L I F E
AND
PUBLIC SERVICES
of
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS,
SIXTH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
With the Eulogy Delivered Before the Legislature of New York
BY WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
I encourage you to forgive the verbose style that suggests authors were paid by the word. The gems of character description and contemporary viewpoints are worth the effort.
The book supports the observation “The news never changes, just the names.” I am encouraged that the tone of politics is not much different today than it was at Adams’ time. Things are no worse. In spite of continual bickering, a few persons with good will, careful planning, hard work and a thick skin can achieve wonderful results.
The following glossary contains unfamiliar (to me) terms.
abjuration
Renounce under oath; forswear. Recant solemnly; repudiate. Give up.
Abstain from.
abstemious
Eating and drinking in moderation. Sparingly used. Restricted to bare
necessities.
Aceldama
A place with dreadful associations.
animadversion
Strong criticism.
approbate
Sanction officially; authorize.
arbitrament
Arbitrating; arbitration. Judgment of an arbitrator or arbiter.
assiduity
Persistent application or diligence; unflagging effort. Constant
personal attention.
(a)thymy
(Not) abounding with thyme; fragrant.
barouche
Four-wheeled carriage with a collapsible top, two double seats inside
opposite each other, and a box seat outside in front for the driver.
barque
Sailing ship with three to five square-rigged masts, except the after
mast, which is fore-and-aft rigged. Small vessel propelled by oars or
sails.
benison
Blessing; a benediction.
cesural
Pause in a line of verse dictated by sense or natural speech rhythm
rather than by metrics. Pause in conversation.
chaplet
Wreath or garland for the head.
Circean (Circe)
A Greek goddess who turned Odysseus’s men temporarily into swine but
later gave him directions for their journey home.
coeval
Originating or existing during the same period; lasting through the same
era. One of the same era or period; a contemporary.
condign
Deserved; adequate.
contemned
Viewed with contempt; despised.
contumelies
Rudeness or contempt arising from arrogance. Insolent or arrogant
remarks or acts.
cortege
Train of attendants of a distinguished person; a retinue. Ceremonial
procession. Funeral procession.
demurrage
Detention of a cargo conveyance during loading or unloading beyond the
scheduled time of departure. Compensation paid for such detention.
deputed
Appoint or authorize as a representative. Assign (authority or duties)
to another; delegate.
descant
Ornamental melody or counterpoint sung or played above a theme. Highest
part sung in part music. Discussion or discourse on a theme.
descried
Catch sight of (something difficult to discern). Discover by careful
observation or scrutiny; detect:
didactic
Intended to instruct. Morally instructive.
dilatory
Intended to delay. Tending to postpone or delay.
discomfited
Make uneasy or perplexed; disconcert. Thwart plans; frustrate.
disquisitions
Formal discourse, often in writing.
doit
Dutch coin, worth about half a farthing. A thing of small value.
effulgence
Brilliant radiance.
elegiac
Mourning for that which is irrecoverably past.
emoluments
Payment for an office or employment; compensation.
encomiums
Warm, glowing praise. Formal expression of praise; a tribute.
enervate
Weaken or destroy strength or vitality.
ephemeral
Lasting for a brief time. Living or lasting only for a day, as some
plants or insects.
Episcopal
Church governed by a bishop.
epithet
Term to characterize a person or thing or as a descriptive substitute
for the name or title of a person. Abusive or contemptuous word or
phrase.
erudition
Deep, extensive learning.
escutcheon
Shield-shaped emblem bearing a coat of arms. Plate inscribed with a
ship’s name.
eternize
Make eternal. Protract for an indefinite period. Make perpetually
famous; immortalize.
eulogium
Formal eulogy.
evanescent
Vanishing or likely to vanish like vapor.
execration
The act of cursing. A curse. Something cursed or loathed.
exigency
Requiring much effort or immediate action. Pressing or urgent situation.
extirpate
Pull up by the roots. Destroy totally; exterminate. Remove by surgery.
fain
Happily; gladly.
garniture
Garnish; embellishment.
gratulation
To congratulate.
green withes
Cords or bowstrings used to bind Samson; Judges 16:8.
habiliments
Special dress or garb associated with an occasion or office.
hecatomb
Large-scale sacrifice; sacrifice to the ancient Greek and Roman gods of
100 oxen.
importunity
Importunate request; an insistent or pressing demand.
indefeasible
Cannot be annulled or made void.
ineffably
Incapable of being expressed; indescribable, unutterable, unspeakable,
taboo.
ingenuously
Lacking in cunning, guile, or worldliness; artless. Openly
straightforward or frank; candid.
importunate
Troublesomely urgent or persistent in requesting.
intendant
Administrative official serving a French, Spanish, or Portuguese
monarch.
Jacobin
Radical or extreme leftist. Radical republican during the French
Revolution.
meed
Fitting recompense. Merited gift or wage.
mensuration
Process of measuring. Measurement of geometric quantities.
mole
Massive stone wall constructed in the sea as a breakwater to protect an
anchorage or a harbor. Anchorage or harbor enclosed by a mole.
munificence
Liberal in giving; generous. Showing great generosity.
Nestor
Hero celebrated as an elderly and wise counselor to the Greeks at Troy
obsequies
Funeral rites or ceremonies.
octavo
Page size, from 5 by 8 inches to 6 by 9-1/2 inches, of a book composed
of printer’s sheets folded into eight leaves. A book composed of octavo
pages.
odium
Strong dislike, contempt, or aversion. State of disgrace resulting from
hateful or detestable conduct.
panegyric
Formal public compliment. Elaborate praise.
parsimony
Unusual or excessive frugality; extreme economy or stinginess.
patronymic
Derived from the name of one’s father or a paternal ancestor.
pertinacity
Persistent determination.
Plenipotentiary
Diplomatic agent, such as an ambassador, fully authorized to represent
his government.
Presbyterian
Church governed by elected elders.
probity
Complete and confirmed integrity; uprightness.
proconsular
Provincial governor of consular rank in the Roman Empire.
pusillanimity
Cowardice.
recusant
One of the Roman Catholics in England who incurred legal and social
penalties in the 16th century and afterward for refusing to attend
services of the Church of England. Dissenter; a nonconformist.
Sabine (River)
River flowing into the Gulf of Mexico just East of Houston, Texas.
sagacity
Discerning, sound in judgment, farsighted; wisdom.
Silesia
Region of central Europe in southwest Poland and northern Czech
Republic.
sinecure
Position or office that requires little work but provides a salary.
spoliations
Despoiling or plundering. Seizure of neutral vessels at sea by a
belligerent power in time of war.
stivers
Nickel coin used in the Netherlands and worth 1/20 of a guilder (about
0.4 Euros in 2006). Something of small value.
TETE D’ARMEE
Head of the Army.
thrall (thraldom)
Held in bondage; servitude; intellectually or morally enslaved.
tittle
Small diacritic mark, such as an accent, vowel mark, or dot over an i.
Tiniest bit; an iota.
umbrage
Offense; resentment. Something that affords shade or shade itself.
Vague indication; hint.
unction
Anointing as part of a religious, ceremonial, or healing ritual.
Ointment or oil. Something that serves to soothe; a balm. Affected or
exaggerated earnestness, especially in choice and use of language.
Unitarian
Believes in the oneness of God as opposed to the Trinity. Historic
Unitarians believed in the moral authority, but not the deity, of Jesus.
Free thinkers and dissenters, evolving their beliefs by rationalism and
humanism.
usurpation
Usurping, especially the wrongful seizure of royal sovereignty. Wrongful
seizure or exercise of authority. Encroachment.
vicissitudes
Change or variation.
vituperation
Abusive censure. Sustained, harshly abusive language.
votaries
Persons bound by vows to live a life of religious worship or service.
Devout adherents of a cult or religion. Persons fervently devoted to a
leader or ideal; faithful followers. Persons filled with enthusiasm, as
for a pursuit or hobby; enthusiasts.
[End of Transcriber’s notes]
Engraved from a Painting by A.B. Durand.
John Quincy Adams
L I F E
AND
PUBLIC SERVICES
of
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS,
SIXTH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.