Henry Grady Weaver in his book, The Mainspring of Human Progress, explained how this brought down the Roman Empire: The hairsplitting economic regulations were perfected by Diocletian, whose stern directives were so efficiently administered that farmers could no longer farm; and many of the small businessmen, faced with starvation, committed suicide in preference to being executed for black marketing. When there was no work, the beneficent government then began to tax the rich to provide the populace with bread and entertainment. Eventually, so many workers were forced into tax-supported relief that there was not enough production to pay the tax bills. The result; the Roman Empire collapsed into the dark ages. In England, to solve the problem of over production of wool, Charles II decreed that no corpse could be buried that was not wrapped in a woolen shroud. The wool was buried, but ghouls dug up the corpses, stole the shrouds and sold them on the black market. Before Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations was published (in 1776), and his ideas made the Industrial Revolution possible, England was known as an island surrounded by smugglers. Weaver also quoted Buckle's comments on France: Tn every quarter, and at every moment, the hand of government was felt. Duties on importation, and duties 62 The Secret Side of History