184. But supposing the charge and damages of the war are to be
made up to the conqueror to the utmost farthing, and that the children
of the vanquished, spoiled of all their father's goods, are to be left
to starve and perish, yet the satisfying of what shall, on this score,
be due to the conqueror will scarce give him a title to any country he
shall conquer. For the damages of war can scarce amount to the value
of any considerable tract of land in any part of the world, where
all the land is possessed, and none lies waste. And if I have not
taken away the conqueror's land which, being vanquished, it is
impossible I should, scarce any other spoil I have done him can amount
to the value of mine, supposing it of an extent any way coming near
what I had overrun of his, and equally cultivated too. The destruction
of a year's product or two (for it seldom reaches four or five) is the
utmost spoil that usually can be done. For as to money, and such
riches and treasure taken away, these are none of Nature's goods, they
have but a phantastical imaginary value; Nature has put no such upon
them. They are of no more account by her standard than the
Wampompeke of the Americans to an European prince, or the silver money
of Europe would have been formerly to an American.
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