ABSTRACT
I have tried to construct a fundamental Tableau of the economic order for the purpose of displaying expenditure and products in a way which is easy to grasp, and for the purpose of forming a clear opinion about the organization and disorganization 116 which the government can bring about. You will see whether I have achieved my aim. You have seen other tableaux in these days—it is a way of meditating on the present and on the future. I am quite amazed that Parliament holds out no means of putting the state in order other than through economies. It is not as wise to things as a steward, whose lord has spent more revenue than he possesses and who urges him to find funds for him: the steward will not tell his lord to economize, but will point out to him that he should not use working horses for his coach or allow coach horses to remain in the stable, and that if everything were in its proper place he would be able to spend a still greater amount without ruining himself. It would seem, then, that our remonstrants are simply town-dwellers who are very poorly informed on the matters they talk about and are thus of very little help to the public. In your last letter you say truly that the efforts of individuals are very unfruitful; but we must not lose heart, for the appalling crisis will come, and it will be necessary to have recourse to medical knowledge. Vale.
