Adams Family Correspondence, volume 13
Your Letters of Nov. 29 Dec. 2. and 3 affect me very tenderly. The low Spirits, Effects of long and exhausting sickness are apparent: but these are Evils of a serious nature. I pray you to banish as much as possible all gloomy Thoughts and be very cautious to avoid every thing which may endanger a return of your old Disorders.
To reconcile you to your fate I have a great mind to give you a
detail of mine. A Peck of Troubles in a large Bundle of Papers, often in a hand Writing
almost illegible, comes every day from the office of
You and I, seem to have arrived prematurely at the Age when there is no pleasure.—
All this is not the Resignation of Socrates.1
I cannot encourage the Idea of your coming on to Phyladelphia. The horrid Roads and cold damp Weather would put an End to you.
I hope our dear Thomas will arrive and chear you up.— I am with / unalterable affection
RC (Adams Papers); internal address: “Mrs A”;
endorsed: “J A december / 13th / 1798.”
JA was referring to Socrates’ state of mind
following his conviction and sentence to death in 399 B.C. for impiety and corrupting Athens’ youth, which is covered in detail in
Encyclopedia; or, A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and
Miscellaneous Literature, 18 vols., Phila., [1790]–1798, 17:590–594, Evans, No. 33676, a copy of
which is in JA’s library at MB (
Catalogue of JA’s Library
).
JA also wrote to AA on 10 Dec. repeating his concern for her health and conveying his worries about the Senate’s response to a second nomination of WSS (Adams Papers).