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Economic doctrine is ... not a body of concrete truth but an engine for the discovery of concrete truth, similar say to the theory of mechanics.

— Alfred Marshall

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More quotes by Alfred Marshall

And thus the law may be worded:—
The marginal utility of a commodity to anyone diminishes with every increase in the amount of it he already has.

Principles of Economics (1890)

Political Economy or Economics is a study of mankind in the ordinary business of life; it examines that part of individual and social action which is most closely connected with the attainment and with the use of the material requisites of wellbeing.

Principles of Economics (1890)

The increment of the commodity which he is only just induced to acquire (whether by... direct labor or by purchase) may be called its Marginal Increment; because he is on the margin of doubt whether it is worth his while to incur the outlay required to obtain it. And the benefit-giving power, or Utility, of that increment to him may be called the Marginal Utility of the commodity to him.

Principles of Economics (1890)

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