When a nation of mere husbandmen, therefore, goes to war, the whole people cannot take the field together.
 Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations (1776). copy citation

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Author Adam Smith
Source The Wealth of Nations
Topic war nation
Date 1776
Language English
Reference An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations
Note
Weblink http://www.gutenberg.org/files/3300/3300-h/3300-h.htm

Context

“Such as they are, however, it seldom costs the sovereign or commonwealth any expense to prepare them for the field. Agriculture, even in its rudest and lowest state, supposes a settlement, some sort of fixed habitation, which cannot be abandoned without great loss. When a nation of mere husbandmen, therefore, goes to war, the whole people cannot take the field together. The old men, the women and children, at least, must remain at home, to take care of the habitation. All the men of the military age, however, may take the field, and in small nations of this kind, have frequently done so.” source