In modern times, again, and in particular communities, marriage and offspring, and the consequent desire of family aggrandizement, may often succeed in imposing on those, to whom the welfare of others is naturally of little moment, the necessity of providing for that welfare, and therefore may often generate and, keep up a much stronger attention to the cares of futurity, than could be excited by a mere regard to self interest.But, it is to be observed, that the mode in which the passions prompting to marriage will operate, must depend, on the feelings, and consequently, manners, pervading the society.When the general feelings and morals become corrupt, marriage will never be sought after, by men in easy circumstances, for the mere pleasures of sense.Socrates remarks this to his son, when pointing out the obligations he owed him for giving him being (36) and every pure voluptuary is ready to curse, with Eloisa, "all human ties."The indulgences to which these passions prompt, when the feelings become purely selfish, will, indeed, I suspect, be found to be the great weakeners of this very principle.Out of the heart are the issues of life, and the evils to which they give rise are the worst of any, because they contaminate the sources of all healthy energy and activity, at the very fountain head.
It is to them, that Horace, in my opinion, truly traces, the load of mischief which in his time pressed on Rome, and which finally overwhelmed her;"Faecunda culpae secula, nuptias Primum inquinavere, et genus et domos:
Hoc fonte derivata clades Inque patres populumque fluxit."Even on the supposition of legitimate offspring, it is only in countries where the general sentiment applauds that course of action, that the man actuated by mere self interest, can be supposed to pride himself on rearing up and providing for a family, in preference to enjoying, without restraint, all the pleasures be may be able to procure.Cool, calculating, self interest, would thus speak."Who knoweth whether his son shall be a wise man or a fool? Yet shall he have rule over all his labor, wherein he hath labored, and wherein he hath showed himself wise under the sun.This is also vanity.
Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing, better than that a man should rejoice in his own works: for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after hin: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor that he taketh under the sun, all the days of his life, which God giveth him, for it is his portion." We find accordingly that in states where mere selfish enjoyment is the chief principle of action, that the interests of posterity are neglected.
Thus, among the Roman writers, the heir is always represented in an invidious light, and to save for him is represented as a folly.The writings of Horace, and the contemporary poets, throughout, exemplify the prevalence of this feeling.
"Parcus ob haeridis curam --
Assidet insano -- "
For a frightful picture of causes and effects, in this particular, the epigram of Martial to Titullus beginning, "Rape, congere, aufer, etc."might be quoted.But, it is time to conclude a digression, on which perhaps I have somewhat prematurely entered.
We shall then assume that there are motives, as above enumerated, derived from the principles of human nature, acting on all men, and exciting them to expend what they presently possess in providing for future wants, as there are others, derived from the same source, tempting them to lay it out in the gratification of their immediate wants.The strength of the effective desire of accumulation, in any man or society of men, or this desire manifested in action, is determined by the preponderance of the one class of motives, over the other.It is manifested, and may be measured, by the willingness of the individual, or individuals, to lay out a certain amount to-day, in order to produce the double of that amount at a period more or less remote, that is, at the expiration of one, two, three, etc.
years.
CHAPTER VII.OF SOME OF THE PHENOMENA ARISING FROM THE DIFFERENT DEGREES OFSTRENGTH OF THE EFFECTIVE DESIRE OF ACCUMULATION IN DIFFERENT SOCIETIES.
The effective desire of accumulation is of different degrees of strength, not only in different societies, as compared with each other, but also in the several individuals composing the same society as compared together.
Disregarding, however, for the present, the effects produced on the formation of instruments, from diversities in the strength of this principle among individuals in the same society, we are, in this chapter, to endeavor to trace solely some of those resulting from the operation of causes varying its strength in different societies.As has been already stated, there are three other causes operating in the formation of instruments; the quantity and quality of the materials owned by any particular society; the progress which the inventive faculty has made in it; and the rate of the wages paid the laborer.The first of these depending on the original constitution of the whole globe, and its different regions, and the correspondence between these and the corporeal system of man, is determined by circumstances, the consideration of which would be foreign to the present inquiry.With regard to our subject it is to be taken as an important but ultimate fact.
The causes on which the progress of the inventive faculty seems chiefly to depend, will form the subject of a subsequent chapter.At present, the extent of that progress is to be received simply as a circumstance of admitted importance.
