Raynal

Raynal, on the subject of mankind being molded by the legislator (see Rousseau ), wrote:

“The legislator must first consider the climate, the air, and the soil. The resources at his disposal determine his duties. He must first consider his locality. A population living on maritime shores must have laws designed for navigation…. If it is an inland settlement, the legislator must make his plans according to the nature and fertility of the soil….

It is especially in the distribution of property that the genius of the legislator will be found. As a general rule, when a new colony is established in any country , sufficient land should be given to each man to support his family….

On an uncultivated island that you are populating with children, you need do nothing but let the seeds of truth germinate along with the development of reason…. But when you resettle a nation with a past into a new country , the skill of the legislator rests in the policy of permitting the people to retain no injurious opinions and customs which can possibly be cured and corrected. If you desire to prevent these opinions and customs from becoming permanent, you will secure the second generation by a general system of public Education for the children. A prince or a legislator should never establish a colony without first arranging to send wise men along to instruct the youth….

In a new colony, ample opportunity is open to the careful legislator who desires to purify the customs and manners of the people. If he has virtue and genius, the land and the people at his disposal will inspire his soul with a plan for society. A writer can only vaguely trace the plan in advance because it is necessarily subject to the instability of all hypotheses; the problem has many forms, complications, and circumstances that are difficult to foresee and settle in detail.”

Raynal’s instructions to the legislators on how to manage people may be compared to a professor of agriculture lecturing his students:

“The climate is the first rule for the farmer. His resources determine his procedure. He must first consider his locality. If his soil is clay, he must do so and so. If his soil is sand, he must act in another manner. Every facility is open to the farmer who wishes to clear and improve his soil. If he is skillful enough, the manure at his disposal will suggest to him a plan of operation. A professor can only vaguely trace this plan in advance because it is necessarily subject to the instability of all hypotheses; the problem has many forms, complications, and circumstances that are difficult to foresee and settle in detail.”

Author: international

Mentioned in these Entries

Education, Rousseau, country.