Papers of John Adams, volume 20
Mr Brand Hollis having met with this
second volume of the History of Bologna by Ghiradacci requests Mr Adams to accept of it from gratitude to him for having produced to the publick
the act of the 3 of June 1257 by which all the Slaves & villains were
manumitted.1 The book containing it is
intitled The Paradise of pleasure.
1605. Ghirardacci lib VI. p. 194 con Licenza de Superiori.
There has been 3. Edit of this 2 vol book. 1657. Edit. 3d.
RC (Adams Papers).
Cherubino Ghirardacci, Della Historia di
Bologna, 2 vols., Bologna, Italy, 1605, two copies of which are in
JA’s library at MB with
significant annotations. Approximately 5,855 serfs of Bologna were freed on 3 June
1257; the Liber Paradisus lists the names of the
emancipated and their former masters (
Catalogue of JA’s
Library
; Christopher Kleinhenz, ed., Medieval
Italy: An Encyclopedia, 2 vols., N.Y., 2004, entry on Bologna).
th1791
By the last post I received your letter of January 17th, and was as much surprised at the information that my last
letter to you arrived unsealed, as you could be at the receipt of it.1 It was most certainly no intention of mine that
it should have gone unsealed; nor can I account for the fact.2 My conjecture is that the person, one of my sons
who copied into my letterbook, either inadvertently sent it, or suffered a servant to
take it off the table to the post office without putting a wafer into it according to
his usual practice. Neither “The ebullitions of party, nor political malice” have made
any impressions on me. The expressions you allude to, were the result of very sober
reflection upon facts proved to me, by the testimony of many witnesses of unquestionable
veracity among whom were not a few of the best friends General Warren ever had in his
life.—
A civil war Madam, is in my opinion a very serious thing. This Country has once at least been within a hairs breadth of a very bloody one: nor is it likely to be soon so secure against the probability of another, as I wish it. There is more than one among those persons whom twenty years ago, I counted among my friends who are not so explicit and decided as I presume to think they ought to be, in favor of those principles and measures, which appear to me 475 indispensable to preserve the liberty, peace and safety of this people. As long as this indecission remains, it is impossible there should be the same confidence between them and me, which there was once.—The affection for them which I once had will never be forgotten, nor can it ever be destroyed, but confidence can never be the same, without the same foundation for it
With3 much esteem I am Madam / your most obedient servant
LbC in CA’s hand (Adams Papers); internal address: “Mrs Warren.”; notation by CA: “Not sent.”; APM Reel 115. Dft (Adams Papers).
In the Dft, CA also wrote, “in that unguarded condition.”
In the Dft, CA also wrote: “The only
conjectures that I can form are that the person who copied it into my letter book
either inadvertently sent it or suffered a servant to take it off the table to the
post office, without putting a wafer into it, according to his usual practise. The
other copies of the poems, which I mentioned, appear to have been sent by a
bookseller, who has since sent in his account as for the copies we subscribed for. A
poem under the title of the ‘Virtues of nature’ attributed to Mrs Morton is now circulating here and meets with much applause. The fine arts
appear to be growing in this Country at least as fast as science, agriculture,
commerce and manufactures— Yet I think there are scarcely so many readers as before
the Revolution—”
In the Dft, CA wrote, “With usual regards to Genl Warren.”
JA and Warren did not exchange letters again until
Aug. 1803 (
Warren-Adams Letters
, 2:344–345).