John  Adams

John Adams

"Because power corrupts, society's demands for moral authority and character increase as the importance of the position increases."
56 Quotes
"Because power corrupts, society's demands for moral authority and character increase as the importance of the position increases."
John Adams
"Power always thinks... that it is doing God's service when it is violating all his laws."
John Adams
"The Declaration of Independence I always considered as a theatrical show. Jefferson ran away with all the stage effect of that... and all the glory of it."
John Adams
"The happiness of society is the end of government."
John Adams
"Old minds are like old horses you must exercise them if you wish to keep them in working order."
John Adams
"All the perplexities, confusion and distress in America arise, not from defects in their Constitution or Confederation, not from want of honor or virtue, so much as from the downright ignorance of the nature of coin, credit and circulation."
John Adams
"I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy."
John Adams
"Great is the guilt of an unnecessary war."
John Adams
"When people talk of the freedom of writing, speaking or thinking I cannot choose but laugh. No such thing ever existed. No such thing now exists; but I hope it will exist. But it must be hundreds of years after you and I shall write and speak no more."
John Adams
"Posterity! You will never know how much it cost the present generation to preserve your freedom! I hope you will make a good use of it."
John Adams
"The four most miserable years of my life . . ."
John Adams
"Had I been chosen president again I am certain I could not have lived another year."
John Adams
"player: Can I reach it with a five iron? caddie: Eventually."
John Adams
"Swim or sink live or die survive or perish with my country was my unalterable determination."
John Adams
"I must study politics and war that my sons may have the liberty to study mathematics and philosophy geography natural history and naval architecture navigation commerce and agriculture in order to give their children a right to study painting poetry music architecture statuary tapestry and porcelain."
John Adams
"If I had refused to institute a negotiation or had not persevered in it I would have been degraded in my own estimation as a man of honor."
John Adams
"Every man in it is a great man an orator a critic a statesman and therefore every man upon every question must show his oratory his criticism and his political abilities."
John Adams
"In esse I am nothing in posse I am everything."
John Adams
"The science of government it is my duty to study, more than all other sciences; the arts of legislation and administration and negotiation ought to take the place of, indeed exclude, in a manner, all other arts. I must study politics and war, that our sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. Our sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history and naval architecture, navigation, commerce and agriculture in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry and porcelain."
John Adams Letters of John Adams, Addressed to His Wife
"Be not intimidated...nor suffer yourselves to be wheedled out of your liberties by any pretense of politeness, delicacy, or decency. These, as they are often used, are but three different names for hypocrisy, chicanery and cowardice."
John Adams
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