It would be too strikingly evident, that abundance, whencesoever derived, is advantageous to him, whether this abundance might be the result of his own labor, of ingenious tools, or of powerful machinery; whether due to the fertility of the soil, to the liberality of nature, or to an _inundation_ of foreign goods, such as the sea bringing from distant regions might cast upon his shores.

Never would the solitary man have dreamed, in order to encourage his own labor, of destroying his instruments for facilitating his work, of neutralizing the fertility of the soil, or of casting back into the sea the produce of its bounty.

He would understand that his labor was a _means_ not an _end_, and that it would be absurd to reject the object, in order to encourage the means.

He would understand that if he has required two hours per day to supply his necessities, any thing which spares him an hour of this labor, leaving the result the same, gives him this hour to dispose of as he pleases in adding to his comforts.

In a word, he would understand that every step in the _saving of labor_, is a step in the improvement of his condition.