A LIFE IN LETTERS

摘要

Thomas jefferson once called the letters of a person "the only full and genuine journal of his life." By that standard, Princeton University Press's exhaustive Papers of Thomas Jefferson, the 31st volume of which will be released this week, is one colossal diary. Begun in 1943 and scheduled to be completed by 2026-the bicentennial of Jefferson's death-the project includes more than 20,000 letters the prolific Virginian wrote in his lifetime as well as an abundance of correspondence he received. From the newest volume, edited by Princeton historian Barbara B. Oberg, we offer a sampler that includes never before published writings by Jefferson on Napoleon Bonaparte, the controversial presidential election of 1800 and the death of a favorite slave. Covering 1799 through early 1801, when Jefferson served as Vice President under John Adams, the epistles reproduced here are faithful to the Founding Father's spellings and grammar except for his habit of beginning sentences with a lower-case letter, which has been changed for clarity. The eloquence and the complexity of the man, however, are in full view.