Resentment seems to have been given us by nature for a defense, and for a defense only! It is the safeguard of justice and the security of innocence. -Adam Smith Nature
Great ambition, the desire of real superiority, of leading and directing, seems to be altogether peculiar to man, and speech is the great instrument of ambition. -Adam Smith Great
The real and effectual discipline which is exercised over a workman is that of his customers. It is the fear of losing their employment which restrains his frauds and corrects his negligence. -Adam Smith Fear
Poor David Hume is dying fast, but with more real cheerfulness and good humor and with more real resignation to the necessary course of things, than any whining Christian ever dyed with pretended resignation to the will of God. -Adam Smith God
It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. -Adam Smith Business
Labor was the first price, the original purchase - money that was paid for all things. -Adam Smith Money
To feel much for others and little for ourselves; to restrain our selfishness and exercise our benevolent affections, constitute the perfection of human nature. -Adam Smith Nature
The propensity to truck, barter and exchange one thing for another is common to all men, and to be found in no other race of animals. -Adam Smith Finance
I have never known much good done by those who affected to trade for the public good. -Adam Smith Good
Poor David Hume is dying fast, but with more real cheerfulness and good humor and with more real resignation to the necessary course of things, than any whining Christian ever dyed with pretended resignation to the will of God. -Adam Smith Humor
As soon as the land of any country has all become private property, the landlords, like all other men, love to reap where they never sowed, and demand a rent even for its natural produce. -Adam Smith Men
Little else is requisite to carry a state to the highest degree of opulence from the lowest barbarism but peace, easy taxes, and a tolerable administration of justice: all the rest being brought about by the natural course of things. -Adam Smith Peace
Labour was the first price, the original purchase - money that was paid for all things. It was not by gold or by silver, but by labour, that all wealth of the world was originally purchased. -Adam Smith Money
What can be added to the happiness of a man who is in health, out of debt, and has a clear conscience? -Adam Smith Health