Class XI, Principles of Economics, "Early Definitions of Economics"

The classical school of thought i.e. Adam Smith, N.W Senior, Hills, Malthus and Ricardo have defined economics as,

“Economics is the science of wealth”
In the words of Adam Smith,
“Science, which enquires the nature and cause of the wealth of nations”
Waller defined economics as,
“Economics is that body of knowledge which relates to wealth.”
In the words of Mills,
“Economics to the science of wealth in relation to mass.”
In short, the classical school of thought emphasized purely wealth. So we can say that
“Economics studies the production, consumption, exchange and distribution of wealth.”