第114章

Andthoughhepromisetohisloss，hemakeshispromisegood。

Whosesoulinusurydisdainshistreasuretoemploy；

Whomnorewardscaneverbribetheguiltlesstodestroy。

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Theman，who，byhissteadycourse，hashappinessinsur’d。

Whenearth’sfoundationsshake，shallstand，byProvidencesecur’d。

_ADecalogueofCanonsforobservationinpracticallife_。

1。Neverputofftillto-morrowwhatyoucandoto-day。

2。Nevertroubleanotherforwhatyoucandoyourself。

3。Neverspendyourmoneybeforeyouhaveit。

4。Neverbuywhatyoudonotwant，becauseitischeap；itwillbedeartoyou。

5。Pridecostsusmorethanhunger，thirstandcold。

6。Weneverrepentofhavingeatentoolittle。

7。Nothingistroublesomethatwedowillingly。

8。Howmuchpainhavecostustheevilswhichhaveneverhappened。

9。Takethingsalwaysbytheirsmoothhandle。

10。Whenangry，countten，beforeyouspeak；ifveryangry，anhundred。

THEOBJECTOFTHEDECLARATIONOFINDEPENDENCE

_ToHenryLee_

_Monticello，May8，1825_

DEARSIR，——YourfavorofApr。29hasbeendulyrecieved，andtheofferofmineralogicalspecimensfromMr。MyerhasbeencommunicatedtoDr。EmmetourProfessorofNaturalhistory。ThelastdonationofthelegislaturetotheUniversitywasappropriatedspecificallytoalibraryandapparatusofeverykind。Butweapplyitfirsttothemoreimportantarticlesofalibrary，ofanastronomical，physical，&chemicalapparatus。Andwethinkitsafesttoseewhatthesewillcost，beforeweventureoncollectionsofmineral&othersubjects，thelastwemustproportiontowhatsumweshallhaveleftonly。TheProfessorpossessesalreadywhathethinkswillbesufficientformineralogicalandgeologicalexplanationstohisschool。Idonotknowhowfarhemightbetemptedtoenlargehispossessionbyacatalogueofarticlesandprices，ifbothshouldbesatisfactory。IfMr。Myerchusestosendsuchacatalogue，itshallbereturnedtoyouimmediately，ifthepurchasebenotapproved。

ThatGeorgeMasonwastheauthorofthebillofrights，andtheconstitutionfoundedonit，theevidenceofthedayestablishedfullyinmymind。Ofthepaperyoumention，purportingtobeinstructionstotheVirginiadelegationinCongress，Ihavenorecollection。Ifitwereanythingmorethanaprojectofsomeprivatehand，thatistosay，hadanysuchinstructionsbeenevergivenbytheconvention，theywouldappearinthejournals，whichwepossessentire。Butwithrespecttoourrights，andtheactsoftheBritishgovernmentcontraveningthoserights，therewasbutoneopiniononthissideofthewater。AllAmericanwhigsthoughtalikeonthesesubjects。Whenforced，therefore，toresorttoarmsforredress，anappealtothetribunaloftheworldwasdeemedproperforourjustification。ThiswastheobjectoftheDeclarationofIndependence。Nottofindoutnewprinciples，ornewarguments，neverbeforethoughtof，notmerelytosaythingswhichhadneverbeensaidbefore；buttoplacebeforemankindthecommonsenseofthesubject，intermssoplainandfirmastocommandtheirassent，andtojustifyourselvesintheindependentstandwearecompelledtotake。Neitheraimingatoriginalityofprincipleorsentiment，noryetcopiedfromanyparticularandpreviouswriting，itwasintendedtobeanexpressionoftheAmericanmind，andtogivetothatexpressionthepropertoneandspiritcalledforbytheoccasion。Allitsauthorityreststhenontheharmonizingsentimentsoftheday，whetherexpressedinconversation，inletters，printedessays，orintheelementarybooksofpublicright，asAristotle，Cicero，Locke，Sidney，&c。Thehistoricaldocumentswhichyoumentionasinyourpossession，oughtalltobefound，andIampersuadedyouwillfind，tobecorroborativeofthefactsandprinciplesadvancedinthatDeclaration。Bepleasedtoacceptassurancesofmygreatesteemandrespect。

THEANGLO-SAXONLANGUAGE

_TotheHonorableJ。EvelynDenison，M。P。_

_Monticello，November9，1825_

DEARSIR，——YourfavorofJuly30thwasdulyreceived，andwehavenowathandthebooksyouhavebeensokindastosendtoourUniversity。Theyaretrulyacceptableinthemselves，forwemighthavebeenyearsnotknowingoftheirexistence；butgivethegrea