upon which Plato forbids, in his Republic, the division of property.
Such is the system upon which Rousseau pronounces the first man who
enclosed a field with a fence, and, said, "This is mine," a traitor
to the human species. A wiser, and more useful philosophy, however,
directs us to consider man according to the nature in which he was
formed; subject to infirmities, which no wisdom can remedy; to
weaknesses, which no institution can strengthen; to vices, which no
legislation can correct. Hence, it becomes obvious that separate
property is the natural and indisputable right of separate exertion;
that community of goods without community of toil is oppressive and
unjust; that it counteracts the laws of nature, which prescribe that
he only who sows the seed shall reap the harvest; that it
discourages all energy, by destroying its rewards; and makes the
most virtuous and active members of society the slaves and drudges
of the worst. Such was the issue of this experiment among our
forefathers, and the same event demonstrated the error of the system
in the elder settlement of Virginia. Let us cherish that spirit of
harmony which prompted our forefathers to make the attempt, under
circumstances more favorable to its success than, perhaps, ever
occurred upon earth. Let us no less admire the candor with which
they relinquished it, upon discovering its irremediable inefficacy.
To found principles of government upon too advantageous an estimate
of the human character is an error of inexperience, the source of
which is so amiable that it is impossible to censure it with
severity. We have seen the same mistake, committed in our own age,
and upon a larger theatre. Happily for our ancestors, their
situation allowed them to repair it before its effects had proved
destructive. They had no pride of vain philosophy to support, no
perfidious rage of faction to glut, by persevering in their mistakes
until they should be extinguished in torrents of blood.