It was John Adams · Dec 25, 12:18 AM
About seven years ago, I remembered this thing I had read somewhere about some bloke who had to do something praxis-y so his sons could do something theoria-y so their kids could do something poesis-y, and I set out to find it using my best query formulation mojo, posting to various mailing lists, asking historian friends.
I knew it was a quotable thing and must be known to some, but I never was able to track it down after several tens of hours searching Bartlett’s, skimming through books I thought I might have seen it in, asking people, etc. So eventually I forgot about it.
Then in the bath last night, reading an old issue of the Economist (Oct 7-12th, 2006), it came up in one of the articles in the special report “The Search for Talent” (pp23-34). Hey! Wow! And it turns out it was John Adams:
I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce, and agriculture, in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain. [Noted on Wikipedia though I haven’t tracked down the original source yet.]
And so, to further educate myself, I’ve just ordered The Book of Abigail and John (co-edited, by my grand-uncle), which I’ve always meant to read.
Text transcripts of spoken interviews are always funny (even when there is a translator involved) Less Important Concerns Are Voiced During Investigations Intended to Right Wrongs Perpetrated in the Process of Juvenile Correction