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… is from page 481 of the 1964 W. Hayden Boyers translation, published by the Foundation for Economic Education, of Frederic Bastiat [2]‘s 1850 treatise, Economic Harmonies [3] (available on-line here [4]):
In order to produce, we must direct all our faculties toward the conquest of Nature; for it is Nature that must be fought, mastered, and subjugated. That is why iron beaten into a plowshare is the emblem of production.
In order to plunder, we must direct all our faculties toward the conquest of men; for they are the ones we must fight, kill, or enslave. That is why iron beaten into a sword is the emblem of plunder.