These are times in which a genius would wish to live. It is not in the still calm of life, or in the repose of a pacific station, that great characters are formed. The habits of a vigorous mind are formed in contending with difficulties. Great necessities call out great virtues.
Abigail Adams, Letter to John Quincy Adams (19 January 1780).
Categories
Abigail Adams
1 reply on “Abigail Adams”
Great necessity may compel the expression of some virtues, but it often precludes the expression of others. It is easy to identify both episodes of calm and episodes of turmoil during which the challenge simply to survive obstructed opportunities to contribute to the cultural infrastructure. Even many acts of heroic courage from those times are lost to memory.