§. 37. This is certain, that in the beginning, before the desire of having
more than men needed had altered the intrinsic value of things, which depends
only on their usefulness to the life of man, or had agreed that a little piece
of yellow metal, which would keep without wasting or decay, should be worth a
great piece of flesh or a whole heap of corn, though men had a right to
appropriate by their labour, each one to himself, as much of the things of
Nature as he could use, yet this could not be much, nor to the prejudice of
others, where the same plenty was still left, to those who would use the same
industry.
Before the appropriation of land, he who gathered as much of the wild
fruit, killed, caught, or tamed as many of the beasts as he could — he
that so employed his pains about any of the spontaneous products of Nature as
any way to alter them from the state Nature put them in, by placing any of his
labour on them, did thereby acquire a propriety in them; but if they perished
in his possession without their due use — if the fruits rotted or the
venison putrefied before he could spend it, he offended against the common law
of Nature, and was liable to be punished: he invaded his neighbour's share, for
he had no right farther than his use called for any of them, and they might
serve to afford him conveniencies of life.
