第36章

willmakeitoneofthecornerstonesoftheirnewbuilding。Butitisverydoubtfulwhethertheantientlawswillcondemnhim，andwhetherthepeoplewillpermithimtobeacquitted。TheDukedelaVauguyonalso&hissonaretakenatHavre——IndrawingtheparallelbetweenwhatEnglandis，&whatFranceistobeIforgottoobservethatthelatterwillhavearealconstitution，whichcannotbechangedbytheordinarylegislature；whereasEnglandhasnoconstitutionatall：thatistosaythereisnotoneprincipleoftheirgovernmentwhichtheparliamentdoesnotalteratpleasure。

Theomnipotenceofparliamentisanestablishedprinciplewiththem——

PostponingmydeparturetoAmericatilltheendofSeptemberI

shallhopetohavethepleasureofseeingyouatParisbeforeIgo，&

ofrenewinginpersontoyourself&MadamelaComtesseassurancesofthosesentimentsofrespect&attachmentwithwhichIhavethehonortobeDearSiryourmostobedienthumbleserv’t。

P。S。Itisrumored&beleivedinParisthattheEnglishhavefomentedwithmoneythetumultsofthisplace，&thattheyarearmingtoattackFrance。Ihaveneverseenanyreasontobelieveeitheroftheserumors。”THEEARTHBELONGSTOTHELIVING”

_ToJamesMadison_

_Paris，September6，1789_

DEARSIR，——IsitdowntowritetoyouwithoutknowingbywhatoccasionIshallsendmyletter。IdoitbecauseasubjectcomesintomyheadwhichIwouldwishtodevelopealittlemorethanispracticableinthehurryofthemomentofmakingupgeneraldespatches。

ThequestionWhetheronegenerationofmenhasarighttobindanother，seemsnevertohavebeenstartedeitheronthisoroursideofthewater。Yetitisaquestionofsuchconsequencesasnotonlytomeritdecision，butplacealso，amongthefundamentalprinciplesofeverygovernment。Thecourseofreflectioninwhichweareimmersedhereontheelementaryprinciplesofsocietyhaspresentedthisquestiontomymind；andthatnosuchobligationcanbetransmittedIthinkverycapableofproof。IsetoutonthisgroundwhichIsupposetobeselfevident，”_thattheearthbelongsinusufructtotheliving_；”thatthedeadhaveneitherpowersnorrightsoverit。Theportionoccupiedbyanindividualceasestobehiswhenhimselfceasestobe，andrevertstothesociety。Ifthesocietyhasformednorulesfortheappropriationofitslandsinseveralty，itwillbetakenbythefirstoccupants。Thesewillgenerallybethewifeandchildrenofthedecedent。Iftheyhaveformedrulesofappropriation，thoserulesmaygiveittothewifeandchildren，ortosomeoneofthem，ortothelegateeofthedeceased。Sotheymaygiveittohiscreditor。Butthechild，thelegateeorcreditortakesit，notbyanynaturalright，butbyalawofthesocietyofwhichtheyaremembers，andtowhichtheyaresubject。Thennomancanby_naturalright_obligethelandsheoccupied，orthepersonswhosucceedhiminthatoccupation，tothepaimentofdebtscontractedbyhim。Forifhecould，hemightduringhisownlife，eatuptheusufructofthelandsforseveralgenerationstocome，andthenthelandswouldbelongtothedead，andnottotheliving，whichwouldbereverseofourprinciple。Whatistrueofeverymemberofthesocietyindividually，istrueofthemallcollectively，sincetherightsofthewholecanbenomorethanthesumoftherightsofindividuals。Tokeepourideasclearwhenapplyingthemtoamultitude，letussupposeawholegenerationofmentobebornonthesameday，toattainmatureageonthesameday，andtodieonthesameday，leavingasucceedinggenerationinthemomentofattainingtheirmatureagealltogether。Lettheripeagebesupposedof21。years，andtheirperiodoflife34。yearsmore，thatbeingtheaveragetermgivenbythebillsofmortalitytopersonswhohavealreadyattained21。yearsofage。Eachsuccessivegenerationwould，inthisway，comeonandgooffthestageatafixedmoment，asindividualsdonow。ThenIsaytheearthbelongstoeachofthesegenerationsduringit’scourse，fully，andintheirownright。The2d。generationreceivesitclearofthedebtsandincumbrancesofthe1st。，the3d。ofthe2d。andsoon。Forifthe1st。couldchargeitwithadebt，thentheearthwouldbelongtothedeadandnotthelivinggeneration。Thennogenerationcancontractdebtsgreaterthanmaybepaidduringthecourseofit’sownexistence。At21。yearsofagetheymaybindthemselvesandtheirlandsfor34。yearstocome：at22。for3