Gournay, who were the chiefs of "The Economists," as they were called at the time, or "The Physiocrats," as they were afterward named. In Cantillon's "Essai," however, the root idea of the system is to be found. "The earth," he wrote, "is the source or the matter whence is drawn all wealth; the labor of man is the instrument which produces it." This was the idea that was worked out with great elaboration of detail in Quesnay's "Tableau Economique" (1755), and in his "Maximes générales de Grouvernement Economique d'un Royaume Agricole" (1758). In the latter work, which consists of a number of maxims for the guidance of rulers and peoples, the following passages occur:
"Maxim iii. Let the Ruler and the Nation never forget that the earth is the sole source of wealth, and that it is agriculture which augments it. For the increase of wealth assures that of the population; men and wealth make agriculture prosper, extend commerce, animate industry, add to and perpetuate wealth. On this abundant source depends the success of every part of the government of the nation."
"Maxim xxv. Let absolute freedom of commerce be maintained; for the surest guardian of internal and external commerce, the most exact and the most profitable to the Nation and the State, lies in the unlimited freedom of competition."
The "Tableau Economique" bears as its motto the phrase, Pauvres paysans, pauvre royaume; pauvre royaume, pauvre roi. To Gournay is due the phrase since become proverbial, Laissez faire, laissez aller. The most distinguished disciples of the physiocratic school were the elder Mirabeau and the celebrated finance minister, Turgot. Mir-
