Labour is either bodily or mental; or, to express the distinction more comprehensively, either muscular or nervous; and it is necessary to include in the idea, not solely3 the exertion4 itself, but feelings of a disagreeable kind, all bodily inconvenience or mental annoyance5, connected with the employment of one’s thoughts, or muscles, or both, in a particular occupation. Of the other requisite1 — appropriate natural objects — it is to be remarked, that some objects exist or grow up spontaneously, of a kind suited to the supply of human wants. There are caves and hollow trees capable of affording shelter. fruit, roots, wild honey, and other natural products, on which human life can be supported; but even here a considerable quantity of labour is generally required, not for the purpose of creating, but of finding and appropriating them. In all but these few and (except in the very commencement of human society) unimportant cases, the objects supplied by nature are only instrumental to human wants, after having undergone some degree of transformation6 by human exertion. Even the wild animals of the forest and of the sea, from which the hunting and fishing tribes derive7 their sustenance8 — though the labour of which they are the subject is chiefly that required for appropriating them — must yet, before they are used as food, be killed, divided into fragments, and subjected in almost all cases to some culinary process, which are operations requiring a certain degree of human labour. The amount of transformation which natural substances undergo before being brought into the shape in which they are directly applied9 to human use, varies from this or a still less degree of alteration10 in the nature and appearance of the object, to a change so total that no trace is perceptible of the original shape and structure. There is little resemblance between a piece of a mineral substance found in the earth, and a plough, an axe11, or a saw. There is less resemblance between porcelain12 and the decomposing13 granite14 it is made, or between sand mixed with sea-weed, and glass. The difference is greater still between the fleece of a sheep, or a handful of cotton seeds, and a web of muslin or broad cloth; and the sheep and seeds themselves are not spontaneous growths, but results of previous labour and care. In these several cases the ultimate product is so extremely dissimilar to the substance supplied by nature, that in the custom of language nature is represented as only furnishing materials.
Nature, however, does more than supply materials; she also supplies powers. The matter of the globe is not an inert15 recipient16 of forms and properties impressed by human hands; it has active energies by which it co-operates with, and may even be used as a substitute for, labour. In the early ages people converted their corn into flour by pounding it between two stones; they next hit on a contrivance which enabled them, by turning a handle, to make one of the stones revolve17 upon the other; and this process, a little improved, is still the common practice of the East. The muscular exertion, however, which it required, was very severe and exhausting, insomuch that it was often selected as a punishment for slaves who had offended their masters. When the time came at which the labour and sufferings of slaves were thought worth economizing18, the greater part of this bodily exertion was rendered unnecessary, by contriving19 that the upper stone should be made to revolve upon the lower, not by human strength, but by the force of the wind or of falling water. In this case, natural agents, the wind or the gravitation of the water, are made to do a portion of the work previously20 done by labour.
§2. Cases like this, in which a certain amount of labour has been dispensed21 with, its work being devolved upon some natural agent, are apt to suggest an erroneous notion of the comparative functions of labour and natural powers; as if the co-operation of those powers with human industry were limited to the cases in which they are made to perform what would otherwise be done by labour; as if, in the case of things made (as the phrase is) by hand, nature only furnished passive materials. This is an illusion. The powers of nature are as actively22 operative in the one case as in the other. A workman takes a stalk of the flax or hemp23 plant, splits it into separate fibres, twines24 together several of these fibres with his fingers, aided by a simple instrument called a spindle; having thus formed a thread, he lays many such threads side by side, and places other similar threads directly across them, so that each passes alternately over and under those which are at right angles to it; this part of the process being facilitated by an instrument called a shuttle. He has now produced a web of cloth, either linen25 or sackcloth, according to the material. He is said to have done this by hand, no natural force being supposed to have acted in concert with him. But by what force is each step of this operation rendered possible, and the web, when produced, held together? By the tenacity26, or force of cohesion27, of the fibres: which is one of the forces in nature, and which we can measure exactly against other mechanical forces, and ascertain28 how much of any of them it suffices to neutralize29 or counterbalance.
If we examine any other case of what is called the action of man upon nature, we shall find in like manner that the powers of nature, or in other words the properties of matter, do all the work, when once objects are put into the right position. This one operation, of putting things into fit places for being acted upon by their own internal forces, and by those residing in other natural objects, is all that man does, or can do, with matter. He only moves one thing to or from another. He moves a seed into the ground; and the natural forces of vegetation produce in succession a root, a stem, leaves, flowers, and fruit. He moves an axe through a tree, and it falls by the natural force of gravitation; he moves a saw through it, in a particular manner, and the physical properties by which a softer substance gives way before a harder, make it separate into planks30, which he arranges in certain positions, with nails driven through them, or adhesive31 matter between them, and produces a table, or a house. He moves a spark to fuel, and it ignites, and by the force generated in combustion32 it cooks the food, melts or softens33 the iron, converts into beer or sugar the malt or cane-juice, which he has previously moved to the spot. He has no other means of acting34 on matter than by moving it. Motion, and resistance to motion, are the only things which his muscles are constructed for. By muscular contraction35 he can create a pressure on an outward object, which, if sufficiently36 powerful, will set it in motion, or if it be already moving, will check or modify or altogether arrest its motion, and he can do no more. But this is enough to have given all the command which mankind have acquired over natural forces immeasurably more powerful than themselves; a command which, great as it is already, is without doubt destined37 to become indefinitely greater. He exerts this power either by availing himself of natural forces in existence, or by arranging objects in those mixtures and combinations by which natural forces are generated; as when by putting a lighted match to fuel, and water into a boiler38 over it, he generates the expansive force of steam, a power which has been made so largely available for the attainment39 of human purposes.1
Labour, then, in the physical world, is always and solely employed in putting objects in motion; the properties of matter, the laws of nature, do the rest. The skill and ingenuity40 of human beings are chiefly exercised in discovering movements, practicable by their powers, and capable of bringing about the effects which they desire. But, while movement is the only effect which man can immediately and directly produce by his muscles, it is not necessary that he should produce directly by them all the movements which he requires. The first and most obvious substitute is the muscular action of cattle: by degrees the powers of inanimate nature are made to aid in this too, as by making the wind, or water, things already in motion, communicate a part of their motion to the wheels, which before that invention were made to revolve by muscular force. This service is extorted41 from the powers of wind and water by a set of actions, consisting like the former in moving certain objects into certain positions in which they constitute what is termed a machine; but the muscular action necessary for this is not constantly renewed, but performed once for all, and there is on the whole a great economy of labour.
§3. Some writers have raised the question, whether nature gives more assistance to labour in one kind of industry or in another; and have said that in some occupations labour does most, in others nature most. In this, however, there seems much confusion of ideas. The part which nature has in any work of man, is indefinite and incommensurable. It is impossible to decide that in any one thing nature does more than in any other. One cannot even say that labour does less. Less labour may be required; but if that which is required is absolutely indispensable, the result is just as much the product of labour, as of nature. When two conditions are equally necessary for producing the effect at all, it is unmeaning to say that so much of it is produced by one and so much by the other; it is like attempting to decide which half of a pair of scissors has most to do in the act of cutting; or which of the factors, five and six, contributes most to the production of thirty. The form which this conceit42 usually assumes, is that of supposing that nature lends more assistance to human endeavours in agriculture, than in manufactures. This notion, held by the French Economistes, and from which Adam Smith was not free, arose from a misconception of the nature of rent. The rent of land being a price paid for a natural agency, and no such price being paid in manufactures, these writers imagined that since a price was paid, it was because there was a greater amount of service to be paid for. whereas a better consideration of the subject would have shown that the reason why the use of land bears a price is simply the limitation of its quantity, and that if air, heat, electricity, chemical agencies, and the other powers of nature employed by manufacturers, were sparingly supplied, and could, like land, be engrossed43 and appropriated, a rent could he exacted for them also.
§4. This leads to a distinction which we shall find to be of primary importance. Of natural powers, some are unlimited44, others limited in quantity. By an unlimited quantity is of course not meant literally45, but practically unlimited: a quantity beyond the use which can in any, or at least in present circumstances, be made of it. Land is, in some newly settled countries, practically unlimited in quantity: there is more than can be used by the existing population of the country, or by any accession likely to be made to it for generations to come. But even there, land favourably46 situated47 with regard to markets or means of carriage, is generally limited in quantity: there is not so much of it as persons would gladly occupy and cultivate, or otherwise turn to use. In all old countries, land capable of cultivation48, land at least of any tolerable fertility, must be ranked among agents limited in quantity. Water, for ordinary purposes, on the banks of rivers or lakes, may be regarded as of unlimited abundance; but if required for irrigation, it may even there be insufficient49 to supply all wants, while in places which depend for their consumption on cisterns50 or tanks, or on wells which are not copious51, or are liable to fail, water takes its place among things the quantity of which is most strictly52 limited. Where water itself is plentiful53, yet waterpower, i.e. a fall of water applicable by its mechanical force to the service of industry, may be exceedingly limited, compared with the use which would be made of it if it were more abundant. Coal, metallic54 ores, and other useful substances found in the earth, are still more limited than land. They are not only strictly local but exhaustible; though, at a given place and time, they may exist in much greater abundance than would be applied to present use even if they could be obtained gratis55. Fisheries, in the sea, are in most cases a gift of nature practically unlimited in amount; but the Arctic whale fisheries have long been insufficient for the demand which exists even at the very considerable price necessary to defray the cost of appropriation56: and the immense extension which the Southern fisheries have in consequence assumed, is tending to exhaust them likewise. River fisheries are a natural resource of a very limited character, and would be rapidly exhausted57, if allowed to be used by every one without restraint. Air, even that state of it which we term wind, may, in most situations, be obtained in a quantity sufficient for every possible use; and so likewise, on the sea coast or on large rivers, may water carriage: though the wharfage or harbour-room applicable to the service of that mode of transport is in many situations far short of what would be used if easily attainable58.
It will be seen hereafter how much of the economy of society depends on the limited quantity in which some of the most important natural agents exist, and more particularly land. For the present I shall only remark that so long as the quantity of a natural agent is practically unlimited, it cannot, unless susceptible59 of artificial monopoly, bear any value in the market, since no one will give anything for what can be obtained gratis. But as soon as a limitation becomes practically operative; as soon as there is not so much of the thing to be had, as would be appropriated and used if it could be obtained for asking; the ownership or use of the natural agent acquires an exchangeable value. When more water power is wanted in a particular district, than there are falls of water to supply it, persons will give an equivalent for the use of a fall of water. When there is more land wanted for cultivation than a place possesses, or than it possesses of a certain quality and certain advantages of situation, land of that quality and situation may be sold for a price, or let for an annual rent. This subject will hereafter be discussed at length; but it is often useful to anticipate, by a brief suggestion, principles and deductions60 which we have not yet reached the place for exhibiting and illustrating61 fully62.
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1
requisite
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| adj.需要的，必不可少的；n.必需品 | |
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requisites
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| n.必要的事物( requisite的名词复数 ) | |
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solely
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| adv.仅仅，唯一地 | |
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exertion
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| n.尽力，努力 | |
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annoyance
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| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
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transformation
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| n.变化；改造；转变 | |
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7
derive
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| v.取得；导出；引申；来自；源自；出自 | |
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sustenance
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| n.食物，粮食；生活资料；生计 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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alteration
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| n.变更，改变；蚀变 | |
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11
axe
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| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
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porcelain
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| n.瓷；adj.瓷的，瓷制的 | |
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13
decomposing
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| 腐烂( decompose的现在分词 )； （使）分解； 分解（某物质、光线等） | |
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granite
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| adj.花岗岩，花岗石 | |
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inert
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| adj.无活动能力的，惰性的；迟钝的 | |
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recipient
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| a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器 | |
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17
revolve
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| vi.(使)旋转；循环出现 | |
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18
economizing
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| v.节省，减少开支( economize的现在分词 ) | |
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contriving
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| （不顾困难地）促成某事( contrive的现在分词 )； 巧妙地策划，精巧地制造（如机器）； 设法做到 | |
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previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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dispensed
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| v.分配( dispense的过去式和过去分词 )；施与；配（药） | |
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actively
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| adv.积极地，勤奋地 | |
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hemp
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| n.大麻；纤维 | |
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twines
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| n.盘绕( twine的名词复数 )；麻线；捻；缠绕在一起的东西 | |
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linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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tenacity
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| n.坚韧 | |
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cohesion
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| n.团结，凝结力 | |
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ascertain
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| vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清 | |
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29
neutralize
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| v.使失效、抵消，使中和 | |
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planks
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| （厚）木板( plank的名词复数 )； 政纲条目，政策要点 | |
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adhesive
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| n.粘合剂；adj.可粘着的，粘性的 | |
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32
combustion
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| n.燃烧；氧化；骚动 | |
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33
softens
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| （使）变软( soften的第三人称单数 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰 | |
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acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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contraction
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| n.缩略词，缩写式，害病 | |
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36
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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boiler
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| n.锅炉；煮器(壶，锅等) | |
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attainment
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| n.达到，到达；［常pl.］成就，造诣 | |
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ingenuity
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| n.别出心裁；善于发明创造 | |
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41
extorted
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| v.敲诈( extort的过去式和过去分词 )；曲解 | |
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42
conceit
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| n.自负，自高自大 | |
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43
engrossed
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| adj.全神贯注的 | |
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44
unlimited
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| adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的 | |
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45
literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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46
favourably
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| adv. 善意地，赞成地 =favorably | |
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47
situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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48
cultivation
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| n.耕作，培养，栽培（法），养成 | |
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49
insufficient
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| adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的 | |
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50
cisterns
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| n.蓄水池，储水箱( cistern的名词复数 )；地下储水池 | |
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51
copious
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| adj.丰富的，大量的 | |
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52
strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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53
plentiful
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| adj.富裕的，丰富的 | |
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54
metallic
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| adj.金属的；金属制的；含金属的；产金属的；像金属的 | |
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55
gratis
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| adj.免费的 | |
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56
appropriation
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| n.拨款，批准支出 | |
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57
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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58
attainable
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| a.可达到的，可获得的 | |
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59
susceptible
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| adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的 | |
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60
deductions
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| 扣除( deduction的名词复数 )； 结论； 扣除的量； 推演 | |
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61
illustrating
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| 给…加插图( illustrate的现在分词 )； 说明； 表明； （用示例、图画等）说明 | |
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62
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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