Date: 1761

"Such persons are not accustomed to consult the judge within concerning the opinion which they ought to form of their own conduct."

— Smith, Adam (1723-1790)

Date: 1761

"This inmate of the breast, this abstract man, the representative of mankind, and substitute of the Deity, whom nature has constituted the supreme judge of all their actions is seldom appealed to by them."

— Smith, Adam (1723-1790)

Date: 1761

"It is only by consulting this judge within, that we can see whatever relates to ourselves in its proper shape and dimensions, or that we can make any proper comparison between our own interests and those of other men."

— Smith, Adam (1723-1790)

Date: 1761

"It is a stronger power, a more forcible motive, which exerts itself upon such occasions. It is reason, principle, conscience, the inhabitant of the breast, the man within, the great judge and arbiter of our conduct."

— Smith, Adam (1723-1790)

Date: 1761

"Even in good men, the judge within is often in danger of being corrupted by the violence and injustice of their selfish passions, and is often induced to make a report very different from what the real circumstances of the case are capable of authorizing."

— Smith, Adam (1723-1790)

Date: 1761

"By no forc'd laws his passions were confin'd, / For conscience kept his heart, and calm'd his mind / Peace o'er the world her blessed sway maintain'd, / And e'en in desarts smiling Plenty reign'd."

— Telescope, Tom [pseud.]

Date: 1761

"When I endeavour to examine my own conduct, when I endeavour to pass sentence upon it, and either to approve or condemn it, it is evident that, in all such cases, I divide myself, as it were, into two persons, and that I, the examiner and judge, represent a different character from that other I,...

— Smith, Adam (1723-1790)

Date: 1762

"Under the discipline of society, these passions are subdued, and in a good measure eradicated. In their place succeed the kindly affections, which, meeting with all encouragement, take possession of the mind and govern our whole actions."

— Home, Henry, Lord Kames (1696-1782)

Date: 1762

"C’est alors que la voix de la conscience reprendra sa force & son empire, c’est alors que la volupté pure qui naît du contentement de soi-même, & le regret amer de s’être avili, distingueront par des sentiments inépuisables le sort que chacun se sera préparé."

— Rousseau, Jean-Jacques (1712-1778)

Date: 1762

"En méditant sur la nature de l’homme, j’y crus découvrir deux principes distincts, dont l’un l’élevoit à l’étude des vérités éternelles, à l’amour de la justice & du beau moral, aux régions du monde intellectuel dont la contemplation fait les délices du sage, & dont l’autre le ramenoit bassement...

— Rousseau, Jean-Jacques (1712-1778)