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We need to be careful about our treatment of Adam Smith's citation 
practices and not hold him to modern standards.  Not only was not citing 
another's work  "a sign that the author . . . did not care for the 
neglected author's work."  In other cases, it was a complement, 
indicating that the author believed the writer's work was so well known 
and highly regarded that readers would know instantly to whom the 
statement belonged.  Given the changing nature of citation practices, it 
is important to hold our predecessors to the standards of their time, not 
ours. 
 
Research project suggestion -- review changing citation practices in 
economics. 
 
Jim Henderson 
 
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