Diary of Charles Francis Adams, volume 2
In studies, whatsoever a man commandeth upon himself, let him set hours for it; but whatsoever is agreeable to his nature, let him take no care for any set times; for his thoughts will fly to it of themselves, so as the spaces of other business or studies will suffice. A man’s nature runs either to herbs or to weeds; therefore let him seasonably water the one, and destroy the other.
From D/CFA/5, as are the following prefatory note dated 26 Nov., and the entry for 18 June. Thereafter the longer (but chronologically somewhat irregular) entries are from the same source, CFA’s “index” or epitomized entries in D/CFA/1 being printed only when fuller ones are wanting. Readers will note that the earlier entries in D/CFA/5 are retrospective and were written in blocks; hence the frequently supplied date captions. See description of CFA’s MS Diaries in Introduction; also entry for 26 Nov., below.
That is, 17 July 1827.
Francis Bacon, “Of Nature in Men,” in Essays, Moral, Economical, and Political, London, 1807, p. 147.