In a May 12, 1780 letter to his wife Abigail, John Adams wrote a little about the beauty of France, but then explained that he didn’t have time to pursue them as he wished:
I must study Politicks and War that my sons may have liberty to study Painting and Poetry Mathematicks and Philosophy. My sons ought to study Mathematicks and Philosophy, Geography, natural History, Naval Architecture, navigation, Commerce and Agriculture, in order to give their Children a right to study Painting, Poetry, Musick, Architecture, Statuary, Tapestry and Porcelaine.
The surface meaning is quite obvious. Adams must work hard in France in order to secure free and peaceful existence for the independent American colonies. This is a sacrifice he makes, not only for his own sons, but for all sons of America.
Notice how Adams originally wrote “Painting and Poetry,” but then he crossed it out because he had a better thought. Originally, he just thought to say that his sons would be able to do fun stuff. But then he probably came to his senses and realized that, even in France, only the rich got to enjoy all of the culture. In fact, his sons have to study subjects with practical commercial value so that his grandchildren have the freedom to indulge in luxury activities such as the study of painting and poetry. (Philosophy is, apparently, considered a practical subject.)
Even back in the 1700s, we see that study of art was considered a more fun thing to study than mathematics or commerce. Have times really changed all that much? I think what has changed is that Adams assumed that his grandchildren would study painting and poetry as a hobby and not because they expected to earn money doing that. Adams considered the study of painting and poetry to be a luxury, and not a way to prepare the student for employment. And that is where things are different today. There is a great sense of entitlement among our nation’s most intelligent youth. They expect to study fun stuff, and then they expect that someone will give them a job because they studied fun stuff.
From: Half Sigma
