The  style  of  the  work  is  diffuse,  and  the
arrangement  of  materials  irregular  and
loose;  more  in  the  manner  of  a  great
study  than  of  a  perfectly  finished  work.
To  a  very  large  extent  it  drew  from  the
work  already  done  in  France  by  the
economists  of  the  <<  EncyclopMie  »  school ;
first  among  whom  stood  Turgot,  whose
^Sur  la  Formation  et  la  Distribution  des
Richesses>  supplied  Smith  with  passages
of  his  first  book  very  closely  following
the  divisions  and  argpiments  of  Turgot
Smith  had  visited  France  at  the  close  of
the  Seven  Years'  War,  had  spent  a  year
in  Paris,  and  had  seen  much  of  the
economists  there.  He  had  returned  home
in  October  1766,  and  settled  in  retire-
ment at  Kirkcaldy,  where  he  gave  ten
years  to  the  production  of  his  book.
