From John Adams to Charles Love, Jr.

16 April 1800

Sir	Philadelphia April 16 1800.

Your poem on the death of Gen Washington, I have received with much pleasure. For this acceptable present, accept of my thanks. There is in it, if I have not loss all my taste, a real genius & genuine spirit of poetry. There is not only imagination, but invention & judgment. Such a talent is worth cultivating, for although a poet is born, he must be bred—though nature is indispensible, yet art & labor must be added. The imitation of the style & phraseology of Milton, is obvious & not unhappy. The versification is in some places negligent & wants labor. The heart which appears in it is pure & amiable in a high degree.

I wish you all happiness as well as success in your addresses to the muses & with much esteem / Sir your obliged & humble servant

MHi: Adams Family Papers, Letterbooks.

This early access document derives from raw transcriptions, prior to editing and publication in Rotunda's American History Collection. If this document is cited in formal research, it should be noted that it is not a final version, and that the URL you used to access it is not permanent.
Please report any errors or problems you notice in documents.