176 



of ten or twenty pounds ; the rich, even if distressed, easily 

 find bail, or soon discharge a similar or much larger debt. 

 To obtain justice for rights withheld, or wrongs suffered, is 

 often attended with considerable expense, both of time and 

 money, and constant vigilance and attention. To the rich 

 these requisites are possible, to the poor impossible. 



Thus we find that the assertions of many celebrated writers 

 are grounded on very superficial observations, rather than on 

 a close and accurate inspection of the real state of these dif- 

 ferent classes of civilized society. Dr. Paley aflSrms, " that 

 " happiness is pretty equally distributed among the different 

 " orders of civil society, a maxim which (he says) is laid 

 " down in most books of morality* ; but which he thinks has 

 " been seldom supported by any solid reasons." Let us then 

 consider those by. which he supports it. 



1", with regard to the pleasure of superiority, he tells us, 

 " that if a farmer can shew better cattle than any other far- 

 " mcr in the hundred ; or if a lord have a larger estate than 

 " any other nobleman in the county ; if a king possess more 

 " extensive territories than any prince in Europe ; in all these 

 " cases, the parties feel an equal satisfaction in their supe- 

 " riorit\'." 



But surely if the farmer could shew better cattle than any 

 other farmer in the kingdom ; or the lord a greater estate 



than 



* Paley, b. 1, chap. 6. 



