Browsing: Diary of John Adams, Volume 2

He, who contends for Freedom,

can ne'er be justly deem'd his Sovereign's Foe:

No, 'tis the wretch that tempts him to subvert it,

The soothing Slave, the Traitor in the Bosom,

Who best deserves that name; he is a worm

That eats out all the Happiness of Kingdoms.1

When Life, or Death,

becomes the Question, all Distinctions vanish;

Then the first Monarch and the lowest Slave

on the same Level Stand, in this the Sons

of equal Nature all.