It is not in the still calm of life, or the repose of a pacific station, that great characters are formed … The habits of a vigorous mind are formed in contending with difficulties. All history will convince you of this, and that wisdom and penetration are the fruit of experience, not the lessons of retirement and leisure. Great necessities call out great virtues.
—Abigail Adams
Topics: Virtue, Difficulties, Virtues, Challenges, Adversity, Difficulty
Learning is not attained by chance. It must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence.
—Abigail Adams
Topics: Education, Learning
If we do not lay out ourselves in the service of mankind, whom should we serve?
—Abigail Adams
Topics: Service
I acknowledge myself a unitarian
—Abigail Adams
Topics: Religion
Remember the ladies, and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands.
Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the Ladies we are determined to foment a Rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in which we have no voice, or Representation.
—Abigail Adams
Topics: Attention, Women
I’ve always felt that a person’s intelligence is directly reflected by the number of conflicting points of view he can entertain simultaneously on the same topic.
—Abigail Adams
Topics: Intelligence
We have too many high-sounding words, and too few actions that correspond with them.
—Abigail Adams
Arbitrary power is like most other things which are very hard, very liable to be broken.
—Abigail Adams
Topics: Power
If we mean to have heroes, statesmen and philosophers, we should have learned women.
—Abigail Adams
Topics: Women
Wondering Whom to Read Next?
- Barbara Bush American First Lady
- Eleanor Roosevelt American Humanitarian
- Martha Washington American First Lady
- Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis American First Lady
- Mary Todd Lincoln American First lady
- Soong Mei-ling Chinese Political Figure
- John Quincy Adams American Head of State
- John Adams American Head of State
- Lady Bird Johnson First Lady of the United States
- Hillary Rodham Clinton American Head of State
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