Posted on 07/04/2019 5:54:35 PM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege
...To turn to the news of the day, it seems that the Cannibals of Europe are going to eating one another again. A war between Russia and Turkey is like the battle of the kite and snake. Whichever destroys the other leaves a destroyer the less for the world.
This pugnacious humor of mankind seems to be the law of his nature, one of the obstacles to too great multiplication provided in the mechanism of the Universe. The cocks of the henyard kill one another up. Boars, bulls, rams do the same. And the horse, in his wild state, kills all the young males, until worn down with age and war, some vigorous youth kills him, and takes to himself the Haram of females.
I hope we shall prove how much happier for man the Quaker policy is, and that the life of the feeder is better than that of the fighter: and it is some consolation that the desolation by these Maniacs of one part of the earth is the means of improving it in other parts. Let the latter be our office. And let us milk the cow, while the Russian holds her by the horns, and the Turk by the tail. God bless you, and give you health, strength, good spirits , and as much of life as you think worth having...
(Excerpt) - Thomas Jefferson Monticello June 1, 1822
(Excerpt) Read more at books.google.com ...
They communicated about everything from political frustrations/anxieties, to dealing with personal life tragedies, to the dense intricacies of science and the universe, and their differing views on God. John Adams' wife, Abigail Adams, would also chime in with her opinions and write to Jefferson herself...especially when it was to send words of comfort and encouragement.
Other points:
Jefferson and Adams were not as religious as the general citizenry, but Adams moreso than Jefferson...However, whenever they would bring up Scripture or ancient writings, they would often quote it in the original Greek (which both knew how to read and write) ...and finally: a lot of people (including me) say these days, "Oh how sad our founders must be about the state of our country!" --- but they were already face-palming, losing friends, and fed-up with the country and state of the world from the very get-go...wondering if America would even survive...
They were obsessively well-versed in history and because of that, they understood how every great empire or civilization was subject to FALL and CRUMBLE. And so they understood more than anyone, how vulnerable this nascent nation was and is...Most importantly, the wisdom of the ancients lent them an inherent understanding of the cyclical ways of human nature and the mystery that is God's will...
I think Jefferson would be amazed it has lasted this long.
Have a Happy 4th. :)
They BOTH passed away on the same day.......AMAZING and weird!!!
In 200 years will people still be reading the tweets of out current politicians?
One thing I must say about these letters is how incredibly DENSE and difficult to read they are — the men literally break into ancient Greek to make their points — yet SO rewarding and worth the while.
I often feel we are the degenerate offspring of illustrious forefathers. We do have, in general, electricity, soap and cotton undewear for all, so there's that.
INDEED! LOL so well put. :) We must count our blessings.
The great men who founded this country were very steeped in history and reality. A lot were great speakers. They could capture their audiences and inspire common men to think. Eloquent and profound, I don’t believe any were angels but they were patriots to the USA. Damned lucky for us who follow, now if we can keep the republic (a full time occupation). Keep America Great Always. Happy 4th of July all.
I hope you have had a wonderfully happy Independence Day, and wish you many more, with most sincere gratitude.
— Dayglored
And not just any day. They died hours apart on July 4th.
50 years to the day of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. What an amazing coincidence.
And on the 4th of July. To many coincidences suggest foul play.
My US History teacher taught us that one, I think Jefferson, said the other “yet lives,” and then died. The other died a few hours later.
I think Jefferson would be pissed to see it has lasted this long, in its current state.
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