738 THE NATURE AND CAUSES OF

which reside altogether in the mind, must necessarily dependmore upon the healthful or unhealthful, the mutilated or en-tire state of the mind, than upon that of the body. Eventhough the martial spirit of the people were of no use towardsthe defence of the society, yet to prevent that sort of mentalmutilation, deformity, and wretchedness, which cowardicenecessarily involves in it, from spreading themselves throughthe great body of the people, would still deserve the mostserious attention of government; in the same manner as itwould deserve its most serious attention to prevent a lepresyor any other loathsome and offensive disease, though neithermortal nor dangerous, from spreading itself among them ;though, perhaps, no other public good might result from suchattention besides the prevention of so great a public evil.

The same thing may be said of the gross ignorance andstupidity which, in a civilized society, seem so frequentlyto benumb the understandings of all the inferior ranks ofpeople. A man without the proper use of the intellectual fa-culties of a man, is, if possible, more contemptible than even acoward, and seems to be mutilated and deformed in a stillmore essential part of the character of human nature. Thoughthe state was to derive no advantage from the instruction ofthe inferior ranks of people, it would still deserve its atten-tion that they should not be altogether uninstructed. Thestate, however, derives no inconsiderable advantage from theirinstruction. The more they arc instructed, the less liable theyare to the delusions ot enthusiasm and superstition, which,among ignorant nations, frequently occasion the most dread-ful disorders. An instructed and intelligent people besides,are always more decent and orderly than an ignorant andstupid one. They feel themselves, each individually, morerespectable, and more likely to obtain the respect of theirlawful superiors, and they are therefore more disposed to re-spect those superiors. They are more disposed to examine,and more capable of seeing through, the interested complaintsof faction and sedition, and they are upon that account, lessapt to be misled into any wanton or unnecessary oppositionto the measures of government. In free countries, where thesafety of government depends very much upon the favourablejudgment which the people may form of its conduct, it mustsurely be of the highest importance that they should not bedisposed to judge rashly or capriciously concerning it.