Adam Smith

"The wise and virtuous man is at all times willing that his own private interest should be sacrificed to the public good."

"I have never known much good done by those who affected to trade for the public good."

"The produce of the soil feeds at least as many people as it replaces."

"All for ourselves and nothing for other people is a vile maxim."

"The mind is naturally disposed to admire in others the qualities which it esteems in itself."

"It is the natural effort of every individual to better his own condition."

"Indignation is the proper motif for the punishment of injustice."

"The real and effectual discipline which is exercised over a workman is not that of his corporation, but that of his customers."

"Society itself is a kind of artificial individual."

"The great multiplication of the productions of all the different arts and sciences, which are in this way effected, occasions so considerable an extension of the market."

"The same general principles which are found in virtue and real propriety regulate the taste of men."

"The sentiment of justice is the great shield against injustice."

"The man of understanding exhausts himself in fruitless efforts to improve the condition of men who are content with their own."

"Man naturally desires not only to be loved, but to be lovely; or to be the natural and proper object of love."

"The cultivation of the mind is always a superior object."

"It is not the multitude of laws that brings order, but the authority of the lawgiver."

"The study of history is the best foundation for the study of philosophy."

"Moral philosophy is a science that pretends to teach us what we ought to do."

"The utility of one person may be a real improvement of the condition of another."

"The rich, in particular, are necessarily interested in supporting that order of things."

"Prudence as a virtue stands out as the mother of all other virtues."

"To feel much for others and little for ourselves, to restrain our selfish, and to indulge our benevolent affections, constitutes the perfection of human nature."

"The greatest improvement in the productive powers of labour, and the greater part of the skill, dexterity, and judgement with which it is any where directed, or applied, seem to have been the effects of the division of labour."

"It is the poor man who is obliged to confess that he has not the strength to perform it."

"The real foundation of theology is to know the nature of God."

"The man of system is often so enamoured with the supposed beauty of his own ideal plan of government."

"Commerce and manufactures can seldom flourish long in any state which does not enjoy a regular administration of justice."

"The natural effort of every individual to better his condition is so powerful."

"Happiness never resides with indifference."

"The greatest security against rebellion is in the esteem and affection of the people."