we naturally make a conscience of restoring what has been lent us, wit… — Essays
SAPIR 861
we naturally make a conscience of restoring what has been lent us, without some usury and accession of our own. The particular error first makes the public error, and afterwards, in turn, the public error makes the particular one; and thus all this vast fabric goes forming and piling itself up from hand to hand, so that the remotest witness knows more about it than those who were nearest, and the last informed is better persuaded than the first.
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (WLC), CC BY 4.0