FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   684   685   686   687   688   689   690   691   692   693   694   695   696   697   698   699   700   701   702   703   704   705   706   707   708  
709   710   711   712   713   714   715   716   717   718   719   720   721   722   723   724   725   726   727   728   729   730   731   732   733   >>   >|  
ning of the Year. His Wars at several Times till the last Peace have held about 20 Years; and if 40000 yearly lost, or a fifth Part of his Armies, are to be multiplied by 20, he cannot have lost less than 800000 of his old Subjects, all able-body'd Men; a greater Number than the new Subjects he had acquired. But this Loss is not all: Providence seems to have equally divided the whole Mass of Mankind into different Sexes, that every Woman may have her Husband, and that both may equally contribute to the Continuance of the Species. It follows then, that for all the Men that have been lost, as many Women must have lived single, and it were but Charity to believe they have not done all the Service they were capable of doing in their Generation. In so long a Course of Years great part of them must have died, and all the rest must go off at last without leaving any Representatives behind. By this Account he must have lost not only 800000 Subjects, but double that Number, and all the Increase that was reasonably to be expected from it. It is said in the last War there was a Famine in his Kingdom, which swept away two Millions of his People. This is hardly credible: If the loss was only of one fifth Part of that Sum, it was very great. But 'tis no wonder there should be Famine, where so much of the People's Substance is taken away for the King's Use, that they have not sufficient left to provide against Accidents: where so many of the Men are taken from the Plough to serve the King in his Wars, and a great part of the Tillage is left to the weaker Hands of so many Women and Children. Whatever was the Loss, it must undoubtedly be placed to the Account of his Ambition. And so must also the Destruction or Banishment of 3 or 400000 of his reformed Subjects; he could have no other Reasons for valuing those Lives so very cheap, but only to recommend himself to the Bigotry of the _Spanish_ Nation. How should there be Industry in a Country where all Property is precarious? What Subject will sow his Land that his Prince may reap the whole Harvest? Parsimony and Frugality must be Strangers to such a People; for will any Man save to-day what he has Reason to fear will be taken from him to-morrow? And where is the Encouragement for marrying? Will any Man think of raising Children, without any Assurance of Cloathing for their Backs, or so much as Food for their
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   684   685   686   687   688   689   690   691   692   693   694   695   696   697   698   699   700   701   702   703   704   705   706   707   708  
709   710   711   712   713   714   715   716   717   718   719   720   721   722   723   724   725   726   727   728   729   730   731   732   733   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

Subjects

 

People

 

Famine

 

Children

 

equally

 

Account

 
Number
 

800000

 
Destruction
 

Banishment


400000

 
reformed
 
Reasons
 
valuing
 

Ambition

 
undoubtedly
 

Plough

 
Accidents
 

provide

 

Tillage


Whatever
 

sufficient

 

Substance

 

weaker

 

Spanish

 

Reason

 

morrow

 

Encouragement

 
Cloathing
 

Assurance


raising

 

marrying

 

Strangers

 

Frugality

 

Industry

 

Country

 

Property

 

Nation

 
Bigotry
 
precarious

Harvest
 

Parsimony

 
Prince
 
Subject
 

recommend

 
Charity
 

greater

 

single

 

Generation

 
Service