November 25

"He who loves the workman and his work, and does what he can to preserve and improve it, shall be accepted of Him.'

John Adams, 2nd President, 1797-1801- from a letter to Thomas Jefferson, June 18, 1812. Adams had apparently inquired about the Indians (Native Americans) and the theories of their origins and religious practices-Jefferson states the theories of two or three European historians. Adams replies:"...The watch-maker has in his head an idea of the system of a watch, before he makes it. The mechanician of the universe had a complete idea of the universe before he made it, and this idea, this logos, was almighty, or at least powerful enough to produce the world; ... I am weary of philosophers, theologians, politicians, and historians. They are immense masses of absurdities, vices, and lies. Montesquieu had sense enough to say in jest, that all our knowledge might be comprehended in twelve pages in duodecimo; and I believe him in earnest. I could express my faith in shorter terms. He who loves the workman and his work, and does what he can to preserve and improve it, shall be accepted of him."The Works of John Adams, Second President of the United States: with a Life of the Author, Notes and Illustrations, by his Grandson Charles Francis Adams (Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1856). 10 volumes. Vol. 10.""http://oll.libertyfund.org/"