a gentleman in the room but would have taken the money if he had
known how, conveniently and safely, to do it?" "That is very
true," returned Bagshot, "but did not I execute the scheme, did
not I run the whole risque? Should not I have suffered the whole
punishment if I had been taken, and is not the labourer worthy of
his hire?" "Doubtless," says Jonathan, "he is so, and your hire I
shall not refuse you, which is all that the labourer is entitled
to or ever enjoys. I remember when I was at school to have heard
some verses which for the excellence of their doctrine made an
impression on me, purporting that the birds of the air and the
beasts of the field work not for themselves. It is true, the
farmer allows fodder to his oxen and pasture to his sheep; but it
is for his own service, not theirs, In the same manner the
ploughman, the shepherd, the weaver, the builder, and the soldier,
work not for themselves but others; they are contented with a poor
pittance (the labourer's hire), and permit us, the GREAT, to enjoy
the fruits of their labours. Aristotle, as my master told us, hath
plainly proved, in the first book of his politics, that the low,
mean, useful part of mankind, are born slaves to the wills of
their superiors, and are indeed as much their property as the
cattle. It is well said of us, the higher order of mortals, that
we are born only to devour the fruits of the earth; and it may be
as well said of the lower class, that they are born only to
produce them for us. Is not the battle gained by the sweat and
danger of the common soldier? Are not the honour and fruits of the
victory the general's who laid the scheme? Is not the house built
by the labour of the carpenter and the bricklayer? Is it not built
for the profit only of the architect and for the use of the
inhabitant, who could not easily have placed one brick upon
another? Is not the cloth or the silk wrought into its form and