1To John Adams from Benjamin Rush, 14 August 1805 (Adams Papers)
Your letters are full of aphorisms. Every paragraph in them suggests new ideas, or revives old ones. You have given a true picture of parties in our Country. We have indeed no national Character, and however much we boast of it, there are very few "true Americans" in the United States. We have four distinct parties in Pennsylvania. 1. old tories. 2. honest federalists. 3 violent democrats. 4....
2To John Adams from Benjamin Rush, 14 December 1808 (Adams Papers)
Has your right hand forgotten its Cunning from pain or Sickness? or have you ceased to contemplate the present interesting Crisis of your beloved Country?—or have you become fearful of committing your apprehensions of her future destiny to paper? If none of these events have come to pass, why am I not favoured with Answers to my two last letters?— Say my dear and venerable friend what is to be...
3To John Adams from Benjamin Rush, 3 April 1807 (Adams Papers)
The difficult and complicated labors of my professorship consisting of teaching, examining, reviewing theses &c &c being now nearly over, I sit down with great pleasure to pay my epistolary debts. You are my largest, and most lenient Creditor. The first dividend of my time of Course is due to you. I concur with you in your reflections upon the Western insurrection, but not altogether in your...
4To John Adams from Benjamin Rush, 21 September 1805 (Adams Papers)
The hurry always connected with the prevalence of a yellow fever in our City; has prevented my answering your letter of Augst: 25th: at an earlier day. The opinion relative to too close an Alliance with France in the year 1776 was communicated to me by you I think for the first time in Baltimore. I was led from this circumstance to believe you had delivered it on the floor of Congress in that...
5To John Adams from Benjamin Rush, 22 April 1807 (Adams Papers)
I enclose you the letter I mentioned in my last, from the person whom I supposed to be your son in law. The letter from his son has been mislaid. I have neither friend, nor Correspondent in new york of the name of Wm Smith except your son in law, and having never before seen his hand writing, and supposing he had dropt Ste his middle name of Stephens, I had no doubt of the letter coming from...
6To John Adams from Benjamin Rush, 24 August 1808 (Adams Papers)
In Contemplating the events that have lately taken place in Spain, and their probable Consequences, I we feel disposed to exclaim in the bold Apostrophe of Jeremiah “O! thou Sword of the Lord, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? Put up thyself into thy Scabbard, rest, and be Still.” Chapt: 47. verse 6th: shall we hope that a Voice from heaven has arrested the destroyer of nations, or is he...
7To John Adams from Benjamin Rush, 22 September 1808 (Adams Papers)
The politicks of our City are under the direction of three Classes of people, old tories, merchents, and brokers. They are neither anticipating, nor retrospective animals. All their calculations are for the present moment. They know nothing of its treaties, nor of the former volcanic eruptions of the power and tyranny of France. The last shower with them is always the heaviest. Why then do you...
8To John Adams from Benjamin Rush, 25 November 1806 (Adams Papers)
I have seldom been more highly gratified than by the receipt of your letter of Novr 11th. The latter part of it accords perfectly with Opinions I have long cherished. You may see a short account of those Opinions in an Oration delivered before our Philosophical Society upon “the influence of physical Causes upon the moral faculty” published in the first Volume of my Inquiries. They shocked for...
9To John Adams from Benjamin Rush, 15 December 1807 (Adams Papers)
An inflammation in my eyes which for several days has confined me to my house, and rendered writing difficult and painful, must be my Apology for the Shortness of this letter. I admire the Correctness of your history of the ten talents committed to the Subject of your letter. Upon the talent of his taciturnity Mr Liston gave me the following Anecdote, “that he was the only person he had ever...
10To John Adams from Benjamin Rush, 9 July 1807 (Adams Papers)
I once met Alexander Cruden the Author of the Concordance of the Scriptures at Charles Dilly’s. He was then about 70 years of Age. The only thing he said while I was in his Company made an impression upon my mind which the lapse of near 40 years has not worn away. It was this. “God punishes some Crimes in this world to teach us there is a Providence, and permits Others to escape with impunity,...