{John}亚当斯承认，他对许多同事感到讨厌，他们认为他是虚荣心的单人篝火。这从来没有困扰过亚当斯（Adams），他以更逆势的情绪声称他的不受欢迎提供了证据表明他的立场是有原则的，因为很明显他没有提出大众的意见。因此，他的疏远是对他的诚信的一种度量。
({John} Adams acknowledged that he had made himself obnoxious to many of his colleagues, who regarded him as a one-man bonfire of the vanities. This never troubled Adams, who in his more contrarian moods claimed that his unpopularity provided clinching evidence that his position was principled, because it was obvious that he was not courting popular opinion. His alienation, therefore, was a measure of his integrity.)