“If we do not lay out ourselves in the service of mankind whom should we serve?”

—  Abigail Adams

Letter to John Thaxter (29 September 1778)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "If we do not lay out ourselves in the service of mankind whom should we serve?" by Abigail Adams?
Abigail Adams photo
Abigail Adams 40
2nd First Lady of the United States (1797–1801) 1744–1818

Related quotes

John Adams photo

“If we do not lay out ourselves in the service of mankind whom should we serve?”

John Adams (1735–1826) 2nd President of the United States

Abigail Adams, his wife, in a letter to John Thaxter (1778-09-29).
Misattributed

Henry David Thoreau photo

“Books can only reveal us to ourselves, and as often as they do us this service we lay them aside.”

Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862) 1817-1862 American poet, essayist, naturalist, and abolitionist

“We are agreed that before we kill each other we should better serve mankind by killing those who order us to kill each other.”

John Brunner book The Stone That Never Came Down

Source: The Stone That Never Came Down (1973), Chapter 23 (p. 180)

Báb photo

“This is that which We have revealed for the First Believer in Him Whom God shall make manifest, that it may serve as an admonition from Our presence unto all mankind.”

Báb (1819–1850) Iranian prophet; founder of the religion Bábism; venerated in the Bahá'í Faith

Tablet to the First Letter of the Living

John Polanyi photo

“When, as we must often do, we fear science, we really fear ourselves. Human dignity is better served by embracing knowledge.”

John Polanyi (1929) Hungarian-Canadian chemist

Nobel Prize acceptance speech http://www.utoronto.ca/jpolanyi/nobel_prize/, Nobel Banquet in Stockholm (1986)

Ursula K. Le Guin photo

“Those were men in whom great strength and knowledge served the will to evil and fed upon it. Whether the wizardry that serves a better end may always prove the stronger, we do not know. We hope.”

Ursula K. Le Guin (1929–2018) American writer

Source: Earthsea Books, The Farthest Shore (1972), Chapter 3, "Hort Town" (Ged)

“Why we should put ourselves out of our way to do anything for posterity, for what has posterity ever done for us?”

Boyle Roche (1736–1807) Irish politician

In a debate in the Irish House of Commons on the vote of a grant which was recommended by Sir John Parnell, Chancellor of the Exchequer, as one not likely to be felt burdensome for many years to come, it was observed in reply that the House had no right to load posterity with a debt for what could in no degree operate to their advantage. This quotation was Sir Boyle's response.
[Barrington, Jonah, Personal sketches and recollections of his own times, Chapter XVII https://archive.org/details/personalsketche06barrgoog]

Ray Bradbury photo

“We must move into the universe. Mankind must save itself. We must escape the danger of war and politics. We must become astronauts and go out into the universe and discover the God in ourselves.”

Ray Bradbury (1920–2012) American writer

As quoted in "Sci-fi legend "Ray Bradbury on God, 'monsters and angels'" by John Blake, CNN : Living (2 August 2010), p. 3

Bernard Mandeville photo

“We seldom call any body lazy, but such as we reckon inferior to us, and of whom we expect some Service.”

Bernard Mandeville book The Fable of the Bees

Remark V, p. 267
The Fable of the Bees (1714)

Pope Francis photo

“We must begin with ourselves: bishops and priests, who should not feel themselves superior to our brothers and sisters in the people of God. Pastoral workers, who should not understand service as power.”

Pope Francis (1936) 266th Pope of the Catholic Church

2020s, 2022
Source: "God does not want ‘a world governed by religious laws,’ pope tells Canadian clergy" https://religionnews.com/2022/07/28/god-does-not-want-a-world-governed-by-religious-laws-pope-tells-canadian-clergy/, 28 July 2022

Related topics