John Adams Quotes

There are a lot of smart people in politics and government, but character matters ... it is terribly important that the two be melded.

Politics is the art of human happiness.

Virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government.

The true Christian ideal is not to be happy but to be holy.

How good life is when one does something good and just!

We must now examine whether just people also live better and are happier than unjust ones. I think it's clear already that this is so, but we must look into it further, since the argument concerns no ordinary topic, but the way we ought to live.

Now the goodness that we have to consider is clearly human goodness, since the good or happiness which we set out to seek was human good and human happiness. But human goodness means in our view excellence of soul, not excellence of body.

Do unto others…’ is a good rule of thumb. I live by that. Forgiveness is probably the greatest virtue there is. But that’s exactly what it is - a virtue. Not just a Christian virtue. No one owns being good. I’m good. I just don’t believe I’ll be rewarded for it in heaven. My reward is here and now. It’s knowing that I try to do the right thing. That I lived a good life. And that’s where spirituality really lost its way. When it became a stick to beat people with. ‘Do this or you’ll burn in hell.’ You won’t burn in hell. But be nice anyway.

The happiness and unhappiness of the rational, social animal depends not on what he feels but on what he does; just as his virtue and vice consist not in feeling but in doing.

Society can only be happy and free in proportion as it is virtuous.

Really high-minded people are indifferent to happiness, especially other people's.

If there is a virtue in the world at which we should always aim, it is cheerfulness.

I think our governments will remain virtuous for many centuries; as long as they are chiefly agricultural.

Why Christians do what they do is just as important as what they do. Bad motives ruin good acts.

Happiness and Virtue clasp hands and walk together.

The unrighteous are never really fortunate.

The best practical advice I can give to the present generation is to practice the virtue which the Christians call love.

There is no perfecter endowment in man than political virtue.

He who prays as he ought will endeavor to live as he prays.

Happiness is not the reward of virtue, but is virtue itself; nor do we delight in happiness because we restrain from our lusts; but on the contrary, because we delight in it, therefore we are able to restrain them.

The good sleep better, but the bad seem to enjoy the waking hours much more.

There were honest people long before there were Christians and there are, God be praised, still honest people where there are no Christians. It could therefore easily be possible that people are Christians because true Christianity corresponds to what they would have been even if Christianity did not exist.

Happiness is in its highest degree the sister of goodness.

It is an observation of one of the profoundest inquirers into human affairs that a revolution of government is the strongest proof that can be given by a people of their virtue and good sense.

Good works do not make a good man, but a good man does good works.