第63章

_Washington，Jan。29，1804_

DEARSIR，——YourfavorofDecember12camedulytohand，asdidthe2’d。lettertoDoctorLinn，andthetreatiseofPhlogiston，forwhichIprayyoutoacceptmythanks。ThecopyforMr。

Livingstonhasbeendelivered，togetherwithyourlettertohim，toMr。Harvie，mysecretary，whodepartsinadayortwoforParis，&

willdeliverthemhimselftoMr。Livingston，whoseattentiontoyourmattercannotbedoubted。IhavealsotoaddmythankstoMr。

Priestley，yourson，forthecopyofyourHarmony，whichIhavegonethroughwithgreatsatisfaction。ItisthefirstIhavebeenabletomeetwith，whichisclearofthoselongrepetitionsofthesametransaction，asifitwereadifferentonebecauserelatedwithsomedifferentcircumstances。

IrejoicethatyouhaveundertakenthetaskofcomparingthemoraldoctrinesofJesuswiththoseoftheancientPhilosophers。Youaresomuchinpossessionofthewholesubject，thatyouwilldoiteasier&betterthananyotherpersonliving。Ithinkyoucannotavoidgiving，aspreliminarytothecomparison，adigestofhismoraldoctrines，extractedinhisownwordsfromtheEvangelists，andleavingouteverythingrelativetohispersonalhistoryandcharacter。Itwouldbeshortandprecious。Withaviewtodothisformyownsatisfaction，IhadsenttoPhiladelphiatogettwotestamentsGreekofthesameedition，&twoEnglish，withadesigntocutoutthemorselsofmorality，andpastethemontheleavesofabook，inthemanneryoudescribeashavingbeenpursuedinformingyourHarmony。ButIshallnowgetthethingdonebybetterhands。

IveryearlysawthatLouisianawasindeedaspeckinourhorizonwhichwastoburstinatornado；andthepublicareunapprizedhownearthiscatastrophewas。Nothingbutafrank&

friendlydevelopmentofcauses&effectsonourpart，andgoodsenseenoughinBonapartetoseethatthetrainwasunavoidable，andwouldchangethefaceoftheworld，savedusfromthatstorm。IdidnotexpecthewouldyieldtillawartookplacebetweenFranceandEngland，andmyhopewastopalliateandendure，ifMessrs。Ross，Morris，&c。didnotforceaprematurerupture，untilthatevent。I

believedtheeventnotverydistant，butacknolegeitcameonsoonerthanIhadexpected。Whether，however，thegoodsenseofBonapartemightnotseethecoursepredictedtobenecessary&unavoidable，evenbeforeawarshouldbeimminent，wasachancewhichwethoughtitourdutytotry；buttheimmediateprospectofrupturebroughtthecasetoimmediatedecision。The_denoument_hasbeenhappy；andI

confessIlooktothisduplicationofareafortheextendingagovernmentsofreeandeconomicalasours，asagreatachievementtothemassofhappinesswhichistoensue。Whetherweremaininoneconfederacy，orformintoAtlanticandMississippiconfederacies，I

believenotveryimportanttothehappinessofeitherpart。Thoseofthewesternconfederacywillbeasmuchourchildren&descendantsasthoseoftheeastern，andIfeelmyselfasmuchidentifiedwiththatcountry，infuturetime，aswiththis；anddidInowforeseeaseparationatsomefutureday，yetIshouldfeeltheduty&thedesiretopromotethewesterninterestsaszealouslyastheeastern，doingallthegoodforbothportionsofourfuturefamilywhichshouldfallwithinmypower。

HaveyouseenthenewworkofMalthusonpopulation?ItisoneoftheablestIhaveeverseen。Altho’hismainobjectistodelineatetheeffectsofredundancyofpopulation，andtotestthepoorlawsofEngland，&otherpalliationsforthatevil，severalimportantquestionsinpoliticaleconomy，alliedtohissubjectincidentally，aretreatedwithamasterlyhand。Itisasingle4’to。

volume，andIhavebeenonlyabletoreadaborrowedcopy，theonlyoneIhaveyetheardof。ProbablyourfriendsinEnglandwillthinkofyou，&giveyouanopportunityofreadingit。Acceptmyaffectionatesalutations，andassurancesofgreatesteem&respect。

MALTHUSANDTHENEWWORLD

_ToJeanBaptisteSay_

_Washington，February1，1804_

DEARSIR，——Ihavetoacknowledgethereceiptofyourobligingletter，andwithit，oftwoveryinterestingvolumesonPoliticalEconomy。ThesefoundmeengagedingivingtheleisuremomentsI

rarelyfind，totheperusalofMalthus’workonpopulation，aworkofsoundlogic，inwhichsomeoftheopinionsofAdamSmith，aswellasoftheeconomists，areablyexamined。Iwaspleased，onturningtosomechapterswhereyoutreatthesamequestions，tofindhisopinionscorroboratedbyyours。Ishallproceedtothereadingofyourworkwithgreatpleasure。Inthemeantime，thepresentconveyance，byagentlemanofmyfamilygoingtoParis，istoosafetohazardadelayinmakingmyacknowledgmentsforthismarkofattention，andforhavingaffordedtomeasatisfaction，whichtheordinarycourseofliterarycommunicationscouldnothavegivenmeforaconsiderabletime。

ThedifferencesofcircumstancebetweenthisandtheoldcountriesofEurope，furnishdifferencesoffactwhereontoreason，inquestionsofpoliticaleconomy，andwillconsequentlyproducesometimesadifferenceofresult。There，forinstance，thequantityoff