The second period, from the fall of the Roman government till the discovery of America, and the passage to the East Indies, by the ocean, has likewise a distinct feature, and is treated of by itself.

The rulers of mankind were not then men, who from the ease and leisure of pastoral life, under a mild heaven, had studied science, and cultivated the arts; they were men who had descended from a cold northern climate, where nature did little to supply their wants, where hunger and cold could not be avoided but by industry and exertion; where, in one word, the sterility of nature was counteracted by the energy of man.

The possessors of milder climates, and of softer manners, falling under the dominion of such men, inferior greatly in numbers, as well as in arts, intermixed with them, and formed a new race, of which the character was different; and it is a circumstance not a little curious, that while mankind were in a state at which they had arrived by increasing population, and by the arts of peace, slavery was universal:  but that when governed by men who were conquerors, and owed their superiority to force alone, where slavery might have been expected to originate, it was abolished. {6}

—–­ {6} This fact, which is indisputable, has, at first sight, a most extraordinary appearance, that is to say, seems difficult to account for; but a little examination into circumstances will render it easily understood.

In warm and fertile countries, the love of ease is predominant, and the services wanted are such as a slave can perform.  The indolent habits of people make them consider freedom as an object of less importance than exemption from care.  While the rulers of mankind were indolent and luxurious, they were interested in continuing slavery, which must have [end of page #2] originated in barbarism and ignorance.  But the northern nations were different; with them, neither the moral character, the physical powers, or the situation of things, favoured slavery.  The services one man wanted of another were not such as a slave could be forced to perform:  neither are men who are fitted for performing such offices disposed to submit to slavery.  Shepherds may be reduced to the situation of slaves, but hunters will not be likely to submit to such a situation, even if their occupation admitted of it.  Slaves can only be employed to perform labour that is under the eye of an overseer or master, or the produce of which is nearly certain:  but the labour of a hunter is neither the one nor the other, it is, therefore, not of the sort to be performed by slaves.  The athletic active life necessary for a hunter is, besides, unfriendly to slavery, if not totally at variance with it.  What does a slave receive in return for his service?  Lodging, nourishment, and a life free from care.  A hunter is obliged to provide the two former for himself, and the latter it is impossible for him to enjoy.  The same thing goes even to hired servants.  In the rudest state of shepherds, there are hired servants, but men in a rude state never hunt for wages:  they are their own masters:  they may hunt in society or partnership, but never as slaves or hired servants. -=-