[15] Pursuing this same idea, Dupont writes as follows: “It is thirteen years since a man of exceptional genius, well versed in profound disquisition, and already known for his success in an art where complete mastery only comes with careful observation and complete submission to the laws of nature, predicted that natural laws extended far beyond the bounds hitherto assigned to them. If nature gives to the bee, the ant, or the beaver the power of submitting by common consent and for their own interest to a good, stable, and equable form of government, it can hardly refuse man the power of raising himself to the enjoyment of the same advantages. Convinced of the importance of this view, and of the important consequences that might follow from it, he applied his whole intellectual strength to an investigation of the physical laws which govern society.” Elsewhere he adds: “The natural order is merely the physical constitution which God Himself has given the universe.” (Introduction to Quesnay’s works, p. 21.)
Hector Denis in his Histoire des Doctrines expresses the belief that the most characteristic feature of the Physiocratic system is the emphasis laid upon a naturalistic conception of society. He illustrates this by means of diagrams showing the identity of the circulation of wealth and the circulation of the blood.
[16] “Its laws are irrevocable, pertaining as they do to the essence of matter and the soul of humanity. They are just the expression of the will of God.… All our interests, all our wishes, are focused at one point, making for harmony and universal happiness. We must regard this as the work of a kind Providence, which desires that the earth should be peopled by happy human beings.” (Mercier de la Rivière, vol. i, p. 390; vol. ii, p. 638.)
[17] “There is a natural judge of all ordinances, even of the sovereign’s. This judge, which recognises no exceptions, is just the evidence of their conformity with or opposition to natural laws.” (Dupont, vol. i, p. 746.)
[18] Dupont, introduction to Quesnay’s works, vol. i, pp. 19 and 26.
[19] Baudeau, vol. i, p. 820.
[20] Letter to Mdlle. Lespinasse (1770).
[21] See some remarks on the Tableau économique on p. 18.
[22] Baudeau, Éphémérides du Citoyen.
[23] “The laws of the natural order do not in any way restrain the liberty of mankind, for the great advantage which they possess is that they make for greater liberty.” (Quesnay, Droit Naturel, p. 55.) And Mercier de la Rivière says (vol. ii, p. 617): “The institution of private property and of liberty would secure perfect order without the help of any other law.”