THE WEALTH OF NATIONS.

747

the common people have been almost always remarkablyregular and orderly; generally much more so than in theestablished church. The morals of those little sects, indeed,have frequently been rather disagreeably rigorous and un-social.

There are two very easy and effectual remedies, however,by whose joint operation the state might, without violence,correct whatever was unsocial or disagreeably rigorous inthe morals of all the little sects into which the country wasdivided.

The first of those remedies is the study of science and phi-losophy, which the state might render almost universal amongall people of middling or more than middling rank and for-tune; not by giving salaries to teachers in order to makethem negligent and idle, but by instituting some sort of pro-bation, even in the higher and more difficult sciences, to beundergone by every person before he was permitted to exer-cise any liberal profession, or before he could be received asa candidate for any honourable office of trust or profit. Ifthe state imposed upon this order of men the necessity oflearning, it would have no occasion to give itself any troubleabout providing them with proper teachers. They wouldsoon find better teachers for themselves than any whom thestate could provide for them. Science is the great antidoteto the poison of enthusiasm and superstition; and where allthe superior ranks of people were secured from it, the inferiorranks could not be much exposed to it.

The second of those remedies is the frequency and gaietyof public diversions. The state, by encouraging, that is bygiving entire liberty to all those who for their own interestwould attempt, without scandal or indecency, to amuse anddivert the people, by painting, poetry, music, dancing; by•ill sorts of dramatic representations and exhibitions ; wouldeasily dissipate, in the greater part of them, that melancholyand gloomy humour which is almost always the nurse of po-pular superstition and enthusiasm. Public diversions havea lways been the objects of dread and hatred, to all the fana-tical promoters of those popular frenzies. The gaiety andgood humour which those diversions inspire were altogether'^consistent with that temper of mind which was fittest fortheir purpose, or which they could best work upon. Dra-matic representations, besides, frequently exposing their ar-tdices to public ridicule, and sometimes even to public exe-

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