第37章

Atfirstblushitmayberalliedasatheoreticalspeculation；butexaminationwillproveittobesolidandsalutary。Itwouldfurnishmatterforafinepreambletoourfirstlawforappropriatingthepublicrevenue；anditwillexclude，atthethresholdofournewgovernmentthecontagiousandruinouserrorsofthisquarteroftheglobe，whichhavearmeddespotswithmeansnotsanctionedbynatureforbindinginchainstheirfellow-men。Wehavealreadygiven，inexampleoneeffectualchecktotheDogofwar，bytransferringthepoweroflettinghimloosefromtheexecutivetotheLegislativebody，fromthosewhoaretospendtothosewhoaretopay。Ishouldbepleasedtoseethissecondobstacleheldoutbyusalsointhefirstinstance。Nonationcanmakeadeclarationagainstthevalidityoflong-contracteddebtssodisinterestedlyaswe，sincewedonotoweashillingwhichmaynotbepaidwitheaseprincipalandinterest，withinthetimeofourownlives。Establishtheprinciplealsointhenewlawtobepassedforprotectingcopyrightsandnewinventions，bysecuringtheexclusiverightfor19。insteadof14。

years_[alineentirelyfaded]_aninstancethemoreofourtakingreasonforourguideinsteadofEnglishprecedents，thehabitofwhichfettersus，withallthepoliticalhereciesofanation，equallyremarkableforit’sencitementfromsomeerrors，aslongslumberingunderothers。Iwriteyounonews，becausewhenanoccasionoccursIshallwriteaseparateletterforthat。

ADIEUTOFRANCE

_ToMadamed’Enville_

_NewYork，April2，1790_

Ihadhoped，MadamelaDuchesse，tohaveagainhadthehonorofpayingmyrespectstoyouinParis，butthewishofourgovernmentthatIshouldtakeashareinitsadministration，hasbecomealawtome。CouldIhavepersuadedmyselfthatpublicofficesweremadeforprivateconvenience，Ishouldundoubtedlyhavepreferredacontinuanceinthatwhichplacedmenearertoyou；butbelievingonthecontrarythatagoodcitizenshouldtakehisstandwherethepublicauthoritymarshalshim，Ihaveacquiesced。Amongthecircumstanceswhichreconcilemetomynewpositionthemostpowerfulistheopportunitiesitwillgivemeofcementingthefriendshipbetweenourtwonations。Beassuredthattodothisisthefirstwishofmyheart。Ihavebutonesystemofethicsformen&fornations——tobegrateful，tobefaithfultoallengagementsandunderallcircumstances，tobeopen&generous，promotesinthelongruneventheinterestsofboth；andIamsureitpromotestheirhappiness。Thechangeinyourgovernmentwillapproximateustooneanother。Youhavehadsomechecks，somehorrorssinceIleftyou；

butthewaytoheaven，youknow，hasalwaysbeensaidtobestrewedwiththorns。Whyyournationhavehadfewerthananyotheronearth，Idonotknow，unlessitbethatitisthebestonearth。IfI

assureyou，Madam，moreover，thatIconsideryourselfpersonallyaswiththeforemostofyournationineveryvirtue，itisnotflattery，myheartknowsnotthat，itisahomagetosacredtruth，itisatributeIpaywithcordialitytoacharacterinwhichIsawbutoneerror；itwasthatoftreatingmewithadegreeoffavorIdidnotmerit。BeassuredIshalleverretainalivelysenseofallyourgoodnesstome，whichwasacircumstanceofprincipalhappinesstomeduringmystayinParis。Ihopethatbythistimeyouhaveseenthatmyprognosticationsofasuccessfulissuetoyourrevolutionhavebeenverified。Ifearedforyouduringashortinterval；butafterthedeclarationofthearmy，tho’theremightbeepisodesofdistress，thedenoumentwasoutofdoubt。Heavensendthatthegloriousexampleofyourcountrymaybebutth