The preservation of the means of knowledge among the lowest ranks is of more importance to the public than all the property of all the rich men in the country. – John Adams
Abuse of words has been the great instrument of sophistry and chicanery, of party, faction, and division of society. – John Adams
If we do not lay out ourselves in the service of mankind whom should we serve? – John Adams
Because power corrupts, societys demands for moral authority and character increase as the importance of the position increases. – John Adams
By avarice and selfishness, and a groveling habit, from which none of us is free, of regarding the soil as property, or the means of acquiring property chiefly, the landscape is deformed, husbandry is degraded with us, and the farmer leads the meanest of lives. He knows Nature but as a robber. – Henry David Thoreau
For all my years in public life, I have believed that America must sail toward the shores of liberty and justice for all. There is no end to that journey, only the next great voyage. We know the future will outlast all of us, but I believe that all of us will live on in the future we make. – Edward Kennedy