Thomas Malthus：An Essay on the Principle of Population, Excerpt 169

From this comparison, it appears with how much truth great cities have been called the graves of mankind. It must also convince all who consider it, that according to the observation, at the end of the fourth essay, in the former volume, it is by no means strictly proper to consider our diseases as the original intention of nature. They are, without doubt, in general our own creation. Were there a country where the inhabitants led lives entirely natural and virtuous, few of them would die without measuring out the whole period of present existence allotted to them; pain and distemper would be unknown among them, and death would come upon them like a sleep, in consequence of no other cause than gradual and unavoidable decay.

Source： https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/4239
Locator：Excerpt 169 · Verified：2026-10-19 · Verification：Short excerpt

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