The difference between the most dissimilar characters, between a philosopher and a common street porter, for example, seems to arise not so much from nature, as from habit, custom, and education.
Adam SmithIn this consists the difference between the character of a miser and that of a person of exact economy and assiduity. The one is anxious about small matters for their own sake; the other attends to them only in consequence of the scheme of life which he has laid down to himself.
Adam SmithWhen the profits of trade happen to be greater than ordinary, over-trading becomes a general error both among great and small dealers.
Adam Smith