Butwhatalltheviolenceofthefeudalinstitutionscouldneverhaveeffected，thesilentandinsensibleoperationofforeigncommerceandmanufacturesgraduallybroughtabout。Thesegraduallyfurnishedthegreatproprietorswithsomethingforwhichtheycouldexchangethewholesurplusproduceoftheirlands，andwhichtheycouldconsumethemselveswithoutsharingiteitherwithtenantsorretainers。Allforourselvesandnothingforotherpeople，seems，ineveryageoftheworld，tohavebeenthevilemaximofthemastersofmankind。Assoon，therefore，astheycouldfindamethodofconsumingthewholevalueoftheirrentsthemselves，theyhadnodispositiontosharethemwithanyotherpersons。Forapairofdiamondbuckles，perhaps，orforsomethingasfrivolousanduseless，theyexchangedthemaintenance，orwhatisthesamething，thepriceofthemaintenanceofathousandmenforayear，andwithitthewholeweightandauthoritywhichitcouldgivethem。Thebuckles，however，weretobealltheirown，andnootherhumancreaturewastohaveanyshareofthem;whereasinthemoreancientmethodofexpensetheymusthavesharedwithatleastathousandpeople。
Withthejudgesthatweretodeterminethepreferencethisdifferencewasperfectlydecisive;andthus，forthegratificationofthemostchildish，themeanest，andthemostsordidofallvanities，theygraduallybarteredtheirwholepowerandauthority。
Inacountrywherethereisnoforeigncommerce，noranyofthefinermanufactures，amanoftenthousandayearcannotwellemployhisrevenueinanyotherwaythaninmaintaining，perhaps，athousandfamilies，whoareallofthemnecessarilyathiscommand。InthepresentstateofEurope，amanoftenthousandayearcanspendhiswholerevenue，andhegenerallydoesso，withoutdirectlymaintainingtwentypeople，orbeingabletocommandmorethantenfootmennotworththecommanding。
Indirectly，perhaps，hemaintainsasgreatorevenagreaternumberofpeoplethanhecouldhavedonebytheancientmethodofexpense。Forthoughthequantityofpreciousproductionsforwhichheexchangeshiswholerevenuebeverysmall，thenumberofworkmenemployedincollectingandpreparingitmustnecessarilyhavebeenverygreat。Itsgreatpricegenerallyarisesfromthewagesoftheirlabour，andtheprofitsofalltheirimmediateemployers。Bypayingthatpriceheindirectlypaysallthosewagesandprofitsandthusindirectlycontributestothemaintenanceofalltheworkmenandtheiremployers。Hegenerallycontributes，however，butaverysmallproportiontothatofeach，toveryfewperhapsatenth，tomanynotahundredth，andtosomenotathousandth，norevenaten—thousandthpartoftheirwholeannualmaintenance。Thoughhecontributes，therefore，tothemaintenanceofthemall，theyareallmoreorlessindependentofhim，becausegenerallytheycanallbemaintainedwithouthim。
Whenthegreatproprietorsoflandspendtheirrentsinmaintainingtheirtenantsandretainers，eachofthemmaintainsentirelyallhisowntenantsandallhisownretainers。Butwhentheyspendtheminmaintainingtradesmenandartificers，theymay，allofthemtakentogether，perhaps，maintainasgreat，or，onaccountofthewastewhichattendsrustichospitality，agreaternumberofpeoplethanbefore。Eachofthem，however，takensingly，contributesoftenbutaverysmallsharetothemaintenanceofanyindividualofthisgreaternumber。Eachtradesmanorartificerderiveshissubsistencefromtheemployment，notofone，butofahundredorathousanddifferentcustomers。Thoughinsomemeasureobligedtothemall，therefore，heisnotabsolutelydependentuponanyoneofthem。