depend upon hearing from me on that subject.

At the end of the Bishop's Book is a List of the Works he has written.
Among which is the sermon alluded to; it is entitled: "The Wisdom and
Goodness of God, in having made both Rich and Poor; with an Appendix,
containing Reflections on the Present State of England and France."

The error contained in this sermon determined me to publish my Agrarian
Justice. It is wrong to say God made _rich and poor_; he made only _male
and female_; and he gave them the earth for their inheritance. '...

Instead of preaching to encourage one part of mankind in insolence... it
would be better that Priests employed their time to render the general
condition of man less miserable than it is. Practical religion consists
in doing good: and the only way of serving God is, that of endeavouring
to make his creation happy. All preaching that has not this for its
object is nonsense and hypocracy.

1 The omissions are noted in the English edition of 1797.--
_Editor._.

To preserve the benefits of what is called civilized life, and to remedy
at the same time the evil which it has produced, ought to be considered
as one of the first objects of reformed legislation.

Whether that state that is proudly, perhaps erroneously, called
civilization, has most promoted or most injured the general happiness
of man, is a question that may be strongly contested. On one side,
the spectator is dazzled by splendid appearances; on the other, he is
shocked by extremes of wretchedness; both of which it has erected. The
most affluent and the most miserable of the human race are to be found
in the countries that are called civilized.

To understand what the state of society ought to be, it is necessary to
have some idea of the natural and primitive state of man; such as it is
at this day among the Indians of North America. There is not, in that
state, any of those spectacles of human misery which poverty and want
present to our eyes in all the towns and streets in Europe. Poverty,
therefore, is a thing created by that which is called civilized life. It
exists not in the natural state. On the other hand, the natural state is
without those advantages which flow from agriculture, arts, science, and
manufactures.

The life of an Indian is a continual holiday, compared with the poor of
Europe; and, on the other hand it appears to be abject when compared
to the rich. Civilization, therefore, or that which is so