17 August 1830
adams-john10 Neal Millikan Health and Illness
522

17— IV. Tuesday.

Quincy Josiah.

The adherence of my Catarrhal Cough, and the Nightly spasms, which are becoming almost habitual, have brought me to serious and anxious reflection, but not yet to action— My time is still trifled away. Disease and pain instead of stimulating to redoubled exertion, sink into dejection, despondency, and idleness. President Quincy was here, this afternoon, and returned to Cambridge— He came to visit Mr and Mrs Russell, who are still at his Son’s house— But they are to return to-morrow to Boston— Mr Quincy told me that degrees would be conferred without difficulty upon my Son John and those of his Classmates who were denied their degrees at the same time with him, if they would request them, the difficulty to granting them spontaneously being, that it would have the appearance of censure upon the Government of the University at that time— The Ladies rode this afternoon and I was engaged with Charles at the old Office in continuing to make the Catalogue of my books. 523The time of ripening of much fruit is now coming on from day to day; and as a great proportion of the seeds will not bear keeping dry a single day, I am continually planting them, with the intention of stocking the half of my Nursery yet disengaged with seedling fruit-trees to come up next Spring or Summer. Serit arbores quae alteri seculo prosint; is my apology to myself for the Time, I employ upon this subject— I also propose it as a mode of exercise for health; though it has not hitherto answered that expectation— I have no substitute for it—and the disposition to make experiments to ascertain what seed will come up and what is the relation between the seed, and the plant that springs from it leads me to much hobby horsical trifling— Let this pass for my general confession, if it may not serve for my justification— Isaac Farrar, gathered this day the Woodhouse Apples to take to Boston Market— I took a peck of them myself, for seed; but they are not ripe, and should have remained on the tree till about the first of September— Gathered the Jargonelle Pears on the small tree—not quite ripe— The tree and fruit in decay— Picked up wind-fallen Sugar Pears, and planted a row of the seeds in the middle box— A row of sweeting Apple seeds with one nutmeg Peach stone, and one R. D. Horse Plum Stone, under Eastern fence— Rufus Davis brought yesterday some horse plums of which I took 3. Pints, six dozen, for seed— But they are not ripe— I finished reading the 2d. Tusculan; upon bearing pain—and began the third; upon Affliction— The second is more for practical use than the first—instructive; fortifying and consolatory. It is particularly adapted to my circumstances, and ought to be profitable to me— There are several considerable extracts from Greek Poets: Sophocles, AEschylus and Homer, translated by Cicero into Latin verse, of which he says he made much practice— The verse is very good; and the Spirit of them is well preserved in the French translations of them given by D’Olivet.

A A