Quotes from Samuel Smiles, Thrift, 1875

There is, indeed, much in nature that we do not yet half enjoy, because we shut our avenues of sensation and feeling. We are satisfied with the matter of fact, and look not for the spirit of fact which is above it. If we opened our minds to enjoyment, we might find tranquil pleasures spread about us on every side. We might live with the angels that visit us on every sunbeam, and sit with the fairies who wait on every flower.

Thrift began with civilization. It began when men found it necessary to provide for to-morrow as well as for to-day. It began long before money was invented.