The press is the hired agent of a monied system, and set up for

Hear the searing cry of Henry Adams, scion of an ancient American lineage, who spoke with bitterness and clarity: “The press is the hired agent of a monied system, and set up for no other purpose than to tell lies where their interests are involved. One can trust nobody and nothing.” These words were not uttered in passing, but born of deep observation and disillusionment, for Adams had witnessed the machinery of power and the role of the press in shaping truth—not as a mirror of reality, but as a weapon wielded by those with wealth and influence.

In this declaration lies the recognition that the press, though appearing as a servant of the people, often bows before the golden throne of money. Its words, dressed in authority and clothed with the semblance of honesty, can conceal motives, manipulate hearts, and twist the course of nations. Adams, historian and critic, saw in the newspapers of his age not the fearless guardians of truth, but the mercenaries of finance, paid to tell stories that secured the dominance of the powerful. Thus he declared that trust had been eroded, and that the honest seeker of truth must beware the illusions crafted by those who control the tale.

Consider the fall of Rome, when the senate and scribes were swayed not by truth but by the bribes of emperors and generals. When Cicero, the great orator, sought to speak openly, he was silenced not by force alone, but by propaganda, the whispers and writings that turned the people’s favor against him. The press of that time—though not with printing presses but with proclamations and speeches—served the wealthy and the rulers, bending reality to the interests of those in power. And so the republic crumbled, for when truth is bought and sold, the foundations of freedom rot away.

Adams’s lament is not a condemnation of words alone, but a warning about the corruption of trust. For when the instruments of knowledge are owned by the few, the many are left blind. If the farmer cannot trust the forecast, his crops perish; if the citizen cannot trust the news, his vote and his judgment are enslaved. To declare that “one can trust nobody and nothing” is to reveal the ultimate despair that comes when every source of truth is poisoned. Yet, within this despair, there lies also a hidden summons: the people must learn to seek truth with vigilance, not passively accept what is handed to them.

In later ages, this teaching was proven again. Recall the propaganda machines of the twentieth century: the controlled press of Nazi Germany, the rigid voice of Soviet Russia, each proclaiming lies so loudly that millions obeyed them as if they were gospel. It was not brute force alone that subdued nations, but the manipulation of minds through words. The hired agents of power told lies where interests were involved, and in those lies, wars were waged, peoples enslaved, and justice delayed. History thus confirms Adams’s fierce suspicion.

Yet, O children of the future, despair not. The lesson is not to abandon all hope in the pursuit of truth, but to sharpen your discernment. Do not drink deeply from every stream of words; test the waters first. Seek many sources, compare them, question them, and above all, look to the fruits of their speech. Do they serve justice, or profit? Do they free the people, or enslave them to fear? To recover trust, you must first be wise enough to recognize what deserves it.

Thus the teaching stands: be wary of the press, for it may be the mouthpiece of power. But do not abandon truth; instead, become its vigilant guardian. Learn to question, to test, to search, and to think beyond the words of the powerful. In your own life, build trust by speaking honestly, by refusing to twist words for gain, and by holding those who do accountable. In this way, though the voices of money may shout, the quiet strength of truth will endure.

And so, Henry Adams’s bitter cry becomes a torch for the ages. It is both a warning and a call to action: guard your trust, demand truth, and never surrender your mind to the chains of lies.