Property monopolized or in the possession of a few is a curse to mankind.
John AdamsRead
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Appreciate the beauty and complexity of the universe while striving to improve it, recognizing that complete understanding is beyond human grasp.
In this quote, John Adams emphasizes the importance of reverence for the creator of the universe and the awe-inspiring complexity it presents. He encourages individuals to actively contribute to the betterment of society by reducing suffering and enhancing goodness, yet reminds us that true comprehension of the universe's intricacies may always elude us, highlighting the humility we should maintain in the face of such vastness.
Themes
UniverseUnderstandingGoodnessHumilityReverence
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of science and exploration, one might quote John Adams to emphasize our need to appreciate the universe's complexity.
More from John Adams
All quotes βLet us dare to read, think, speak and write.
John AdamsRead
There are two ways to conquer and enslave a country. One is by the sword. The other is by debt.
John AdamsRead
Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.
John AdamsRead
The furnace of affliction produces refinement, in states as well as individuals.
John AdamsRead
Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.
John AdamsRead
Similar quotes
Impelled by feelings that were primal yet paradoxically wholly impersonal. Feelings of contempt born of inchoate, unacknowledged fear--civilization's fear of nature, men's fear of women, power's fear of powerlessness. Man's subliminal urge to destroy what he could neither subdue nor deify.
Arundhati RoyRead
An important function of theology is to keep religion tied to reason and reason to religion. Both roles are of essential importance for humanity.
Pope Benedict XviRead
To be free is to be capable of thinking one's own thoughts - not the thoughts merely of the body, or of society, but thoughts generated by one's deepest, most original, most essential and spiritual self, one's individuality.
Rudolf SteinerRead
How easy it is to see your brother's faults, How hard it is to face your own. You winnow his in the wind like chaff, But yours you hide, Like a cheat covering up an unlucky throw. Dwelling on your brother's faults Multiplies your own. You are far from the end of your journey. The way is not in the sky. The way is in the heart. See how you love.
Gautama BuddhaRead
If our circumstances find us in God, we shall find God in all our circumstances.
Dwight L. MoodyRead
I regard it (the Constitution) as the work of the purest patriots and wisest statesman that ever existed, aided by the smiles of a benign Providence; it almost appears a "Divine interposition in our behalf... the hand that destroys our Constitution rends our Union asunder forever.
Daniel WebsterRead