the contest which began with us which ushered in the dawn of our National existence and led us through various and trying Scenes, was for every thing dear to free born man.
the principles on which we engaged, of which the charter of our independence is the record, were sanctioned by the laws of our being, and we but Obeyed them in pursuing undeviatingly the course they called for. it issued finally in that inestimable state of freedom which alone can ensure to man...
I avail myself of this occasion of returning sincere thanks for the kind dispositions towards myself expressed in your letter, and for the sentiments, which it conveys, of approbation of my conduct in the administration of the public affairs. if that conduct has met the general approbation of my...
our duty to ourselves to posterity & to mankind call on us by every motive which is sacred or honorable, to watch over the safety of our beloved country, during the troubles which agitate & convulse the residue of the world, & to sacrifice to that all personal & local...
we have acted together from the origin to the end of a memorable revolution, and we have contributed, each in the line allotted us, our endeavors to render it’s issue a permanent blessing to our country.
I am constantly in my garden or farm, as exclusively employed
out of doors as I was within doors when at Washington, and I find myself infinitely happier in my new mode of life.
we should then have only to include the North in our confederacy, which would be of course in the first war, and we should have such an empire for liberty as she has never surveyed since the creation: & I am persuaded no constitution was ever before so well calculated as ours for extensive...
the total change of occupation from the house & writing table to constant emploiment in the garden & farm has added wonderfully to my happiness. it is seldom & with great reluctance I ever take up a pen. I read some, but not much.
I subscribe with pleasure to the publication of your volumes of poems. I anticipate the same pleasure from them which the perusal of those heretofore published has given me ... under the shade of a tree one of your volumes will be a pleasant pocket companion.
The interruption of our commerce with England, produced by our embargo & non-intercourse law, & the general indignation excited by her bare-faced attempts to make us accessories & tributories to her usurpations on the high seas, have generated in this country an universal spirit of...
“Here,” said he, casting his eyes on the level plain before us, “Here you can form no adequate idea of the beauty or sublimity of a winter’s storm; but standing, as I have often stood at Monticello, to watch its progress—rising over the distant Alleghany, come sweeping and roaring on, mountain...
We sat at table, until near sun down, where we enjoyed agreeable and instructive conversation, in which every one seemed to expect and wish Mr. J– should take the chief part. This is the part of the day, in which he gives most time to his guests, and seems himself most to enjoy society; and I...
When we descended to the Hall, he asked us to pass into the library, or as I called it his sanctum sanctorrum, where any other foot than his own seldom intrudes.
He afterwards took us to the drawing room, in the dome 26 or 7 feet diameter—It is a noble & beautiful apartment—perfectly round with 8 circular windows & a sky-light—It was not furnished, & being in the attic story, is not used.—which I thought a great pity, as it might be made the...
When we descended to the Hall, he asked us to pass into the library, or as I called it his sanctum sanctorrum, where any other foot than his own seldom intrudes.
You mention in your letter that you are proceeding with your family to Fort Massac. this informs me that you have a family, & I sincerely congratulate you on it. while some may think it will render you less active in the service of the world, those who take a sincere interest in your personal...
I am become sensible of a great advantage your profession has over most others, that, to the close of your life, you can be always doing good to mankind: whereas a retired politician is like a broken down courser, unfit for the turf, and good for little else. I am endeavoring to recover the...
I find I am losing sight of the progress of the world of letters. here we talk but of rains & droughts, of blights & frosts, of our ploughs & cattle; & if the topic changes to politics I meddle little with them. in truth I never had a cordial relish for them, & abhor the...
I thank you for the kindness towards myself which breathes through your letter. the first of all our consolations is that of having faithfully fulfilled our duties: the next, the approbation & good will of those who have witnessed it
I think that the work when finished will be a durable and honorable monument of our infant republic, and will bear favorable comparison with the remains of the same kind of the antient republics of Greece & Rome.