They had no time, since they had to provide for the immediate wants of their existence, and though, profiting by acquired experience, they had nothing to invent, still they had everything to make; their iron and their steel were as yet only in the state of minerals, their earthenware in the state of clay, their linen and their clothes in the state of textile material.
Le temps leur manquait, puisqu'ils devaient immédiatement subvenir aux besoins de leur existence, et si, profitant de l'expérience acquise, ils n'avaient rien à inventer, du moins avaient-ils tout à fabriquer. Leur fer, leur acier n'étaient encore qu'à l'état de minerai, leur poterie à l'état d'argile, leur linge et leurs habits à l'état de matières textiles.