第46章

however，therewasnodifferenceofopinionintheconclusion，thatitcouldnotbeeffected。Thereasonswhichtheythoughtwouldwithcertaintyprevailagainstit，were1。thatouryouth，notfamiliarizedbutwiththeirmothertongue，werenotpreparedtoreceiveinstructionsinanyother；2d。thattheexpenceoftheinstitutionwouldexciteuneasinessintheirconstituents，&endangerit’spermanence；&3。thatit’sextentwasdisproportionedtothenarrowstateofthepopulationwithus。Whatevermightbeurgedontheseseveralsubjects，yetasthedecisionrestedwithothers，thereremainedtousonlytoregretthatcircumstancesweresuch，orwerethoughttobesuch，astodisappointyour&ourwishes。Ishouldhaveseenwithpeculiarsatisfactiontheestablishmentofsuchamassofscienceinmycountry，andshouldprobablyhavebeentemptedtoapproachmyselftoit，byprocuringaresidenceinit’sneighborhood，atthoseseasonsoftheyearatleastwhentheoperationsofagriculturearelessactiveandinteresting。Isincerelylamentthecircumstanceswhichhavesuggestedthisemigration。IhadhopedthatGenevawasfamiliarizedtosuchadegreeofliberty，thattheymightwithoutdifficultyordangerfillupthemeasuretoitsmaximum；aterm，which，thoughintheinsulatedman，boundedonlybyhisnaturalpowers，must，insociety，besofarrestrictedastoprotecthimselfagainsttheevilpassionsofhisassociates，&consequently，themagainsthim。Isuspectthatthedoctrine，thatsmallStatesalonearefittedtoberepublics，willbeexplodedbyexperience，withsomeotherbrilliantfallaciesaccreditedbyMontesquieu&otherpoliticalwriters。Perhapsitwillbefound，thattoobtainajustrepublic(anditistosecureourjustrightsthatweresorttogovernmentatall)itmustbesoextensiveasthatlocalegoismsmayneverreachit’sgreaterpart；thatoneveryparticularquestion，amajoritymaybefoundinit’scouncilsfreefromparticularinterests，andgiving，therefore，anuniformprevalencetotheprinciplesofjustice。Thesmallerthesocieties，themoreviolent&moreconvulsivetheirschisms。Wehavechancedtoliveinanagewhichwillprobablybedistinguishedinhistory，forit’sexperimentsingovernmentonalargerscalethanhasyettakenplace。Butweshallnotlivetoseetheresult。Thegrosserabsurdities，suchashereditarymagistracies，weshallseeexplodedinourday，longexperiencehavingalreadypronouncedcondemnationagainstthem。Butwhatistobethesubstitute?Thisourchildrenorgrandchildrenwillanswer。

Wemaybesatisfiedwiththecertainknowledgethatnonecaneverbetried，sostupid，sounrighteous，sooppressive，sodestructiveofeveryendforwhichhonestmenenterintogovernment，asthatwhichtheirforefathershadestablished，&theirfathersaloneventuretotumbleheadlongfromthestationstheyhavesolongabused。Itisunfortunate，thattheeffortsofmankindtorecoverthefreedomofwhichtheyhavebeensolongdeprived，willbeaccompaniedwithviolence，witherrors，&evenwithcrimes。Butwhileweweepoverthemeans，wemustprayfortheend——ButIhavebeeninsensiblyledbythegeneralcomplexionofthetimes，fromtheparticularcaseofGeneva，tothosetowhichitbearsnosimilitude。Ofthatwehopegoodthings。Itsinhabitantsmustbetoomuchenlightened，toowellexperiencedintheblessingsoffreedomandundisturbedindustry，totoleratelongacontrarystateofthings。Ishallbehappytohearthattheirgovernmentperfectsitself，andleavesroomforthehonest，theindustrious&wise；inwhichcase，yourowntalents，&

thoseofthepersonsforwhomyouhaveinterestedyourself，will，I

amsure，findwelcome&distinction。Mygoodwisheswillalwaysattendyou，asaconsequenceoftheesteem®ardwithwhichIam，DearSir，yourmostobedient&mosthumbleservant。

ABJURINGTHEPRESIDENCY

_ToJamesMadison_

_Monticello，Apr。27，1795_

DEARSIR，——YourletterofMar23。cametohandthe7thofApril，andnotwithstandingtheurgentreasonsforansweringapartofitimmediately，yetasitmentionedthatyouwouldleavePhiladelphiawithinafewdays，Ifearedthattheanswermightpassyouontheroad。AletterfromPhiladelphiabythelastposthavingannouncedtomeyourleavingthatplacethedayprecedingit’sdate，IaminhopesthiswillfindyouinOrange。Inmine，towhichyoursofMar23。wasananswer，IexpressedmyhopeoftheonlychangeofpositionIeverwishedtoseeyoumake，andIexpresseditwithentiresincerity，becausethereisnotanotherpersonintheUS。whobeingplacedatthehelmofouraffairs，mymindwouldbesocompletelyatrestforthefortuneofourpoliticalbark。Thewishtoowaspure，&

unmixedwithanythingrespectingmyselfpersonally。Forastomyself，thesubjecthadbeenthoroughlyweighed&decidedon，&myretirementfromofficehadbeenmeantfromallofficehighorlow，withoutexception。Icansay，too，withtruth，thatthesubjecthadnotbeenpresentedtomymindbyanyvanityofmyown。Iknowmyself&myfellowcitizenstoowelltohaveeverthoughtofit。Buttheideawasforceduponmebycontinualinsinuationsinthepublicpapers，whileIwasinoffice。Asallthesecamefromahostilequarter，Iknewthattheirobjectwastopoisonthepublicmindastom