TheprevalenceofthisviewexplainsMalthus’sposition。Toattributedepopulationtoluxurywastosaythatitwascausedbytheinequalityofproperty。Therichmanwastedthesubstanceofthecountry，becamedemoralisedhimself，andbothcorruptedandplunderedhisneighbours。Thereturntoa’stateofnature，’inRousseau’sphrase，meantthereturntoastateofthingsinwhichthismisappropriationshouldbecomeimpossible，thewholeindustryofthenationwouldthenbedevotedtosupportingmillionsofhonest，simplepeasantsandlabourers，whereasitnowwenttoincreasingthesplendourofthegreatattheexpenseofthepoor，Priceenlargesuponthistheme，whichwas，infact，thecontemporaryversionofthelaterformulathatthericharegrowingricherandthepoorpoorer。Theimmediateeffectofequalisingproperty，then，wouldbeanincreaseofpopulation。Itwasthenaturalretort，adoptedbyMalthus，thatsuchanincreasewouldsoonmakeeverybodypoor，insteadofmakingeveryonecomfortable。Population，theFrencheconomistshadsaid，followssubsistence。Willitnotmultiplyindefinitely?TherapidgrowthofpopulationinAmericawasnoticedbyPriceandGodwin；andthetheoryhadbeenlongbeforeexpandedbyFranklin，inapaperwhichMalthusquotesinhislatereditions。’Thereisnobound，’saidFranklinin1751，13’totheprolificnatureofplantsandanimalsbutwhatismadebytheircrowdingandinterferingwitheachother’smeansofsubsistence。’Thewholeearth，heinfers，mightbeoverspreadwithfennel，forexample，or，ifemptyofmen，replenishedinafewageswithEnglishmen。ThereweresupposedtobealreadyonemillionofEnglishmeninNorthAmerica。Iftheydoubledonceintwenty-fiveyears，theywouldinacenturyexceedthenumberofEnglishmenathome。ThisisidenticalwithMirabeau’sprincipleofthemultiplyingofratsinabarn。Populationtreadscloselyontheheelsofsubsistence。Workoutyourfiguresandseetheresults。14
　　Malthus’sessayinthefirsteditionwasmainlyanapplicationofthisretort，andthoughthelogicwaseffectiveasagainstGodwin，hemadenoelaborateappealtofacts。
　　Malthussooncametoseethatamorepreciseapplicationwasdesirable。
　　Itwasclearlydesirabletoknowwhetherpopulationwasorwasnotactuallyincreasing，andunderwhatconditions。IhavespokenofthecontemporarylaboursofSinclair，Young，SirF。Eden，andothers。Tocollectstatisticswasplainlyoneoftheessentialconditionsofsettlingthecontroversy。
　　Malthusin1799travelledonthecontinenttogatherinformation，andvisitedSweden，Norway，Russia，andGermany。ThepeaceofAmiensenabledhimin1802tovisitFranceandSwitzerland。Heinquiredeverywhereintotheconditionofthepeople，collectedsuchstatisticalknowledgeaswasthenpossible，andreturnedtodigestitintoamoreelaboratetreatise。Meanwhile，theconditionofEnglandwasgivingafreshsignificancetotheargument。Thefirsteditionhadbeenpublishedatthecriticaltimewhenthepoor-lawwasbeingrelaxed，anddisastrousresultswerefollowingwarandfamine。
　　Theoldcomplaintthatthepoor-lawwascausingdepopulationwasbeingchangedforthecomplaintthatitwasstimulatingpauperism。Thefirsteditionalreadydiscussedthissubject，whichwasoccupyingallseriousthinkers；itwasnowtoreceiveafullertreatment。Thesecondedition，greatlyaltered，appearedin1803，andmadeMalthusamanofauthority。
　　Hismeritswererecognisedbyhisappointmentin1805totheprofessorshipofhistoryandpoliticaleconomyatthenewlyfoundedEastIndiaCollegeatHaileybury。Thereheremainedtilltheendofhislife，whichwasplacid，uneventful，andhappy。Hemadeahappymarriagein1804；andhiscalmtemperamentenabledhimtobearanamountofabusewhichmighthavebrokenthehealthofamoreirritableman。Cobbett’sepithet，’parsonMalthus，’strikesthekeynote。HewaspicturedasaChristianpriestdenouncingcharity，andproclaimingthenecessityofviceandmisery。HehadtheilllucktobethecentreuponwhichtheantipathiesofJacobinandanti-Jacobinconverged。
　　Cobbett’slanguagewasrougherthanSouthey’s；butthepoet-laureateandtheauthorof’two-pennytrash’wereequallyvehementinsentiment。Malthus，ontheotherhand，wasacceptedbythepoliticaleconomists，bothWhigandUtilitarian。HornerandMackintosh，lightsoftheWhigs，werehiswarmfriendsaswellashisdisciples。HebecameintimatewithRicardo，andhewasoneoftheoriginalmembersofthePoliticalEconomyClub。Hetookabuseimperturbably；wasnevervexed’afterthefirstfortnight’bythemostunfairattack；andwentondevelopinghistheories，lecturinghisstudents，andimprovinglatereditionsofhistreatise。Malthusdiedon23rdDecember1834。
　　II。THERATIOS
　　Thedoctrinemarksacriticalpointinpoliticaleconomy。Malthus’sopponents，asMr。Bonarremarks，15attackedhimalternatelyforpropoundingatruismandformaintainingaparadox。A’truism’isnotuselesssolongasitstruthisnotadmitted。
　　Itwouldbethegreatestofachievementstoenunciatealawself-evidentassoonasformulated，andyetpreviouslyignoredordenied。WasthisthecaseofMalthus?Ordidhereallystartletheworldbyclothingacommonplaceinparadox，andthenexplainawaytheparadoxtillnothingbutthecommonplacewasleft?
　　Malthuslaiddowninhisfirsteditionapropositionwhichcontinuedtobeworriedbyallhisassailants。
　　Population，hesaid，whenunchecked，increasesinthegeometricalratio；
　　themeansofsubsistenceincreaseonlyinanarithmeticalratio。Geometricalratioswerejusttheninfashion。16Pricehadappealedtotheirwonderfulwaysinhisargumentsaboutthesinkingfund；and，hadpointedoutthatapennyputoutto5percentcompoundinterestatthebirthofChristwould，inthedaysofPitt，havebeenworthsomemillionsofglobesofsolidgold，eachasbigastheearth。BothPriceandMalthuslaydownapropositionwhichcaneasilybeverifiedbythemultiplication-table。
　　If，asMalthussaid，populationdoublesintwenty-fiveyears，thenumberintwocenturieswouldbetothepresentnumberas256to1，andinthreeas4096to1。If，meanwhile，thequantityofsubsistenceincreasedin’arithmeticalprogression，’themultipliersforitwouldbeonly9and13。Itfollowsthat，intheyear2003，twohundredandfifty-sixpersonswillhavetoliveuponwhatnowsupportsnine。Sofar，thecaseisclear。Buthowdoestheargumentapplytofacts?Forobviousreasons，Price’spennycouldnotbecomeevenonesolidplanetofgold。Malthus’spopulationisalsoclearlyimpossible。Thatisjusthiscase。ThepopulationofBritishNorthAmericawasactually，whenhewrote，multiplyingattheassignedrate。Whathepointedoutwasthatsucharatemustsomehowbestopped；andhisquestionwas，howpreciselywillitbestopped?Thefirstproposition，hesays17thatis，thatpopulationincreasedgeometrically，’IconsideredasprovedthemomentthattheAmericanincreasewasrelated；andthesecondassoonasenunciated。’Tosaythatapopulationincreasesgeometrically，infact，issimplytosaythatitincreasesatafixedrate。ThearithmeticalincreasecorrespondstoastatementwhichMalthus，atanyrate，mightregardasundeniable；namely，thatinacountryalreadyfullyoccupied，thepossibilityofincreasingproduceisrestrictedwithinmuchnarrowerlimits。Ina’newcountry，’asintheAmericancolonies，theincreaseoffoodmightproceedasrapidlyastheincreaseofpopulation。Improvedmethodsofcultivation，orthevirtualadditionofvasttractsoffertileterritorybyimprovedmeansofcommunication，mayofcourseaddindefinitelytotheresourcesofapopulation。ButMalthuswascontemplatingastateofthingsinwhichtheactualconditionslimitedthepeopletoanextractionofgreatersuppliesfromastrictlylimitedarea。WhetherMalthusassumedtooeasilythatthisrepresentedthenormalcasemaybequestionable。Atanyrate，itwasnotonlypossiblebutactualintheEnglandofthetime。Hisproblemwasverymuchtothepurpose。Hisaimwastotracethewayinwhichthepopulationofalimitedregionispreventedfromincreasinggeometrically。IfthedescendantsofEnglishmenincreaseatacertainrateinAmerica，whydotheynotincreaseequallyinEngland?That，itmustbeadmitted，isafairscientificproblem。Findingthattworacesofsimilarorigin，andpresumablylikequalities，increaseatdifferentrates，wehavetoinvestigatethecausesofthedifference。
　　Malthusansweredtheprobleminthesimplestandmostconsistentwayinhisfirstedition。Whatarethechecks?Theultimatecheckwouldclearlybestarvation。Apopulationmightmultiplytillithadnotfood。Butbeforethislimitisactuallyreached，itwillsufferinvariouswaysfromscarcity。Briefly，thechecksmaybedistinguishedintothepositive，thatis，actualdistress，andthepreventive，or’foresight。’Weshallactuallysufferunlesswearerestrainedbytheanticipationofsuffering。Asafact，however，hethinksthatmenarebutlittleinfluencedbytheprudencewhichforeseessufferings。Theygoonmultiplyingtilltheconsequencesarerealised。Youmaybeconfinedinaroom，touseoneofhisillustrations，18thoughthewallsdonottouchyou；buthumanbeingsareseldomsatisfiedtilltheyhaveactuallyknockedtheirheadsagainstthewall。Hesumsuphisargumentinthefirsteditioninthreepropositions。19Populationislimitedbythemeansofsubsistence；thatisobvious；populationinvariablyincreaseswhenthemeansofsubsistenceareincreased；thatisshownbyexperiencetobepracticallytrue；andtherefore，finally，theproportionismaintainedby’miseryandvice。’Thatisthemainconclusionwhichnotunnaturallystartledtheworld，Malthusalwaysadheredinsomesensetothemaindoctrine，thoughhestatedexplicitlysomereservesalreadyimplicitlyinvolved。Awritermustnotbesurprisedifpopularreadersremembertheunguardedanddogmaticutteranceswhichgivepiquancytoatheory，andoverlookthelatentqualificationswhich，whenfullyexpressed，makeitapproximatetoacommonplace。Thepoliticalbearingofhisreasoningissignificant。TheapplicationofGodwin’stheoriesofequalitywouldnecessarily，asheurges，stimulateanexcessivepopulation。Tomeettheconsequentevils，twomeasureswouldbeobviouslynecessary；privatepropertymustbeinstitutedinordertostimulateprudence；andmarriagemustbeinstitutedtomakemenresponsiblefortheincreaseofthepopulation。Theseinstitutionsarenecessary，andtheymakeequalityimpossible。Weak，then，asforesightmaybewithmostmen，theessentialsocialinstitutionshavebeendevelopedbythenecessityofenablingforesighttoexercisesomeinfluence；andthusindirectlysocietieshaveinfactgrowninwealthandnumbersthrougharrangementswhichhavebyoneandthesameactionstrengthenedprudenceandcreatedinequality。Althoughthisisclearlyimplied，themainimpressionproduceduponMalthus’sreaderswasthatheheld’viceandmisery’tobeessentialtosociety；nay，thatinsomesenseheregardedthemasblessings。
　　Hewasaccused，ashetellsus，20ofobjectingtovaccination，becauseittendedtopreventdeathsfromsmall-pox，andhastoprotestagainstsomeonewhohaddeclaredhisprinciplestobefavourabletotheslavetrade。21Hewasrepresented，thatis，asholdingdepopulationtobegoodinitself。Theseperversionsweregrotesque，butpartlyexplainthehorrorwithwhichMalthuswasconstantlyregarded；andwemustconsiderwhatmadethemplausible。
　　Imustfirstnoticethematurerformofhisdoctrine。Inthesecondeditionheturnstoaccounttheresultofhislaterreading，hispersonalobservations，andthestatisticalresultswhichwerebeginningtoaccumulate。Theremodelledbookopenswithasurveyoftheobservedactionofthechecks；anditconcludeswithadiscussionofthe’moralrestraint’whichisnowaddedto’viceandmisery。’Althoughconsiderablefragmentsoftheoldtreatiseremainedtothelast，thewholebookwasalteredbothinstyleandcharacter。Thestylecertainlysuffers，forMalthuswasnotamasteroftheliteraryart；heinsertshisadditionswithlittlecareforthegeneraleffect。Hetonesdownsomeofthemorevividphraseswhichhadgivenoffence，thoughhedoesnotretractthesubstance。
　　Afamouspassage22inthesecondedition，inwhichhespeaksof’nature’smightyfeast，’where，unluckily，the’tableisalreadyfull，’
　　andthereforeunbiddenguestsarelefttostarve，wassuppressedinthelatereditions。Yettheprinciplethatnomanhasaclaimtosubsistenceasofrightremainsunaltered。Theomissioninjurestheliteraryeffectwithoutalteringthelogic；andIthinkthat，wheretheargumentisamended，thenewelementisscarcelyworkedintotheoldsoastogainthoroughconsistency。
　　Malthus’ssurveyofdifferentcountriesshowedhowvariousarethe’checks’bywhichpopulationislimitedinvariouscountries。Wetakeaglanceatallnationsthroughallepochsofhistory。IntheSouthSeawefindadeliciousclimateandafertilesoil，wherepopulationismainlylimitedbyvice，infanticide，andwar；
　　andwhere，inspiteoftheseinfluences，thepopulationmultipliesatintervalstillitiskilledoffbyfamine。InChina，avastandfertileterritory，inhabitedbyanindustriousrace，inwhichagriculturehasalwaysbeenencouraged，marriagestimulated，andpropertywidelydiffused，hasfacilitatedtheproductionofavastpopulationinthemostabjectstateofpoverty，driventoexposechildrenbywant，andliableatintervalstodestructivefamines。InmodernEurope，thechecksappearinthemostvariousforms；
　　inSwitzerlandandNorwayafrugalpopulationinsmallvillagessometimesinstinctivelyunderstandstheprincipleofpopulation，andexhibitsthe，moralrestraint，’whileinEnglandthepoor-lawsareproducingamassofhopelessandinertpauperism。Considerationofthesevariouscases，andacomparisonofsuchrecordsasareobtainableoftheoldsavageraces，oftheclassicalstatesofantiquity，oftheNorthernbarbariansandofthemodernEuropeannations，suggestsanaturaldoubt。Malthusabundantlyproveswhatcanhardlybedenied，thatpopulationhaseverywherebeenfoundtopressuponthemeansofsubsistence，andthatviceandmiseryarepainfullyabundant。Butdoesheestablishorabandonhismainproposition?Henowassertsthe’tendency’ofpopulationtooutrunthemeansofsubsistence。
　　Yetheholdsunequivocallythattheincreaseofpopulationhasbeenaccompaniedbyanincreasedcomfort；thatwanthasdiminishedalthoughpopulationhasincreased；andthatthe’preventive’checkisstrongerthanofoldinproportiontothepositivecheck。Scotland，hesays，23is’stilloverpeopled，butnotsomuchaswhenitcontainedfewerinhabitants。’Manynations，ashepointsoutingeneralterms，havebeenmostprosperouswhenmostpopulous。24Theycouldexportfoodwhencrowded，andhaveceasedtoimportitwhenthinned。This，indeed，expresseshispermanentviews，thoughthefactswereoftenallegedbyhiscriticsasadisproofofthem。