
 should ,i feel tired the next morning8 
if the stimulus of the hounds had as    
completely overcome the fatigue of the  
journey in reality1 as it did in        
appearance1 why should the horse be     
tired sooner than if he had not gone the
 forty miles8 ,i happen to have a very  
bad fit of the toothache at the time ,i 
am writing this4 ,in the eagerness of   
composition1 ,i every now and then1 for 
a moment or two1 forget it4 ,yet ,i     
cannot help thinking that the process1  
which causes the pain1 is still going   
forwards1 and that the nerves which     
carry the information of it to the brain
 are even during these moments demanding
 attention and room for their           
appropriate vibrations4 ,the            
multiplicity of vibrations of another   
kind may perhaps prevent their          
admission1 or overcome them for a time  
when admitted1 till a shoot of          
extraordinary energy puts all other     
vibration to the rout1 destroys the     

vividness of my argumentative           
conceptions1 and rides triumphant in the
 brain4 ,in this case1 as in the others1
 the mind seems to have little or no    
power in counteracting or curing the    
disorder1 but merely possesses a power1 
if strongly excited1 of fixing its      
attention on other subjects4  ,i do not1
 however1 mean to say that a sound and  
vigorous mind has no tendency whatever  
to keep the body in a similar state4 ,so
 close and intimate is the union of mind
 and body that it would be highly       
extraordinary if they did not mutually  
assist each other's functions4 ,but1    
perhaps1 upon a comparison1 the body has
 more effect upon the mind than the mind
 upon the body4 ,the first object of the
 mind is to act as purveyor to the wants
 of the body4 ,when these wants are     
completely satisfied1 an active mind is 
indeed apt to wander further1 to range  
over the fields of science1 or sport in 
the regions of4 ,imagination1 to fancy  
that it has 'shuffled off this mortal   

coil'1 and is seeking its kindred       
element4 ,but all these efforts are like
 the vain exertions of the hare in the  
fable4 ,the slowly moving tortoise1 the 
body1 never fails to overtake the mind1 
however widely and extensively it may   
have ranged1 and the brightest and most 
energetic intellects1 unwillingly as    
they may attend to the first or second  
summons1 must ultimately yield the      
empire of the brain to the calls of     
hunger1 or sink with the exhausted body 
in sleep4  ,it seems as if one might say
 with certainty that if a medicine could
 be found to immortalize the body there 
would be no fear of its not being       
accompanied by the immortality of the   
mind4 ,but the immortality of the mind  
by no means seems to infer the          
immortality of the body4 ,on the        
contrary1 the greatest conceivable      
energy of mind would probably exhaust   
and destroy the strength of the body4 ,a
 temperate vigour of mind appears to be 
favourable to health1 but very great    

intellectual exertions tend rather1 as  
has been often observed1 to wear out the
 scabbard4 ,most of the instances which 
,mr ,godwin has brought to prove the    
power of the mind over the body1 and the
 consequent probability of the          
immortality of man1 are of this latter  
description1 and could such stimulants  
be continually applied1 instead of      
tending to immortalize1 they would tend 
very rapidly to destroy the human frame4
  ,the probable increase of the         
voluntary power of man over his animal  
frame comes next under ,mr ,godwin's    
consideration1 and he concludes by      
saying1 that the voluntary power of some
 men1 in this respect1 is found to      
extend to various articles in which     
other men are impotent4 ,but this is    
reasoning against an almost universal   
rule from a few exceptions2 and these   
exceptions seem to be rather tricks1    
than powers that may be exerted to any  
good purpose4 ,i have never heard of any
 man who could regulate his pulse in a  

fever1 and doubt much1 if any of the    
persons here alluded to have made the   
smallest perceptible progress in the    
regular correction of the disorders of  
their frames and the consequent         
prolongation of their lives4  ,mr       
,godwin says1 ',nothing can be more     
unphilosophical than to conclude1 that1 
because a certain species of power is   
beyond the train of our present         
observation1 that it is beyond the      
limits of the human mind4' ,i own my    
ideas of philosophy are in this respect 
widely different from ,mr ,godwin's4    
,the only distinction that ,i see1      
between a philosophical conjecture1 and 
the assertions of the ,prophet ,mr      
,brothers1 is1 that one is founded upon 
indications arising from the train of   
our present observations1 and the other 
has no foundation at all4 ,i expect that
 great discoveries are yet to take place
 in all the branches of human science1  
particularly in physics2 but the moment 
we leave past experience as the         

foundation of our conjectures concerning
 the future1 and1 still more1 if our    
conjectures absolutely contradict past  
experience1 we are thrown upon a wide   
field of uncertainty1 and any one       
supposition is then just as good as     
another4 ,if a person were to tell me   
that men would ultimately have eyes and 
hands behind them as well as before     
them1 ,i should admit the usefulness of 
the addition1 but should give as a      
reason for my disbelief of it1 that ,i  
saw no indications whatever in the past 
from which ,i could infer the smallest  
probability of such a change4 ,if this  
be not allowed a valid objection1 all   
conjectures are alike1 and all equally  
philosophical4 ,i own it appears to me  
that in the train of our present        
observations1 there are no more genuine 
indications that man will become        
immortal upon earth than that he will   
have four eyes and four hands1 or that  
trees will grow horizontally instead of 
perpendicularly4  ,it will be said1     

perhaps1 that many discoveries have     
already taken place in the world that   
were totally unforeseen and unexpected4 
,this ,i grant to be true2 but if a     
person had predicted these discoveries  
without being guided by any analogies or
 indications from past facts1 he would  
deserve the name of seer or prophet1 but
 not of philosopher4 ,the wonder that   
some of our modern discoveries would    
excite in the savage inhabitants of     
,europe in the times of ,theseus and    
,achilles1 proves but little4 ,persons  
almost entirely unacquainted with the   
powers of a machine cannot be expected  
to guess at its effects4 ,i am far from 
saying1 that we are at present by any   
means fully acquainted with the powers  
of the human mind2 but we certainly know
 more of this instrument than was known 
four thousand years ago2 and therefore1 
though not to be called competent       
judges1 we are certainly much better    
able than savages to say what is1 or is 
not1 within its grasp4 ,a watch would   

strike a savage with as much surprise as
 a perpetual motion2 yet one is to us a 
most familiar piece of mechanism1 and   
the other has constantly eluded the     
efforts of the most acute intellects4   
,in many instances we are now able to   
perceive the causes1 which prevent an   
unlimited improvement in those          
inventions1 which seemed to promise     
fairly for it at first4 ,the original   
improvers of telescopes would probably  
think1 that as long as the size of the  
specula and the length of the tubes     
could be increased1 the powers and      
advantages of the instrument would      
increase2 but experience has since      
taught us1 that the smallness of the    
field1 the deficiency of light1 and the 
circumstance of the atmosphere being    
magnified1 prevent the beneficial       
results that were to be expected from   
telescopes of extraordinary size and    
power4 ,in many parts of knowledge1 man 
has been almost constantly making some  
progress2 in other parts1 his efforts   

have been invariably baffled4 ,the      
savage would not probably be able to    
guess at the causes of this mighty      
difference4 ,our further experience has 
given us some little insight into these 
causes1 and has therefore enabled us    
better to judge1 if not of what we are  
to expect in future1 at least of what we
 are not to expect1 which1 though       
negative1 is a very useful piece of     
information4  ,as the necessity of sleep
 seems rather to depend upon the body   
than the mind1 it does not appear how   
the improvement of the mind can tend    
very greatly to supersede this          
'conspicuous infirmity'4 ,a man who by  
great excitements on his mind is able to
 pass two or three nights without sleep1
 proportionably exhausts the vigour of  
his body1 and this diminution of health 
and strength will soon disturb the      
operations of his understanding1 so that
 by these great efforts he appears to   
have made no real progress whatever in  
superseding the necessity of this       

species of rest4  ,there is certainly a 
sufficiently marked difference in the   
various characters of which we have some
 knowledge1 relative to the energies of 
their minds1 their benevolent pursuits1 
etc41 to enable us to judge whether the 
operations of intellect have any decided
 effect in prolonging the duration of   
human life4 ,it is certain that no      
decided effect of this kind has yet been
 observed4 ,though no attention of any  
kind has ever produced such an effect as
 could be construed into the smallest   
semblance of an approach towards        
immortality1 yet of the two1 a certain  
attention to the body seems to have more
 effect in this respect than an         
attention to the mind4 ,the man who     
takes his temperate meals and his bodily
 exercise1 with scrupulous regularity1  
will generally be found more healthy    
than the man who1 very deeply engaged in
 intellectual pursuits1 often forgets   
for a time these bodily cravings4 ,the  
citizen who has retired1 and whose      

ideas1 perhaps1 scarcely soar above or  
extend beyond his little garden1        
puddling all the morning about his      
borders of box1 will1 perhaps1 live as  
long as the philosopher whose range of  
intellect is the most extensive1 and    
whose views are the clearest of any of  
his contemporaries4 ,it has been        
positively observed by those who have   
attended to the bills of mortality that 
women live longer upon an average than  
men1 and1 though ,i would not by any    
means say that their intellectual       
faculties are inferior1 yet1 ,i think1  
it must be allowed that1 from their     
different education1 there are not so   
many women as men1 who are excited to   
vigorous mental exertion4  ,as in these 
and similar instances1 or to take a     
larger range1 as in the great diversity 
of characters that have existed during  
some thousand years1 no decided         
difference has been observed in the     
duration of human life from the         
operation of intellect1 the mortality of

 man on earth seems to be as completely 
established1 and exactly upon the same  
grounds1 as any one1 the most constant1 
of the laws of nature4 ,an immediate act
 of power in the ,creator of the        
,universe might1 indeed1 change one or  
all of these laws1 either suddenly or   
gradually1 but without some indications 
of such a change1 and such indications  
do not exist1 it4 ,is just as           
unphilosophical to suppose that the life
 of man may be prolonged beyond any     
assignable limits1 as to suppose that   
the attraction of the earth will        
gradually be changed into repulsion and 
that stones will ultimately rise instead
 of fall or that the earth will fly off 
at a certain period to some more genial 
and warmer sun4  ,the conclusion of this
 chapter presents us1 undoubtedly1 with 
a very beautiful and desirable picture1 
but like some of the landscapes drawn   
from fancy and not imagined with truth1 
it fails of that interest in the heart  
which nature and probability can alone  

give4  ,i cannot quit this subject      
without taking notice of these          
conjectures of ,mr ,godwin and ,mr      
,condorcet concerning the indefinite    
prolongation of human life1 as a very   
curious instance of the longing of the  
soul after immortality4 ,both these     
gentlemen have rejected the light of    
revelation which absolutely promises    
eternal life in another state4 ,they    
have also rejected the light of natural 
religion1 which to the ablest intellects
 in all ages has indicated the future   
existence of the soul4 ,yet so congenial
 is the idea of immortality to the mind 
of man that they cannot consent entirely
 to throw it out of their systems4      
,after all their fastidious scepticisms 
concerning the only probable mode of    
immortality1 they introduce a species of
 immortality of their own1 not only     
completely contradictory to every law of
 philosophical probability1 but in      
itself in the highest degree narrow1    
partial1 and unjust4 ,they suppose that 

all the great1 virtuous1 and exalted    
minds that have ever existed or that may
 exist for some thousands1 perhaps      
millions of years1 will be sunk in      
annihilation1 and that only a few       
beings1 not greater in number than can  
exist at once upon the earth1 will be   
ultimately crowned with immortality4    
,had such a tenet been advanced as a    
tenet of revelation ,i am very sure that
 all the enemies of religion1 and       
probably ,mr ,godwin and ,mr ,condorcet 
among the rest1 would have exhausted the
 whole force of their ridicule upon it1 
as the most puerile1 the most absurd1   
the poorest1 the most pitiful1 the most 
iniquitously unjust1 and1 consequently1 
the most unworthy of the ,deity that the
 superstitious folly of man could       
invent4  ,what a strange and curious    
proof do these conjectures exhibit of   
the inconsistency of scepticism6 ,for it
 should be observed1 that there is a    
very striking and essential difference  
between believing an assertion which    

absolutely contradicts the most uniform 
experience1 and an assertion which      
contradicts nothing1 but is merely      
beyond the power of our present         
observation and knowledge4 ,so          
diversified are the natural objects     
around us1 so many instances of mighty  
power daily offer themselves to our     
view1 that we may fairly presume1 that  
there are many forms and operations of  
nature which we have not yet observed1  
or which1 perhaps1 we are not capable of
 observing with our present confined    
inlets of knowledge4 ,the resurrection  
of a spiritual body from a natural body 
does not appear in itself a more        
wonderful instance of power than the    
germination of a blade of wheat from the
 grain1 or of an oak from an acorn4     
,could we conceive an intelligent being1
 so placed as to be conversant only with
 inanimate or full grown objects1 and   
never to have witnessed the process of  
vegetation and growth2 and were another 
being to shew him two little pieces of  

matter1 a grain of wheat1 and an acorn1 
to desire him to examine them1 to       
analyse them if he pleased1 and         
endeavour to find out their properties  
and essences2 and then to tell him1 that
 however trifling these little bits of  
matter might appear to him1 that they   
possessed such curious powers of        
selection1 combination1 arrangement1 and
 almost of creation1 that upon being put
 into the ground1 they would choose1    
amongst all the dirt and moisture that  
surrounded them1 those parts which best 
suited their purpose1 that they would   
collect and arrange these parts with    
wonderful taste1 judgement1 and         
execution1 and would rise up into       
beautiful forms1 scarcely in any respect
 analogous to the little bits of matter 
which were first placed in the earth4 ,i
 feel very little doubt that the        
imaginary being which ,i have supposed  
would hesitate more1 would require      
better authority1 and stronger proofs1  
before he believed these strange        

assertions1 than if he had been told1   
that a being of mighty power1 who had   
been the cause of all that he saw around
 him1 and of that existence of which he 
himself was conscious1 would1 by a great
 act of power upon the death and        
corruption of human creatures1 raise up 
the essence of thought in an            
incorporeal1 or at least invisible form1
 to give it a happier existence in      
another state4  ,the only difference1   
with regard to our own apprehensions1   
that is not in favour of the latter     
assertion is that the first miracle we  
have repeatedly seen1 and the last      
miracle we have not seen4 ,i admit the  
full weight of this prodigious          
difference1 but surely no man can       
hesitate a moment in saying that1       
putting ,revelation out of the question1
 the resurrection of a spiritual body   
from a natural body1 which may be merely
 one among the many operations of nature
 which we cannot see1 is an event       
indefinitely more probable than the     

immortality of man on earth1 which is   
not only an event of which no symptoms  
or indications have yet appeared1 but is
 a positive contradiction to one of the 
most constant of the laws of nature that
 has ever come within the observation of
 man4  ,when we extend our view beyond  
this life1 it is evident that we can    
have no other guides than authority1 or 
conjecture1 and perhaps1 indeed1 an     
obscure and undefined feeling4 ,what ,i 
say here1 therefore1 does not appear to 
me in any respect to contradict what ,i 
said before1 when ,i observed that it   
was unphilosophical to expect any       
specifick event that was not indicated  
by some kind of analogy in the past4 ,in
 ranging beyond the bourne from which no
 traveller returns1 we must necessarily 
quit this rule2 but with regard to      
events that may be expected to happen on
 earth1 we can seldom quit it           
consistently with true philosophy4      
,analogy has1 however1 as ,i conceive1  
great latitude4 ,for instance1 man has  

discovered many of the laws of nature3  
analogy seems to indicate that he will  
discover many more2 but no analogy seems
 to indicate that he will discover a    
sixth sense1 or a new species of power  
in the human mind1 entirely beyond the  
train of our present observations4  ,the
 powers of selection1 combination1 and  
transmutation1 which every seed shews1  
are truly miraculous4 ,who can imagine  
that these wonderful faculties are      
contained in these little bits of       
matter8 ,to me it appears much more     
philosophical to suppose that the mighty
 ,god of nature is present in full      
energy in all these operations4 ,to this
 all powerful ,being1 it would be       
equally easy to raise an oak without an 
acorn as with one4 ,the preparatory     
process of putting seeds into the ground
 is merely ordained for the use of man1 
as one among the various other          
excitements necessary to awaken matter  
into mind4 ,it is an idea that will be  
found consistent1 equally with the      

natural phenomena around us1 with the   
various events of human life1 and with  
the successive revelations of ,god to   
man1 to suppose that the world is a     
mighty process for the creation and     
formation of mind4 ,many vessels will   
necessarily come out of this great      
furnace in wrong shapes4 ,these will be 
broken and thrown aside as useless2     
while those vessels whose forms are full
 of truth1 grace1 and loveliness1 will  
be wafted into happier situations1      
nearer the presence of the mighty maker4
  ,i ought perhaps again to make an     
apology to my readers for dwelling so   
long upon a conjecture which many1 ,i   
know1 will think too absurd and         
improbable to require the least         
discussion4 ,but if it be as improbable 
and as contrary to the genuine spirit of
 philosophy as ,i own ,i think it is1   
why should it not be shewn to be so in a
 candid examination8 ,a conjecture1     
however improbable on the first view of 
it1 advanced by able and ingenious men1 

seems at least to deserve investigation4
 ,for my own part ,i feel no            
disinclination whatever to give that    
degree of credit to the opinion of the  
probable immortality of man on earth1   
which the appearances that can be       
brought in support of it deserve4       
,before we decide upon the utter        
improbability of such an event1 it is   
but fair impartially to examine these   
appearances2 and from such an           
examination ,i think we may conclude1   
that we have rather less reason for     
supposing that the life of man may be   
indefinitely prolonged1 than that trees 
may be made to grow indefinitely high1  
or potatoes indefinitely large4 ,though 
,mr ,godwin advances the idea of the    
indefinite prolongation of human life   
merely as a conjecture1 yet as he has   
produced some appearances1 which in his 
conception favour the supposition1 he   
must certainly intend that these        
appearances should be examined and this 
is all that ,i have meant to do4        

,,chapter #ac  ,error of ,mr ,godwin is 
considering man too much in the light of
 a being merely rational--,in the       
compound being1 man1 the passions will  
always act as disturbing forces in the  
decisions of the                        
understanding--,reasonings of ,mr       
,godwin on the subject of               
coercion--,some truths of a nature not  
to be communicated from one man to      
another4   ,in the chapter which ,i have
 been examining1 ,mr ,godwin professes  
to consider the objection to his system 
of equality from the principle of       
population4 ,it has appeared1 ,i think  
clearly1 that he is greatly erroneous in
 his statement of the distance of this  
difficulty1 and that instead of myriads 
of centuries1 it is really not thirty   
years1 or even thirty days1 distant from
 us4 ,the supposition of the approach of
 man to immortality on earth is         
certainly not of a kind to soften the   
difficulty4 ,the only argument1         
therefore1 in the chapter which has any 

tendency to remove the objection is the 
conjecture concerning the extinction of 
the passion between the sexes1 but as   
this is a mere conjecture1 unsupported  
by the smallest shadow of proof1 the    
force of the objection may be fairly    
said to remain unimpaired1 and it is    
undoubtedly of sufficient weight of     
itself completely to overturn ,mr       
,godwin's whole system of equality4 ,i  
will1 however1 make one or two          
observations on a few of the prominent  
parts of ,mr ,godwin's reasonings which 
will contribute to place in a still     
clearer point of view the little hope   
that we can reasonably entertain of     
those vast improvements in the nature of
 man and of society which he holds up to
 our admiring gaze in his ,political    
,justice4  ,mr ,godwin considers man too
 much in the light of a being merely    
intellectual4 ,this error1 at least such
 ,i conceive it to be1 pervades his     
whole work and mixes itself with all his
 reasonings4 ,the voluntary actions of  

men may originate in their opinions1 but
 these opinions will be very differently
 modified in creatures compounded of a  
rational faculty and corporal           
propensities from what they would be in 
beings wholly intellectual4 ,mr ,godwin1
 in proving that sound reasoning and    
truth are capable of being adequately   
communicated1 examines the proposition  
first practically1 and then adds1 ',such
 is the appearance which this           
proposition assumes1 when examined in a 
loose and practical view4 ,in strict    
consideration it will not admit of      
debate4 ,man is a rational being1 etc4' 
7,bk4 ,i1 ch4 #e2 in the third edition  
,vol4 ,i1 p4 #hh74 ,so far from calling 
this a strict consideration of the      
subject1 ,i own ,i should call it the   
loosest1 and most erroneous1 way        
possible1 of considering it4 ,it is the 
calculating the velocity of a falling   
body in vacuo1 and persisting in it1    
that it would be the same through       
whatever resisting mediums it might     

fall4 ,this was not ,newton's mode of   
philosophizing4 ,very few general       
propositions are just in application to 
a particular subject4 ,the moon is not  
kept in her orbit round the earth1 nor  
the earth in her orbit round the sun1 by
 a force that varies merely in the      
inverse ratio of the squares of the     
distances4 ,to make the general theory  
just in application to the revolutions  
of these bodies1 it was necessary to    
calculate accurately the disturbing     
force of the sun upon the moon1 and of  
the moon upon the earth2 and till these 
disturbing forces were properly         
estimated1 actual observations on the   
motions of these bodies would have      
proved that the theory was not          
accurately true4  ,i am willing to allow
 that every voluntary act is preceded by
 a decision of the mind1 but it is      
strangely opposite to what ,i should    
conceive to be the just theory upon the 
subject1 and a palpable contradiction to
 all experience1 to say that the        

corporal propensities of man do not act 
very powerfully1 as disturbing forces1  
in these decisions4 ,the question1      
therefore1 does not merely depend upon  
whether a man may be made to understand 
a distinct proposition or be convinced  
by an unanswerable argument4 ,a truth   
may be brought home to his conviction as
 a rational being1 though he may        
determine to act contrary to it1 as a   
compound being4 ,the cravings of hunger1
 the love of liquor1 the desire of      
possessing a beautiful woman1 will urge 
men to actions1 of the fatal            
consequences of which1 to the general   
interests of society1 they are perfectly
 well convinced1 even at the very time  
they commit them4 ,remove their bodily  
cravings1 and they would not hesitate a 
moment in determining against such      
actions4 ,ask them their opinion of the 
same conduct in another person1 and they
 would immediately reprobate it4 ,but in
 their own case1 and under all the      
circumstances of their situation with   

these bodily cravings1 the decision of  
the compound being is different from the
 conviction of the rational being4  ,if 
this be the just view of the subject1   
and both theory and experience unite to 
prove that it is1 almost all ,mr        
,godwin's reasonings on the subject of  
coercion in his seventh chapter1 will   
appear to be founded on error4 ,he      
spends some time in placing in a        
ridiculous point of view the attempt to 
convince a man's understanding and to   
clear up a doubtful proposition in his  
mind1 by blows4 ,undoubtedly it is both 
ridiculous and barbarous1 and so is     
cock-fighting1 but one has little more  
to do with the real object of human     
punishments than the other4 ,one        
frequent 7indeed much too frequent7 mode
 of punishment is death4 ,mr ,godwin    
will hardly think this intended for     
conviction1 at least it does not appear 
how the individual or the society could 
reap much future benefit from an        
understanding enlightened in this       

manner4  ,the principal objects which   
human punishments have in view are      
undoubtedly restraint and example2      
restraint1 or removal1 of an individual 
member whose vicious habits are likely  
to be prejudicial to the society'2 and  
example1 which by expressing the sense  
of the community with regard to a       
particular crime1 and by associating    
more nearly and visibly crime and       
punishment1 holds out a moral motive to 
dissuade others from the commission of  
it4  ,restraint1 ,mr ,godwin thinks1 may
 be permitted as a temporary expedient1 
though he reprobates solitary           
imprisonment1 which has certainly been  
the most successful1 and1 indeed1 almost
 the only attempt towards the moral     
amelioration of offenders4 ,he talks of 
the selfish passions that are fostered  
by solitude and of the virtues generated
 in society4 ,but surely these virtues  
are not generated in the society of a   
prison4 ,were the offender confined to  
the society of able and virtuous men he 

would probably be more improved than in 
solitude4 ,but is this practicable8 ,mr 
,godwin's ingenuity is more frequently  
employed in finding out evils than in   
suggesting practical remedies4          
,punishment1 for example1 is totally    
reprobated4 ,by endeavouring to make    
examples too impressive and terrible1   
nations have1 indeed1 been led into the 
most barbarous cruelties1 but the abuse 
of any practice is not a good argument  
against its use4 ,the indefatigable     
pains taken in this country to find out 
a murder1 and the certainty of its      
punishment1 has powerfully contributed  
to generate that sentiment which is     
frequent in the mouths of the common    
people1 that a murder will sooner or    
later come to light2 and the habitual   
horror in which murder is in consequence
 held will make a man1 in the agony of  
passion1 throw down his knife for fear  
he should be tempted to use it in the   
gratification of his revenge4 ,in       
,italy1 where murderers1 by flying to a 

sanctuary1 are allowed more frequently  
to escape1 the crime has never been held
 in the same detestation and has        
consequently been more frequent4 ,no    
man1 who is at all aware of the         
operation of moral motives1 can doubt   
for a moment1 that if every murder in   
,italy had been invariably punished1 the
 use of the stiletto in transports of   
passion would have been comparatively   
but little known4  ,that human laws     
either do1 or can1 proportion the       
punishment accurately to the offence1 no
 person will have the folly to assert4  
,from the inscrutability of motives the 
thing is absolutely impossible1 but this
 imperfection1 though it may be called a
 species of injustice1 is no valid      
argument against human laws4 ,it is the 
lot of man1 that he will frequently have
 to choose between two evils2 and it is 
a sufficient reason for the adoption of 
any institution1 that it is the best    
mode that suggests itself of preventing 
greater evils4 ,a continual endeavour   

should undoubtedly prevail to make these
 institutions as perfect as the nature  
of them will admit4 ,but nothing is so  
easy as to find fault with human        
institutions2 nothing so difficult as to
 suggest adequate practical             
improvements4 ,it is to be lamented1    
that more men of talents employ their   
time in the former occupation than in   
the latter4  ,the frequency of crime    
among men1 who1 as the common saying is1
 know better1 sufficiently proves1 that 
some truths may be brought home to the  
conviction of the mind without always   
producing the proper effect upon the    
conduct4 ,there are other truths of a   
nature that perhaps never can be        
adequately communicated from one man to 
another4 ,the superiority of the        
pleasures of intellect to those of      
sense1 ,mr ,godwin considers as a       
fundamental truth4 ,taking all          
circumstances into consideration1 ,i    
should be disposed to agree with him2   
but how am ,i to communicate this truth 

to a person who has scarcely ever felt  
intellectual pleasure8 ,i may as well   
attempt to explain the nature and beauty
 of colours to a blind man4 ,if ,i am   
ever so laborious1 patient1 and clear1  
and have the most repeated opportunities
 of expostulation1 any real progress    
toward the accomplishment of my purpose 
seems absolutely hopeless4 ,there is no 
common measure between us4 ,i cannot    
proceed step by step44 ,it is a truth of
 a nature absolutely incapable of       
demonstration4 ,all that ,i can say is1 
that the wisest and best men in all ages
 had agreed in giving the preference1   
very greatly1 to the pleasures of       
intellect2 and that my own experience   
completely confirmed the truth of their 
decisions2 that ,i had found sensual    
pleasures vain1 transient1 and          
continually attended with tedium and    
disgust2 but that intellectual pleasures
 appeared to me ever fresh and young1   
filled up all my hours satisfactorily1  
gave a new zest to life1 and diffused a 

lasting serenity over my mind4 ,if he   
believe me1 it can only be from respect 
and veneration for my authority4 ,it is 
credulity1 and not conviction4 ,i have  
not said any thing1 nor can any thing be
 said1 of a nature to produce real      
conviction4 ,the affair is not an affair
 of reasoning1 but of experience4 ,he   
would probably observe in reply1 what   
you say may be very true with regard to 
yourself and many other good men1 but   
for my own part ,i feel very differently
 upon the subject4 ,i have very         
frequently taken up a book and almost as
 frequently gone to sleep over it2 but  
when ,i pass an evening with a gay      
party1 or a pretty woman1 ,i feel alive1
 and in spirits1 and truly enjoy my     
existence4  ,under such circumstances1  
reasoning and arguments are not         
instruments from which success can be   
expected4 ,at some future time perhaps1 
real satiety of sensual pleasures1 or   
some accidental impressions that        
awakened the energies of his mind1 might

 effect that1 in a month1 which the most
 patient and able expostulations might  
be incapable of effecting in forty      
years4     ,,chapter #ad  ,mr ,godwin's 
five propositions respecting political  
truth1 on which his whole work hinges1  
not established--,reasons we have for   
supposing1 from the distress occasioned 
by the principle of population1 that the
 vices and moral weakness of man can    
never be wholly                         
eradicated--,perfectibility1 in the     
sense in which ,mr ,godwin uses the     
term1 not applicable to man--,nature of 
the real perfectibility of man          
illustrated4   ,if the reasonings of the
 preceding chapter are just1 the        
corollaries respecting political truth1 
which ,mr ,godwin draws from the        
proposition1 that the voluntary actions 
of men originate in their opinions1 will
 not appear to be clearly established4  
,these corollaries are1 ,sound reasoning
 and truth1 when adequately             
communicated1 must always be victorious 

over error3 ,sound reasoning and truth  
are capable of being so communicated3   
,truth is omnipotent3 ,the vices and    
moral weakness of man are not           
invincible3 ,man is perfectible1 or in  
other words1 susceptible of perpetual   
improvement4  ,the first three          
propositions may be considered a        
complete syllogism4 ,if by adequately   
communicated1 be meant such a conviction
 as to produce an adequate effect upon  
the conduct1 the major may be allowed   
and the minor denied4 ,the consequent1  
or the omnipotence of truth1 of course  
falls to the ground4 ,if by 'adequately 
communicated' be meant merely the       
conviction of the rational faculty1 the 
major must be denied1 the minor will be 
only true in cases capable of           
demonstration1 and the consequent       
equally falls4 ,the fourth proposition  
,mr ,godwin calls the preceding         
proposition1 with a slight variation in 
the statement4 ,if so1 it must accompany
 the preceding proposition in its fall4 

,but it may be worth while to inquire1  
with reference to the principal argument
 of this essay1 into the particular     
reasons which we have for supposing that
 the vices and moral weakness of man can
 never be wholly overcome in this world4
  ,man1 according to ,mr ,godwin1 is a  
creature formed what he is by the       
successive impressions which he has     
received1 from the first moment that the
 germ from which he sprung was animated4
 ,could he be placed in a situation1    
where he was subject to no evil         
impressions whatever1 though it might be
 doubted whether in such a situation    
virtue could exist1 vice would certainly
 be banished4 ,the great bent of ,mr    
,godwin's work on ,political ,justice1  
if ,i understand it rightly1 is to shew 
that the greater part of the vices and  
weaknesses of men proceed from the      
injustice of their political and social 
institutions1 and that if these were    
removed and the understandings of men   
more enlightened1 there would be little 

or no temptation in the world to evil4  
,as it has been clearly proved1 however1
 7at least as ,i think7 that this is    
entirely a false conception1 and that1  
independent of any political or social  
institutions whatever1 the greater part 
of mankind1 from the fixed and          
unalterable laws of nature1 must ever be
 subject to the evil temptations arising
 from want1 besides other passions1 it  
follows from ,mr ,godwin's definition of
 man that such impressions1 and         
combinations of impressions1 cannot be  
afloat in the world without generating a
 variety of bad men4 ,according to ,mr  
,godwin's own conception of the         
formation of character1 it is surely as 
improbable that under such circumstances
 all men will be virtuous as that sixes 
will come up a hundred times following  
upon the dice4 ,the great variety of    
combinations upon the dice in a repeated
 succession of throws appears to me not 
inaptly to represent the great variety  
of character that must necessarily exist

 in the world1 supposing every          
individual to be formed what he is by   
that combination of impressions which he
 has received since his first existence4
 ,and this comparison will1 in some     
measure1 shew the absurdity of          
supposing1 that exceptions will ever    
become general rules2 that extraordinary
 and unusual combinations will be       
frequent2 or that the individual        
instances of great virtue which had     
appeared in all ages of the world will  
ever prevail universally4  ,i am aware  
that ,mr ,godwin might say that the     
comparison is in one respect inaccurate1
 that in the case of the dice1 the      
preceding causes1 or rather the chances 
respecting the preceding causes1 were   
always the same1 and that1 therefore1 ,i
 could have no good reason for supposing
 that a greater number of sixes would   
come up in the next hundred times of    
throwing than in the preceding same     
number of throws4 ,but1 that man had in 
some sort a power of influencing those  

causes that formed character1 and that  
every good and virtuous man that was    
produced1 by the influence which he must
 necessarily have1 rather increased the 
probability that another such virtuous  
character would be generated1 whereas   
the coming up of sixes upon the dice    
once1 would certainly not increase the  
probability of their coming up a second 
time4 ,i admit this objection to the    
accuracy of the comparison1 but it is   
only partially valid4 ,repeated         
experience has assured us1 that the     
influence of the most virtuous character
 will rarely prevail against very strong
 temptations to evil4 ,it will          
undoubtedly affect some1 but it will    
fail with a much greater number4 ,had   
,mr ,godwin succeeded in his attempt to 
prove that these temptations to evil    
could by the exertions of man be        
removed1 ,i would give up the           
comparison2 or at least allow1 that a   
man might be so far enlightened with    
regard to the mode of shaking his elbow1

 that he would be able to throw sixes   
every time4 ,but as long as a great     
number of those impressions which form  
character1 like the nice motions of the 
arm1 remain absolutely independent of   
the will of man1 though it would be the 
height of folly and presumption to      
attempt to calculate the relative       
proportions of virtue and vice at the   
future periods of the world1 it may be  
safely asserted that the vices and moral
 weakness of mankind1 taken in the mass1
 are invincible4  ,the fifth proposition
 is the general deduction from the four 
former and will consequently fall1 as   
the foundations which support it have   
given way4 ,in the sense in which ,mr   
,godwin understands the term            
'perfectible'1 the perfectibility of man
 cannot be asserted1 unless the         
preceding propositions could have been  
clearly established4 ,there is1 however1
 one sense1 which the term will bear1 in
 which it is1 perhaps1 just4 ,it may be 
said with truth that man is always      

susceptible of improvement1 or that     
there never has been1 or will be1 a     
period of his history1 in which he can  
be said to have reached his possible    
acme of perfection4 ,yet it does not by 
any means follow from this1 that our    
efforts to improve man will always      
succeed1 or even that he will ever make1
 in the greatest number of ages1 any    
extraordinary strides towards           
perfection4 ,the only inference that can
 be drawn is that the precise limit of  
his improvement cannot possibly be      
known4 ,and ,i cannot help again        
reminding the reader of a distinction   
which1 it appears to me1 ought          
particularly to be attended to in the   
present question3 ,i mean1 the essential
 difference there is between an         
unlimited improvement and an improvement
 the limit of which cannot be           
ascertained4 ,the former is an          
improvement not applicable to man under 
the present laws of his nature4 ,the    
latter1 undoubtedly1 is applicable4     

,the real perfectibility of man may be  
illustrated1 as ,i have mentioned       
before1 by the perfectibility of a      
plant4 ,the object of the enterprising  
florist is1 as ,i conceive1 to unite    
size1 symmetry1 and beauty of colour4   
,it would surely be presumptuous in the 
most successful improver to affirm1 that
 he possessed a carnation in which these
 qualities existed in the greatest      
possible state of perfection4 ,however  
beautiful his flower may be1 other care1
 other soil1 or other suns1 might       
produce one still more beautiful4  ,yet1
 although he may be aware of the        
absurdity of supposing that he has      
reached perfection1 and though he may   
know by what means he attained that     
degree of beauty in the flower which he 
at present possesses1 yet he cannot be  
sure that by pursuing similar means1    
rather increased in strength1 he will   
obtain a more beautiful blossom4 ,by    
endeavouring to improve one quality1 he 
may impair the beauty of another4 ,the  

richer mould which he would employ to   
increase the size of his plant would    
probably burst the calyx1 and destroy at
 once its symmetry4 ,in a similar       
manner1 the forcing manure used to bring
 about the ,french ,revolution1 and to  
give a greater freedom and energy to the
 human mind1 has burst the calyx of     
humanity1 the restraining bond of all   
society2 and1 however large the separate
 petals have grown1 however strongly1 or
 even beautifully1 a few of them have   
been marked1 the whole is at present a  
loose1 deformed1 disjointed mass1       
without union1 symmetry1 or harmony of  
colouring4  ,were it of consequence to  
improve pinks and carnations1 though we 
could have no hope of raising them as   
large as cabbages1 we might undoubtedly 
expect1 by successive efforts1 to obtain
 more beautiful specimens than we at    
present possess4 ,no person can deny the
 importance of improving the happiness  
of the human species4 ,every the least  
advance in this respect is highly       

valuable4 ,but an experiment with the   
human race is not like an experiment    
upon inanimate objects4 ,the bursting of
 a flower may be a trifle4 ,another will
 soon succeed it4 ,but the bursting of  
the bonds of society is such a          
separation of parts as cannot take place
 without giving the most acute pain to  
thousands3 and a long time may elapse1  
and much misery may be endured1 before  
the wound grows up again4  ,as the five 
propositions which ,i have been         
examining may be considered as the      
corner stones of ,mr ,godwin's fanciful 
structure1 and1 indeed1 as expressing   
the aim and bent of his whole work1     
however excellent much of his detached  
reasoning may be1 he must be considered 
as having failed in the great object of 
his undertaking4 ,besides the           
difficulties arising from the compound  
nature of man1 which he has by no means 
sufficiently smoothed1 the principal    
argument against the perfectibility of  
man and society remains whole and       

unimpaired from any thing that he has   
advanced4 ,and as far as ,i can trust my
 own judgement1 this argument appears to
 be conclusive1 not only against the    
perfectibility of man1 in the enlarged  
sense in which ,mr ,godwin understands  
the term1 but against any very marked   
and striking change for the better1 in  
the form and structure of general       
society2 by which ,i mean any great and 
decided amelioration of the condition of
 the lower classes of mankind1 the most 
numerous1 and1 consequently1 in a       
general view of the subject1 the most   
important part of the human race4 ,were 
,i to live a thousand years1 and the    
laws of nature to remain the same1 ,i   
should little fear1 or rather little    
hope1 a contradiction from experience in
 asserting that no possible sacrifices  
or exertions of the rich1 in a country  
which had been long inhabited1 could for
 any time place the lower classes of the
 community in a situation equal1 with   
regard to circumstances1 to the         

situation of the common people about    
thirty years ago in the northern ,states
 of ,america4  ,the lower classes of    
people in ,europe may at some future    
period be much better instructed than   
they are at present2 they may be taught 
to employ the little spare time they    
have in many better ways than at the    
ale-house2 they may live under better   
and more equal laws than they have ever 
hitherto done1 perhaps1 in any country2 
and ,i even conceive it possible1 though
 not probable that they may have more   
leisure2 but it is not in the nature of 
things that they can be awarded such a  
quantity of money or subsistence as will
 allow them all to marry early1 in the  
full confidence that they shall be able 
to provide with ease for a numerous     
family4     ,,chapter #ae  ,models too  
perfect may sometimes rather impede than
 promote improvement--,mr ,godwin's     
essay on ',avarice and                  
,profusion'--,impossibility of dividing 
the necessary labour of a society       

amicably among all--,invectives against 
labour may produce present evil1 with   
little or no chance of producing future 
good--,an accession to the mass of      
agricultural labour must always be an   
advantage to the labourer4   ,mr ,godwin
 in the preface to his ,enquirer1 drops 
a few expressions which seem to hint at 
some change in his opinions since he    
wrote the ,political ,justice2 and as   
this is a work now of some years        
standing1 ,i should certainly think that
 ,i had been arguing against opinions   
which the author had himself seen reason
 to alter1 but that in some of the      
essays of the ,enquirer1 ,mr ,godwin's  
peculiar mode of thinking appears in as 
striking a light as ever4  ,it has been 
frequently observed that though we      
cannot hope to reach perfection in any  
thing1 yet that it must always be       
advantageous to us to place before our  
eyes the most perfect models4 ,this     
observation has a plausible appearance1 
but is very far from being generally    

true4 ,i even doubt its truth in one of 
the most obvious exemplifications that  
would occur4 ,i doubt whether a very    
young painter would receive so much     
benefit1 from an attempt to copy a      
highly finished and perfect picture1 as 
from copying one where the outlines were
 more strongly marked and the manner of 
laying on the colours was more easily   
discoverable4 ,but in cases where the   
perfection of the model is a perfection 
of a different and superior nature from 
that towards which we should naturally  
advance1 we shall not always fail in    
making any progress towards it1 but we  
shall in all probability impede the     
progress which we might have expected to
 make had we not fixed our eyes upon so 
perfect a model4 ,a highly intellectual 
being1 exempt from the infirm calls of  
hunger or sleep1 is undoubtedly a much  
more perfect existence than man1 but    
were man to attempt to copy such a      
model1 he would not only fail in making 
any advances towards it2 but by unwisely

 straining to imitate what was          
inimitable1 he would probably destroy   
the little intellect which he was       
endeavouring to improve4  ,the form and 
structure of society which ,mr ,godwin  
describes is as essentially distinct    
from any forms of society which have    
hitherto prevailed in the world as a    
being that can live without food or     
sleep is from a man4 ,by improving      
society in its present form1 we are     
making no more advances towards such a  
state of things as he pictures than we  
should make approaches towards a line1  
with regard to which we were walking    
parallel4 ,the question1 therefore1 is  
whether1 by looking to such a form of   
society as our polar star1 we are likely
 to advance or retard the improvement of
 the human species8 ,mr ,godwin appears 
to me to have decided this question     
against himself in his essay on         
',avarice and ,profusion' in the        
,enquirer4  ,dr ,adam ,smith has very   
justly observed that nations as well as 

individuals grow rich by parsimony and  
poor by profusion1 and that1 therefore1 
every frugal man was a friend and every 
spendthrift an enemy to his country4    
,the reason he gives is that what is    
saved from revenue is always added to   
stock1 and is therefore taken from the  
maintenance of labour that is generally 
unproductive and employed in the        
maintenance of labour that realizes     
itself in valuable commodities4 ,no     
observation can be more evidently just4 
,the subject of ,mr ,godwin's essay is a
 little similar in its first appearance1
 but in essence is as distinct as       
possible4 ,he considers the mischief of 
profusion as an acknowledged truth1 and 
therefore makes his comparison between  
the avaricious man1 and the man who     
spends his income4 ,but the avaricious  
man of ,mr ,godwin is totally a distinct
 character1 at least with regard to his 
effect upon the prosperity of the state1
 from the frugal man of ,dr ,adam       
,smith4 ,the frugal man in order to make

 more money saves from his income and   
adds to his capital1 and this capital he
 either employs himself in the          
maintenance of productive labour1 or he 
lends it to some other person who will  
probably employ it in this way4 ,he     
benefits the state because he adds to   
its general capital1 and because wealth 
employed as capital not only sets in    
motion more labour than when spent as   
income1 but the labour is besides of a  
more valuable kind4 ,but the avaricious 
man of ,mr ,godwin locks up his wealth  
in a chest and sets in motion no labour 
of any kind1 either productive or       
unproductive4 ,this is so essential a   
difference that ,mr ,godwin's decision  
in his essay appears at once as         
evidently false as ,dr ,adam ,smith's   
position is evidently true4 ,it could   
not1 indeed1 but occur to ,mr ,godwin   
that some present inconvenience might   
arise to the poor from thus locking up  
the funds destined for the maintenance  
of labour4 ,the only way1 therefore1 he 

had of weakening this objection was to  
compare the two characters chiefly with 
regard to their tendency to accelerate  
the approach of that happy state of     
cultivated equality1 on which he says we
 ought always to fix our eyes as our    
polar star4  ,i think it has been proved
 in the former parts of this essay that 
such a state of society is absolutely   
impracticable4 ,what consequences then  
are we to expect from looking to such a 
point as our guide and polar star in the
 great sea of political discovery8      
,reason would teach us to expect no     
other than winds perpetually adverse1   
constant but fruitless toil1 frequent   
shipwreck1 and certain misery4 ,we shall
 not only fail in making the smallest   
real approach towards such a perfect    
form of society2 but by wasting our     
strength of mind and body1 in a         
direction in which it is impossible to  
proceed1 and by the frequent distress   
which we must necessarily occasion by   
our repeated failures1 we shall         

evidently impede that degree of         
improvement in society1 which is really 
attainable4  ,it has appeared that a    
society constituted according to ,mr    
,godwin's system must1 from the         
inevitable laws of our nature1          
degenerate into a class of proprietors  
and a class of labourers1 and that the  
substitution of benevolence for         
self-love as the moving principle of    
society1 instead of producing the happy 
effects that might be expected from so  
fair a name1 would cause the same       
pressure of want to be felt by the whole
 of society1 which is now felt only by a
 part4 ,it is to the established        
administration of property and to the   
apparently narrow principle of self-love
 that we are indebted for all the       
noblest exertions of human genius1 all  
the finer and more delicate emotions of 
the soul1 for everything1 indeed1 that  
distinguishes the civilized from the    
savage state2 and no sufficient change  
has as yet taken place in the nature of 

civilized man to enable us to say that  
he either is1 or ever will be1 in a     
state when he may safely throw down the 
ladder by which he has risen to this    
eminence4  ,if in every society that has
 advanced beyond the savage state1 a    
class of proprietors and a class of     
labourers must necessarily exist1 it is 
evident that1 as labour is the only     
property of the class of labourers1     
every thing that tends to diminish the  
value of this property must tend to     
diminish the possession of this part of 
society4 ,the only way that a poor man  
has of supporting himself in            
independence is by the exertion of his  
bodily strength4 ,this is the only      
commodity he has to give in exchange for
 the necessaries of life4 ,it would     
hardly appear then that you benefit him 
by narrowing the market for this        
commodity1 by decreasing the demand for 
labour1 and lessening the value of the  
only property that he possesses4  ,it   
should be observed that the principal   

argument of this ,essay only goes to    
prove the necessity of a class of       
proprietors1 and a class of labourers1  
but by no means infers that the present 
great inequality of property is either  
necessary or useful to society4 ,on the 
contrary1 it must certainly be          
considered as an evil1 and every        
institution that promotes it is         
essentially bad and impolitic4 ,but     
whether a government could with         
advantage to society actively interfere 
to repress inequality of fortunes may be
 a matter of doubt4 ,perhaps the        
generous system of perfect liberty      
adopted by ,dr ,adam ,smith and the     
,french economists would be ill         
exchanged for any system of restraint4  
,mr ,godwin would perhaps say that the  
whole system of barter and exchange is a
 vile and iniquitous traffic4 ,if you   
would essentially relieve the poor man1 
you should take a part of his labour    
upon yourself1 or give him your money1  
without exacting so severe a return for 

it4 ,in answer to the first method      
proposed1 it may be observed1 that even 
if the rich could be persuaded to assist
 the poor in this way1 the value of the 
assistance would be comparatively       
trifling4 ,the rich1 though they think  
themselves of great importance1 bear but
 a small proportion in point of numbers 
to the poor1 and would1 therefore1      
relieve them but of a small part of     
their burdens by taking a share4 ,were  
all those that are employed in the      
labours of luxuries added to the number 
of those employed in producing          
necessaries1 and could these necessary  
labours be amicably divided among all1  
each man's share might indeed be        
comparatively light2 but desirable as   
such an amicable division would         
undoubtedly be1 ,i cannot conceive any  
practical principle according to which  
it could take place4 ,it has been shewn1
 that the spirit of benevolence1 guided 
by the strict impartial justice that ,mr
 ,godwin describes1 would1 if vigorously

 acted upon1 depress in want and misery 
the whole human race4 ,let us examine   
what would be the consequence1 if the   
proprietor were to retain a decent share
 for himself1 but to give the rest away 
to the poor1 without exacting a task    
from them in return4 ,not to mention the
 idleness and the vice that such a      
proceeding1 if general1 would probably  
create in the present state of society1 
and the great risk there would be1 of   
diminishing the produce of land1 as well
 as the labours of luxury1 another      
objection yet remains4  ,mr ,godwin     
seems to have but little respect for    
practical principles2 but ,i own it     
appears to me1 that he is a much greater
 benefactor to mankind1 who points out  
how an inferior good may be attained1   
than he who merely expatiates on the    
deformity of the present state of       
society1 and the beauty of a different  
state1 without pointing out a practical 
method1 that might be immediately       
applied1 of accelerating our advances   

from the one1 to the other4  ,it has    
appeared that from the principle of     
population more will always be in want  
than can be adequately supplied4 ,the   
surplus of the rich man might be        
sufficient for three1 but four will be  
desirous to obtain it4 ,he cannot make  
this selection of three out of the four 
without conferring a great favour on    
those that are the objects of his       
choice4 ,these persons must consider    
themselves as under a great obligation  
to him and as dependent upon him for    
their support4 ,the rich man would feel 
his power and the poor man his          
dependence1 and the evil effects of     
these two impressions on the human heart
 are well known4 ,though ,i perfectly   
agree with ,mr ,godwin therefore in the 
evil of hard labour1 yet ,i still think 
it a less evil1 and less calculated to  
debase the human mind1 than dependence1 
and every history of man that we have   
ever read places in a strong point of   
view the danger to which that mind is   

exposed which is entrusted with constant
 power4  ,in the present state of       
things1 and particularly when labour is 
in request1 the man who does a day's    
work for me confers full as great an    
obligation upon me as ,i do upon him4 ,i
 possess what he wants1 he possesses    
what ,i want4 ,we make an amicable      
exchange4 ,the poor man walks erect in  
conscious independence2 and the mind of 
his employer is not vitiated by a sense 
of power4  ,three or four hundred years 
ago there was undoubtedly much less     
labour in ,england1 in proportion to the
 population1 than at present1 but there 
was much more dependence1 and we        
probably should not now enjoy our       
present degree of civil liberty if the  
poor1 by the introduction of            
manufactures1 had not been enabled to   
give something in exchange for the      
provisions of the great ,lords1 instead 
of being dependent upon their bounty4   
,even the greatest enemies of trade and 
manufactures1 and ,i do not reckon      

myself a very determined friend to them1
 must allow that when they were         
introduced into ,england1 liberty came  
in their train4  ,nothing that has been 
said tends in the most remote degree to 
undervalue the principle of benevolence4
 ,it is one of the noblest and most     
godlike qualities of the human heart1   
generated1 perhaps1 slowly and gradually
 from self-love1 and afterwards intended
 to act as a general law1 whose kind    
office it should be1 to soften the      
partial deformities1 to correct the     
asperities1 and to smooth the wrinkles  
of its parent3 and this seems to be the 
analog of all nature4 ,perhaps there is 
no one general law of nature that will  
not appear1 to us at least1 to produce  
partial evil2 and we frequently observe 
at the same time1 some bountiful        
provision which1 acting as another      
general law1 corrects the inequalities  
of the first4  ,the proper office of    
benevolence is to soften the partial    
evils arising from self-love1 but it can

 never be substituted in its place4 ,if 
no man were to allow himself to act till
 he had completely determined that the  
action he was about to perform was more 
conducive than any other to the general 
good1 the most enlightened minds would  
hesitate in perplexity and amazement2   
and the unenlightened would be          
continually committing the grossest     
mistakes4  ,as ,mr ,godwin1 therefore1  
has not laid down any practical         
principle according to which the        
necessary labours of agriculture might  
be amicably shared among the whole class
 of labourers1 by general invectives    
against employing the poor he appears to
 pursue an unattainable good through    
much present evil4 ,for if every man who
 employs the poor ought to be considered
 as their enemy1 and as adding to the   
weight of their oppressions1 and if the 
miser is for this reason to be preferred
 to the man who spends his income1 it   
follows that any number of men who now  
spend their incomes might1 to the       

advantage of society1 be converted into 
misers4 ,suppose then that a hundred    
thousand persons who now employ ten men 
each were to lock up their wealth from  
general use1 it is evident1 that a      
million of working men of different     
kinds would be completely thrown out of 
all employment4 ,the extensive misery   
that such an event would produce in the 
present state of society ,mr ,godwin    
himself could hardly refuse to          
acknowledge1 and ,i question whether he 
might not find some difficulty in       
proving that a conduct of this kind     
tended more than the conduct of those   
who spend their incomes to 'place human 
beings in the condition in which they   
ought to be placed4' ,but ,mr ,godwin   
says that the miser really locks up     
nothing1 that the point has not been    
rightly understood1 and that the true   
development and definition of the nature
 of wealth have not been applied to     
illustrate it4 ,having defined therefore
 wealth1 very justly1 to be the         

commodities raised and fostered by human
 labour1 he observes that the miser     
locks up neither corn1 nor oxen1 nor    
clothes1 nor houses4 ,undoubtedly he    
does not really lock up these articles1 
but he locks up the power of producing  
them1 which is virtually the same4      
,these things are certainly used and    
consumed by his contemporaries1 as      
truly1 and to as great an extent1 as if 
he were a beggar2 but not to as great an
 extent as if he had employed his wealth
 in turning up more land1 in breeding   
more oxen1 in employing more tailors1   
and in building more houses4 ,but       
supposing1 for a moment1 that the       
conduct of the miser did not tend to    
check any really useful produce1 how are
 all those who are thrown out of        
employment to obtain patents which they 
may shew in order to be awarded a proper
 share of the food and raiment produced 
by the society8 ,this is the            
unconquerable difficulty4  ,i am        
perfectly willing to concede to ,mr     

,godwin that there is much more labour  
in the world than is really necessary1  
and that1 if the lower classes of       
society could agree among themselves    
never to work more than six or seven    
hours in the day1 the commodities       
essential to human happiness might still
 be produced in as great abundance as at
 present4 ,but it is almost impossible  
to conceive that such an agreement could
 be adhered to4 ,from the principle of  
population1 some would necessarily be   
more in want than others4 ,those that   
had large families would naturally be   
desirous of exchanging two hours more of
 their labour for an ampler quantity of 
subsistence4 ,how are they to be        
prevented from making this exchange8 it 
would be a violation of the first and   
most sacred property that a man         
possesses to attempt1 by positive       
institutions1 to interfere with his     
command over his own labour4  ,till ,mr 
,godwin1 therefore1 can point out some  
practical plan according to which the   

necessary labour in a society might be  
equitably divided1 his invectives       
against labour1 if they were attended   
to1 would certainly produce much present
 evil without approximating us to that  
state of cultivated equality to which he
 looks forward as his polar star1 and   
which1 he seems to think1 should at     
present be our guide in determining the 
nature and tendency of human actions4 ,a
 mariner guided by such a polar star is 
in danger of shipwreck4  ,perhaps there 
is no possible way in which wealth could
 in general be employed so beneficially 
to a state1 and particularly to the     
lower orders of it1 as by improving and 
rendering productive that land which to 
a farmer would not answer the expense of
 cultivation4 ,had ,mr ,godwin exerted  
his energetic eloquence in painting the 
superior worth and usefulness of the    
character who employed the poor in this 
way1 to him who employed them in narrow 
luxuries1 every enlightened man must    
have applauded his efforts4 ,the        

increasing demand for agricultural      
labour must always tend to better the   
condition of the poor2 and if the       
accession of work be of this kind1 so   
far is it from being true that the poor 
would be obliged to work ten hours for  
the same price that they before worked  
eight1 that the very reverse would be   
the fact2 and a labourer might then     
support his wife and family as well by  
the labour of six hours as he could     
before by the labour of eight4  ,the    
labour created by luxuries1 though      
useful in distributing the produce of   
the country1 without vitiating the      
proprietor by power1 or debasing the    
labourer by dependence1 has not1 indeed1
 the same beneficial effects on the     
state of the poor4 ,a great accession of
 work from manufacturers1 though it may 
raise the price of labour even more than
 an increasing demand for agricultural  
labour1 yet1 as in this case the        
quantity of food in the country may not 
be proportionably increasing1 the       

advantage to the poor will be but       
temporary1 as the price of provisions   
must necessarily rise in proportion to  
the price of labour4 ,relative to this  
subject1 ,i cannot avoid venturing a few
 remarks on a part of ,dr ,adam ,smith's
 ,wealth of ,nations1 speaking at the   
same time with that diffidence which ,i 
ought certainly to feel in differing    
from a person so justly celebrated in   
the political world4     ,,chapter #af  
,probable error of ,dr ,adam ,smith in  
representing every increase of the      
revenue or stock of a society as an     
increase in the funds for the           
maintenance of labour--,instances where 
an increase of wealth can have no       
tendency to better the condition of the 
labouring poor--,england has increased  
in riches without a proportional        
increase in the funds for the           
maintenance of labour--,the state of the
 poor in ,china would not be improved by
 an increase of wealth from             
manufactures4   ,the professed object of

 ,dr ,adam ,smith's inquiry is the      
nature and causes of the wealth of      
nations4 ,there is another inquiry1     
however1 perhaps still more interesting1
 which he occasionally mixes with it2 ,i
 mean an inquiry into the causes which  
affect the happiness of nations or the  
happiness and comfort of the lower      
orders of society1 which is the most    
numerous class in every nation4 ,i am   
sufficiency aware of the near connection
 of these two subjects1 and that the    
causes which tend to increase the wealth
 of a state tend also1 generally        
speaking1 to increase the happiness of  
the lower classes of the people4 ,but   
perhaps ,dr ,adam ,smith has considered 
these two inquiries as still more nearly
 connected than they really are2 at     
least1 he has not stopped to take notice
 of those instances where the wealth of 
a society may increase 7according to his
 definition of 'wealth'7 without having 
any tendency to increase the comforts of
 the labouring part of it4 ,i do not    

mean to enter into a philosophical      
discussion of what constitutes the      
proper happiness of man1 but shall      
merely consider two universally         
acknowledged ingredients1 health1 and   
the command of the necessaries and      
conveniences of life4  ,little or no    
doubt can exist that the comforts of the
 labouring poor depend upon the increase
 of the funds destined for the          
maintenance of labour1 and will be very 
exactly in proportion to the rapidity of
 this increase4 ,the demand for labour  
which such increase would occasion1 by  
creating a competition in the market1   
must necessarily raise the value of     
labour1 and1 till the additional number 
of hands required were reared1 the      
increased funds would be distributed to 
the same number of persons as before the
 increase1 and therefore every labourer 
would live comparatively at his ease4   
,but perhaps ,dr ,adam ,smith errs in   
representing every increase of the      
revenue or stock of a society as an     

increase of these funds4 ,such surplus  
stock or revenue will1 indeed1 always be
 considered by the individual possessing
 it as an additional fund from which he 
may maintain more labour3 but it will   
not be a real and effectual fund for the
 maintenance of an additional number of 
labourers1 unless the whole1 or at least
 a great part of this increase of the   
stock or revenue of the society1 be     
convertible into a proportional quantity
 of provisions2 and it will not be so   
convertible where the increase has      
arisen merely from the produce of       
labour1 and not from the produce of     
land4 ,a distinction will in this case  
occur1 between the number of hands which
 the stock of the society could employ1 
and the number which its territory can  
maintain4  ,to explain myself by an     
instance4 ,dr ,adam ,smith defines the  
wealth of a nation to consist4 ,in the  
annual produce of its land and labour4  
,this definition evidently includes     
manufactured produce1 as well as the    

produce of the land4 ,now supposing a   
nation for a course of years was to add 
what it saved from its yearly revenue to
 its manufacturing capital solely1 and  
not to its capital employed upon land1  
it is evident that it might grow richer 
according to the above definition1      
without a power of supporting a greater 
number of labourers1 and1 therefore1    
without an increase in the real funds   
for the maintenance of labour4 ,there   
would1 notwithstanding1 be a demand for 
labour from the power which each        
manufacturer would possess1 or at least 
think he possessed1 of extending his old
 stock in trade or of setting up fresh  
works4 ,this demand would of course     
raise the price of labour1 but if the   
yearly stock of provisions in the       
country was not increasing1 this rise   
would soon turn out to be merely        
nominal1 as the price of provisions must
 necessarily rise with it4 ,the demand  
for manufacturing labourers might1      
indeed1 entice many from agriculture and

 thus tend to diminish the annual       
produce of the land1 but we will suppose
 any effect of this kind to be          
compensated by improvements in the      
instruments of agriculture1 and the     
quantity of provisions therefore to     
remain the same4 ,improvements in       
manufacturing machinery would of course 
take place1 and this circumstance1 added
 to the greater number of hands employed
 in manufactures1 would cause the annual
 produce of the labour of the country to
 be upon the whole greatly increased4   
,the wealth therefore of the country    
would be increasing annually1 according 
to the definition1 and might not1       
perhaps1 be increasing very slowly4     
,the question is whether wealth1        
increasing in this way1 has any tendency
 to better the condition of the         
labouring poor4 ,it is a self-evident   
proposition that any general rise in the
 price of labour1 the stock of          
provisions remaining the same1 can only 
be a nominal rise1 as it must very      

shortly be followed by a proportional   
rise in the price of provisions4 ,the   
increase in the price of labour1        
therefore1 which we have supposed1 would
 have little or no effect in giving the 
labouring poor a greater command over   
the necessaries and conveniences of     
life4 ,in this respect they would be    
nearly in the same state as before4 ,in 
one other respect they would be in a    
worse state4 ,a greater proportion of   
them would be employed in manufactures1 
and fewer1 consequently1 in agriculture4
 ,and this exchange of professions will 
be allowed1 ,i think1 by all1 to be very
 unfavourable in respect of health1 one 
essential ingredient of happiness1      
besides the greater uncertainty of      
manufacturing labour1 arising from the  
capricious taste of man1 the accidents  
of war1 and other causes4  ,it may be   
said1 perhaps1 that such an instance as 
,i have supposed could not occur1       
because the rise in the price of        
provisions would immediately turn some  

additional capital into the channel of  
agriculture4 ,but this is an event which
 may take place very slowly1 as it      
should be remarked that a rise in the   
price of labour had preceded the rise of
 provisions1 and would1 therefore1      
impede the good effects upon            
agriculture1 which the increased value  
of the produce of the land might        
otherwise have occasioned4  ,it might   
also be said1 that the additional       
capital of the nation would enable it to
 import provisions sufficient for the   
maintenance of those whom its stock     
could employ4 ,a small country with a   
large navy1 and great inland            
accommodations for carriage1 such as    
,holland1 may1 indeed1 import and       
distribute an effectual quantity of     
provisions2 but the price of provisions 
must be very high to make such an       
importation and distribution answer in  
large countries less advantageously     
circumstanced in this respect4  ,an     
instance1 accurately such as ,i have    

supposed1 may not1 perhaps1 ever have   
occurred1 but ,i have little doubt that 
instances nearly approximating to it may
 be found without any very laborious    
search4 ,indeed ,i am strongly inclined 
to think that ,england herself1 since   
the ,revolution1 affords a very striking
 elucidation of the argument in         
question4  ,the commerce of this        
country1 internal as well as external1  
has certainly been rapidly advancing    
during the last century4 ,the           
exchangeable value in the market of     
,europe of the annual produce of its    
land and labour has1 without doubt1     
increased very considerably4 ,but1 upon 
examination1 it will be found that the  
increase has been chiefly in the produce
 of labour and not in the produce of    
land1 and therefore1 though the wealth  
of the nation has been advancing with a 
quick pace1 the effectual funds for the 
maintenance of labour have been         
increasing very slowly1 and the result  
is such as might be expected4 ,the      

increasing wealth of the nation has had 
little or no tendency to better the     
condition of the labouring poor4 ,they  
have not1 ,i believe1 a greater command 
of the necessaries and conveniences of  
life1 and a much greater proportion of  
them than at the period of the          
,revolution is employed in manufactures 
and crowded together in close and       
unwholesome rooms4  ,could we believe   
the statement of ,dr ,price that the    
population of ,england has decreased    
since the ,revolution1 it would even    
appear that the effectual funds for the 
maintenance of labour had been declining
 during the progress of wealth in other 
respects4 ,for ,i conceive that it may  
be laid down as a general rule that if  
the effectual funds for the maintenance 
of labour are increasing1 that is1 if   
the territory can maintain as well as   
the stock employ a greater number of    
labourers1 this additional number will  
quickly spring up1 even in spite of such
 wars as ,dr ,price enumerates4 ,and1   

consequently1 if the population of any  
country has been stationary1 or         
declining1 we may safely infer1 that1   
however it may have advanced in         
manufacturing wealth1 its effectual     
funds for the maintenance of labour     
cannot have increased4  ,it is          
difficult1 however1 to conceive that the
 population of ,england has been        
declining since the ,revolution1 though 
every testimony concurs to prove that   
its increase1 if it has increased1 has  
been very slow4 ,in the controversy     
which the question has occasioned1 ,dr  
,price undoubtedly appears to be much   
more completely master of his subject1  
and to possess more accurate            
information1 than his opponents4        
,judging simply from this controversy1  
,i think one should say that ,dr        
,price's point is nearer being proved   
than ,mr ,howlett's4 ,truth1 probably1  
lies between the two statements1 but    
this supposition makes the increase of  
population since the ,revolution to have

 been very slow in comparison with the  
increase of wealth4  ,that the produce  
of the land has been decreasing1 or even
 that it has been absolutely stationary 
during the last century1 few will be    
disposed to believe4 ,the enclosure of  
commons and waste lands certainly tends 
to increase the food of the country1 but
 it has been asserted with confidence   
that the enclosure of common fields has 
frequently had a contrary effect1 and   
that large tracts of land which formerly
 produced great quantities of corn1 by  
being converted into pasture both employ
 fewer hands and feed fewer mouths than 
before their enclosure4 ,it is1 indeed1 
an acknowledged truth1 that pasture land
 produces a smaller quantity of human   
subsistence than corn land of the same  
natural fertility1 and could it be      
clearly ascertained that from the       
increased demand for butchers' meat of  
the best quality1 and its increased     
price in consequence1 a greater quantity
 of good land has annually been employed

 in grazing1 the diminution of human    
subsistence1 which this circumstance    
would occasion1 might have              
counterbalanced the advantages derived  
from the enclosure of waste lands1 and  
the general improvements in husbandry4  
,it scarcely need be remarked that the  
high price of butchers' meat at present1
 and its low price formerly1 were not   
caused by the scarcity in the one case  
or the plenty in the other1 but by the  
different expense sustained at the      
different periods1 in preparing cattle  
for the market4 ,it is1 however1        
possible1 that there might have been    
more cattle a hundred years ago in the  
country than at present2 but no doubt   
can be entertained1 that there is much  
more meat of a superior quality brought 
to market at present than ever there    
was4 ,when the price of butchers' meat  
was very low1 cattle were reared chiefly
 upon waste lands2 and except for some  
of the principal markets1 were probably 
killed with but little other fatting4   

,the veal that is sold so cheap in some 
distant counties at present bears little
 other resemblance than the name1 to    
that which is bought in ,london4        
,formerly1 the price of butchers1 meat  
would not pay for rearing1 and scarcely 
for feeding1 cattle on land that would  
answer in tillage2 but the present price
 will not only pay for fatting cattle on
 the very best land1 but will even allow
 of the rearing many1 on land that would
 bear good crops of corn4 ,the same     
number of cattle1 or even the same      
weight of cattle at the different       
periods when killed1 will have consumed 
7if ,i may be allowed the expression7   
very different quantities of human      
substance4 ,a fatted beast may in some  
respects be considered1 in the language 
of the ,french economists1 as an        
unproductive labourer3 he has added     
nothing to the value of the raw produce 
that he has consumed4 ,the present      
system of grating1 undoubtedly tends    
more than the former system to diminish 

the quantity of human subsistence in the
 country1 in proportion to the general  
fertility of the land4  ,i would not by 
any means be understood to say that the 
former system either could or ought to  
have continued4 ,the increasing price of
 butchers' meat is a natural and        
inevitable consequence of the general   
progress of cultivation2 but ,i cannot  
help thinking1 that the present great   
demand for butchers' meat of the best   
quality1 and the quantity of good land  
that is in consequence annually employed
 to produce it1 together with the great 
number of horses at present kept for    
pleasure1 are the chief causes that have
 prevented the quantity of human food in
 the country from keeping pace with the 
generally increased fertility of the    
soil2 and a change of custom in these   
respects would1 ,i have little doubt1   
have a very sensible effect on the      
quantity of subsistence in the country1 
and consequently on its population4     
,the employment of much of the most     

fertile land in grating1 the            
improvements in agricultural            
instruments1 the increase of large      
farms1 and particularly the diminution  
of the number of cottages throughout the
 kingdom1 all concur to prove1 that     
there are not probably so many persons  
employed in agricultural labour now as  
at the period of the ,revolution4       
,whatever increase of population1       
therefore1 has taken place1 must be     
employed almost wholly in manufactures1 
and it is well known that the failure of
 some of these manufactures1 merely from
 the caprice of fashion1 such as the    
adoption of muslins instead of silks1 or
 of shoe-strings and covered buttons1   
instead of buckles and metal buttons1   
combined with the restraints in the     
market of labour arising from           
corporation and parish laws1 have       
frequently driven thousands on charity  
for support4 ,the great increase of the 
poor rates is1 indeed1 of itself a      
strong evidence that the poor have not a

 greater command of the necessaries and 
conveniences of life1 and if to the     
consideration1 that their condition in  
this respect is rather worse than       
better1 be added the circumstance1 that 
a much greater proportion of them is    
employed in large manufactories1        
unfavourable both to health and virtue1 
it must be acknowledged1 that the       
increase of wealth of late years has had
 no tendency to increase the happiness  
of the labouring poor4  ,that every     
increase of the stock or revenue of a   
nation cannot be considered as an       
increase of the real funds for the      
maintenance of labour and1 therefore1   
cannot have the same good effect upon   
the condition of the poor1 will appear  
in a strong light if the argument be    
applied to ,china4  ,dr ,adam ,smith    
observes that ,china has probably long  
been as rich as the nature of her laws  
and institutions will admit1 but that   
with other laws and institutions1 and if
 foreign commerce were had in honour1   

she might still be much richer4 ,the    
question is1 would such an increase of  
wealth be an increase of the real funds 
for the maintenance of labour1 and      
consequently tend to place the lower    
classes of people in ,china in a state  
of greater plenty8  ,it is evident1 that
 if trade and foreign commerce were held
 in great honour in ,china1 from the    
plenty of labourers1 and the cheapness  
of labour1 she might work up            
manufactures for foreign sale to an     
immense amount4 ,it is equally evident  
that from the great bulk of provisions  
and the amazing extent of her inland    
territory she could not in return import
 such a quantity as would be any        
sensible addition to the annual stock of
 subsistence in the country4 ,her       
immense amount of manufactures1         
therefore1 she would exchange1 chiefly1 
for luxuries collected from all parts of
 the world4 ,at present1 it appears1    
that no labour whatever is spared in the
 production of food4 ,the country is    

rather over-people in proportion to what
 its stock can employ1 and labour is1   
therefore1 so abundant1 that no pains   
are taken to abridge it4 ,the           
consequence of this is1 probably1 the   
greatest production of food that the    
soil can possibly afford1 for it will be
 generally observed1 that processes for 
abridging labour1 though they may enable
 a farmer to bring a certain quantity of
 grain cheaper to market1 tend rather to
 diminish than increase the whole       
produce2 and in agriculture1 therefore1 
may1 in some respects1 be considered    
rather as private than public           
advantages4  ,an immense capital could  
not be employed in ,china in preparing  
manufactures for foreign trade without  
taking off so many labourers from       
agriculture as to alter this state of   
things1 and in some degree to diminish  
the produce of the country4 ,the demand 
for manufacturing labourers would       
naturally raise the price of labour1 but
 as the quantity of subsistence would   

not be increased1 the price of          
provisions would keep pace with it1 or  
even more than keep pace with it if the 
quantity of provisions were really      
decreasing4 ,the country would be       
evidently advancing in wealth1 the      
exchangeable value of the annual produce
 of its land and labour would be        
annually augmented1 yet the real funds  
for the maintenance of labour would be  
stationary1 or even declining1 and1     
consequently1 the increasing wealth of  
the nation would rather tend to depress 
than to raise the condition of the poor4
 ,with regard to the command over the   
necessaries and comforts of life1 they  
would be in the same or rather worse    
state than before2 and a great part of  
them would have exchanged the healthy   
labours of agriculture for the unhealthy
 occupations of manufacturing industry4 
,the argument1 perhaps1 appears clearer 
when applied to ,china1 because it is   
generally allowed that the wealth of    
,china has been long stationary4 ,with  

regard to any other country it might be 
always a matter of dispute at which of  
the two periods1 compared1 wealth was   
increasing the fastest1 as it is upon   
the rapidity of the increase of wealth  
at any particular period that ,dr ,adam 
,smith says the condition of the poor   
depends4 ,it is evident1 however1 that  
two nations might increase exactly with 
the same rapidity in the exchangeable   
value of the annual produce of their    
land and labour1 yet if one had applied 
itself chiefly to agriculture1 and the  
other chiefly to commerce1 the funds for
 the maintenance of labour1 and         
consequently the effect of the increase 
of wealth in each nation1 would be      
extremely different4 ,in that which had 
applied itself chiefly to agriculture1  
the poor would live in great plenty1 and
 population would rapidly increase4 ,in 
that which had applied itself chiefly to
 commerce1 the poor would be            
comparatively but little benefited and  
consequently population would increase  

slowly4     ,,chapter #ag  ,question of 
the proper definition of the wealth of a
 state--,reason given by the ,french    
economists for considering all          
manufacturers as unproductive labourers1
 not the true reason--,the labour of    
artificers and manufacturers            
sufficiently productive to individuals1 
though not to the state--,a remarkable  
passage in ,dr ,price's two volumes of  
,observations--,error of ,dr ,price in  
attributing the happiness and rapid     
population of ,america1 chiefly1 to its 
peculiar state of civilization--,no     
advantage can be expected from shutting 
our eyes to the difficulties in the way 
to the improvement of society4   ,a     
question seems naturally to arise here  
whether the exchangeable value of the   
annual produce of the land and labour be
 the proper definition of the wealth of 
a country1 or whether the gross produce 
of the land1 according to the ,french   
economists1 may not be a more accurate  
definition4 ,certain it is that every   

increase of wealth1 according to the    
definition of the economists1 will be an
 increase of the funds for the          
maintenance of labour1 and consequently 
will always tend to ameliorate the      
condition of the labouring poor1 though 
an increase of wealth1 according to ,dr 
,adam ,smith's definition1 will by no   
means invariably have the same tendency4
 ,and yet it may not follow from this   
consideration that ,dr ,adam ,smith's   
definition is not just4 ,it seems in    
many respects improper to exclude the   
clothing and lodging of a whole people  
from any part of their revenue4 ,much of
 it may1 indeed1 be of very trivial and 
unimportant value in comparison with the
 food of the country1 yet still it may  
be fairly considered as a part of its   
revenue2 and1 therefore1 the only point 
in which ,i should differ from ,dr ,adam
 ,smith is where he seems to consider   
every increase of the revenue or stock  
of a society as an increase of the funds
 for the maintenance of labour1 and     

consequently as tending always to       
ameliorate the condition of the poor4   
,the fine silks and cottons1 the laces1 
and other ornamental luxuries of a rich 
country1 may contribute very            
considerably to augment the exchangeable
 value of its annual produce2 yet they  
contribute but in a very small degree to
 augment the mass of happiness in the   
society1 and it appears to me that it is
 with some view to the real utility of  
the produce that we ought to estimate   
the productiveness or unproductiveness  
of different sorts of labour4 ,the      
,french economists consider all labour  
employed in manufactures as             
unproductive4 ,comparing it with the    
labour employed upon land1 ,i should be 
perfectly disposed to agree with them1  
but not exactly for the reasons which   
they give4 ,they say that labour        
employed upon land is productive because
 the produce1 over and above completely 
paying the labourer and the farmer1     
affords a clear rent to the landlord1   

and that the labour employed upon a     
piece of lace is unproductive because it
 merely replaces the provisions that the
 workman had consumed1 and the stock of 
his employer1 without affording any     
clear rent whatever4 ,but supposing the 
value of the wrought lace to be such as 
that1 besides paying in the most        
complete manner the workman and his     
employer1 it could afford a clear rent  
to a third person1 it appears to me     
that1 in comparison with the labour     
employed upon land1 it would be still as
 unproductive as ever4 ,though1         
according to the reasoning used by the  
,french economists1 the man employed in 
the manufacture of lace would1 in this  
case1 seem to be a productive labourer4 
,yet according to their definition of   
the wealth of a state1 he ought not to  
be considered in that light4 ,he will   
have added nothing to the gross produce 
of the land3 he has consumed a portion  
of this gross produce1 and has left a   
bit of lace in return2 and though he may

 sell this bit of lace for three times  
the quantity of provisions that he      
consumed whilst he was making it1 and   
thus be a very productive labourer with 
regard to himself1 yet he cannot be     
considered as having added by his labour
 to any essential part of the riches of 
the state4 ,the clear rent1 therefore1  
that a certain produce can afford1 after
 paying the expenses of procuring it1   
does not appear to be the sole          
criterion1 by which to judge of the     
productiveness or unproductiveness to a 
state of any particular species of      
labour4  ,suppose that two hundred      
thousand men1 who are now employed in   
producing manufactures that only tend to
 gratify the vanity of a few rich       
people1 were to be employed upon some   
barren and uncultivated lands1 and to   
produce only half the quantity of food  
that they themselves consumed2 they     
would be still more productive labourers
 with regard to the state than they were
 before1 though their labour1 so far    

from affording a rent to a third person1
 would but half replace the provisions  
used in obtaining the produce4 ,in their
 former employment they consumed a      
certain portion of the food of the      
country and left in return some silks   
and laces4 ,in their latter employment  
they consumed the same quantity of food 
and left in return provision for a      
hundred thousand men4 ,there can be     
little doubt which of the two legacies  
would be the most really beneficial to  
the country1 and it will1 ,i think1 be  
allowed that the wealth which supported 
the two hundred thousand men while they 
were producing silks and laces would    
have been more usefully employed in     
supporting them while they were         
producing the additional quantity of    
food4  ,a capital employed upon land may
 be unproductive to the individual that 
employs it and yet be highly productive 
to the society4 ,a capital employed in  
trade1 on the contrary1 may be highly   
productive to the individual1 and yet be

 almost totally unproductive to the     
society3 and this is the reason why ,i  
should call manufacturing labour        
unproductive1 in comparison of that     
which is employed in agriculture1 and   
not for the reason given by the ,french 
economists4 ,it is1 indeed1 almost      
impossible to see the great fortunes    
that are made in trade1 and the         
liberality with which so many merchants 
live1 and yet agree in the statement of 
the economists1 that manufacturers can  
only grow rich by depriving themselves  
of the funds destined for their support4
 ,in many branches of trade the profits 
are so great as would allow of a clear  
rent to a third person2 but as there is 
no third person in the case1 and as all 
the profits centre in the master        
manufacturer1 or merchant1 he seems to  
have a fair chance of growing rich1     
without much privation2 and we          
consequently see large fortunes acquired
 in trade by persons who have not been  
remarked for their parsimony4  ,daily   

experience proves that the labour       
employed in trade and manufactures is   
sufficiently productive to individuals1 
but it certainly is not productive in   
the same degree to the state4 ,every    
accession to the food of a country tends
 to the immediate benefit of the whole  
society2 but the fortunes made in trade 
tend but in a remote and uncertain      
manner to the same end1 and in some     
respects have even a contrary tendency4 
,the home trade of consumption is by far
 the most important trade of every      
nation4 ,china is the richest country in
 the world1 without any other4 ,putting 
then1 for a moment1 foreign trade out of
 the question1 the man who1 by an       
ingenious manufacture1 obtains a double 
portion out of the old stock of         
provisions1 will certainly not to be so 
useful to the state as the man who1 by  
his labour1 adds a single share to the  
former stock4 ,the consumable           
commodities of silks1 laces1 trinkets1  
and expensive furniture1 are undoubtedly

 a part of the revenue of the society2  
but they are the revenue only of the    
rich1 and not of the society in general4
 ,an increase in this part of the       
revenue of a state1 cannot1 therefore1  
be considered of the same importance as 
an increase of food1 which forms the    
principal revenue of the great mass of  
the people4  ,foreign commerce adds to  
the wealth of a state1 according to ,dr 
,adam ,smith's definition1 though not   
according to the definition of the      
economists4 ,its principal use1 and the 
reason1 probably1 that it has in general
 been held in such high estimation is   
that it adds greatly to the external    
power of a nation or to its power of    
commanding the labour of other          
countries2 but it will be found1 upon a 
near examination1 to contribute but     
little to the increase of the internal  
funds for the maintenance of labour1 and
 consequently but little to the         
happiness of the greatest part of       
society4 ,in the natural progress of a  

state towards riches1 manufactures1 and 
foreign commerce would follow1 in their 
order1 the high cultivation of the soil4
 ,in ,europe1 this natural order of     
things has been inverted1 and the soil  
has been cultivated from the redundancy 
of manufacturing capital1 instead of    
manufactures rising from the redundancy 
of capital employed upon land4 ,the     
superior encouragement that has been    
given to the industry of the towns1 and 
the consequent higher price that is paid
 for the labour of artificers than for  
the labour of those employed in         
husbandry1 are probably the reasons why 
so much soil in ,europe remains         
uncultivated4 ,had a different policy   
been pursued throughout ,europe1 it     
might undoubtedly have been much more   
populous than at present1 and yet not be
 more incumbered by its population4  ,i 
cannot quit this curious subject of the 
difficulty arising from population1 a   
subject that appears to me to deserve a 
minute investigation and able discussion

 much beyond my power to give it1       
without taking notice of an             
extraordinary passage in ,dr ,price's   
two volumes of ,observations4 ,having   
given some tables on the probabilities  
of life1 in towns and in the country1 he
 says 7,vol4 ,,ii1 p4 #bdc73  ,from this
 comparison1 it appears with how much   
truth great cities have been called the 
graves of mankind4 ,it must also        
convince all who consider it1 that      
according to the observation1 at the end
 of the fourth essay1 in the former     
volume1 it is by no means strictly      
proper to consider our diseases as the  
original intention of nature4 ,they are1
 without doubt1 in general our own      
creation4 ,were there a country where   
the inhabitants led lives entirely      
natural and virtuous1 few of them would 
die without measuring out the whole     
period of present existence allotted to 
them2 pain and distemper would be       
unknown among them1 and death would come
 upon them like a sleep1 in consequence 

of no other cause than gradual and      
unavoidable decay4  ,i own that ,i felt 
myself obliged to draw a very opposite  
conclusion from the facts advanced in   
,dr ,price's two volumes4 ,i had for    
some time been aware that population and
 food increased in different ratios1 and
 a vague opinion had been floating in my
 mind that they could only be kept equal
 by some species of misery or vice1 but 
the perusal of ,dr ,price's two volumes 
of ,observations1 after that opinion had
 been conceived1 raised it at once to   
conviction4 ,with so many facts in his  
view to prove the extraordinary rapidity
 with which population increases when   
unchecked1 and with such a body of      
evidence before him to elucidate even   
the manner by which the general laws of 
nature repress a redundant population1  
it is perfectly inconceivable to me how 
he could write the passage that ,i have 
quoted4 ,he was a strenuous advocate for
 early marriages1 as the best           
preservative against vicious manners4   

,he had no fanciful conceptions about   
the extinction of the passion between   
the sexes1 like ,mr ,godwin1 nor did he 
ever think of eluding the difficulty in 
the ways hinted at by ,mr ,condorcet4   
,he frequently talks of giving the      
prolifick powers of nature room to exert
 themselves4 ,yet with these ideas1 that
 his understanding could escape from the
 obvious and necessary inference that an
 unchecked population would increase1   
beyond comparison1 faster than the      
earth1 by the best directed exertions of
 man1 could produce food for its        
support1 appears to me as astonishing as
 if he had resisted the conclusion of   
one of the plainest propositions of     
,euclid4  ,dr ,price1 speaking of the   
different stages of the civilized state1
 says1 ',the first1 or simple stages of 
civilization1 are those which favour    
most the increase and the happiness of  
mankind4' ,he then instances the        
,american colonies1 as being at that    
time in the first and happiest of the   

states that he had described1 and as    
affording a very striking proof of the  
effects of the different stages of      
civilization on population4 ,but he does
 not seem to be aware that the happiness
 of the ,americans depended much less   
upon their peculiar degree of           
civilization than upon the peculiarity  
of their situation1 as new colonies1    
upon their having a great plenty of     
fertile uncultivated land4 ,in parts of 
,norway1 ,denmark1 or ,sweden1 or in    
this country1 two or three hundred years
 ago1 he might have found perhaps nearly
 the same degree of civilization1 but by
 no means the same happiness or the same
 increase of population4 ,he quotes     
himself a statute of ,henry the ,eighth1
 complaining of the decay of tillage1   
and the enhanced price of provisions1   
'whereby a marvellous number of people  
were rendered incapable of maintaining  
themselves and families4' ,the superior 
degree of civil liberty which prevailed 
in ,america contributed1 without doubt1 

its share to promote the industry1      
happiness1 and population of these      
states1 but even civil liberty1 all     
powerful as it is1 will not create fresh
 land4 ,the ,americans may be said1     
perhaps1 to enjoy a greater degree of   
civil liberty1 now they are an          
independent people1 than while they were
 in subjection in ,england1 but we may  
be perfectly sure that population will  
not long continue to increase with the  
same rapidity as it did then4  ,a person
 who contemplated the happy state of the
 lower classes of people in ,america    
twenty years ago would naturally wish to
 retain them for ever in that state1 and
 might think1 perhaps1 that by          
preventing the introduction of          
manufactures and luxury he might effect 
his purpose1 but he might as reasonably 
expect to prevent a wife or mistress    
from growing old by never exposing her  
to the sun or air4 ,the situation of new
 colonies1 well governed1 is a bloom of 
youth that no efforts can arrest4 ,there

 are1 indeed1 many modes of treatment in
 the political1 as well as animal1 body1
 that contribute to accelerate or retard
 the approaches of age1 but there can be
 no chance of success1 in any mode that 
could be devised1 for keeping either of 
them in perpetual youth4 ,by encouraging
 the industry of the towns more than the
 industry of the country1 ,europe may be
 said1 perhaps1 to have brought on a    
premature old age4 ,a different policy  
in this respect would infuse fresh life 
and vigour into every state4 ,while from
 the law of primogeniture1 and other    
,european customs1 land bears a monopoly
 price1 a capital can never be employed 
in it with much advantage to the        
individual2 and1 therefore1 it is not   
probable that the soil should be        
properly cultivated4 ,and1 though in    
every civilized state a class of        
proprietors and a class of labourers    
must exist1 yet one permanent advantage 
would always result from a nearer       
equalization of property4 ,the greater  

the number of proprietors1 the smaller  
must be the number of labourers3 a      
greater part of society would be in the 
happy state of possessing property3 and 
a smaller part in the unhappy state of  
possessing no other property than their 
labour4 ,but the best directed          
exertions1 though they may alleviate1   
can never remove the pressure of want1  
and it will be difficult for any person 
who contemplates the genuine situation  
of man on earth1 and the general laws of
 nature1 to suppose it possible that    
any1 the most enlightened1 efforts could
 place mankind in a state where 'few    
would die without measuring out the     
whole period of present existence       
allotted to them2 where pain and        
distemper would be unknown among them2  
and death would come upon them like a   
sleep1 in consequence of no other cause 
than gradual and unavoidable decay4'    
,it is1 undoubtedly1 a most             
disheartening reflection that the great 
obstacle in the way to any extraordinary

 improvement in society is of a nature  
that we can never hope to overcome4 ,the
 perpetual tendency in the race of man  
to increase beyond the means of         
subsistence is one of the general laws  
of animated nature which we can have no 
reason to expect will change4 ,yet1     
discouraging as the contemplation of    
this difficulty must be to those whose  
exertions are laudably directed to the  
improvement of the human species1 it is 
evident that no possible good can arise 
from any endeavours to slur it over or  
keep it in the background4 ,on the      
contrary1 the most baleful mischiefs may
 be expected from the unmanly conduct of
 not daring to face truth because it is 
unpleasing4 ,independently of what      
relates to this great obstacle1         
sufficient yet remains to be done for   
mankind to animate us to the most       
unremitted exertion4 ,but if we proceed 
without a thorough knowledge and        
accurate comprehension of the nature1   
extent1 and magnitude of the            

difficulties we have to encounter1 or if
 we unwisely direct our efforts towards 
an object in which we cannot hope for   
success1 we shall not only exhaust our  
strength in fruitless exertions and     
remain at as great a distance as ever   
from the summit of our wishes1 but we   
shall be perpetually crushed by the     
recoil of this rock of ,sisyphus4       
,,chapter #ah  ,the constant pressure of
 distress on man1 from the principle of 
population1 seems to direct our hopes to
 the future--,state of trial            
inconsistent with our ideas of the      
foreknowledge of ,god--,the world1      
probably1 a mighty process for awakening
 matter into mind--,theory of the       
formation of mind--,excitements from the
 wants of the body--,excitements from   
the operation of general                
laws--,excitements from the difficulties
 of life arising from the principle of  
population4   ,the view of human life   
which results from the contemplation of 
the constant pressure of distress on man

 from the difficulty of subsistence1 by 
shewing the little expectation that he  
can reasonably entertain of             
perfectibility on earth1 seems strongly 
to point his hopes to the future4 ,and  
the temptations to which he must        
necessarily be exposed1 from the        
operation of those laws of nature which 
we have been examining1 would seem to   
represent the world in the light in     
which it has been frequently considered1
 as a state of trial and school of      
virtue preparatory to a superior state  
of happiness4 ,but ,i hope ,i shall be  
pardoned if ,i attempt to give a view in
 some degree different of the situation 
of man on earth1 which appears to me to 
be more consistent with the various     
phenomena of nature which we observe    
around us and more consonant to our     
ideas of the power1 goodness1 and       
foreknowledge of the ,deity4  ,it cannot
 be considered as an unimproving        
exercise of the human mind to endeavour 
to 'vindicate the ways of ,god to man'  

if we proceed with a proper distrust of 
our own understandings and a just sense 
of our insufficiency to comprehend the  
reason of all we see1 if we hail every  
ray of light with gratitude1 and1 when  
no light appears1 think that the        
darkness is from within and not from    
without1 and bow with humble deference  
to the supreme wisdom of him whose      
'thoughts are above our thoughts' 'as   
the heavens are high above the earth4'  
,in all our feeble attempts1 however1 to
 'find out the ,almighty to perfection'1
 it seems absolutely necessary that we  
should reason from nature up to nature's
 ,god and not presume to reason from    
,god to nature4 ,the moment we allow    
ourselves to ask why some things are not
 otherwise1 instead of endeavouring to  
account for them as they are1 we shall  
never know where to stop1 we shall be   
led into the grossest and most childish 
absurdities1 all progress in the        
knowledge of the ways of ,providence    
must necessarily be at an end1 and the  

study will even cease to be an improving
 exercise of the human mind4 ,infinite  
power is so vast and incomprehensible an
 idea that the mind of man must         
necessarily be bewildered in the        
contemplation of it4 ,with the crude and
 puerile conceptions which we sometimes 
form of this attribute of the ,deity1 we
 might imagine that ,god could call into
 being myriads and myriads of           
existences1 all free from pain and      
imperfection1 all eminent in goodness   
and wisdom1 all capable of the highest  
enjoyments1 and unnumbered as the points
 throughout infinite space4 ,but when   
from these vain and extravagant dreams  
of fancy1 we turn our eyes to the book  
of nature1 where alone we can read ,god 
as he is1 we see a constant succession  
of sentient beings1 rising apparently   
from so many specks of matter1 going    
through a long and sometimes painful    
process in this world1 but many of them 
attaining1 ere the termination of it1   
such high qualities and powers as seem  

to indicate their fitness for some      
superior state4 ,ought we not then to   
correct our crude and puerile ideas of  
infinite ,power from the contemplation  
of what we actually see existing8 ,can  
we judge of the ,creator but from his   
creation8 ,and1 unless we wish to exalt 
the power of ,god at the expense of his 
goodness1 ought we not to conclude that 
even to the great ,creator1 almighty as 
he is1 a certain process may be         
necessary1 a certain time 7or at least  
what appears to us as time7 may be      
requisite1 in order to form beings with 
those exalted qualities of mind which   
will fit them for his high purposes8  ,a
 state of trial seems to imply a        
previously formed existence that does   
not agree with the appearance of man in 
infancy and indicates something like    
suspicion and want of foreknowledge1    
inconsistent with those ideas which we  
wish to cherish of the ,supreme ,being4 
,i should be inclined1 therefore1 as ,i 
have hinted before1 to consider the     

world and this life as the mighty       
process of ,god1 not for the trial1 but 
for the creation and formation of mind1 
a process necessary to awaken inert1    
chaotic matter into spirit1 to sublimate
 the dust of the earth into soul1 to    
elicit an ethereal spark from the clod  
of clay4 ,and in this view of the       
subject1 the various impressions and    
excitements which man receives through  
life may be considered as the forming   
hand of his ,creator1 acting by general 
laws1 and awakening his sluggish        
existence1 by the animating touches of  
the ,divinity1 into a capacity of       
superior enjoyment4 ,the original sin of
 man is the torpor and corruption of the
 chaotic matter in which he may be said 
to be born4  ,it could answer no good   
purpose to enter into the question      
whether mind be a distinct substance    
from matter1 or only a finer form of it4
 ,the question is1 perhaps1 after all1 a
 question merely of words4 ,mind is as  
essentially mind1 whether formed from   

matter or any other substance4 ,we know 
from experience that soul and body are  
most intimately united1 and every       
appearance seems to indicate that they  
grow from infancy together4 ,it would be
 a supposition attended with very little
 probability to believe that a complete 
and full formed spirit existed in every 
infant1 but that it was clogged and     
impeded in its operations during the    
first twenty years of life by the       
weakness1 or hebetude1 of the organs in 
which it was enclosed4 ,as we shall all 
be disposed to agree that ,god is the   
creator of mind as well as of body1 and 
as they both seem to be forming and     
unfolding themselves at the same time1  
it cannot appear inconsistent either    
with reason or revelation1 if it appear 
to be consistent with phenomena of      
nature1 to suppose that ,god is         
constantly occupied in forming mind out 
of matter and that the various          
impressions that man receives through   
life is the process for that purpose4   

,the employment is surely worthy of the 
highest attributes of the ,deity4  ,this
 view of the state of man on earth will 
not seem to be unattended with          
probability1 if1 judging from the little
 experience we have of the nature of    
mind1 it shall appear upon investigation
 that the phenomena around us1 and the  
various events of human life1 seem      
peculiarly calculated to promote this   
great end1 and especially if1 upon this 
supposition1 we can account1 even to our
 own narrow understandings1 for many of 
those roughnesses and inequalities in   
life which querulous man too frequently 
makes the subject of his complaint      
against the ,god of nature4  ,the first 
great awakeners of the mind seem to be  
the wants of the body4 7,it was my      
intention to have entered at some length
 into this subject as a kind of second  
part to the ,essay4 ,a long             
interruption1 from particular business1 
has obliged me to lay aside this        
intention1 at least for the present4 ,i 

shall now1 therefore1 only give a sketch
 of a few of the leading circumstances  
that appear to me to favour the general 
supposition that ,i have advanced47     
,they are the first stimulants that     
rouse the brain of infant man into      
sentient activity1 and such seems to be 
the sluggishness of original matter that
 unless by a peculiar course of         
excitements other wants1 equally        
powerful1 are generated1 these          
stimulants seem1 even afterwards1 to be 
necessary to continue that activity     
which they first awakened4 ,the savage  
would slumber for ever under his tree   
unless he were roused from his torpor by
 the cravings of hunger or the pinchings
 of cold1 and the exertions that he     
makes to avoid these evils1 by procuring
 food1 and building himself a covering1 
are the exercises which form and keep in
 motion his faculties1 which otherwise  
would sink into listless inactivity4    
,from all that experience has taught us 
concerning the structure of the human   

mind1 if those stimulants to exertion   
which arise from the wants of the body  
were removed from the mass of mankind1  
we have much more reason to think that  
they would be sunk to the level of      
brutes1 from a deficiency of            
excitements1 than that they would be    
raised to the rank of philosophers by   
the possession of leisure4 ,in those    
countries where nature is the most      
redundant in spontaneous produce the    
inhabitants will not be found the most  
remarkable for acuteness of intellect4  
,necessity has been with great truth    
called the mother of invention4 ,some of
 the noblest exertions of the human mind
 have been set in motion by the         
necessity of satisfying the wants of the
 body4 ,want has not unfrequently given 
wings to the imagination of the poet1   
pointed the flowing periods of the      
historian1 and added acuteness to the   
researches of the philosopher1 and      
though there are undoubtedly many minds 
at present so far improved by the       

various excitements of knowledge1 or of 
social sympathy1 that they would not    
relapse into listlessness if their      
bodily stimulants were removed1 yet it  
can scarcely be doubted that these      
stimulants could not be withdrawn from  
the mass of mankind without producing a 
general and fatal torpor1 destructive of
 all the germs of future improvement4   
,locke1 if ,i recollect1 says that the  
endeavour to avoid pain rather than the 
pursuit of pleasure is the great        
stimulus to action in life3 and that in 
looking to any particular pleasure1 we  
shall not be roused into action in order
 to obtain it1 till the contemplation of
 it has continued so long as to amount  
to a sensation of pain or uneasiness    
under the absence of it4 ,to avoid evil 
and to pursue good seem to be the great 
duty and business of man1 and this world
 appears to be peculiarly calculated to 
afford opportunity of the most          
unremitted exertion of this kind1 and it
 is by this exertion1 by these          

stimulants1 that mind is formed4 ,if    
,locke's idea be just1 and there is     
great reason to think that it is1 evil  
seems to be necessary to create         
exertion1 and exertion seems evidently  
necessary to create mind4  ,the         
necessity of food for the support of    
life gives rise1 probably1 to a greater 
quantity of exertion than any other     
want1 bodily or mental4 ,the ,supreme   
,being has ordained that the earth shall
 not produce good in great quantities   
till much preparatory labour and        
ingenuity has been exercised upon its   
surface4 ,there is no conceivable       
connection to our comprehensions1       
between the seed and the plant or tree  
that rises from it4 ,the ,supreme       
,creator might1 undoubtedly1 raise up   
plants of all kinds1 for the use of his 
creatures1 without the assistance of    
those little bits of matter1 which we   
call seed1 or even without the assisting
 labour and attention of man4 ,the      
processes of ploughing and clearing the 

ground1 of collecting and sowing seeds1 
are not surely for the assistance of    
,god in his creation1 but are made      
previously necessary to the enjoyment of
 the blessings of life1 in order to     
rouse man into action1 and form his mind
 to reason4  ,to furnish the most       
unremitted excitements of this kind1 and
 to urge man to further the gracious    
designs of ,providence by the full      
cultivation of the earth1 it has been   
ordained that population should increase
 much faster than food4 ,this general   
law 7as it has appeared in the former   
parts of this ,essay7 undoubtedly       
produces much partial evil1 but a little
 reflection may1 perhaps1 satisfy us1   
that it produces a great overbalance of 
good4 ,strong excitements seem necessary
 to create exertion1 and to direct this 
exertion1 and form the reasoning        
faculty1 it seems absolutely necessary1 
that the ,supreme ,being should act     
always according to general laws4 ,the  
constancy of the laws of nature1 or the 

certainty with which we may expect the  
same effects from the same causes1 is   
the foundation of the faculty of reason4
 ,if in the ordinary course of things1  
the finger of ,god were frequently      
visible1 or to speak more correctly1 if 
,god were frequently to change his      
purpose 7for the finger of ,god is1     
indeed1 visible in every blade of grass 
that we see71 a general and fatal torpor
 of the human faculties would probably  
ensue2 even the bodily wants of mankind 
would cease to stimulate them to        
exertion1 could they not reasonably     
expect that if their efforts were well  
directed they would be crowned with     
success4 ,the constancy of the laws of  
nature is the foundation of the industry
 and foresight of the husbandman1 the   
indefatigable ingenuity of the          
artificer1 the skilful researches of the
 physician and anatomist1 and the       
watchful observation and patient        
investigation of the natural            
philosopher4 ,to this constancy we owe  

all the greatest and noblest efforts of 
intellect4 ,to this constancy we owe the
 immortal mind of a ,newton4  ,as the   
reasons1 therefore1 for the constancy of
 the laws of nature seem1 even to our   
understandings1 obvious and striking2 if
 we return to the principle of          
population and consider man as he really
 is1 inert1 sluggish1 and averse from   
labour1 unless compelled by necessity   
7and it is surely the height of folly to
 talk of man1 according to our crude    
fancies of what he might be71 we may    
pronounce with certainty that the world 
would not have been peopled1 but for the
 superiority of the power of population 
to the means of subsistence4 ,strong and
 constantly operative as this stimulus  
is on man to urge him to the cultivation
 of the earth1 if we still see that     
cultivation proceeds very slowly1 we may
 fairly conclude that a less stimulus   
would have been insufficient4 ,even     
under the operation of this constant    
excitement1 savages will inhabit        

countries of the greatest natural       
fertility for a long period before they 
betake themselves to pasturage or       
agriculture4 ,had population and food   
increased in the same ratio1 it is      
probable that man might never have      
emerged from the savage state4 ,but     
supposing the earth once well peopled1  
an ,alexander1 a ,julius ,caesar1 a     
,tamberlane1 or a bloody revolution     
might irrecoverably thin the human race1
 and defeat the great designs of the    
,creator4 ,the ravages of a contagious  
disorder would be felt for ages2 and an 
earthquake might unpeople a region for  
ever4 ,the principle1 according to which
 population increases1 prevents the     
vices of mankind1 or the accidents of   
nature1 the partial evils arising from  
general laws1 from obstructing the high 
purpose of the creation4 ,it keeps the  
inhabitants of the earth always fully up
 to the level of the means of           
subsistence2 and is constantly acting   
upon man as a powerful stimulus1 urging 

him to the further cultivation of the   
earth1 and to enable it1 consequently1  
to support a more extended population4  
,but it is impossible that this law can 
operate1 and produce the effects        
apparently intended by the ,supreme     
,being1 without occasioning partial     
evil4 ,unless the principle of          
population were to be altered according 
to the circumstances of each separate   
country 7which would not only be        
contrary to our universal experience1   
with regard to the laws of nature1 but  
would contradict even our own reason1   
which sees the absolute necessity of    
general laws for the formation of       
intellect71 it is evident that the same 
principle which1 seconded by industry1  
will people a fertile region in a few   
years must produce distress in countries
 that have been long inhabited4  ,it    
seems1 however1 every way probable that 
even the acknowledged difficulties      
occasioned by the law of population tend
 rather to promote than impede the      

general purpose of ,providence4 ,they   
excite universal exertion and contribute
 to that infinite variety of situations1
 and consequently of impressions1 which 
seems upon the whole favourable to the  
growth of mind4 ,it is probable1 that   
too great or too little excitement1     
extreme poverty1 or too great riches may
 be alike unfavourable in this respect4 
,the middle regions of society seem to  
be best suited to intellectual          
improvement1 but it is contrary to the  
analogy of all nature to expect that the
 whole of society can be a middle       
region4 ,the temperate zones of the     
earth seem to be the most favourable to 
the mental and corporal energies of man1
 but all cannot be temperate zones4 ,a  
world1 warmed and enlightened but by one
 sun1 must from the laws of matter have 
some parts chilled by perpetual frosts  
and others scorched by perpetual heats4 
,every piece of matter lying on a       
surface must have an upper and an under 
side1 all the particles cannot be in the

 middle4 ,the most valuable parts of an 
oak1 to a timber merchant1 are not      
either the roots or the branches1 but   
these are absolutely necessary to the   
existence of the middle part1 or stem1  
which is the object in request4 ,the    
timber merchant could not possibly      
expect to make an oak grow without roots
 or branches1 but if he could find out a
 mode of cultivation which would cause  
more of the substance to go to stem1 and
 less to root and branch1 he would be   
right to exert himself in bringing such 
a system into general use4  ,in the same
 manner1 though we cannot possibly      
expect to exclude riches and poverty    
from society1 yet if we could find out a
 mode of government by which the numbers
 in the extreme regions would be        
lessened and the numbers in the middle  
regions increased1 it would be          
undoubtedly our duty to adopt it4 ,it is
 not1 however1 improbable that as in the
 oak1 the roots and branches could not  
be diminished very greatly without      

weakening the vigorous circulation of   
the sap in the stem1 so in society the  
extreme parts could not be diminished   
beyond a certain degree without         
lessening that animated exertion        
throughout the middle parts1 which is   
the very cause that they are the most   
favourable to the growth of intellect4  
,if no man could hope to rise or fear to
 fall1 in society1 if industry did not  
bring with it its reward and idleness   
its punishment1 the middle parts would  
not certainly be what they now are4 ,in 
reasoning upon this subject1 it is      
evident that we ought to consider       
chiefly the mass of mankind and not     
individual instances4 ,there are        
undoubtedly many minds1 and there ought 
to be many1 according to the chances out
 of so great a mass1 that1 having been  
vivified early by a peculiar course of  
excitements1 would not need the constant
 action of narrow motives to continue   
them in activity4 ,but if we were to    
review the various useful discoveries1  

the valuable writings1 and other        
laudable exertions of mankind1 ,i       
believe we should find that more were to
 be attributed to the narrow motives    
that operate upon the many than to the  
apparently more enlarged motives that   
operate upon the few4  ,leisure is1     
without doubt1 highly valuable to man1  
but taking man as he is1 the probability
 seems to be that in the greater number 
of instances it will produce evil rather
 than good4 ,it has been not            
infrequently remarked that talents are  
more common among younger brothers than 
among elder brothers1 but it can        
scarcely be imagined that younger       
brothers are1 upon an average1 born with
 a greater original susceptibility of   
parts4 ,the difference1 if there really 
is any observable difference1 can only  
arise from their different situations4  
,exertion and activity are in general   
absolutely necessary in one case and are
 only optional in the other4  ,that the 
difficulties of life contribute to      

generate talents1 every day's experience
 must convince us4 ,the exertions that  
men find it necessary to make1 in order 
to support themselves or families1      
frequently awaken faculties that might  
otherwise have lain for ever dormant1   
and it has been commonly remarked that  
new and extraordinary situations        
generally create minds adequate to      
grapple with the difficulties in which  
they are involved4     ,,chapter #ai    
,the sorrows of life necessary to soften
 and humanize the heart--,the excitement
 of social sympathy often produce       
characters of a higher order than the   
mere possessors of talents--,moral evil 
probably necessary to the production of 
moral excellence--,excitements from     
intellectual wants continually kept up  
by the infinite variety of nature1 and  
the obscurity that involves metaphysical
 subjects--,the difficulties in         
revelation to be accounted for upon this
 principle--,the degree of evidence     
which the scriptures contain1 probably1 

best suited to the improvements of the  
human faculties1 and the moral          
amelioration of mankind--,the idea that 
mind is created by excitements seems to 
account for the existence of natural and
 moral evil4   ,the sorrows and         
distresses of life form another class of
 excitements1 which seem to be          
necessary1 by a peculiar train of       
impressions1 to soften and humanize the 
heart1 to awaken social sympathy1 to    
generate all the ,christian virtues1 and
 to afford scope for the ample exertion 
of benevolence4 ,the general tendency of
 an uniform course of prosperity is     
rather to degrade than exalt the        
character4 ,the heart that has never    
known sorrow itself will seldom be      
feelingly alive to the pains and        
pleasures1 the wants and wishes1 of its 
fellow beings4 ,it will seldom be       
overflowing with that warmth of         
brotherly love1 those kind and amiable  
affections1 which dignify the human     
character even more than the possession 

of the highest talents4 ,talents1       
indeed1 though undoubtedly a very       
prominent and fine feature of mind1 can 
by no means be considered as            
constituting the whole of it4 ,there are
 many minds which have not been exposed 
to those excitements that usually form  
talents1 that have yet been vivified to 
a high degree by the excitements of     
social sympathy4 ,in every rank of life1
 in the lowest as frequently as in the  
highest1 characters are to be found     
overflowing with the milk of human      
kindness1 breathing love towards ,god   
and man1 and1 though without those      
peculiar powers of mind called talents1 
evidently holding a higher rank in the  
scale of beings than many who possess   
them4 ,evangelical charity1 meekness1   
piety1 and all that class of virtues    
distinguished particularly by the name  
of ,christian virtues do not seem       
necessarily to include abilities2 yet a 
soul possessed of these amiable         
qualities1 a soul awakened and vivified 

by these delightful sympathies1 seems to
 hold a nearer commerce with the skies  
than mere acuteness of intellect4  ,the 
greatest talents have been frequently   
misapplied and have produced evil       
proportionate to the extent of their    
powers4 ,both reason and revelation seem
 to assure us that such minds will be   
condemned to eternal death1 but while on
 earth1 these vicious instruments       
performed their part in the great mass  
of impressions1 by the disgust and      
abhorrence which they excited4 ,it seems
 highly probable that moral evil is     
absolutely necessary to the production  
of moral excellence4 ,a being with only 
good placed in view may be justly said  
to be impelled by a blind necessity4    
,the pursuit of good in this case can be
 no indication of virtuous propensities4
 ,it might be said1 perhaps1 that       
infinite ,wisdom cannot want such an    
indication as outward action1 but would 
foreknow with certainly whether the     
being would choose good or evil4 ,this  

might be a plausible argument against a 
state of trial1 but will not hold       
against the supposition that mind in    
this world is in a state of formation4  
,upon this idea1 the being that has seen
 moral evil and has felt disapprobation 
and disgust at it is essentially        
different from the being that has seen  
only good4 ,they are pieces of clay that
 have received distinct impressions3    
they must1 therefore1 necessarily be in 
different shapes2 or1 even if we allow  
them both to have the same lovely form  
of virtue1 it must be acknowledged that 
one has undergone the further process1  
necessary to give firmness and          
durability to its substance1 while the  
other is still exposed to injury1 and   
liable to be broken by every accidental 
impulse4 ,an ardent love and admiration 
of virtue seems to imply the existence  
of something opposite to it1 and it     
seems highly probable that the same     
beauty of form and substance1 the same  
perfection of character1 could not be   

generated without the impressions of    
disapprobation which arise from the     
spectacle of moral evil4  ,when the mind
 has been awakened into activity by the 
passions1 and the wants of the body1    
intellectual wants arise2 and the desire
 of knowledge1 and the impatience under 
ignorance1 form a new and important     
class of excitements4 ,every part of    
nature seems peculiarly calculated to   
furnish stimulants to mental exertion of
 this kind1 and to offer inexhaustible  
food for the most unremitted inquiry4   
,our mortal ,bard says of ,cleopatra3   
,custom cannot stale   ,her infinite    
variety4  ,the expression1 when applied 
to any one object1 may be considered as 
a poetical amplification1 but it is     
accurately true when applied to nature4 
,infinite variety seems1 indeed1        
eminently her characteristic feature4   
,the shades that are here and there     
blended in the picture give spirit1     
life1 and prominence to her exuberant   
beauties1 and those roughnesses and     

inequalities1 those inferior parts that 
support the superior1 though they       
sometimes offend the fastidious         
microscopic eye of short-sighted man1   
contribute to the symmetry1 grace1 and  
fair proportion of the whole4  ,the     
infinite variety of the forms and       
operations of nature1 besides tending   
immediately to awaken and improve the   
mind by the variety of impressions that 
it creates1 opens other fertile sources 
of improvement by offering so wide and  
extensive a field for investigation and 
research4 ,uniform1 undiversified       
perfection could not possess the same   
awakening powers4 ,when we endeavour    
then to contemplate the system of the   
universe1 when we think of the stars as 
the suns of other systems scattered     
throughout infinite space1 when we      
reflect that we do not probably see a   
millionth part of those bright orbs that
 are beaming light and life to          
unnumbered worlds1 when our minds1      
unable to grasp the immeasurable        

conception1 sink1 lost and confounded1  
in admiration at the mighty             
incomprehensible power of the ,creator1 
let us not querulously complain that all
 climates are not equally genial1 that  
perpetual spring does not reign         
throughout the year1 that ,god's        
creatures do not possess the same       
advantages1 that clouds and tempests    
sometimes darken the natural world and  
vice and misery the moral world1 and    
that all the works of the creation are  
not formed with equal perfection4 ,both 
reason and experience seem to indicate  
to us that the infinite variety of      
nature 7and variety cannot exist without
 inferior parts1 or apparent blemishes7 
is admirably adapted to further the high
 purpose of the creation and to produce 
the greatest possible quantity of good4 
,the obscurity that involves all        
metaphysical subjects appears to me1 in 
the same manner1 peculiarly calculated  
to add to that class of excitements     
which arise from the thirst of          

knowledge4 ,it is probable that man1    
while on earth1 will never be able to   
attain complete satisfaction on these   
subjects2 but this is by no means a     
reason that he should not engage in     
them4 ,the darkness that surrounds these
 interesting topics of human curiosity  
may be intended to furnish endless      
motives to intellectual activity and    
exertion4 ,the constant effort to dispel
 this darkness1 even if it fail of      
success1 invigorates and improves the   
thinking faculty4 ,if the subjects of   
human inquiry were once exhausted1 mind 
would probably stagnate2 but the        
infinitely diversified forms and        
operations of nature1 together with the 
endless food for speculation which      
metaphysical subjects offer1 prevent the
 possibility that such a period should  
ever arrive4  ,it is by no means one of 
the wisest sayings of ,solomon that     
'there is no new thing under the sun4'  
,on the contrary1 it is probable that   
were the present system to continue for 

millions of years1 continual additions  
would be making to the mass of human    
knowledge1 and yet1 perhaps1 it may be a
 matter of doubt whether what may be    
called the capacity of mind be in any   
marked and decided manner increasing4 ,a
 ,socrates1 a ,plato1 or an ,aristotle1 
however confessedly inferior in         
knowledge to the philosophers of the    
present day1 do not appear to have been 
much below them in intellectual         
capacity4 ,intellect rises from a speck1
 continues in vigour only for a certain 
period1 and will not perhaps admit while
 on earth of above a certain number of  
impressions4 ,these impressions may1    
indeed1 be infinitely modified1 and from
 these various modifications1 added     
probably to a difference in the         
susceptibility of the original germs1   
arise the endless diversity of character
 that we see in the world2 but reason   
and experience seem both to assure us   
that the capacity of individual minds   
does not increase in proportion to the  

mass of existing knowledge4 7,it is     
probable that no two grains of wheat are
 exactly alike4 ,soil undoubtedly makes 
the principal difference in the blades  
that spring up1 but probably not all4   
,it seems natural to suppose some sort  
of difference in the original germs that
 are afterwards awakened into thought1  
and the extraordinary difference of     
susceptibility in very young children   
seems to confirm the supposition47  ,the
 finest minds seem to be formed rather  
by efforts at original thinking1 by     
endeavours to form new combinations1 and
 to discover new truths1 than by        
passively receiving the impressions of  
other men's ideas4 ,could we suppose the
 period arrived1 when there was not     
further hope of future discoveries1 and 
the only employment of mind was to      
acquire pre-existing knowledge1 without 
any efforts to form new and original    
combinations1 though the mass of human  
knowledge were a thousand times greater 
than it is at present1 yet it is evident

 that one of the noblest stimulants to  
mental exertion would have ceased2 the  
finest feature of intellect would be    
lost2 everything allied to genius would 
be at an end2 and it appears to be      
impossible1 that1 under such            
circumstances1 any individuals could    
possess the same intellectual energies  
as were possessed by a ,locke1 a        
,newton1 or a ,shakespeare1 or even by a
 ,socrates1 a ,plato1 an ,aristotle or a
 ,homer4  ,if a revelation from heaven  
of which no person could feel the       
smallest doubt were to dispel the mists 
that now hang over metaphysical         
subjects1 were to explain the nature and
 structure of mind1 the affections and  
essences of all substances1 the mode in 
which the ,supreme ,being operates in   
the works of the creation1 and the whole
 plan and scheme of the ,universe1 such 
an accession of knowledge so obtained1  
instead of giving additional vigour and 
activity to the human mind1 would in all
 probability tend to repress future     

exertion and to damp the soaring wings  
of intellect4  ,for this reason ,i have 
never considered the doubts and         
difficulties that involve some parts of 
the sacred writings as any ardent       
against their divine original4 ,the     
,supreme ,being might1 undoubtedly1 have
 accompanied his revelations to man by  
such a succession of miracles1 and of   
such a nature1 as would have produced   
universal overpowering conviction and   
have put an end at once to all          
hesitation and discussion4 ,but weak as 
our reason is to comprehend the plans of
 the great ,creator1 it is yet          
sufficiently strong to see the most     
striking objections to such a           
revelation4 ,from the little we know of 
the structure of the human              
understanding1 we must be convinced that
 an overpowering conviction of this     
kind1 instead of tending to the         
improvement and moral amelioration of   
man1 would act like the touch of a      
torpedo on all intellectual exertion and

 would almost put an end to the         
existence of virtue4 ,if the scriptural 
denunciations of eternal punishment were
 brought home with the same certainty to
 every man's mind as that the night will
 follow the day1 this one vast and      
gloomy idea would take such full        
possession of the human faculties as to 
leave no room for any other conceptions1
 the external actions of men would be   
all nearly alike1 virtuous conduct would
 be no indication of virtuous           
disposition1 vice and virtue would be   
blended together in one common mass1 and
 though the all-seeing eye of ,god might
 distinguish them they must necessarily 
make the same impressions on man1 who   
can judge only from external            
appearances4 ,under such a dispensation1
 it is difficult to conceive how human  
beings could be formed to a detestation 
of moral evil1 and a love and admiration
 of ,god1 and of moral excellence4  ,our
 ideas of virtue and vice are not1      
perhaps1 very accurate and well-defined2

 but few1 ,i think1 would call an action
 really virtuous which was performed    
simply and solely from the dread of a   
very great punishment or the expectation
 of a very great reward4 ,the fear of   
the ,lord is very justly said to be the 
beginning of wisdom1 but the end of     
wisdom is the love of the ,lord and the 
admiration of moral good4 ,the          
denunciations of future punishment      
contained in the scriptures seem to be  
well calculated to arrest the progress  
of the vicious and awaken the attention 
of the careless1 but we see from        
repeated experience that they are not   
accompanied with evidence of such a     
nature as to overpower the human will   
and to make men lead virtuous lives with
 vicious dispositions1 merely from a    
dread of hereafter4 ,a genuine faith1 by
 which ,i mean a faith that shews itself
 in it the virtues of a truly ,christian
 life1 may generally be considered as an
 indication of an amiable and virtuous  
disposition1 operated upon more by love 

than by pure unmixed fear4  ,when we    
reflect on the temptations to which man 
must necessarily be exposed in this     
world1 from the structure of his frame1 
and the operation of the laws of nature1
 and the consequent moral certainty that
 many vessels will come out of this     
mighty creative furnace in wrong shapes1
 it is perfectly impossible to conceive 
that any of these creatures of ,god's   
hand can be condemned to eternal        
suffering4 ,could we once admit such an 
idea1 it our natural conceptions of     
goodness and justice would be completely
 overthrown1 and we could no longer look
 up to ,god as a merciful and righteous 
,being4 ,but the doctrine of life and   
,mortality which was brought to light by
 the gospel1 the doctrine that the end  
of righteousness is everlasting life1   
but that the wages of sin are death1 is 
in every respect just and merciful1 and 
worthy of the great ,creator4 ,nothing  
can appear more consonant to our reason 
than that those beings which come out of

 the creative process of the world in   
lovely and beautiful forms should be    
crowned with immortality1 while those   
which come out misshapen1 those whose   
minds are not suited to a purer and     
happier state of existence1 should      
perish and be condemned to mix again    
with their original clay4 ,eternal      
condemnation of this kind may be        
considered as a species of eternal      
punishment1 and it is not wonderful that
 it should be represented1 sometimes1   
under images of suffering4 ,but life and
 death1 salvation and destruction1 are  
more frequently opposed to each other in
 the ,new ,testament than happiness and 
misery4 ,the ,supreme ,being would      
appear to us in a very different view if
 we were to consider him as pursuing the
 creatures that had offended him with   
eternal hate and torture1 instead of    
merely condemning to their original     
insensibility those beings that1 by the 
operation of general laws1 had not been 
formed with qualities suited to a purer 

state of happiness4  ,life is1 generally
 speaking1 a blessing independent of a  
future state4 ,it is a gift which the   
vicious would not always be ready to    
throw away1 even if they had no fear of 
death4 ,the partial pain1 therefore1    
that is inflicted by the supreme        
,creator1 while he is forming numberless
 beings to a capacity of the highest    
enjoyments1 is but as the dust of the   
balance in comparison of the happiness  
that is communicated1 and we have every 
reason to think that there is no more   
evil in the world than what is          
absolutely necessary as one of the      
ingredients in the mighty process4  ,the
 striking necessity of general laws for 
the formation of intellect will not in  
any respect be contradicted by one or   
two exceptions1 and these evidently not 
intended for partial purposes1 but      
calculated to operate upon a great part 
of mankind1 and through many ages4 ,upon
 the idea that ,i have given of the     
formation of mind1 the infringement of  

the general law of nature1 by a divine  
revelation1 will appear in the light of 
the immediate hand of ,god mixing new   
ingredients in the mighty mass1 suited  
to the particular state of the process1 
and calculated to give rise to a new and
 powerful train of impressions1 tending 
to purify1 exalt1 and improve the human 
mind4 ,the miracles that accompanied    
these revelations when they had once    
excited the attention of mankind1 and   
rendered it a matter of most interesting
 discussion1 whether the doctrine was   
from ,god or man1 had performed their   
part1 had answered the purpose of the   
,creator1 and these communications of   
the divine will were afterwards left to 
make their way by their own intrinsic   
excellence2 and1 by operating as moral  
motives1 gradually to influence and     
improve1 and not to overpower and       
stagnate the faculties of man4  ,it     
would be1 undoubtedly1 presumptuous to  
say that the ,supreme ,being could not  
possibly have effected his purpose in   

any other way than that which he has    
chosen1 but as the revelation of the    
divine will which we possess is attended
 with some doubts and difficulties1 and 
as our reason points out to us the      
strongest objections to a revelation    
which would force immediate1 implicit1  
universal belief1 we have surely just   
cause to think that these doubts and    
difficulties are no argument against the
 divine origin of the scriptures1 and   
that the species of evidence which they 
possess is best suited to the           
improvement of the human faculties and  
the moral amelioration of mankind4  ,the
 idea that the impressions and          
excitements of this world are the       
instruments with which the ,supreme     
,being forms matter into mind1 and that 
the necessity of constant exertion to   
avoid evil and to pursue good is the    
principal spring of these impressions   
and excitements1 seems to smooth many of
 the difficulties that occur in a       
contemplation of human life1 and appears

 to me to give a satisfactory reason for
 the existence of natural and moral     
evil1 and1 consequently1 for that part  
of both1 and it certainly is not a very 
small part1 which arises from the       
principle of population4 ,but1 though1  
upon this supposition1 it seems highly  
improbable that evil should ever be     
removed from the world2 yet it is       
evident that this impression would not  
answer the apparent purpose of the      
,creator2 it would not act so powerfully
 as an excitement to exertion1 if the   
quantity of it did not diminish or      
increase with the activity or the       
indolence of man4 ,the continual        
variations in the weight and in the     
distribution of this pressure keep alive
 a constant expectation of throwing it  
off4    ,hope springs eternal in the    
,human breast1   ,man never is1 but     
always to be blest4  ,evil exists in the
 world not to create despair but        
activity4 ,we are not patiently to      
submit to it1 but to exert ourselves to 

avoid it4 ,it is not only the interest  
but the duty of every individual to use 
his utmost efforts to remove evil from  
himself and from as large a circle as he
 can influence1 and the more he         
exercises himself in this duty1 the more
 wisely he directs his efforts1 and the 
more successful these efforts are2 the  
more he will probably improve and exalt 
his own mind1 and the more completely   
does he appear to fulfil the will of his
 ,creator4