The Online Library of Liberty

A project of Liberty Fund, Inc.

• Preface.
• Lecture I.
• Lecture II.
• Lecture III.
• Lecture IV.
• Lecture V.
• Lecture VI.
• Lecture VII.
• Lecture VIII.
• Lecture IX.
• Lecture X.
• Lecture XI.
• Appendix.
• Note On Page 32.
• Page 37.
• Page 39.
• Page 57.
• Page 65.
• Page 133.
• Page 145.
• Page 149.
• Page 164.
• Page 175.
• Page 183.
• Page 203.
• Page 223.

Page 183.

Some idea of this doctrine appears to have passed through the mind of Adam Smith; but he did not dwell upon, nor form it into a system. “When the most fertile and best situated lands have been all occupied, less profit can be made by the cultivation of what is inferior both in soil and situation, and less interest can be afforded for the stock which is so employed. In the greater part of our colonies, accordingly, both the legal and the market rate of interest have been considerably reduced during the course of the present century.”—Wealth of Nations, Book I. Chap. 9.

Adam Smith appears not to have possessed much taste or capacity for long or subtle trains of reasoning. The “Wealth of Nations” is written with very little attention to system, and this circumstance has probably tended to increase its utility. It prevented any error from infecting the entire work. An erroneous principle could never lead the author far astray. He possessed all the qualities necessary for writing a most useful work, while the science was yet in a rude imperfect state. Strong good sense, freedom from prejudice, extensive information, love of truth, and profound observation, are the qualities eminently displayed by the author of the “Wealth of Nations.”