A, The good things,
B, Which he has honestly got,
C, And can skilfully use.
That is the A B C of Property.
A. It must consist of good things—not bad ones. It is rightly called therefore a man’s ‘Goods,’ not a man’s ‘Bads.’
If you have got a quantity of dung lodged in your drains, a quantity of fleas lodged in your bed, or a quantity of nonsense lodged in your brains,—that is not ‘Property,’ but the reverse thereof; the value to you of your drains, bed, and brains being thereby diminished, not increased.
Can you understand that much, my practical friend?[1]
B. It must be a good thing, honestly got. Nothing that you have stolen or taken by force, nor anything that your fathers stole or took by force, is your property. Nevertheless, the benignant law of Nature concerning [[314]]any such holding, has always been quite manifestly that you may keep it—if you can,—so only that you acknowledge that and none other to be the condition of tenure.[2]
Can you understand that much more, my practical friend?
C. It must be not only something good, and not only something honestly got, but also something you can skilfully use.