THE WEALTH OK NATIONS.

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hour; and that of the noblest and most useful, produces no-thing which could afterward purchase or procure an equalquantity of labour. Like the declamation of the actor, theharangue of the orator, or the tune of the musician, the workof all of them perishes in the very instant of its production.

Both productive and unproductive labourers, and thosewho do not labour at all, are all equally maintained by theannual produce of the land and labour of the country. Thisproduce, how great soever, can never be infinite, but musthave certain limits. According, therefore, as a smaller orgreater proportion of it is in any one year employed in main-taining unproductive hands, the more in the one case and theless in the other will remain for the productive, and the nextyear’s produce will be greater or smaller accordingly; thewhole annual produce, if we except the spontaneous produc-tions of the earth, being the effect of productive labour.

Though the whole annual produce of the land and labourof every country, is, no doubt, ultimately destined for sup-plying the consumption of its inhabitants, and for procuringa revenue to them; yet when it first comes either from theground, or from the hands of the productive labourers, it na-turally divides itself into two parts. One of them, and fre-quently the largest is, in the first place, destined for replacinga capital, or for renewing the provisions, materials, andfinished work, which had been withdrawn from a capital; theother for constituting a revenue either to the owner of thiscapital, as the profit of his stock, or to some other person, asthe rent of his land. Thus, of the produce of land, one partreplaces the capital of the farmer; the other pays his profitand the rent of the landlord ; and thus constitutes a revenueboth to the owner ol this capital, as the profits of his stock;and to some other person, as the rent of his land. Of theproduce of a great manufactory, in the same manner, one partand that always the largest, replaces the capital of the un-dertaker of the work; the other pays his profit, and thus con-stitutes a revenue to the owner of this capital.

That part of the annual produce of the land and labour ofany country which replaces a capital, never is immediatelyemployed to maintain any but productive hands. It pays thewages of productive labour only. That which is immediatelydestined for constituting a revenue either as profit or as rent,may maintain indifferently either productive or unproductivehands.

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