Excerpt from Sketches of the Life, Writings, and Opinions of Thomas Jefferson: With Selections of the Most Valuable Portions of His Voluminous and Unrivaled Private Correspondence
The materials for this volume are principally derived from the posthumous works of Mr. Jefferson himself, lately published by his grandson, Thomas Jefferson Randolph. These works were received with extraordinary approbation by one great portion of the public, as was the case, indeed, with every thing that ever came from that remarkable man; and by another considerable portion, With a corresponding degree of dissatisfaction, always to be expected from the well known opinions of the Author on certain fundamental points of principle, and the strongly marked division of public sentiment on those points.
These works extend through four large octavo volumes, of about 500 pages each; nearly the whole of which is occupied with the Correspondence of the Author, public and private. In the first volume is an auto-memoir of about ninety pages, exhibiting a brief outline of the first forty-seven years only of the Author"s life, and terminating, unfortunately, at the precise epoch when his history began to assume the highest importance. It appears in the rough form of "memoranda and recollections of dates and facts," taken simply as lie states, for his own more ready reference, and for the information of his family. Besides containing many interesting notices of his personal and family history, the Memoir is enriched by many important particulars relating to the origin and early stages of the Revolution, and the establishment of the Republic - by the Debates in Congress on the great question of Independence, with the historical circumstances attending the preparation and adoption oi that memorable instrument; and by a narrative, interspersed with sage political reflections, of the causes and early course of the French Revolution, as exhibited to the observation of the Author, during his diplomatic residence at Paris. This portion of the wort derives peculiar value from the circumstance of its containing the first disclosure to the world, in an authentic form, of the Debates on the memorable occasion of Independence, and from the probability, or rather certainty, that a like knowledge of them is not to be expected from any other source. Appended to the Memoir, or within the body of it, are a variety of ancient productions of Mr. Jefferson, which will be new to most readers.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works. Это и многое другое вы найдете в книге Sketches of the Life, Writings, and Opinions of Thomas Jefferson (B. L. Rayner)