ORIGIN OF GOVERNMENTS. 727 



Thus it is manifest, that the diet, clothing, habi- 

 tations, manners, customs, and religious ceremo- 

 nies of mankind, are greatly modified by geogra- 

 phical position, that " creeds and morals vary in 

 every clime, growing like herbs upon the soil," 

 that the physical character of nations, and even 

 their political institutions, depend greatly on the 

 region in which they are created. For in countries 

 where the climate is unfit for agriculture, the 

 population must necessarily be poor, thinly scat- 

 tered, and separated into numerous tribes of wan- 

 dering shepherds, robbers, and hunters, who can- 

 not unite under regular forms of government, nor 

 make any considerable progress in civilization, 

 arts, science, and general improvement. As the 

 higher intellectual and moral faculties are but 

 little exercised, they are imperfectly developed, 

 and the animal feelings greatly predominate. 



But in countries where the population is dense, 

 all the higher faculties are stimulated to exertion, 

 by the prospect of obtaining wealth, pleasure, dis- 

 tinction, or power, which are both the cause and 

 effect of improvement of the nobler faculties. 

 Even the organs of voice are modified by climate. 

 And as among barbarous tribes, the objects are 

 few about which the mind is employed, language 

 is poor, or deficient in copiousness and variety. 

 On the other hand, I fully agree with Mr. Law- 

 rence, that " bad government, oppressive laws, 

 neglected education, bigotry, fanaticism, and reli- 



3 B 



