BOOK V.
OF THE REVENUE OF THE SOVEREIGN OR COMMONWEALTH.
CHAP. I.
OF THE EXPENSES OF THE SOVEREIGN OR COMMONWEALTH.
PART I.
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 more advanced
state of society, such as we find it
among the Tartar 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 wagons,
which are easily transported from place
to place. The whole tribe, or nation, changes
its situation according to the different 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 recompence
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 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 exercise of
a Tartar or Arab, prepare him sufficiently
for war. Running, wrestling, cudgel-playing,
throwing the javelin, drawing the bow,
&c. 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