Formation of hamlets, towns, and nations. under the same roof, they are compelled to separate, in search of new habitations, from which are successively formed hamlets, towns, and nations.* This separation of families was not the effect of that repul sive feeling which impelled men to hate, and avoid each other. The extravagance of some pretended philosophers,† has, in vain, endeavoured to trace this * Eadem natura vi rationis hominem conciliat homini, et ad orationis et ad vita societatem; ingeneratque in primis præcipuum quemdem amorem in cos qui procreati sunt; impellitque ut hominum cœtus celebrari inter se, et a se obiri velit; ob easque causas studeat parare ea, quæ suppeditent, et ad cultum, et ad victum; nec sibi soli, sed conjugi, liberis ceterisque, quos caros habeat tuerique debeat: quæ cura exsuscitat etiam animos, et majores ad rem gerendam facit. Cicero, de Officiis, lib. 1, cap. 4....T. + Hobbes appears to have been the first among the modern philosophers, who supposed a state of nature to be a state of war. Cicero, in his Oration pro P. Sextio, cap. 42, seems to consider this as a theory generally received in his time. Quis enim vestrum, judices, ignorant, ita naturam rerum tulisse, ut quodam tempore homines, nondum neque naturali, neque civile jure descripto, fusi per agros ac dispersi vagarentur tantumque haberent quantum manu ac viribus, per cædem ac vulnera, aut eripere aut retinere potuissent. This is the imaginary state of man, antecedent to the formation of any society, even of a domestic nature, when men, according to Lucretius, (lib. v. 1. 951,) wandered naked in the woods, and sought shelter from storms, in caves and rocks. Nec commune bonum poterent spectare; nec ullis Quod cuique obtulerat, prædæ fortuna, ferebat The immediate and powerful effects of connubial ties, and a fixed habitation, on the manners of men, in rendering them sensible of the benefits of law and government, are well described by both these writers....T. Principle and cause of war among mankind. odious, and malignant principle in the first impressions of nature. It is only on particular occasions, when opposite interests excite jealousy and rivalship, that it insinuates itself into the human heart. 5. The first war which disturbed the repose of mankind, must have been the encounter of hunting tribes, equally covetous and jealous of the possession of grounds the most frequented by wild beasts. Hordes, long exercised in the arts of extermination, with arms in their hands, and ferocity in their hearts, would soon proceed from the destruction of animals to that of men. Interest excited to the combat, victory terminated the conflict, the field of battle remained in possession of the strongest, and the hunting ground became the first conquest. As soon as they had made the unfortunate discovery of the effects of superior strength, interest and passion seduced the most hardy to repeat the example. Such appears to me to be the true origin of war; the first time when men became cruel, and homicides. 6. Cupidity, avarice, ambition, pride, fanaticism, cruelty, much more than the interests of nations, wisely consulted, have originated and established the rights of war ;(3) rights, the destructive exercise of (3) Wars do not arise among mankind from a principle of extermination. Some proceed from the love of pleasure, some from avarice, others are kindled by the excess of ambition, and a thirst for fame and empire. Plutarch, vol. 2, p. 1049, ed. Wech. Ex Rights of war.-Warlike aspect of modern Europe. which, has so often covered the earth with blood and devastation; fatal rights, rendered indispensible by those passions which persuade the leaders of nations, that their own happiness depends on the ruin of others. (4) Since the adoption of this unhappy prejudice, the art of war has gained an entire assendancy over the productive arts, and such as conduce to the preservation and improvement of life. In every nation arsenals are erected, and filled with arms. What do I say? All Europe, at the present day, is one vast arsenal, in which all the instruments of human destruction are heaped together with the utmost care.(5) Machines the most murderous are cupiditatibus, odia, dissidia, discordia, seditiones, bella nascuntur. Cicero, de Finibus, lib. 1, cap. 13. Diogenes Laertius quotes the following fine distich of the philosopher Atheneus, lib. 10, § 2. In malo sudatis miseri; sine fine cupido (4) On this subject, Horace thus elegantly expresses himself: Quidquid delirant reges plectuntur Achivi: Seditione, dolis, scelere, atque libidine et ira, Iliacos intra muros peccatur et extra. Hor. lib. 1. epis. 2. (5) "A new malady," says Montesquieu, "has spread itself over Europe. It has infected princes, and induces them to maintain an exorbitant number of troops. It has its paroxysins, which of necessity are contagious; for as soon as one state augments its troops, the others do the same, so that nothing is gained by it, but general ruin. Each monarch keeps on foot the same armies which he would have, if his people were in danger of extermination. This Arts of human destruction are highly esteemed. the best received: the inventor of the means of exterminating a whole nation, at a single stroke, would, at the present day, be esteemed a great man, and far superior to him who should discover the means of increasing the human race, or securing the happiness and repose of the world. (6)* state of exertion of all against all is denominated peace." Liv. 13, ch. 17.* (6) "Quali sono i soli ogetti, che hanno fino a questi ultimi tempi occupati i sovrano d'Europa? Un arsenale formidabile, un artiglieria numerosa, una truppa bene agguerita. Tutti i calcoli, che si sono esaminati alla presenza de' principi, non sono stati diretti, che alla soluzione d'un solo problema; trover la maniera d'uccidere piu hommi nel mino tempo possible." Filangieri, Scienza della Legislazione, Introd. p. 1. Translation.—“ What are the objects which have engaged the attention of the sovereigns of Europe in modern times? A formidable arsenal, a numerous train of artillery, well appointed armies. All the calculations made in the cabinets of sovereigns at the present day, are directed to the solution of one problem :—in what way the greatest number of men, can be killed in the shortest possible time." *To overcome in battle, and subdue Nations, and bring home spoils with infinite * For an account of the origin and progress of standing armies, see Ro bertson's Charles Vth, Vol. I. p. 86....T. Ruin and devastation occasioned by war. 7. As long as the lives of men are made the mere sport of chance, and the destruction of the human species depends on the fate of armies and the capricious fortune of war, nothing will remain certain or stable, every system of public economy will be tottering, governments will have no point of support, and the slightest cause may, in a moment, overturn kingdoms, and annihilate nations. Ancient empires, that seemed destined to endure for ever, have disappeared from the face of the earth. Without the aid of history, mankind would have forgotten the names of the Assyrians, Egyptians, Macedonians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, and many other formidable states, once the arbiters of the world, now sunk, dismembered, turned into forests, or reduced to barren deserts. 8. War has ever been the greatest scourge of nations. The massacre of men, the devastation of fields and cities, the increase of misery, the decay of laws, the corruption of manners, the constitution of the state neglected and forgotten, such are the inevitable evils which follow in the train of war. The remotest ages present us with a thousand fatal examples ;(7) and instances of its effects are too re (7) Virgil describes with elegance and precision the fury and calamities of war. Aneid, lib. 1, 1. 294. Furor impius, intus |