of an uniform demand. A power of withholding an article of positive necessity must doubtless give the party which supplies it a superiority in the exchange; while in the process of procuring it, he is unembarrassed by those uncertainties, from which the disposal of many artificial productions is never free. Hence the operations of agriculture do not stand in need of speculative caution, and the calculation of remote contingencies, but carry with them an ensurance of a sale, with an advantage in prescribing the terms. The produce of manufactures, and the far-fetched luxuries which trade procures, depend so much on the patronage of fashion and prevailing opinion, that their value cannot be with certainty predicted beyond the present day. Hence, in some instances, the enterprises of the merchant are timid and feeble; in others, a bold and hazardous speculation either acquires exorbitant wealth, or sinks into irretrievable ruin. The internal confidence, which an agricultural possesses above a mere commercial state, resembles those mental resources which distinguish the characters of individuals; which elevate the wise and virtuous above the fickle and the vain. The former, sustained at a constant level, and preserving a steady course, is superior to the caprice of fortune: its welfare is independent of external influence, or the

d Smith's Wealth of Nations.

fluctuation of human affairs. The latter is no sooner stripped of its gay, delusive splendour, which a gale may dissipate, or the failure of an imaginary credit may subvert, than it declines as rapidly as it rose. The channels of its wealth are diverted, and whole ages of diligence cannot recall the stream. Thus fell the fame and opulence of ancient Phoenicia. Thus have we seen, the casual discovery of a navigator at once drain Venice of her riches and importance: and the celebrated cities of the Hanseatic league now present a melancholy contrast to their former prosperity.

f

Even in the summit of their glory, in the midst of their high career, that secret poison which corrodes the vitals of commercial states may be discerned. An excessive influx of wealth, and a desertion of slow and laborious occupations for the alluring prospect of sudden gain, have degraded Spain in the scale of power. Her vigour is overwhelmed by a torrent of ill-gotten treasures, and she exhibits the disgusting picture of a constitution enfeebled and undermined by the excesses of a pampered appetite. That even tenor of national prosperity, which alone produces energy and firmness, demands a more permanent support: it must result from a spirit of industry,

e Mitford's History of Greece.
f Smith's Wealth of Nations.

always vigorous, because always employed; of industry, which seeks not by its present exertions to obviate the necessity of future labour, but relies on its own efforts for the supply of every want, and for a resource under every emergency.

But financial resources constitute a part only of national strength. The character and disposition of individuals become important objects of our consideration, as they tend to confirm the stability of government, and bind the social affections in closer union. How these are affected by the influence of physical causes has long since been established, and forcibly illustrated in the spirit of patriotism, which agriculture is observed to inspire. In order to attract and fix our regard, it is necessary that the same objects should be continually proposed to our senses, that the contemplation of them should occupy the greatest portion of our time, and their presence appear connected with the scenes of our habitual employments and domestic concerns. Thus the comfortless hovel, and even the walls of a dungeon have been known to possess their charms, and to steal on the affections of their inhabitants. But when the scene around us bears the impression of our own labour, and pours forth its blessings in return; when we view it as the offspring of our care, as well as the

Falconer on Physical Causes.

source of our prosperity, a kind of parental tenderness mingles with our attachment, and we cannot without a struggle desert what seems to demand our protection, and repays our toil. Accordingly, it appears from history, that the strongest instances of local attachment have ever been displayed in those nations, among which agriculture has been most generally practised, and most deservedly honoured. The Messenians, whose district alone of all the Peloponnesus was cultivated by citizens", and not by slaves, possessed none of that spirit of migration, which pervaded the rest of Greece. When forcibly expelled their native soil, they still cherished its remembrance with singular regret; and, though inured by time to their exile, eagerly accepted k the offer of the Theban general to restore them to their country.

And to the wisdom of Providence we must attribute, that this feeling does not take a powerful hold, till its propensity can be indulged without inconvenience-till the land, which engages our affection, is able also to provide us with the necessaries and comforts of life. The northern invaders of Europe quitted their homes without reluctance, in quest of plunder and subsistence; but no sooner had they turned their attention to

h Travels of Anacharsis.

i Fifteen years.

* Pausan. lib. iv. cap. 16. Anacharsis.

the culture of those plains, which had been the scene of their former ravages, than they felt a growing attachment to the spot; they acknowledged Italy as their country; and, when succeeding hordes approached, they took up arms in its defence.

The spirit of the commercial adventurer', when compared with that of the husbandman, is ungenerous and selfish. His capital exists in no visible, permanent form-no property fixed and centred in the bosom of his country. There he has few ties to rivet his affections; he quits it on the slightest disgust, and his treasures remove with him.

Meanwhile the lesser effects on disposition and manners, which proceed from an agricultural life, are by no means to be despised. Whatever is of extensive influence, though inconsiderable if noticed in a solitary instance, when viewed in the aggregate, assumes a more important complexion, and imparts a shade at least to the general mass. In calculations of political economy, the smallest saving or minutest improvement is considered of consequence; and surely, the ingredients of moral character, whose texture is often of the most delicate nature, and whose value, even in the least particular, no cold speculation can determine, merit equal attention and respect.

'Smith's Wealth of Nations.