labour; it is preserved by savings and accumulations; and it is
increased by diligence and perseverance.

It is the savings of individuals which compose the wealth--in other
words, the well-being--of every nation. On the other hand, it is the
wastefulness of individuals which occasions the impoverishment of
states. So that every thrifty person may be regarded as a public
benefactor, and every thriftless person as a public enemy.

There is no dispute as to the necessity for Private Economy. Everybody
admits it, and recommends it. But with respect to Political Economy,
there are numerous discussions,--for instance, as to the distribution of
capital, the accumulations of property, the incidence of taxation, the
Poor Laws, and other subjects,--into which we do not propose to enter.
The subject of Private Economy, of Thrift, is quite sufficient by itself
to occupy the pages of this book.

Economy is not a natural instinct, but the growth of experience,
example, and forethought. It is also the result of education and
intelligence. It is only when men become wise and thoughtful that they
become frugal. Hence the best means of making men and women provident is
to make them wise.

Prodigality is much more natural to man than thrift. The savage is the
greatest of spendthrifts, for he has no forethought, no to-morrow. The
prehistoric man saved nothing. He lived in caves, or in hollows of the
ground covered with branches. He subsisted on shellfish which he picked
up on the seashore, or upon hips and haws which he gathered in the
woods. He killed animals with stones. He lay in wait for them, or ran
them down on foot. Then he learnt to use stones as tools; making stone