THE WEALTH OF NATIONS.

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Of the great and extensive interests of his country he is alto-gether incapable of judging; and unless very particular painshave been taken to render him otherwise, he is equally inca-pable of defending his country in war. The uniformity ofhis stationary life naturally corrupts the courage of his mind,and makes him regard with abhorrence the irregular, uncer-tain, and adventurous life of a soldier. It corrupts even theactivity of his body ; and renders him incapable of exertinghis strength with vigour and perseverance, in any other em-ployment than that to which he has been bred. His dexte-rity at his own particular trade seems, in this manner, to beacquired at the expense of his intellectual, social, and martialvirtues. But in every improved and civilized society this isthe state into which the labouring poor, that is, the greatbody of the people, must necessarily fall, unless governmenttakes some pains to prevent it.

It is otherwise in the barbarous societies, as they are com-monly called, of hunters, of shepherds, and even of husband-men in that rude state of husbandry which precedes the im-provement of manufactures, and the extension of foreigncommerce. In such societies the varied occupations ofevery man oblige every man to exert his capacity, and to in-vent expedients for removing difficulties which are continu-ally occurring. Invention is kept alive, and the mind is notsuffered to fall into that drowsy stupidity, which, in a civi-lized society, seems to benumb the understanding of almostall the inferior ranks of people. In those barbarous societies,as they are called, every man, it has already been observed,is a warrior. Every man too is in some measure a states-man, and can form a tolerable judgment concerning the in-terest of the society, and the conduct of those who govern it.How far their chiefs arc good judges in peace, or good lead-ers in wav, is obvious to the observation of almost everysingle man among them. In such a society, indeed, no mancan well acquire that improved and refined understanding,which a few men sometimes possess in a more civilized state.Though in a rude society there is a good deal of variety inthe occupations of every individual, there is not a great dealin those of the whole society. Every man does, or is capableof doing, almost every tiling- which any other man does, or iscapable of doing. Every man has a considerable degree ofknowledge, ingenuity, and invention; but scarce any manhas a great degree. The degree, however, winch is com-