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Quote#Politics & Power

I think such laws a great embarrassment, great obstructions to the…

Quote byJohn Adams · 1735–1826

Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: Letter to Thomas Jefferson (23 January 1825), published in Letters: The Complete Correspondence Between Thomas Jefferson and Abigail and John Adams (UNC Press, 1988), p. 607.

English (original)

I think such laws a great embarrassment, great obstructions to the improvement of the human mind. Books that cannot bear examination, certainly ought not to be established as divine inspiration by penal laws.

— John Adams

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