第62章

Ihopeyouragriculturalinstitutiongoesonwithsuccess。I

consideryouastheauthorofallthegooditshalldo。Abetterideahasneverbeencarriedintopractice。Ouragriculturalsocietyhasatlengthformeditself。LikeourAmericanPhilosophicalSociety，itisvoluntary，andunconnectedwiththepublic，andispreciselyanexecutionoftheplanIformerlysketchedtoyou。SomeStatesocietieshavebeenformedheretofore；theotherswilldothesame。EachStatesocietynamestwoofitsmembersofCongresstobetheirmembersintheCentralsociety，whichisofcoursetogetherduringthesessionsofCongress。TheyaretoselectmatterfromtheproceedingsoftheStatesocieties，andtopublishit；sothattheirpublicationsmaybecalled_l’espritdessocietesd’agriculture_，&c。

TheCentralsocietywasformedthelastwinteronly，sothatitwillbesometimebeforetheygetunderway。Mr。Madison，theSecretaryofState，waselectedtheirPresident。

RecollectingwithgreatsatisfactionourfriendlyintercoursewhileIwasinEurope，Inourishthehopeitstillpreservesaplaceinyourmind；andwithmysalutations，Iprayyoutoacceptassurancesofmyconstantattachmentandhighrespect。

PEACEFOUNDEDONINTEREST

_TotheEarlofBuchan_

_Washington，July10，1803_

MYLORD，——Ireceived，throughthehandsofMr。Lenox，onhisreturntotheUnitedStates，thevaluablevolumeyouweresogoodastosendmeonthelifeandwritingsofFletcher，ofSaltoun。ThepoliticalprinciplesofthatpatriotwereworthythepurestperiodsoftheBritishConstitution；theyarethosewhichwereinvigorattheepochoftheAmericanemigration。Ourancestorsbroughtthemhere，andtheyneededlittlestrengtheningtomakeuswhatweare。

ButintheweakenedconditionofEnglishwhigismatthisday，itrequiresmorefirmnesstopublishandadvocatethemthanitthendidtoactonthem。ThismeritispeculiarlyyourLordship’s；andnoonehonorsitmorethanmyself。WhileIfreelyadmittherightofanationtochangeitspoliticalprinciplesandconstitutionatwill，andtheimproprietyofanybutitsowncitizenscensuringthatchange，IexpectyourLordshiphasbeendisappointed，asI

acknowledgeIhavebeen，intheissueoftheconvulsionsontheothersidethechannel。Thishascertainlylessenedtheinterestwhichthephilanthropistwarmlyfeltinthosestruggles。Withoutbefriendinghumanliberty，agiganticforcehasrisenupwhichseemstothreatentheworld。Butithangsonthethreadofopinion，whichmaybreakfromonedaytoanother。Ifeelrealanxietyontheconflicttowhichimperiouscircumstancesseemtocallyournation，andblesstheAlmightyBeing，who，ingatheringtogetherthewatersundertheheavensintooneplace，dividedthedrylandofyourhemispherefromthedrylandsofours，andsaid，atleastbetherepeace。Ihopethatpeaceandamitywithallnationswilllongbethecharacterofourland，andthatitsprosperityundertheCharterwillreactonthemindofEurope，andprofitherbytheexample。Myhopeofpreservingpeaceforourcountryisnotfoundedinthegreaterprinciplesofnon-resistanceundereverywrong，butinthebeliefthatajustandfriendlyconductonourpartwillprocurejusticeandfriendshipfromothers。Intheexistingcontest，eachofthecombatantswillfindaninterestinourfriendship。Icannotsayweshallbeunconcernedspectatorsofthiscombat。Wefeelforhumansufferings，andwewishthegoodofall。Weshalllookon，therefore，withthesensationswhichthesedispositionsandtheeventsofthewarwillproduce。

IfeelaprideinthejusticewhichyourLordship’ssentimentsrendertothecharacterofmyillustriouscountryman，Washington。

Themoderationofhisdesires，andthestrengthofhisjudgment，enabledhimtocalculatecorrectly，thattheroadtothatglorywhichneverdiesistousepowerforthesupportofthelawsandlibertiesofourcountry，notfortheirdestruction；andhiswillaccordinglysurvivesthewreckofeverythingnowliving。

Accept，mylord，thetributeofesteem，fromonewhorendersitwithwarmthtothedisinterestedfriendofmankind，andassurancesofmyhighconsiderationandrespect。

PHILOSOPHYANDBLASTEDHOPES

_ToPierreJ。G。Cabanis_

_Washington，July12，1803_

DEARSIR，——Ilatelyreceivedyourfriendlyletterof28

Vendem。an。11，withthetwovolumesontherelationsbetweenthephysicalandmoralfacultiesofman。Thishaseverbeenasubjectofgreatinteresttotheinquisitivemind，anditcouldnothavegotintobetterhandsfordiscussionthanyours。Thatthoughtmaybeafacultyofourmaterialorganization，hasbeenbelievedinthegross；

andthoughthe”modusoperandi”ofnature，inthis，asinmostothercases，canneverbedevelopedanddemonstratedtobeingslimitedasweare，yetIfeelconfidentyouwillhaveconductedusasfarontheroadaswecango，andhavelodgeduswithinreconnoiteringdistanceofthecitadelitself。While_here_，Ihavetimetoreadnothing。

ButourannualrecessforthemonthsofAugustandSeptemberisnowapproaching，duringwhichtimeIshallbeattheMontrials，whereI

anticipategreatsatisfactioninthepresenceofthesevolumes。Itiswithgreatsatisfaction，too，IrecollecttheagreeablehoursI

havepastwithyourselfandM。deLaRoche，atthehouseofourlateexcellentfriend，MadameHelvetius，andelsewhere；andIamhappytolearnyoucontinueyourresidencethere。Antevilalwaysappearedtomeadeliciousvillage，andMadameHelvetius’sthemostdeliciousspotinit。Inthosedayshowsanguinewewere！andhowsoonwerethevirtuoushopesandconfidenceofeverygoodmanblasted！andhowmanyexcellentfriendshavewelostinyoureffortstowardsself-government，_etcuibono_?Butletusdrawaveiloverthedead，andhopethebestforth