“Police is the second general division of jurisprudence. The name is French, and is originally derived from the Greek πολιτεία , which properly signified the policy of civil government, but now it only means the regulation of the inferior parts of government, viz. : cleanliness, security, and cheapness or plenty.”
That this definition of the French word was correct is well shown by the following passage from a book which is known to have been in Smith’s possession at his death, Bielfeld’s Institutions politiques , 1760 (tom. i , p. 99).
“Le premier Président du Harlay en recevant M. d’Argenson à la charge de lieutenant général de police de la ville de Paris, lui adressa ces paroles, qui méritent d’être remarquées: Le Roi, Monsieur, vous demande sûreté, netteté, bon-marché. En effet ces trois articles comprennent toute la police, qui forme le troisième grand objet de la politique pour l’intérieur de l’État.”