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Quote#Time

Five and forty years ago, when any terrible News arrived from England…

Quote byJohn Adams · 1735–1826

Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: Letter to Elbridge Gerry (14 July 1814). Quoted in Passionate Sage: The Character and Legacy of John Adams (2001 edition), p. 84.

English (original)

Five and forty years ago, when any terrible News arrived from England of their hostile designs against our Liberties, when the people, gaping and staring, pale and trembling, asked me, "What I thought of the News," my invariable Answer was, "The worse, the better."

— John Adams

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