[6] Young Adams was educated by private tutors – his cousin James Thaxter and his father's law clerk, Nathan Rice.[7][page needed] He soon exhibited literary skills, and in 1779 he started a diary that he kept until just before he died in 1848.[8] Until the age of ten, Adams grew up on the family farm in Braintree, largely in the care of his mother. Though frequently absent because of his participation in the American Revolution, John Adams maintained a correspondence with his son, encouraging him to read works by authors such as Thucydides and Hugo Grotius.[9] With his father's encouragement, Adams would also translate classical authors such as Virgil, Horace, Plutarch, and Aristotle.[10]
In 1778, Adams and his father departed for Europe, where John Adams would serve as part of American diplomatic missions in France and the Netherlands.[11] During this period, Adams studied law, French, Greek, and Latin, and attended several schools, including Leiden University.[12][13] In 1781, Adams traveled to Saint Petersburg, Russia, where he served as the secretary to the American diplomat, Francis Dana.[14] He returned to the Netherlands in 1783 and accompanied his father to Great Britain in 1784.