The history of property among the ancient nations is, then, simply a matter of research and curiosity. It is a rule of jurisprudence that the fact does not substantiate the right. Now, property is no exception to this rule: then the universal recognition of the right of property does not legitimate the right of property. Man is mistaken as to the constitution of society, the nature of right, and the application of justice; just as he was mistaken regarding the cause of meteors and the movement of the heavenly bodies. His old opinions cannot be taken for articles of faith. Of what consequence is it to us that the Indian race was divided into four classes; that, on the banks of the Nile and the Ganges, blood and position formerly determined the distribution of the land; that the Greeks and Romans placed property under the protection of the gods; that they accompanied with religious ceremonies the work of partitioning the land and appraising their goods? The variety of the forms of privilege does not sanction injustice. The faith of Jupiter, the proprietor, [13] proves no more against the equality of citizens, than do the mysteries of Venus, the wanton, against conjugal chastity. The authority of the human race is of no effect as evidence in favor of the right of property, because this right, resting of necessity upon equality, contradicts its principle; the decision of the religions which have sanctioned it is of no effect, because in all ages the priest has submitted to the prince, and the gods have always spoken as the politicians desired; the social advantages, attributed to property, cannot be cited in its behalf, because they all spring from the principle of equality of possession. What means, then, this dithyramb upon property? "The right of property is the most important of human institutions."... Yes; as monarchy is the most glorious. "The original cause of man's prosperity upon earth." Because justice was supposed to be its principle. "Property became the legitimate end of his ambition, the hope of his existence, the shelter of his family; in a word, the corner-stone of the domestic dwelling, of communities, and of the political State." Possession alone produced all that. "Eternal principle,--" Property is eternal, like every negation,-- "Of all social and civil institutions." For that reason, every institution and every law based on property will perish. "It is a boon as precious as liberty." For the rich proprietor. "In fact, the cause of the cultivation of the habitable earth." If the cultivator ceased to be a tenant, would the land be worse cared for? "The guarantee and the morality of labor." Under the regime of property, labor is not a condition, but a privilege. "The application of justice." What is justice without equality of fortunes? A balance with false weights. "All morality,--" A famished stomach knows no morality,-- "All public order,--"