Quotes from John Quincy Adams

I inhabit a weak, frail, decayed tenement; battered by the winds and broken in on by the storms, and, from all I can learn, the landlord does not intend to repair.

The Sermon on the Mount commands me to lay up for myself treasures, not upon earth, but in Heaven. My hopes of a future life are all founded upon the Gospel of Christ.

Where annual elections end where slavery begins.

Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.

The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: it connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity.

The four most miserable years of my life were my four years in the presidency.

It was the special purpose of Christ's appearance upon earth to bring immortality to light.

It is by a thorough knowledge of the whole subject that [people] are enabled to judge correctly of the past and to give a proper direction to the future.

To furnish the means of acquiring knowledge is the greatest benefit that can be conferred upon mankind. It prolongs life itself, and enlarges the sphere of existence.

Democracy, pure democracy, has at least its foundation in a generous theory of human rights. It is founded on the natural equality of mankind. It is the cornerstone of the Christian religion. It is the first element of all lawful government upon earth.

We know the redemption must come. The time and the manner of its coming we know not: It may come in peace, or it may come in blood; but whether in peace or in blood, LET IT COME.

"Idleness is sweet, and its consequences are cruel"

A leader leads by example, whether he intends to or not.

Every temptation is an opportunity of our getting nearer to God.

Nip the shoots of arbitrary power in the bud, is the only maxim which can ever preserve the liberties of any people.

Individual liberty is individual power, and as the power of a community is a mass compounded of individual powers, the nation which enjoys the most freedom must necessarily be in proportion to its numbers the most powerful nation.

The best guarantee against the abuse of power consists in the freedom, the purity, and the frequency of popular elections.

I cannot ask of heaven success, even for my country, in a cause where she should be in the wrong.

The will of the people is the source and the happiness of the people the end of all legitimate government upon earth.

From the experience of the past we derive instructive lessons for the future.

The highest, the transcendent glory of the American Revolution was this -- it connected, in one indissoluble bond, the principles of civil government with the precepts of Christianity.

All the public business in Congress now connects itself with intrigues, and there is great danger that the whole government will degenerate into a struggle of cabals.

Roll, years of promise, rapidly roll round, till not a slave shall on this earth be found.

Of the two great political parties which have divided the opinions and feelings of our country, the candid and the just will now admit that both have contributed splendid talents, spotless integrity, ardent patriotism, and disinterested sacrifices to the formation and administration of this Government, and that both have required a liberal indulgence for a portion of human infirmity and error.