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The moment the idea is admitted into society, that property is not as sacred as the law of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.

— John Adams A Defence of the Constitutions of Government (1787)

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More quotes by John Adams

A pen is certainly an excellent instrument to fix a man's attention and to inflame his ambition.

There is, in the human Breast, a social Affection, which extends to our whole Species.

Every measure of prudence, therefore, ought to be assumed for the eventual total extirpation of slavery from the United States.

Letter to Robert J. Evans (1819)

The world grows more enlightened. Knowledge is more equally diffused.

Discourses on Davila (1790)

Tyranny can scarcely be practised upon a virtuous and wise people.

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All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree. All these aspirations are directed toward ennobling man's life, lifting it from the sphere of mere physical existence and leading the individual towards freedom.

Albert Einstein Moral Decay (1937)

Science and religion are two human enterprises sharing many features.

Freeman Dyson Infinite in All Directions (1988)

The Puritan hated bear-baiting, not because it gave pain to the bear, but because it gave pleasure to the spectators.

Thomas Babington Macaulay History of England (1849)

Religion in so far as it is a source of consolation is a hindrance to true faith; and in this sense atheism is a purification.

Simone Weil

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: John Adams (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.