CHAPTER VII.

PRINCIPLES OF SOCIETY.


Wandering in the woods and on the banks of rivers in pursuit of game and
fish, the first men, beset with dangers, assailed by enemies, tormented
by hunger, by reptiles, by ravenous beasts, felt their own individual
weakness; and, urged by a common need of safety, and a reciprocal
sentiment of like evils, they united their resources and their strength;
and when one incurred a danger, many aided and succored him; when
one wanted subsistence, another shared his food with him. Thus men
associated to secure their existence, to augment their powers, to
protect their enjoyments; and self-love thus became the principle of
society.

Instructed afterwards by the experience of various and repeated
accidents, by the fatigues of a wandering life, by the distress of
frequent scarcity, men reasoned with themselves and said:

"Why consume our days in seeking scattered fruits from a parsimonious
soil? why exhaust ourselves in pursuing prey which eludes us in the
woods or waters? why not collect under our hands the animals that
nourish us? why not apply our cares in multiplying and preserving them?
We will feed on their increase, be clothed in their skins, and live
exempt from the fatigues of the day and solicitude for the morrow."

And men, aiding one another, seized the nimble goat, the timid sheep;