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creator of political man must remove man’s own forces
and endow him with others that are naturally alien to
him. 
Poor human nature! What would become of a person’s dig-
nity if it were entrusted to the followers of Rousseau?
Legislators Desire to Mold Mankind
Now let us examine Raynal on this subject of mankind
being molded by the legislator:
The legislator must first consider the climate, the
air, and the soil. The resources at his disposal deter-
mine his duties. He must first consider his locality. A
population living on maritime shores must have laws
designed for navigation. . . . If it is an inland settle-
ment, the legislator must make his plans according to
the nature and fertility of the soil. . . . 
It is especially in the distribution of property that
the genius of the legislator will be found. As a general
rule, when a new colony is established in any country,
sufficient land should be given to each man to support
his family. . . .
On an uncultivated island that you are populating
with children, you need do nothing but let the seeds of
truth germinate along with the development of reason.
. . . But when you resettle a nation with a past into a
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new country, the skill of the legislator rests in the pol-
icy of permitting the people to retain no injurious opin-
ions and customs which can possibly be cured and cor-
rected. If you desire to prevent these opinions and
customs from becoming permanent, you will secure
the second generation by a general system of public
education for the children. A prince or a legislator
should never establish a colony without first arranging
to send wise men along to instruct the youth. . . .
In a new colony, ample opportunity is open to the
careful legislator who desires to purify the customs
and manners of the people. If he has virtue and genius,
the land and the people at his disposal will inspire his
soul with a plan for society. A writer can only vaguely
trace the plan in advance because it is necessarily sub-
ject to the instability of all hypotheses; the problem
has many forms, complications, and circumstances
that are difficult to foresee and settle in detail.
Legislators Told How to Manage Men
Raynal’s instructions to the legislators on how to manage
people may be compared to a professor of agriculture lecturing
his students: “The climate is the first rule for the farmer. His
resources determine his procedure. He must first consider his
locality. If his soil is clay, he must do so and so. If his soil is sand,
he must act in another manner. Every facility is open to the
farmer who wishes to clear and improve his soil. If he is skillful
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enough, the manure at his disposal will suggest to him a plan of
operation. A professor can only vaguely trace this plan in
advance because it is necessarily subject to the instability of all
hypotheses; the problem has many forms, complications, and
circumstances that are difficult to foresee and settle in detail.”
Oh, sublime writers! Please remember sometimes that this
clay, this sand, and this manure which you so arbitrarily dispose
of, are men! They are your equals! They are intelligent and free
human beings like yourselves! As you have, they too have
received from God the faculty to observe, to plan ahead, to
think, and to judge for themselves!
A Temporary Dictatorship
Here is Mably on this subject of the law and the legislator.
In the passages preceding the one here quoted, Mably has sup-
posed the laws, due to a neglect of security, to be worn out. He
continues to address the reader thusly:
Under these circumstances, it is obvious that the
springs of government are slack. Give them a new ten-
sion, and the evil will be cured. . . . Think less of pun-
ishing faults, and more of rewarding that which you
need. In this manner you will restore to your republic
the vigor of youth. Because free people have been
ignorant of this procedure, they have lost their liberty!
But if the evil has made such headway that ordinary
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governmental procedures are unable to cure it, then
resort to an extraordinary tribunal with considerable
powers for a short time. The imagination of the citi-
zens needs to be struck a hard blow.
In this manner, Mably continues through twenty volumes.
Under the influence of teaching like this—which stems
from classical education—there came a time when everyone
wished to place himself above mankind in order to arrange,
organize, and regulate it in his own way.
Socialists Want Equality of Wealth
Next let us examine Condillac on this subject of the legisla-
tors and mankind:
My Lord, assume the character of Lycurgus or of
Solon. And before you finish reading this essay, amuse
yourself by giving laws to some savages in America or
Africa. Confine these nomads to fixed dwellings; teach
them to tend flocks. . . . Attempt to develop the social
consciousness that nature has planted in them. . . .
Force them to begin to practice the duties of human-
ity. . . . Use punishment to cause sensual pleasures to
become distasteful to them. Then you will see that
every point of your legislation will cause these savages
to lose a vice and gain a virtue.
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