PHI LOS 0 P H Y . - Classic Works of Apologetics Online

Institution of Properly. .9
this sort of property obtain in a small degree, the
inhabitants, for want of a more secure and regular
establishment of it, are driven ofttimes by the scarcity
of provisions to devour one another.
II. It preserves the produce of the earth to maturity.
.
We may judge what would be the eJfects of a
t:ommunitj" of right to the productions of the earth,
from the trifling specimens, which we see of it at
present.
A cherry-tree in a hedge-row, nuts in a
wood, the grass of an unstinted pasture, are seldom
~ of much advantage to any boa i, because people do
not wait for the proper season of reaping them.
Corn, if ~ny were sown, would never ripen; lambs
and calves would never grow up to sheep and cows,
because the first person that met them would reflect,
that he had better take them as they are, than leave
them for anothel".
III. It pre'lents contests.
War and waste, tumult and confusion, mllst be
unavoidable and eternal, where there is not . enough
for all, and where there are no rules to .adjUst the
division.
IV. It improves the conveniency of living.
This it does two ways. It enables mankind to
divide themselves into distinct profes~ions; which is
impossible, unless a man can exchange the productions
of his own art for whtlt he wallts from others;
and exchange implies property. ~uch of the ad.
vantages of civilized over savage life depends upon
this. \Vhen a man is from necessity his own tailor,
tentmaker, carpenter, cook, huntsman~ and fisherman,
it is not probable that he will be expert at any
of his callings. Hence, the rude habitations, fUl1'i.
ture, clothing, and implements of savages; and the
tedio.us length of time which all their operations
l'equlre.
It likewise encourages those arts, by which the
C\('.Commodations of human life are supplied, by ape