14 Oct 2014

Wealth of Nations Bask

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I’m sorry to ask such a silly thing, but does any reader have a physical copy of Wealth of Nations on hand? I’m trying to get the exact citation for this famous quote:

“The things which have the greatest value in use have frequently little or no value in exchange; on the contrary, those which have the greatest value in exchange have frequently little or no value in use. Nothing is more useful than water: but it will purchase scarce anything; scarce anything can be had in exchange for it. A diamond, on the contrary, has scarce any use-value; but a very great quantity of other goods may frequently be had in exchange for it.”

I got the quote online, but where I’m using it, the editor wants a full citation including page number. So if anybody can help me out, that would be great. Just remember, if you do look it up, can you please tell me the full bibliographical info too, so I can put your edition of the book in my Bibliography?

7 Responses to “Wealth of Nations Bask”

  1. Keshav Srinivasan says:

    Bob, it’s on page 18 on this Google Books link:
    books.google.com/books?id=4HPdAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA18&dq=”The+things+which+have+the+greatest+value+in+use”+wealth&hl=en&sa=X&ei=a389VPL5EIT2yQSCkoD4Ag&ved=0CCYQ6AEwAg
    That’s a scan of a specific physical edition.

  2. Tel says:

    http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3300

    Not sure if they guarantee the page numbers are same as the original publication.

    I sometimes see small errors in the Gutenberg books like the scan didn’t pick the character up correctly.

  3. Nathanael Beal says:

    This scanned book, from 1909, has it on page 27, at the end of Chapter 4. https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=NLoxfUPHoukC

  4. Juan Manuel Pérez Porrúa says:

    Book 1 Chapter 4 “Of the Origin and Use of Money” paragraph 13 of the Edwin Cannan Edition

  5. Major.Freedom says:

    The Wealth of Nations. In Two Volumes: Volume One.

    J.M. Dent and Sons, Ltd. Aldine House. Bedford Street. London. Made in Great Britain at the Aldine Press. Letchworth. Herts. First published in this edition 1910. Last reprinted 1957.

    Chapter IV, pg 25

  6. Bob Murphy says:

    Thanks everyone, I’m good!

  7. Darien says:

    Aww, darn. Finally a bask I could answer, and I got home too late. 🙂

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