Date: 1790

"The traitor, on the contrary, who, in some peculiar situation, fancies he can promote his own little interest by betraying to the public enemy that of his native country. who, regardless of the judgment of the man within the breast, prefers himself, in this respect so shamefully and so basely, t...

— Smith, Adam (1723-1790)

Date: 1790

"The man who feels the full distress of the calamity which has befallen him, who feels the whole baseness of the injustice which has been done to him, but who feels still more strongly what the dignity of his own character requires; who does not abandon himself to the guidance of the undiscipline...

— Smith, Adam (1723-1790)

Date: 1790

"It is the slow, gradual, and progressive work of the great demigod within the breast, the great judge and arbiter of conduct."

— Smith, Adam (1723-1790)

Date: 1790

"Regard to the sentiments of other people, however, comes afterwards both to enforce and to direct the practice of all those virtues; and no man during, either the whole of his life, or that of any considerable part of it, ever trod steadily and uniformly in the paths of prudence, of justice, or ...

— Smith, Adam (1723-1790)

Date: 1790

"In such cases, the passions, though restrained, are not always subdued, but often remain lurking in the breast with all their original fury."

— Smith, Adam (1723-1790)

Date: 1790

"But, when we have neither been able to defend ourselves from it, nor have perished in that defence, no natural principle, no regard to the approbation of the supposed impartial spectator, to the judgment of the man within the breast, seems to call upon us to escape from it by destroying ourselves."

— Smith, Adam (1723-1790)

Date: 1790

"The real or even the imaginary presence of the impartial spectator, the authority of the man within the breast, is always at hand to overawe them into the proper tone and temper of moderation."

— Smith, Adam (1723-1790)

Date: 1790

"That consolation may be drawn, not only from the complete approbation of the man within the breast, but, if possible, from a still nobler and more generous principle, from a firm reliance upon, and a reverential submission to, that benevolent wisdom which directs all the events of human life, an...

— Smith, Adam (1723-1790)

Date: 1790

"The judgments of the man within the breast, however, might be a good deal affected by those reasonings, and that great inmate might be taught by them to attempt to overawe all our private, partial, and selfish affections into a more or less perfect tranquillity."

— Smith, Adam (1723-1790)

Date: 1790

"The dreadful tales of robbers' bloody deeds, / That oft had swell'd his theme while nightly stretch'd / Now crowded on his mind in all their rage / Of pistols, purses, stand! deliver! death!"

— Wilson, Alexander (1766-1813)