Rather than revving up our feelings of injustice, Smith is telling us a way to find serenity. Wag more, bark less.

Emotional interaction is a duet in which we are constantly fine-tuning our volume to match that of our fellow.

What can be added to the happiness of the man who is in health, who is out of debt, and has a clear conscience?

A modern way to capture what Smith is talking about when he talks about being loved and being lovely is authenticity. We want to be real, and we want the people around us to be real in how they think about us. Respect or love or attention that is inaccurate because I don’t deserve it isn’t real. Someone who is thought to be lovely, but who knows he isn’t, is living a lie.

Smith is showing us a better path to contentment than the one the world holds out to seduce us with. There is another way to be loved. Instead of pursuing attention via wealth or fame or power, pursue wisdom and goodness. There are two ways to be loved, to satisfy the desire we all have in us to be noticed and to be somebody. The first path is to be rich, famous, powerful. The second path is to be wise and virtuous.

We tried buying local once; it was called the Middle Ages.

The idea that other people care about themselves is generally a good thing to remember if you want them to do something for you in return.

The first principle is that you must not fool yourself – and you are the easiest person to fool.

One important characteristic of civilization is trust. When you can trust the people you deal with – when you don’t have to fear that your trust will be exploited for someone else’s gain – life is lovelier and economic life is much easier. How does trust get created? By the myriad small interactions we have with each other when we honor our word and pass up the chance for opportunism.

When we honor bad people or avoid good people, we are playing a role in degrading the world around us. It’s a small role, almost negligible. But together, our combined actions are decisive. Each step we take away from loveliness is a step away from civilization. As more and more of us take those steps, our seemingly negligible actions are no longer negligible.