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An Inqury Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations
An Inqury Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations Author:Adam Smith Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAP. it ()f tilt Priifiple which gn)es Occajton to the of Labour. HIS divifion of labour, from which fa many advari- tages arc derived, is not originally... more » the effect of any human wifdom, which forefees and intends that general opulence ta which it gives occafion. It is the necelTary, though very flow and gradual confeqUence of a certain propenfity in human nature which has in view no fuch extenfive utility; the propenfity to truck, barter, and exchange one thing for another. Whether this propenfity be one of thofe original prin-s ciples in human nature, of which no further account can'txi given ; or whether, as feems more probable, it be the ne- ceflary confequence of the faculties of reafon and fpeech, it belongs not to our prefent fubject to enquire. It is common to all men, and to be found in no other race of animals, which feem to know neither this nor any other fpecies of contrails. Two greyhounds, in running down the fame hare, have fometimes the appearance of acting in fome fort of concert. Each turns her towards his companion, or endeavours to intercept her when his companion turns her towards himfelf. This, however, is not the eflect of any contract, but of the accidental concurrence of their paffions in the fame object at that particular time. Nobody ever faw a dog make a fair and deliberate exchange of one bone for another with another dog. Nobody ever faw one animal by its geftures and natural cries fignify to another, this is mine, that yours ; I am willing to give this for that. When an animal wants to obtain fomething either of a man or of another animal, it has no other means of perfuafion but to gain the favour of thofe whofe fervice it requires. A puppy fawns upon its dam, and a fpaniel endeavours by a thoufand attractions to engage the attention of its...« less