juſtice gives every man a title to the product of his honeſt induſtry, and the fair acquisitions of his anceſtors deſcended to him ; ſo charity gives every man a title to ſo much out of another's plenty, as will keep him from extreme want, where he has no means to ſubſiſt otherwiſe : and a man can no more juſtly make uſe of another's neceſſity, to force him to become his vaſſal, by with-holding that relief, God requires him to afford to the wants of his brother, than he that has more ſtrength can ſeize upon a weaker, maſter him to his obedience, and with a dagger at his throat offer him death or ſlavery.
§. 43. Should any one make ſo perverſe an uſe of God's bleſſings poured on him with a liberal hand ; ſhould any one be cruel and uncharitable to that extremity, yet all this would not prove that propriety in land, even in this cafe, gave any authority over the perſons of men, but only that compact might ; ſince the authority of the rich proprietor, and the ſubjection of the needy beggar, began not from the poſſeſſion of the Lord, but the conſent of the poor man, who preferred being his ſubject to ſtarving. And the man he thus ſubmits to, can pretend to no more power over him, than he has conſented to, upon compact. Upon this ground a man's having his ſtores filled in a time of ſcarcity, having money in his pocket, being in a veſſel at ſea, being able to ſwim, &c. may as well be
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