Eighteenth Century Collection Online Demo

The theory of moral sentiments: By Adam Smith, ...

as the most certain matters of fact. But when a person pretends to inform us of what passes in our own neighbourhood, and of the affairs of the very parish which we live in, tho' here too, if we are so careless as not to examine things with our own eyes, he may deceive us in many respects, yet the greatest falshoods which he imposes upon us must bear some resemblance to the truth, and must even have a considerable mixture of truth in them. An author who treats of na|tural philosophy, and pretends to assign the causes of the great phaenomena of the uni|verse, pretends to give an account of the af|fairs of a very distant country, concerning which he may tell us what he pleases, and as long as his narration keeps within the bounds of seeming possibility, he need not despair of gaining our belief. But when he proposes to explain the origin of our desires and affections, of our sentiments of appro|bation and disapprobation, he pretends to give an account, not only of the affairs of the very parish that we live in, but of our own do|mestic concerns. Tho' here too, like indo|lent masters who put their trust in a steward who deceives them, we are very liable to be imposed upon, yet we are incapable of pas|sing
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Title
The theory of moral sentiments: By Adam Smith, ...
Author
Smith, Adam, 1723-1790.
Canvas
Page 488
Publication
London :: printed for A. Millar; and A. Kincaid and J. Bell, in Edinburgh,
1759.

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"The theory of moral sentiments: By Adam Smith, ..." In the digital collection Eighteenth Century Collection Online Demo. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eccodemo/k111361.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed June 20, 2025.
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