ufe of money. What is gained by hunting, fishing, or keeping herds of cattle, cannot be affembled in fuch great quantities, nor be fufficiently preferved, for one man to find himself in a condition to corrupt many others: But when, instead of this, a man has the fign of riches, he may obtain a large quantity of thèfe figns, and diftribute them amongst whom he pleases.

The people who have no money, have but few wants, and thefe are fupplied both with eafe, and in an equal manner. Equality is then unavoidable; and from hence it proceeds, that their chiefs are not defpotic.

CHA P. XVIII.

Of the Power of Superstition.

IF what travellers tell us be true, the conftitution of a nation of Louifiana, called the Natches, is an exception to this. Their chief difpofes of the goods of all his fubjects, and makes them labor according to his pleasure. He has a power like that of the Grand Seignior and they cannot even refuse him their heads. When the prefumptive heir enters into the world, they give him all the fuckling children to ferve him during his life. One would imagine that this is the great Sefoftris. He is treated in his cabin with as much ceremony as an emperor of Japan or China.

The prejudices of fuperftition are fuperior to all other prejudices, and its reafons to all other reafons. Thus, though the favage nations have naturally no knowledge of defpotic tyranny, yet this people feel it. They adore the fun; and if their chief had not imagined that he was the brother of this glorious luminary, they would have thought him a miferable wretch like themselves.

Edifying letters, 20th collect,

CHAP.

CHA P. XIX.

Of the Liberty of the Arabs, and the Servitude of the Tartars.

THE Arabs and Tartars are nations of herdmen and fhepherds. The Arabs find themselves in that general fituation, of which we have been speaking, and are therefore free: Whilft the Tartars (the moft fingular people on earth) are involved in a political flavery. I have already given some reasonst for this, and fhall now give others.

They have no towns, they have no forefts, and but few marshes; their rivers are almost always frozen, and they dwell in an immenfe plain. They have pafture for their herds and flocks, and confequently property; but they have no kind of retreat, or place of fafety. A Khan is no fooner overcome than they cut off his head; his children are treated in the fame manner, and all his subjects belong to the conqueror. These are not condemned to a civil flavery; they would in that cafe be a burden to a fimple nation who have no lands to cultivate, and no need of any domestic service. They therefore augment the nation; but instead of civil flavery, a political one must naturally be introduced amongst them.

It is apparent, that in a country where the feveral clans make continual war, and are perpetually conquering each other; in a country, where, by the death of the chief, the body politic of the vanquished clan is always deftroyed, the nation in general can enjoy but little freedom: For there is not a fingle party that must not have been a very great number of times fubdued.

A conquered people may preferve fome degree of liberty, when, by the ftrength of their fituation, they are in a

* When a Khan is proclaimed, all the people cry, that his word shall be as a fword.

+ Book 17. chap. 5.

We ought not therefore to be aftonished at Mahomet the fon of Miriveis, who, upon taking ipahan, put all the princes of the blood to the fword,

ftate that will admit of their capitulating after their defeat, But the Tartars, always defenceless, being once overcome, can never be able to ftand upon conditions.

I have said, in Chap. II. that the inhabitants of cultivated plains are seldom free. Circumstances have concurred to put the Tartars who dwell in uncultivated plains, in the same situation.

CHAP. XX.

Of the Law of Nations as practised by the Tartars.

THE Tartars appear to be mild and humane amongst themselves; and yet they are most cruel conquerors: When they take cities, they put the inhabitants to the fword, and imagine that they do them a favor when they fell them or diftribute them amongst the foldiers. They have deftroyed Afia from India, even to the Mediterranean; and all the country which forms the caft of Perfia, they have made a desert.

This law of nations is owing, I think, to the following cause. This people have no towns, all their wars are carried on with eagerness and impetuofity. They fight whenever they hope to conquer; and when they have no fuch hopes, they join the ftronger army. With fuch customs, it is contrary to their law of nations, that a city which cannot refift, fhould ftop their progrefs. They regard not cities as an affembly of inhabitants, but as places made to fet limits to their power. They befiege them without art and expofe themselves greatly in their fieges; and therefore revenge themselves by the blood of all those who have fpilt theirs.

CHAP. XXI.

The Civil Law of the Tartars.

FATHER Du Halde fays, that amongst the Tartars, the youngest of the males is always the heir, by reafon, that as foon as the elder are capable of leading a pas

toral

toral life, they leave the houfe with a certain number of cattle given them by the father, and go to build a new habitation. The last of the males who continues in the houfe with the father, is then his natural heir.

I have heard that a like cuftom was also observed in some small diftrifts of England. This was doubtless a paftoral law conveyed thither by fome of the people of Brittany, or established by fome German nation. We are informed by Cæfar and Tacitus, that these last cultivated but little land.

CHA P. XXII.

Of a Civil Law of the German Nations.

I SHALL here explain how that particular paf fage of the Salic law, which is commonly diftinguished by the term of the Salic law, relates to the inftitutions of a people who do not cultivate the earth, or at least who cultivate it but very little.

The Salic law ordains, that when a man has left children behind him, the males fhall fucceed to the Salic land, to the prejudice of the females.

To underftand the nature of thofe Salic lands, there needs no more than to search into the ufages or customs with respect to land amongst the Franks before they came out of Germany.

Mr. Echard has very plainly proved that the word Salic is derived from Sala, which fignifies a house; and that, therefore, the Salic land was the land of the house. I fhall go farther, and examine what was the house, and what the land belonging to the house, among the Germans.

66

They dwell not in towns," fayst Tacitus, "nor can they bear to have their houses joined to thofe of others; every one leaves a space or small piece of ground about

* Tit. 62.

his

Nullas Germanorum populis urbes habitari fatis notum eft, ne pati quidem inter fe junctas fedes; colunt difcreti, ut nemus placuit. Vicos locant, non in noftrum morem connexis et cohærentibus ædificiis; fuam quilque domum fpatio circumdat. De moribus Germanorum.

his houfe, which is enclosed and fhut up." Tacitus is very exact in this account; for many laws of the* barbarian codes have different decrees against those who threw down this enclosure, as well as against those who broke into the house.

We learn from Tacitus and Cæfar, that the lands cultivated by the Germans, were given them only for the space of a year; after which they again became public. They had no other patrimony but the house and a piece of land, within thet enclosure that furrounded it. It was this particular patrimony which belonged to the males. And indeed how could it belong to the daughters? They were to pafs into another houfe.

The Salic land was then within that enclosure which beJonged to a German houfe; this was the only property they had. The Franks, after their conquefts, acquired new poffeffions, and continued to call them Salic lands.

When the Franks lived in Germany, their wealth confifted of flaves, flocks, horfes, arms, &c. the house and the fmall portion of land adjoining to it, were naturally given to the male children, who were to dwell there. But afterwards when the Franks had by conqueft acquired large divifions of land, they thought it hard, that the daughters and their children fhould be incapable of enjoying any part of them. They introduced a cuftom of permitting the father to recall his daughter, and her children. They filenced the law; and it appears that these recalls were frequent, fince they were entered in the formularies.

Amongst all thefe formularies I find one of a fingular nature. A grandfather recalled his grandchildren to fucceed with his fons and daughters. What then became of the Salic law? In thofe times either it could not be obferved, or the continual ufe of recalling the daughters had made them regard their ability to inherit, as a cafe authorized by custom.

The Salic law had not in view a preference of one sex to the other, much lefs had it regard to the perpetuity of a family, a name, or the tranfmiffion of land. These things

did

* The law of the Allemans, chap. 10. and law of the Bavarians, tit. 10. § 1. and 4.

+ This enclosure is called cartis, in the charters.

See Marculfus, lib. ii. form. 10, and 12 append. to Marculfus, form. 49and the ancient formularies of Sirmondus, form. 22.

Form. 55. in Lindembrock's collection,

1