The Whole Duty 

Abigail Adams (1744–1818) has the distinction (along with Barbara Bush) of being the wife of one U.S. President and the mother of another. She was well-read and deeply devout, and she became an advocate for female education and women’s participation in politics. She is also famous for her letter-writing; her messages brim with references and allusions to the Bible. As she saw it, biblical religion was the only solid foundation of virtue, and it was essential to any free society. Among the many parts of the Bible she cited, frequently she chose Ecclesiastes 12:13, which—as she told her son John Quincy Adams in 1816—she considered that verse to be one of the greatest summaries of all religion. She was sending her son a philosophy book. She concluded that it was attractive but deceptive. By contrast, she said,

“Life and immortality are brought to light only by the gospel. Good people cannot think alike, even upon important subjects. Fear God and keep his commandments, is the whole duty of man, and his faith cannot be essentially wrong, whose life is in the right.”

Reflection

What might it mean that “good people cannot think alike”? Why does Abigail pair this observation with the conclusion from Ecclesiastes about “the whole duty of man”? What does this say about her understanding of liberty and life together? Do you agree with her final statement here? How might public officials look at their roles in light of Ecclesiastes 12:13–14?