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Show !24 IN'fH.O DUCTION. should, if possible, be settled, I did not feel myself justified in giving less ~in1e to the consideration of them. I am far fron1 saying that I n1ay not be wrong jn the conclusions at which 1 have arrived, in opposition to those of :rvi r. Ricardo. But I atn conscious that I have taken all the 1neans to be right, which patient investigation and a sincere desire to get at the truth can give to the actual po\vers of 1ny understanding. And vvith this consciousness, both \vith respect to the opinions I have opposed, and those \vhich I have atten1pted to establish, I feel no reluctance in cotnmitting the results to the decision of the public. East India College, } Dec. 1, 1819. T. R. MALTHUS. { 25 ) . [ 'I CHA:PTER I. . ON THE DEFINITIONS OF WEALTH AND PRO- ' DUCTIVE LABOUR • . SECTION I. On the Definitions of Wealth. OF the subjects which have gi~en rise to differences of opinion an1ong political econon1ists, the definition of \Vealth is not the least ren1arkable. Such differences could hardly have taken place, if the definition had been obvious and easy; but, in reality, the more the subject is considered, the more it 'vill appear difficult, if not impossible, to fix on one not liable to some objection. In a 'vork, hovvever, on a science the great object of 'v hich is, to inquire into the causes \V hich influence the progress of wealth, it seen1s natural to look for so1ne definition of those objects, the increase or decrease of which we are about to estimate; and if \Ve cannot arrive at perfect accuracy, so as to embrace all we '\Vish and exclude all we \Vish in some short description, it seems desirable to approach as near to such a description as we can. It is known not to be very easy to dra\v a distinct . line between the animal, vegetable, and n1ineral kingdon1s; yet the advantage of £uch a classification is universally ackno\vledgecl; and no one, on |