The Essays of Adam Smith

by Adam Smith

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About this book

This is a collection of essays by Adam Smith. A transcriber's note explains that the text is based on texts provided by the Internet Archive and Hathi Trust, with footnotes numbered within each work, Greek words marked and page numbers shown in the text.

One passage argues that the presence of a friend calms a troubled mind, because we try to lower our feelings to a pitch the company can share. A mere acquaintance calms us more, and an assembly of strangers more still. Another passage discusses Plato and the ancient Pythagoreans on complete virtue, and observes that the Greek word for that virtue has several meanings. A further passage considers how the ancients doubted that air was a real solid body, citing Aristotle and Lucretius, and says the same doubt still applies to light.