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
[L]iberty must at all hazards be supported. We have a right to it, derived from our Maker. But if we had not, our fathers have earned and bought it for us, at the expense of their ease, their estates, their pleasure, and their blood.
Interpretation
Liberty is a fundamental right that must be defended, and it has been earned through the sacrifices of those who came before us.
In this quote, John Adams emphasizes the importance of liberty as an inherent right that must be upheld at all costs. He acknowledges that even if this right were not naturally endowed, the sacrifices made by previous generations in terms of their comfort, wealth, happiness, and even lives have earned it for us, thus reinforcing the moral obligation to protect and cherish our freedom.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of civic engagement, one could quote John Adams to inspire active participation in defending our liberties.
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.
To my utter despair I have discovered, and discover every day anew, that there is in the masses no revolutionary idea or hope or passion.
Man is now able to soar into outer space and reach up to the moon; but he is not moral enough to live at peace with his neighbor!
Routine is a declivity down which many governments slide, and routine says that freedom of the press is dangerous.
A day will come when beings, now latent in our thoughts and hidden in our loins, shall stand upon Earth as a footstool and laugh, and reach out their hands amidst the stars.
Aphrodite-Venus had become not a subject of adoration, but an agent of exploitation. From the moment Christian society perceived sex not as a gift of the goddess but a crime against God himself, women were believed to be the vessels of love's malign power.
To escape the cycle of tragedy, we (searchers) have to be tough on the ideas of the planners, even while we salute their goodwill.
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