Adam Smith

"A certain peace and security is the reward of virtue."

"Kindness is the parent of kindness."

"The prosperity of a city does not depend upon the fertility of its soil, but upon the industry of its inhabitants."

"The real and effectual discipline which nature imposes upon mankind is perfect liberty."

"Imitation and the desire to emulate are natural to man."

"The love of our country seems not to be derived from the love of our own country but to be altogether a passion."

"Every man naturally desires his own preservation and happiness."

"The real tragedy of life is not what men suffer, but what they miss."

"A man may surely be allowed to have a greater regard for his own happiness than for that of any other person."

"Society cannot exist unless the rules of justice are maintained."

"The man who acts solely from a regard to his own gain is often a man of little virtue."

"The principle which prompts us to save is the desire of bettering our condition."

"A person may be very industrious, and yet not be very rich."

"The great source of both the misery and disorders of human life seems to arise from overrating the difference between one permanent situation and another."

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

"Nothing is more useful than water: but it will purchase scarce anything; scarce anything can be had in exchange for it."

"The laborer's wages cannot go below what is needed to support him."

"Nature is indeed cruel, but man is cruel in a much more terrible way."

"The complaint of every manufacturing nation against every other of underselling them in the foreign market by means of bounties, drawbacks, and other encouragements."

"The natural effort of every individual to better his own condition is so powerful that it is alone capable of carrying on the society to wealth and prosperity."

"Liberty is the greatest of all moral sentiments."

"The human heart is made to sympathize with the sentiments and passions of others."

"It is not the money price of commodities that is altered in the present case; it is the real price."

"The property of the rich is defended by the virtue of the poor."

"It is the great multiplication of manufactures that occasions universal opulence."

"All the talents and virtues of the ancients and moderns are comprehended in it."

"The security and happiness of the great body of the people seems to be the great end of government."

"When the duties upon the importation of foreign corn were at their height, the price of the home produce was as high."

"The peace and order of society is of more importance than an opulent commerce and extensive manufactures."

"The difference between the most dissimilar characters, between a philosopher and a common street porter is not so much owing to nature as to habit, custom and education."