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The value, both of the produce and of the rent, the real revenue

which they afforded, both to the public and to the proprietor,

might have been the same.

The most abundant mines, either of the precious metals, or of the

precious stones, could add little to the wealth of the world. A

produce, of which the value is principally derived from its

scarcity, is necessarily degraded by its abundance. A service of

plate, and the other frivolous ornaments of dress and furniture,

could be purchased for a smaller quantity of commodities; and in

this would consist the sole advantage which the world could

derive from that abundance.