ChapterTwoBookOne97

Just as in order to decrease and to abolish the lawsuits that distress so many families and that are so pernicious to the state’s wealth, it is not a question of having good judges and good lawyers, but of preventing as much as possible any case from becoming questionable and subject to debate any more. Or, if it (370) does, wise people of integrity should get involved everywhere to reconcile the parties, which should be the business of ecclesiastics who only exist to preach peace, justice and virtue.

With regard to schools that must serve to nourish young minds with all the necessary knowledge for the common good of society, they undoubtedly take second place in what I call the common necessities of the state, as I have shown above. But I say once again that our schools such as they are today need to be reformed and perfected because the knowledge of the three professions that makes and forms all the state’s wealth is hardly taught in them. (371) We have not yet thought of setting up public schools where good farmers, good artisans, and good merchants are trained. These sciences are learned very imperfectly elsewhere with difficulty and at great expense whereas they should be public and common to all of society. Public schools where the theory and the practice of these professions that are so wholesome and so important for public opulence would be perfectly taught would at least be as useful as those that produce so many quibblers, wits and charlatans. Perfecting agriculture, the arts,[^1] and commerce, and everything that contributes to this end can never disturb the state or (372) the peace of mind of families, whereas the so-called perfection of the other sciences produces everyday people who are entirely unsuited to the business of life, people who seek in each word, in each syllable, in each letter, and even in each forming of the mouth,[^2] mysteries, heresies, and material for lawsuits without end, and who imagine dangers and diseases where there are none, which often happens with the secret design of stripping others of the fruits of their labor.