Thomas Jefferson
Author of the Declaration of Independence, third president of the United States, vice president of the United States, secretary of state, diplomatic minister to France, governor of Virginia, author of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, and founder of the University of Virginia are some of the noteworthy accomplishments of Thomas Jefferson the public servant. After his years of public service, Jefferson retired to his home at Monticello, Virginia, where he continued to write and correspond with various individuals about the issues of the day. It was during this period that Jefferson became known as the “Sage of Monticello.”
If one could ask Jefferson to reflect upon his life and give advice to a new generation, what would he say? We don’t have to speculate about this. In 1825, just over a year before his death, Thomas Jefferson was asked by a close friend, John Spear Smith, to offer some words of wisdom to his young son and Thomas Jefferson’s namesake, Thomas Jefferson Smith. Below is what Thomas Jefferson wrote in response:
To Thomas Jefferson Smith.
Monticello, February 21, 1825.
This letter will, to you, be as one from the dead. The writer will be in the grave before you can weigh its counsels. Your affectionate and excellent father has requested that I would address to you something which might possibly have a favorable influence on the course of life you have to run, and I too, as a namesake, feel an interest in that course. Few words will be necessary, with good dispositions on your part. Adore God. Reverence and cherish your parents. Love your neighbor as yourself, and your country more than yourself. Be just. Be true. Murmur not at the ways of Providence. So shall the life into which you have entered, be the portal to one of eternal and ineffable bliss. And if to the dead it is permitted to care for the things of this world, every action of your life will be under my regard. Farewell.
The portrait of a good man by the most sublime of poets, for your imitation.
Lord, who’s the happy man that may to thy blest courts repair; Not stranger-like to visit them but to inhabit there?
‘Tis he whose every thought and deed by rules of virtue moves; Whose generous tongue disdains to speak the thing his heart disproves.
Who never did a slander forge, his neighbor’s fame to wound;
Nor hearken to a false report, by malice whispered round.
Who vice in all its pomp and power, can treat with just neglect;
And piety, though clothed in rages, religiously respect.
Who to his plighted vows and trust has ever firmly stood;
And though he promise to his loss, he makes his promise good. Whose soul in usury disdains his treasure to employ;
Whom no rewards can ever bribe the guiltless to destroy.
The man, who, by his steady course, has happiness insur’d.
When earth’s foundations shake, shall stand, by Providence
secur’d.
A Decalogue of Canons for observation in practical life.
1. Never put off till to-morrow what you can do to-day.
2. Never trouble another for what you can do yourself.
3. Never spend your money before you have it.
4. Never buy what you do not want, because it is cheap; it will be dear to you.
5. Pride costs us more than hunger, thirst and cold.
6. We never repent of having eaten too little.
7. Nothing is troublesome that we do willingly.
8. How much pain have cost us the evils which have never happened.
9. Take things always by their smooth handle.
10. When angry, count ten, before you speak; if very angry, an hundred.
The above shows a reflective man near the end of his life. The words from “the most sublime of poets” are from a Christian hymn most popular in Jefferson’s early years.
His ten “Decalogue of Canons” are reminiscent of Benjamin Franklin’s many sayings and maxims he stated throughout his life. Number three is worth noting because Jefferson died in debt, having overspent for items he gathered in his world travels, among other reasons. Although Jefferson’s true intentions as to the meaning of number nine will remain a mystery, a 1957 article by Julian Boyd suggests Jefferson is referring to a saying by the ancient Greek philosopher Epictetus, “Everything has two handles, one by which it can be borne; another by which it cannot.” Boyd contends Jefferson was saying all exchanges of ideas should be civil, and thus, one needs to “take things by their smooth handle.”
But it is the opening paragraph that shows Jefferson’s thinking best. Basically, love God, your parents, your country, and your neighbor as yourself. “Murmur not at the ways of Providence.” There are aspects of life not in your control. They come with a plan from Above.
This letter shows a lot about the values Thomas Jefferson cherished at the end of his life. Like other Founding Fathers, he wished to impart wisdom to those who followed him. He read the great thinkers of the day and eventually sold 6,500 books to the federal government, a collection that started the Library of Congress. Such a private book collection was almost unheard of at the time.
Thomas Jefferson himself wrote the words on his tombstone. Of his accomplishments, he believed these three were the most important. His time as the third president of the United States is not among them:
Unalienable rights, religious liberty, and education.