"Among the sentiments of most powerful operation upon the human heart, and most highly honorable to the human character, are those of veneration for our forefathers, and of love for our posterity. They form the connecting links between the selfish and the social passions. By the fundamental principle of Christianity, the happiness of the individual is Later-woven, by innumerable and imperceptible ties, with that of his contemporaries: by the power of filial reverence and parental affection, individual existence is extended beyond the limits of individual life, and the happiness of every age is chained in mutual dependence upon that of every other."
React to this quote
More by John Quincy Adams
See allResonant Thoughts
"I know that the conquest of English America is an impossibility. You cannot, I venture to say it, you CANNOT conquer America...As to conquest, therefore, my Lords, I repeat, it is impossible. You may …"
Explore Further
Related Quotes
"Why is there ever this perverse cruelty in humankind, that makes us hurt most those we love best?"
— Jacqueline Carey"I love walking in the woods, on the trails, along the beaches. I love being part of nature. I love walking …"
— Grace Kelly"By force you can make hypocrites -- men who will agree with you from the teeth out, and in their hearts hat…"
— Robert G. Ingersoll"Once upon a time, there was a boy. He lived in a village that no longer exists, in a house that no longer e…"
— Nicole Krauss"Women are so strangely constructed that they have in them darkness as well as light, though it be but a lit…"
— Eleanor Farjeon"Obama is going to be out playing golf. He might be on one of my courses. I would invite him, I actually wou…"
— Donald Trump