Bernard Mandeville Quotes
Bernard Mandeville was a Dutch-born English physician, satirist, and philosopher whose Fable of the Bees scandalized eighteenth-century moralists by arguing that the private vices of pride, vanity, and self-interest are precisely what produce the public benefits of a flourishing commercial society. His subtitle, Private Vices, Public Benefits, became one of the most contested and influential formulae of the early Enlightenment, and his analysis prepared the way for Adam Smith's account of the unintended consequences of self-interested action. The quotes below are attributed to Bernard Mandeville, organized by topic.
Browse Bernard Mandeville by topic
Bernard Mandeville on God
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“The only thing of weight that can be said against modern Honour is, that it is directly opposite to Religion. The one bids you bear Injuries with Patience, the other tells you if you don't resent them, you are not fit to live.”
The Fable of the Bees(1714) | Remark R, p. 245
Bernard Mandeville on Happiness
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“If laying aside all worldly Greatness and Vain-Glory, I should be ask'd where I thought it was most probable that Men might enjoy true Happiness, I would prefer a small peaceable Society, in which Men, neither envy'd nor esteem'd by Neighbours, should be contented to live upon the Natural Product of the Spot they inhabit, to a vast Multitude abounding in Wealth and Power, that should always be conquering others by their Arms Abroad, and debauching themselves by Foreign Luxury at Home.”
Preface
Bernard Mandeville on Knowledge
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“Vast Numbers throng'd the fruitful Hive; Yet those vast Numbers made 'em thrive; Millions endeavouring to supply Each other's Lust and Vanity.”
The Grumbling Hive", line 31, p. 3 -
“The Grumbling Hive", line 31, p. 3”
Vast Numbers throng'd the fruitful Hive; Yet those vast Numbers made 'em thrive; Millions endeavouring to supply Each other's Lust and Vanity. -
“They put off hearings wilfully, To finger the refreshing fee.”
The Grumbling Hive", line 65, p. 4 -
“The Grumbling Hive", line 65, p. 4”
They put off hearings wilfully, To finger the refreshing fee. -
“The Grumbling Hive", line 155, p. 9”
Thus every Part was full of Vice, Yet the whole Mass a Paradise; Flatter'd in Peace, and fear'd in Wars, They were th' Esteem of Foreigners, And lavish of their Wealth and Lives, The Balance of all other Hives. -
“The Grumbling Hive", line 167, p. 9”
The worst of all the Multitude Did something for the Common Good. -
“Knowledge both enlarges and multiplies our Desires, and the fewer things a Man wishes for, the more easily his Necessities may be supply'd.”
The Fable of the Bees(1714) | "An Essay on Charity, and Charity-Schools", p. 328 -
“This laudable quality is commonly known by the name of Manners and Good-breeding, and consists in a Fashionable Habit, acquir'd by Precept and Example, of flattering the Pride and Selfishness of others, and concealing our own with Judgment and Dexterity.”
The Fable of the Bees(1714) | Remark C, p. 69 -
“No Habit or Quality is more easily acquir'd than Hypocrisy, nor any thing sooner learn'd than to deny the Sentiments of our Hearts and the Principle we act from: But the Seeds of every Passion are innate to us, and no body comes into the World without them.”
The Fable of the Bees(1714) | "An Essay on Charity, and Charity-Schools", p. 319
Bernard Mandeville on Life
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“Thus Vice nurs'd Ingenuity, Which join'd with Time and Industry, Had carry'd Life's Conveniences, It's real Pleasures, Comforts, Ease, To such a Height, the very Poor Liv'd better than the Rich before.”
The Fable of the Bees(1714) | "The Grumbling Hive", line 197, p. 11 -
“There is no Intrinsick Worth in Money but what is alterable with the Times, and whether a Guinea goes for Twenty Pounds or for a Shilling, it is … the Labour of the Poor, and not the high and low value that is set on Gold or Silver, which all the Comforts of Life must arise from.”
The Fable of the Bees(1714) | "An Essay on Charity, and Charity-Schools", p. 345
Bernard Mandeville on Nature
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Attributed to Bernard Mandeville:
“Hunger, thirst and nakedness are the first tyrants that force us to stir.”
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“They that examine into the Nature of Man, abstract from Art and Education, may observe, that what renders him a Sociable Animal, consists not in his desire of Company, Good-nature, Pity, Affability, and other Graces of a fair Outside; but that his vilest and most hateful Qualities are the most necessary Accomplishments to fit him for the largest, and, according to the World, the happiest and most flourishing Societies.”
Preface
Bernard Mandeville on Politics
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“Thus every Part was full of Vice, Yet the whole Mass a Paradise; Flatter'd in Peace, and fear'd in Wars, They were th' Esteem of Foreigners, And lavish of their Wealth and Lives, The Balance of all other Hives.”
The Grumbling Hive", line 155, p. 9
Bernard Mandeville on Virtue
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Attributed to Bernard Mandeville:
“Private vices, public benefits.”
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Attributed to Bernard Mandeville:
“Pride is the great support of art and industry.”
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Attributed to Bernard Mandeville:
“We do not need to be virtuous in order to live well in society.”
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Attributed to Bernard Mandeville:
“There are few persons in the world who can be sincerely modest.”
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“The worst of all the Multitude Did something for the Common Good.”
The Grumbling Hive", line 167, p. 9 -
“Private Vices by the dextrous Management of a skilful Politician may be turned into Publick Benefits.”
The Fable of the Bees(1714) | "A Search into the Nature of Society", p. 428 -
“Then leave Complaints: Fools only strive To make a Great an Honest Hive. T'enjoy the World's Conveniences, Be fam'd in War, yet live in Ease, Without great Vices, is a vain Eutopia seated in the Brain.”
The Fable of the Bees(1714) | "The Moral", line 1, p. 23 -
“Because Impudence is a Vice, it does not follow that Modesty is a Virtue; it is built upon Shame, a Passion in our Nature, and may be either Good or Bad according to the Actions perform'd from that Motive.”
The Fable of the Bees(1714) | Remark C, p. 65 -
“Pride and Vanity have built more Hospitals than all the Virtues together.”
The Fable of the Bees(1714) | "An Essay on Charity, and Charity-Schools", p. 294 -
“Luxury Employ'd a Million of the Poor, And odious Pride a Million more; Envy it self, and Vanity, Were Ministers of Industry; Their darling Folly, Fickleness, In Diet, Furniture and Dress, That strange ridic'lous Vice, was made The very Wheel that turn'd the Trade.”
The Fable of the Bees(1714) | "The Grumbling Hive", line 180, p. 10