Adam Smith

"The security of the public, the prosperity of the commonwealth, and the maintenance of social order are the ends which government ought to pursue."

"No man is ever so little inclined to be the intimate friend of another as when he suspects or knows that other to be jealous or suspicious of him."

"The real remedy for the evils of government lies in the education and virtue of the people."

"Among those virtues which contribute to the happiness of the individual, magnanimity is not the least."

"The wages of labour are restricted by the quantity of stock devoted to the payment of wages."

"To be always thinking of the opinions of others is to render oneself incapable of original thought."

"In matters of truth and falsehood, it is necessary to listen to both sides before forming a judgment."

"The best government is that which maintains the greatest equality consistent with the security of property."

"The progress of society depends upon the cultivation of knowledge and the exercise of virtue among all classes of people."

"Envy is that passion which views with hatred and malice the superiority of those who are really and justly superior to us."

"The man who acts with propriety gains a kind of respect which can never be bought but must be earned through consistent virtue."

"In the commercial society, the interdependence of men creates mutual bonds of obligation and respect."

"The natural effort of every man to better his condition is so powerful that it is alone capable of carrying on society to wealth and grandeur."

"When a man is miserable, he looks about for some inferior person upon whom he can vent his spleen."

"The human imagination has a natural tendency to fill up the blanks in our knowledge with conjecture and probability."

"True religion consists not in fear or superstition, but in the exercise of virtue and the practice of benevolence."

"To improve the human condition, we must look to the improvement of agriculture, manufactures, and commerce."

"The desire to be observed, to be attended to, to be taken notice of, is a desire which cannot be entirely suppressed."

"A man may be very decorous in his conduct towards his superiors, and yet be insolent and presumptuous towards his inferiors."

"The most effective regulation is often the regulation of opinion, not the regulation of conduct."

"Men are naturally inclined to sympathize more readily with the joys and triumphs of the great than with the sorrows of the humble."

"The education of children is a duty which cannot be delegated to servants or left to chance."

"In the pursuit of wealth, men often forget that true richness consists in having few wants and the ability to satisfy them."

"The natural aristocracy of virtue has a better claim to authority than the artificial aristocracy of wealth."

"Time alone can determine the real value of great improvements in commerce and manufactures."

"The man who is always ready to sacrifice his own interest to that of his friend or country is beloved by all."

"In the management of public affairs, simplicity and frugality are virtues that cannot be overvalued."

"Adversity may strengthen the mind, but prosperity weakens it, unless the mind is constantly guarded against such weakness."

"The great civilizing principle is the ability to put oneself in the place of another and to understand his perspective."

"Society naturally divides itself into the wise and the foolish, the virtuous and the vicious, the strong and the weak."