“ Though possession be stable, men may often reap but small advantage from it, while they are possessed of a greater quantity of any species of goods than they have occasion for, and at the same time suffer by the want of others. ”
David Hume, A Treatise of Human Nature (1738). copy citation
| Author | David Hume |
|---|---|
| Source | A Treatise of Human Nature |
| Topic | suffering species |
| Date | 1738 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/4705/4705-h/4705-h.htm |
Context
“that of the transference of property and possession by consent has begun to render them mutually advantageous: But still these laws of nature, however strictly observed, are not sufficient to render them so serviceable to each other, as by nature they are fitted to become. Though possession be stable, men may often reap but small advantage from it, while they are possessed of a greater quantity of any species of goods than they have occasion for, and at the same time suffer by the want of others. The transference of property, which is the proper remedy for this inconvenience, cannot remedy it entirely; because it can only take place with regard to such objects as are present and individual, but not to such as are absent or general.”
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