Editing Adam Smith (section)

===Character===
[[File:AdamSmith1790b.jpg|thumb|Portrait of Smith by [[John Kay (caricaturist)|John Kay]], 1790|alt=A drawing of a man standing up, with one hand holding a cane and the other pointing at a book]]

Not much is known about Smith's personal views beyond what can be deduced from his published articles. His personal papers were destroyed after his death, per his request.<ref name="buchan 2006 88" /> He never married,<ref>{{harvnb|Buchan|2006|p=11}}</ref> and seems to have maintained a close relationship with his mother, with whom he lived after his return from France and who died six years before him.<ref>{{harvnb|Buchan|2006|p=134}}</ref>

Smith was described by several of his contemporaries and biographers as comically absent-minded, with peculiar habits of speech and gait, and a smile of "inexpressible benignity".<ref>{{harvnb|Rae|1895|p=262}}</ref> He was known to talk to himself,<ref name="Bussing-Burks 2003 53" /> a habit that began during his childhood when he would smile in rapt conversation with invisible companions.<ref name="skousen 2001 32">{{harvnb|Skousen|2001|p=32}}</ref> He also had occasional spells of imaginary illness,<ref name="Bussing-Burks 2003 53" /> and he is reported to have had books and papers placed in tall stacks in his study.<ref name="skousen 2001 32" /> According to one story, Smith took Charles Townshend on a tour of a [[Tanning (leather)|tanning]] factory, and while discussing [[free trade]], Smith walked into a huge [[Tanning (leather)|tanning pit]] from which he needed help to escape.<ref name="Buchholz 14">{{harvnb|Buchholz|1999|p=14}}</ref> He is also said to have put bread and butter into a teapot, drunk the concoction, and declared it to be the worst cup of tea he had ever had. According to another account, Smith distractedly went out walking in his nightgown and ended up {{convert|15|mi|km}} outside of town, before nearby church bells brought him back to reality.<ref name="skousen 2001 32" /><ref name="Buchholz 14" />

[[James Boswell]], who was a student of Smith's at Glasgow University, and later knew him at the [[The Club (Literary Club)|Literary Club]], says that Smith thought that speaking about his ideas in conversation might reduce the sale of his books, so his conversation was unimpressive. According to Boswell, he once told [[Joshua Reynolds|Sir Joshua Reynolds]], that "he made it a rule when in company never to talk of what he understood".<ref>Boswell's ''[[Life of Samuel Johnson]]'', 1780.</ref>

Smith has been alternatively described as someone who "had a large nose, bulging eyes, a protruding lower lip, a nervous twitch, and a speech impediment" and one whose "countenance was manly and agreeable".<ref name="Buchholz 1999 12" /><ref>{{harvnb|Ross|2010|p=330}}</ref> Smith is said to have acknowledged his looks at one point, saying, "I am a beau in nothing but my books."<ref name="Buchholz 1999 12" /> Smith rarely sat for portraits,<ref>{{cite book |last=Stewart |first=Dugald |title=The Works of Adam Smith: With An Account of His Life and Writings |publisher=Henry G. Bohn |location=London |year=1853 |page=lxix |oclc=3226570 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FbYCAAAAYAAJ |no-pp=true |access-date=13 May 2020 |archive-date=13 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200613114606/https://books.google.com/books?id=FbYCAAAAYAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> so almost all depictions of him created during his lifetime were drawn from memory. The best-known portraits of Smith are the profile by [[James Tassie]] and two [[etching]]s by [[John Kay (caricaturist)|John Kay]].<ref>{{harvnb|Rae|1895|pp=376–377}}</ref> The line engravings produced for the covers of 19th-century reprints of ''The Wealth of Nations'' were based largely on Tassie's medallion.<ref>{{harvnb|Bonar|1894|p=xxi}}</ref>