That such a thing is possible is all the more incontrovertible because entire countries, like England, Holland, etc., serve as examples. [ . . . ]
So we have no reason to doubt the preservation and prosperity of the Austrian monarchy. There are few countries that can lay claim to as many resources as we have, and the only thing that matters is that we ourselves do not clog and squander these resources, but rather that we know to use them correctly. [ . . . ]
The history of the most ancient times confirms that good education and instruction in mentality, disposition, and capability can result in a great change, and that human hearts can form and even generate a general national spirit. [ . . . ]
Because the general welfare cannot be promoted better and more vigorously than through the united cooperation of all branches of the state, so it follows naturally that the personal interest and essential duty of a Landesfürst demand working with the most determined diligence on the potential improvement of the general national spirit and especially the instruction and good education of all classes of his people.
Experience proves beyond a doubt that inner strength is weaker than it could be in countries where ignorance and stupidity rule; and conversely, agriculture and industry rise mostly in countries where the subjects receive a better education. [ . . . ]
As I have briefly mentioned, the welfare and essential interest of a Landesfürst and that of his subjects are closely connected. From this comes the equally correct corollary that he [the ruler], in observance of the duties placed on him, as well as in his own interest, should apply all conducive means to the promotion of the welfare, the good living, and the wealth of his subjects.
These conducive means consist mainly in improving a) agriculture, b) industry, and c) commerce to the extent that conditions allow and thereby increasing the national wealth, as well as the population, which will grow on its own with good nutrition and favorable living conditions.
Agriculture is understood primarily as raising crops as well as livestock, because the earth is, so to speak, the productive mother of all of our necessities and comforts. To make a country rich, powerful, and to make its inhabitants happy, all fields and parcels of land must be used to yield the greatest possible quantities of products that can be produced
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