Book: An inquiry into the nature and causes of the wealth of Nations

A coward man, unable to protect themselves or to avenge himself obviously lacks one of the main features of human character. His spirit is crippled and disfigured as the human body, deprived of any important member or have lost the ability to wield it. Of these two people first, obviously, the more unhappy and miserable, because happiness and unhappiness, which is merely a state of mind, must depend more on healthy or unhealthy, the mutilated or normal state of mind than state of body...
The same can be said of the gross ignorance and stupidity which in a civilized society so often freezes the mind of all the lower classes of the people. A man devoid of mental faculties, is even more pathetic than a coward, and seems mutilated and disfigured in the more important qualities of human nature.

The superiority of the body not supported by the superiority of the mind, in any period of development of society can give only a small power. A very strong man is one who can force solely for his physical strength to obey him two weak people. But only mental skills can give a very great power. Of course, they represent invisible qualities; they are always controversial and commonly disputed.

No nation has ever voluntarily renounced rule over any province, no matter how onerous could be managing and no matter how small was brought by her income compared to the induced costs. Such failures, although they can often be in the best interests always humiliating to the pride of all the nation, that, perhaps, is of even greater importance, is always at odds with private interests of its ruling part, which in this case would lose the possibility to administer numerous responsible and lucrative positions would have lost many occasions to acquire wealth and distinction, and in fact the domination over even the most restless and the most disadvantageous for the majority of the people of the province does not deliver such rare occasions.

The experience of all ages and Nations, I think, shows that the work done by slaves, though she seemed to consume only their maintenance, is more expensive elsewhere. People who are not eligible to acquire absolutely no ownership, may be interested only in the fact that there are perhaps more and work less possible. Only violent measures, not his own interest, you can get it to work more than what is sufficient to pay for its own existence.

As for wastefulness, by spending pushes the pursuit of pleasure, which although is often very strong and hard to overcome, yet generally short and is called accidental causes. On the contrary, to thrift we owe the desire to improve our condition, a desire, usually devoid of passion calm, inherent in us, but from birth and not leaving us to the grave.

Money is the great wheel of circulation. this is the great instrument of exchange and trade, although it is on a par with other instruments of production part, and a very valuable part, of the capital, which are not included in any part of the income of the society to which they belong. Although the coins of which they consist, in the course of their annual circulation is delivered to each person to follow him profit, they are in this income are not included.

An exaggerated opinion of most people about their abilities is an ancient evil, marked by the philosophers and moralists of all ages. Stupid people's faith in his lucky star have received less attention. Meanwhile, she, if possible, is even more widespread. There is no one more or less healthy and cheerfully customized, who did not share it. Everyone was more or less overestimates the chances of fortune, and the chances of failure by most men undervalued, and there is hardly a man, more or less healthy and cheerfully tuned, which exaggerates them.

No society, no doubt, can not flourish and be happy if a significant portion of its members are poor and miserable. Moreover, simple justice requires that people who feed, clothe, and build homes for all the people, received a share of the products of their own labor to ourselves can have a tolerable food, clothing and housing.

It should be noted that the word value has two different meanings: sometimes it refers to the usefulness of any object, and sometimes the opportunity to purchase other items that comes from the subject. The first can be called use-value, the second is exchange value. Items with very high use value often have very little exchange value or even do not have one; the objects has a very high exchange value often have a very small use or do not have. There is nothing more useful than water, but it is almost nothing to buy to receive in exchange for it. On the contrary, the diamond almost has no use value, but often in exchange it is possible to obtain a very large number of other goods.