"No society can surely be flourishing and happy, of which the far greater part of the members are poor and miserable."
"The man who barely abstains from violating either the person, or the estate, or the reputation of his neighbours, has surely very little positive merit. He fulfils, however, all the rules of what is peculiarly called justice, and does every thing which his equals can with propriety force him to do, or which they can punish him for not doing. We may often fulfil all the rules of justice by sitting still and doing nothing."
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Source: Adam Smith (2016). “The Essays on Philosophical Subjects: the Great Master”, p.92, VM eBooks
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