"I always consider the settlement of America with reverence and wonder, as the opening of a grand scene and design in providence, for the illumination of the ignorant and the emancipation of the slavish part of mankind all over the earth."

Nature

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Thematic Reflection

This quotation examines the core nature of Nature as articulated by John Adams. Within historical and literary traditions, reflections on Nature provide actionable mental models, challenging individuals to evaluate personal ethics, self-discipline, and daily actions.

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About John Adams

John Adams was a Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before his presidency, he was a leader of the American Revolution that achieved independence from Great Britain. During the latter part of the Revolutionary War and in the early years of the new nation, he served the Continental Congress of the United States as a senior diplomat in Europe. Adams was the first vice president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. He was a dedicated diarist and regularly corresponded with contemporaries, including his wife and advisor Abigail Adams and his friend and rival Thomas Jefferson.

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More by John Adams

"Power always thinks it has a great soul and vast views beyond the comprehension of the weak."

— John Adams
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"Let us tenderly and kindly cherish, therefore, the means of knowledge. Let us dare to read, think, speak, and write."

— John Adams
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"I must not write a word to you about politics, because you are a woman."

— John Adams
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"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
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More about Nature

"Shuffling is the only thing which Nature cannot undo."

— Arthur Eddington
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"Clearly, some creative thinking is badly needed if humans are to have a future beyond Earth. Returning to the Moon may be worthy and attainable, but it fails to capture the public's imagination. What does get people excited is the prospect of a mission to Mars."

— Paul Davies
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"Homosexuality is against nature. Sexual expression is permitted only within marriage, between man and woman, male and female. Anything else is an abnormality and is against nature."

— Pope Shenouda III
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"The true object of all human life is play. Earth is a task garden; heaven is a playground."

— Gilbert K. Chesterton
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