Virtue is more to be feared than vice, because its excesses are not subject to the regulation of conscience.

The retinue of a grandee in China or Indostan accordingly is, by all accounts, much more numerous and splendid than that of the richest subjects of Europe.

Men desire to have some share in the management of public affairs chiefly on account of the importance which it gives them.

The division of labour was limited by the extent of the market

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.

When the profits of trade happen to be greater than ordinary, over-trading becomes a general error both among great and small dealers.

People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices.