and by laws within themselves regulated the properties of the private men
of their society, and so, by compact and agreement, settled the property
which labour and industry began; and the leagues that have been made
between several states and kingdoms, either expresly or tacitly disowning
all claim and right to the land in the others possession, have, by common
consent, given up their pretences to their natural common right, which
originally they had to those countries, and so have, by positive
agreement, settled a property amongst themselves, in distinct parts and
parcels of the earth; yet there are still great tracts of ground to be
found, which (the inhabitants thereof not having joined with the rest of
mankind, in the consent of the use of their common money) lie waste, and
are more than the people who dwell on it do, or can make use of, and so
still lie in common; tho' this can scarce happen amongst that part of
mankind that have consented to the use of money.
Sec. 46. The greatest part of things really useful to the life of
man, and such as the necessity of subsisting made the first commoners of
the world look after, as it cloth the Americans now, are generally things
of short duration; such as, if they are not consumed by use, will decay
and perish of themselves: gold, silver and diamonds, are things that
fancy or agreement hath put the value on, more than real use, and the
necessary support of life. Now of those good things which nature hath
provided in common, every one had a right (as hath been said) to as much
as he could use, and property in all that he could effect with his
labour; all that his industry could extend to, to alter from the state
nature had put it in, was his. He that gathered a hundred bushels of
acorns or apples, had thereby a property in them, they were his goods as
soon as gathered. He was only to look, that he used them before they
spoiled, else he took more than his share, and robbed others. And indeed
it was a foolish thing, as well as dishonest, to hoard up more than he
could make use of. If he gave away a part to any body else, so that it