Diary of John Quincy Adams, volume 1

Titlepage

January 1st. 1785. Saturday.

[Dedication] JQA [Dedication] Adams, John Quincy
Dedication
Paris J. Q. Adams: August: 20th. 1783. Vitanda est improba Syren, Desidia.1 1.

Horace, Opera, London, 1744, p. 149 (inscribed “J.Q. Adams, Paris, March 15, 1785,” in MQA), Bk. II, Satire III, lines 14–15: “You must shun the wicked Siren Sloth the quotation continues or be content to drop whatever honour you have gained in nobler hours” (Horace, Satires, Epistles and Ars Poetica, transl. Fairclough, p. 153). These two lines appear on the second leaf, between the titlepage and first page of Diary entries.