the loss of any right
or of any property, but it would be the destruction of the device by
which the usurers appropriate to themselves the productions of
others.

Freed from this debt habit of mind, and the independent, self-reliant
disposition replaced, this anomalous condition would disappear; the
producer would receive again his full earnings and the great army of
parasites, that has grown up, and that feed so richly on the labors of
others, would be compelled to turn producers or perish.

CHAPTER XXIII.

THE BORROWER IS SERVANT TO THE LENDER.

Solomon's declaration that, "The borrower is servant to the lender,"
was spoken without reference to usury. Loaning upon increase was not
lawful in his day, and was condemned by him in his proverb, "He that
by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall gather it
for him that will have pity on the poor."

A loan binds the borrower to the lender though he pay no increase.
There comes a sense of subserviency and subordination that can not be
thrown off.

He becomes steward of another's goods, and frees the owner of their
care, but they remain subject to the owner's order. The preservation
of goods hinder any great accumulation by any single producer, but if
he can be freed from its care, then all his energies can be used to
continue production. Many find it as hard to keep property as it is to
earn it.

The hunter or fisherman takes with him his lackey to carry his game.
If game is plentiful and the hunter successful, he would, otherwise,
soon be compelled to discontinue his hunt from the burden of fish and
game. But, freed from that care and burden, he can continue his hunt
indefinitely. So, the borrower, even when he pays no interest, as a
lackey, without wages, cares for the earnings of the lender, leaving
him free to continue his earning unhindered.

A valet cares for the clothes of his master until he calls for them.
The borrower, without interest, as a valet, without pay, cares for the
goods of the lender until he needs them.

The independent spirit of the borrower is not immediately lost. The
servile spirit and conscious sense of bondage may not be felt at once.
Likely the first sensation on receiving a loan is an elation bordering
on ecstasy.

The poor man who is offered a loan is usually greatly delighted. There
is hope of relief from the limitations and restraints that have been
as a wall round about him. The loan seems to throw down