Page:Montesquieu - The spirit of laws.djvu/25

Rh has lost these two millions who have been unuseful during their life, four millions which would have been produced by them in the space of an hundred and twenty years, two millions which would have proceeded from the children of the first, from the year 1690 to the year 1750, and two millions which would be produced by the children of the two last millions from the year 1750 to the year 1810. In all ten millions, a loss which though immense is real; because the two millions upon which I build this computation may reasonably be supposed to be sheltered from the miseries of war and famine, and to propagate in full security: from hence it follows that France having only twenty millions of souls, though it ought without the obstacle of celibacy to have thirty millions by the year 1810, it loses one third of the force it might acquire. Can we then be astonished that states formerly extremely populous should be now thinly inhabited?

"Cast an eye on the infinite number of persons who in the two last ages have taken the vow of celibacy. Compute the  Rh