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Men are to be estimated, not from what they know, but from what they are able to perform.

— Adam Ferguson An Essay on the History of Civil Society (1767)

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More quotes by Adam Ferguson

Man, in his animal capacity, is qualified to subsist in every climate.

An Essay on the History of Civil Society (1767)

The history of mankind is confined within a limited period, and from every quarter brings an intimation that human affairs have had a beginning.

An Essay on the History of Civil Society (1767)

Mankind have always wandered or settled, agreed or quarrelled, in troops and companies.

An Essay on the History of Civil Society (1767)

In every commercial state, notwithstanding any pretension to equal rights, the exaltation of a few must depress the many.

An Essay on the History of Civil Society (1767)

Theory consists in referring particular operations to the principles, or general laws, under which they are comprehended; or in referring particular effects to the causes from which they proceed.

Institutes of Moral Philosophy (1769)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Adam Ferguson (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.