第883页 / 共2651页

Both productive and unproductive labourers, and those who do not

labour at all, are all equally maintained by the annual produce

of the land and labour of the country. This produce, how great

soever, can never be infinite, but must have certain limits.

According, therefore, as a smaller or greater proportion of it is

in any one year employed in maintaining unproductive hands, the

more in the one case, and the less in the other, will remain for

the productive, and the next year's produce will be greater or

smaller accordingly; the whole annual produce, if we except the

spontaneous productions of the earth, being the effect of

productive labour.