you advise me: for they observing that the world would not willingly suit their lives to the rules that Christ has given, have fitted his doctrine, as if it had been a leaden rule to their lives;"82 that so, some way or other, they might agree with one another. But I see no other effect of this compliance, except it be that men become more secure in their wickedness by it. And this is all the success that I can have in a court; for I must always differ from the rest, and then I will signify nothing; or if I agree with them, then I will only help forward their madness. I do not comprehend what you mean by your casting about, or by the bending and handling things so dexterously, that if they go not well, they may go as little ill as may be: for in courts they will not bear with a man's holding his peace, or conniving at them. A man must bare-facedly approve of the worst councils, and consent to the blackest designs; so that one would pass for a spy, or possibly for a traitor, that did but coldly approve of such wicked practices. And when a man is engaged in such a society, he will be so far from being able to mend matters by his casting about, as you call it, that he will find

82 See, on this subject, the very admirable remarks of Grotius, De Jure Belli et Pacis, II. i. 11. Pascal, with that unrivalled power of irony which distinguishes him, has entered into minute details, and proved by numerous quotations, the truth at which Sir Thomas More only hints. See his "Lettres Provinciales," particularly the seventh, in which he discusses the "curious question" proposed by Caramuel,-" savoirs s'il est permis aux jesuites de tuer les jansenistes!" t. I. p. 151. 83 Another important maxim of state.

no occasions of doing any good; the ill company will sooner corrupt him, than be the better for him; or if, notwithstanding all their ill company, he remains still entire and innocent, yet their follies and knavery will be imputed to him; and by mixing councils with them, he must bear his share of all the blame that belongs wholly to others.

6

It was no ill simile, by which Plato set forth the unreasonableness of a philosopher's meddling with government. If one,' says he, shall see a great company run out into the rain every day, and delight to be wet in it; and if he knows that it will be to no purpose for him to go and persuade them to come into their houses, and avoid the rain; so that all that can be expected from his going to speak to them will be, that he shall be wet with them; when it is so, he does best to keep within doors, and preserve himself, since he cannot prevail enough to correct other people's folly.

66

Though, to speak plainly what is my heart, I must freely own to you, that as long as there is any property, and while money is the standard of all other things, I cannot think that a nation can be governed either justly or happily. Not justly, because the best things will fall to the share of the worst men; nor happily, because all things will be divided among a few, (and even these are not in all respects happy,) the rest being left to be absolutely miserable.84 Therefore, when I reflect

34 But to annihilate property, because it is unequally divided, would be like cutting off one's legs to cure the gout. I am surprised, after the admirable exposé of Aristotle, that any

on the wise and good constitutions of the Utopians, among whom all things are so well governed, and with so few laws; and among whom as virtue hath its due reward, yet there is such an equality that every man lives in plenty: and when I compare with them so many other nations that are still making new laws, and yet can never bring their constitution to a right regulation, among whom though every one has his property, yet all the laws that they can invent cannot prevail so far, that men can either obtain or preserve it, or be certainly able to distinguish what is their own, from what is another man's, (of which the many law-suits that every day break out, and depend without any end, give too plain a demonstration ;)85 when, I say, I balance all these things in my thoughts, I grow more favourable to Plato, and do not wonder that he resolved, not to make any laws for such as would not submit to a community of all things. For so wise a man as he was, could not but foresee, that the setting all upon the level was the only way to make a nation happy, which cannot be obtained as long as there is property: for

man, least of all Sir Thomas More, should have ventured to advocate it. Besides being impossible, which, one might think, would be sufficient to satisfy most persons, Aristotle completely proves that, even if it could be realized, no advantage, but the contrary would arise from it. Property is evidently intended by Providence to be one great instrument of civilization.

85 We must here reply in the hackneyed, but beautiful lines of Shakespear, that we are wise, perhaps, in preferring rather

"To bear the ills we have,

Than fly to others that we know not of."

when every man draws to himself all that he can compass, by one title or another, it must needs follow, that how plentiful soever a nation may be, yet a few dividing the wealth of it among themselves,86 the rest must fall under poverty. So that there will be two sorts of people among them, that deserve that their fortunes should be interchanged: the former being useless, but wicked and ravenous; and the latter, who by their constant industry serve the public more than themselves, being sincere and modest men. From whence I am persuaded, that till property is taken away, there can be no equitable or just distribution made of things, nor can the world be happily governed; for as long as that is maintained, the greatest and the far best part of mankind will be still oppressed with a load of cares and anxieties. I confess, without the taking of it quite away, those pressures that lie on a great part of mankind, may be made lighter, but they can never be quite removed. For if laws were made, determining at how great an extent in soil, and at how much money every man must stop,87 and

36 Here is the evil, in the bad division, not in the existence of property. But the remedy for this, as far as remedy is practicable, or perhaps, in our present state, desirable, is in the hands of every legislature. Abolish the law of primogeniture, with everything like entail, or necessary succession, and things will soon find the level ordained by nature.

87 All laws of this description are useless, because they may be so easily evaded. Sir Thomas had the Spartan commonwealth before him, where regulations of this kind had a fairer trial than they will be likely ever to have again; and he saw how inefficient they were to restrain luxury and the lust of wealth.

limiting the prince that he may not grow too great, and restraining the people that they may not become too insolent, and that none might factiously aspire to public employments; and that they might neither be sold nor made burthensome by a great expense, since otherwise those that serve in them, will be tempted to reimburse themselves by cheats and violence, and it will become necessary to find out rich men for undergoing those employments for which wise men ought rather to be sought out;88 these laws, I say, may have such effects, as good diet and care may have on a sick man, whose recovery is desperate-they may allay and mitigate the disease, but it can never be quite healed, nor the body politic be brought again to a good habit as long as property remains. And it will fall out, as in a complication of diseases, that by applying a remedy to one sore, you will provoke another; and that which removes the one ill symptom produces others, while the strengthening of one part of the body weakens the rest."

"On the contrary," answered I, "it seems to me that men cannot live conveniently, where all things are common. How can there be any plenty, where every man will excuse himself from labour ?89

88 He would have no property qualification for Members of Parliament. Character and abilities were, in his opinion, a better guarantee for good conduct, than the possession of any given amount of money, houses, or lands. His views are once more brought forward, and not without a probability that they may ere long be acted on.

89 He has here put a question which has never to this day been satisfactorily answered.