Chap. Xr. A N T I E N T M E T A P H Y S I C S. 229 



arts of life weretobe carried on by flaves,or by barbarians living in their 

 neighbourhoocl, whom Ariftotle calls nictoixct*. This is certainly a 

 very narrow fyftem of governmenr, and which niuft be confined to 

 one city, and accordingly it is fo, both by Ariflotle and Plato : 

 Whereas the Egyptian fyftem takes in a whole nation, and a moft 

 numerous nation, and provides men proper to difcharge all the of- 

 fices of life, even the meaneft. 



Further the divifion of the people, into fo many claffes or cajls^ 

 as they are called in India, according to the different arts which they 

 profefs, muft, 1 think, have made theni excel more in their feveral 

 arts and profelTions, than, I believe, any people in any other coun- 

 try ever did. In other countries, and particularly in the popular go- 

 vernments of Greece, men had feveral employments : For befides 

 the particular art which they profeffed, they had the bufinefs of the 

 ftate, to which they were obliged to attend. Thus a citizen of A- 

 ihens, befides his particular bufinefs, fuch as that of a foldier, a fai- 

 lor, a merchant, or whatever other bufinefs he might think proper 

 to apply to in order to acquire money, was obliged to attend the 

 public affemblies, to be a judge, or to difcharge any other office of 

 the ftate, that by lot might fall on him. Now, 1 fay, it is impoffi- 

 ble, when a man pradices fo many trades, that he can excel in any 

 one of them t : Whereas the citizens of Egypt, following only one 

 profeffion, and being educated for that profeffion in the beft way 

 poffible, muft have excelled in it. And there muft have been 

 an emulation among all thofe pradifing the fame profeffion, 

 which muft have made them ftrive to outdo one another. And 

 this emulation would take place, not only in the lower clafl'es, but 

 alfo among the prieftsj where there would not only be emulation a- 



mong 



* Lib. 4. de repull'ica. cap. 8. and 9. and lib. 7. cap. 13. 

 t Homer fays of Margites, who was a Jack of all Trades^ that 



