37 Quotes by Paul C. Nagel

Foolish defiance was his lifelong response to being ill.

When John Quincy Adams in the Netherlands was placed with elementary students and belittled because he did not speak Dutch, either the author or John Adams accuses school authorities of "littleness of soul".

Because he was suffering doubts about himself and his future, Adams may have felt comfort demeaning the behavior and the character of women.

John Quincy Adams, denying his sons permission to come home for college holidays for under-performance: "I would feel nothing but sorrow and shame at your presence.

Adams looks forward to teaching his granddaughters about planting trees, noting that they already show inclination toward this and need only be encouraged in the naturalist pursuits he has found so healthy.

I was born for a controversial world, and I cannot escape my destiny. John Quincy Adams

The author points out that, with life in provincial Washington difficult for those not of independent means, Adams and his wife undervalued the social connections that others found vital. They often made an impression as distant and prideful.

It is the doom of the Christian church to be always distracted with controversy. John Quincy Adams

The young John Quincy Adams begins it lifelong habit of keeping a journal with reluctance that he might one day have to read it. He hopes, though, that the flaws in his earlier entries will be balanced by the progress he is able to see.