Till*'. WEA1.TII OF NATIONS.

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the opulent and civilized. The invention of fire-arms, an in-vention which at first sight appeavs to be so pernicious, iscertainly favourable both to the permanency and to the ex-tension of civilization.

PART II.

Of the Ed'penst of Justice.

The second duty of the sovereign, that of protecting,as faras possible, every member of the society, from the injusti e oroppression of every other member of it, or the duty of esta-blishing an exact administration of justice, requires two verydifferent degrees of expense in the different periods of society.

Among nations of hunters, as there is scarce any property,or at least none that exceeds the value of two or three days’labour; so there is seldom any established magistrate, or anyregular administration of justice. Men who have no propertycan injure one another only in their persons or reputations.But when one man kills, wounds, beats, or defames another,though lie to whom the injury is done suffers, he who does itreceives no benefit. It is otherwise with the injuries to pro-perty. The benefit of the person who does the injury is oftenequal to the loss of him who suffers it. Envy , malice, or re-sentment, are the only passions which can prompt one majjto injure another in his person or reputation. But the greaterpart of men are not very frequently under the influence ofthose passions; and the very worst men are so only occa-sionally. As their gratification too, how agreeable soever itmay be to certain characters, is not attended with any realor .permanent advantage, it is in the greater part of mencommonly restrained by prudential considerations. Menmay live together in society with some tolerable degree ofsecurity, though there is no civil magistrate to protect themfrom the injustice of those passions. But avarice and ambi-tion in the rich, in the poor the hatred of labour and the loveof present ease and enjoyment, are the passions which promptto invade property, passions much more steady in their ope-ration, and much more universal in their influence. Whereverthere is great property, there is great inequality. For one veryrich man, there must be at least five hundred poor, and theaffluence of the tew supposes the indigence of the many. Theaffluence of the rich excites the indignution of the poor, whoarc often both driven by want, and prompted by envy, to in-Vade his possessions. It is only under the shelter of the civil

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