Admire and adore the Author of the telescopic universe, love and esteem the work, do all in your power to lessen ill, and increase good, but never assume to comprehend.
John AdamsRead
A desire to be observed, considered, esteemed, praised, beloved, and admired by his fellows is one of the earliest as well as the keenest dispositions discovered in the heart of man.
Interpretation
Humans have an inherent desire to be valued and recognized by others.
This quote by John Adams speaks to the fundamental human need for recognition and approval from our peers. It suggests that being acknowledged and esteemed by others is a deep-seated aspect of human nature, indicating our social instincts and emotional connections to the world around us.
In practice
In a speech about community, one might use this quote to underline the importance of mutual recognition in relationships.
Admire and adore the Author of the telescopic universe, love and esteem the work, do all in your power to lessen ill, and increase good, but never assume to comprehend.
Property monopolized or in the possession of a few is a curse to mankind.
Let us dare to read, think, speak and write.
There are two ways to conquer and enslave a country. One is by the sword. The other is by debt.
Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.
The furnace of affliction produces refinement, in states as well as individuals.
Insecurity twists meanings and poisons trust. In a closely beleaguered city every sentry is a potential traitor.
Try to understand men. If you understand each other you will be kind to each other. Knowing a man well never leads to hate and almost always leads to love.
He feared me as many men fear women: because their mistresses (or their wives) understand them. They are scarcely adult, some men: they wish women to understand them, and to that end they tell them all their secrets; and then, when they are properly understood, they hate their women for understanding them.
Women are not in love with me but with the picture of me on the screen. I am merely the canvas on which women paint their dreams.
Lies had deserted me, and I felt as lonely as though they had been my only friends.
Closeness can lead to emotions other than love. It's the ones who have been too intimate with you, lived in too close quarters, seen too much of your pain or envy or, perhaps more than anything, your shame, who, at the crucial moment, can be too easy to cut out, to exile, to expel, to kill off.
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