# Quote — Bernard Mandeville, The Fable of the Bees

> I flatter my self to have demonstrated that, neither the Friendly Qualities and kind Affections that are natural to Man, nor the real Virtues he is capable of acquiring by Reason and Self-Denial, are the Foundation of Society; but that what we call Evil in this World, Moral as well as Natural, is the grand Principle that makes us sociable Creatures, the solid Basis, the Life and Support of all Trades and Employments without Exception: That there we must look for the true Origin of all Arts and Sciences, and that the Moment Evil ceases, the Society must be spoiled, if not totally dissolved.

- Author: [Bernard Mandeville](https://www.leafyquotes.com/bernard-mandeville.md)
- Book: [The Fable of the Bees](https://www.leafyquotes.com/bernard-mandeville/the-fable-of-the-bees.md)
- Page: 428
- Source: [Wikiquote](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bernard_Mandeville#The_Fable_of_the_Bees_(1714)) ([CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/))
- Quote page: https://www.leafyquotes.com/bernard-mandeville/the-fable-of-the-bees/i-flatter-my-self

## More from this book

> 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.

p. 345 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/bernard-mandeville/the-fable-of-the-bees/there-is-no-intrinsick.md)

> Knowledge both enlarges and multiplies our Desires, and the fewer things a Man wishes for, the more easily his Necessities may be supply'd.

p. 328 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/bernard-mandeville/the-fable-of-the-bees/knowledge-both-enlarges.md)

> If Courtezans and Strumpets were to be prosecuted with as much Rigour as some silly People would have it, what Locks or Bars would be sufficient to preserve the Honour of our Wives and Daughters?

p. 95 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/bernard-mandeville/the-fable-of-the-bees/if-courtezans-and.md)