The real tragedy of the poor is the poverty of their aspirations

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

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.

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.

What can be added to the happiness of a man who is in health, out of debt, and has a clear conscience?

Man is an animal that makes bargains: no other animal does this - no dog exchanges bones with another.