Homo sum: John Adams Reads Terence

This article presents and examines an unpublished and little-known set of excerpts from the Roman playwright Terence that American founding father John Adams made for his grandsons late in his life. It argues that Adams' excerpts and accompanying translations are illustrative of his lifelong conception of the Greco-Roman classics as the indispensable mirror in which to study universal human nature. It was through reflective study of the classical world combined with astute observation of the modern world, Adams believed, that one could best achieve a realistic understanding of human nature—a crucial prerequisite in the quest for virtue.