12 Dec. 1801

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3

say that neither of those […?] /conceptions/ /allusions/ will serve to convey a

just conception of the principles on which the arguments of /in/ that book are

grounded. Neither on that or any other occasion have I ever given or shall I

ever give, serpents for fish, sentiment or metaphor for argument. I have not, I

never had nor ever shall have any sentimental horror /any horror, sentimental or

anarchical/ of the hand of government. I leave it to Adam Smith and the

champions of the rights of man (for confusion of ideas will jumble together the

best subjects and the worst citizens upon the same ground) to talk of invasions

of natural liberty and to give as a special argument against this or that law,

an argument the effect of which would be to put a negative on /upon/ all laws.

Of The interference of government, as often as in my humble view of the matter

any the smallest ballance on the side of advantage is the result /is an event I

witness/, with altogether as much satisfaction as I should its forbearance, and

with much more than I should its negligence. Neither in that book nor in any

other book of mine will any expression be found in /by/ which any such

association is attempted to be made between the idea of money and that of a

level between rates of interest and levels. The particles of a mass of fluid,

the particles of a mass of water have a propensity when left to themselves to

range themselves upon the same level: human creatures have on their part a

propensity to save their own lives: and when water in the search after a level

is making its way too fast into a ship, pumps are employed by men to

prevent