BOOK FIVE
Of the Revenue of the Sovereign or Commonwealth
CHAPTER
I
Of the Expenses of the Sovereign or Commonwealth
PART 1
Of the
Expense of Defence
THE first duty of the sovereign, that of protecting the
society from the violence and invasion
of other independent societies, can be
performed only by means of a military force. But the
expense both of
preparing this military force in time of peace, and of employing it in time
of
war, is very different in the different states of society, in the
different periods of improvement.
Among nations of hunters, the lowest and
rudest state of society, such as we find it among
the native tribes of North
America, every man is a warrior as well as a hunter. When he goes
to war,
either to defend his society or to revenge the injuries which have been done to
it by
other societies, he maintains himself by his own labour in the same
manner as when he lives
at home. His society, for in this state of things
there is properly neither sovereign nor
commonwealth, is at no sort of
expense, either to prepare him for the field, or to maintain him
while he is
in it.
Among nations of shepherds, a mo re advanced state of society, such as
we find it among
the Tartars and Arabs, every man is, in the same manner, a
warrior. Such nations have
commonly no fixed habitation, but live either in
tents or in a sort of covered waggons which
are easily transported from place
to place. The whole tribe or nation changes its situation
according to the
different mulberry
belt uk
seasons of the year, as well as according to other accidents.
When
its herds and flocks have consumed the forage of one part of the
country, it removes to
another, and from that to a third. In the dry season
it comes down to the banks of the rivers; in
the wet season it retires to the
upper country. When such a nation goes to war, the warriors
will not trust
their herds and flocks to the feeble defence of their old men, their women
and
children; and their old men, their women and children, will not be left
behind without defence
and without subsistence. The whole nation, besides,
being accustomed to a wandering life,
even in time of peace, easily takes the
field in time of war. Whether it marches as an army, or
moves about as a
company of herdsmen, the way of life is nearly the same, though the
object
proposed by it be very different. They all go to war together,
therefore, and every one does as
well as he can. Among the Tartars, even the
women have been frequently known to engage in
battle. If they conquer,
whatever belongs to the hostile tribe is the recompense of the victory.
But
if they are vanquished, all is lost, and not only their herds and flocks, but
their women and
children, become the booty of the conqueror. Even the greater
Mulberry Tote
Bags sale
part of those who survive the
action are obliged to submit to
him for the sake of immediate subsistence. The rest are
commonly dissipated
and dispersed in the desert.
The ordinary life, the ordinary exercises of a
Tartar or Arab, prepare him sufficiently for
war. Running, wrestling,
cudgel-playing, throwing the javelin, drawing the bow, etc., are the
common
pastimes of those who live in the open air, and are all of them the images of
war.
When a Tartar or Arab actually goes to war, he is maintained by his own
herds and flocks
which he carries with him in the same manner as in peace.
His chief or sovereign, for those
nations have all chiefs or sovereigns, is
at no sort of expense in preparing him for the field;
and when he is in it
the chance of plunder is the only pay which he either expects or requires.
An
army of hunters can seldom exceed two or three hundred men.