# Quote — Bernard Mandeville, The Fable of the Bees

> 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.

- 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)
- 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/if-laying-aside

## 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)