Rev. William Bentley

Samuel Adams persevered through life in his Republican principles without any conformity to parties, influence or times. He was feared by his enemies, but too secret to be loved by his friends. He did not put confidence in them. . . He preserved the severity of Cato in his manners, and the dogmatism of a priest in his religious observances.

William Bentley, D. D.,Pastor of the East Church, Salem, Massachusetts, as redacted by Diane Ackerman, “The Man Who Made a Revolution,” Parade, September 6, 1987. The complete diary entry can be found on Archive.org: The Diary of William Bentley, D.D.: Volume 3, January, 1803 – December, 1810 (Salem, Massachusetts: The Essex Institute, 1911), p. 49.