Named source · 1788

Thomas Jefferson to Alexander Donald, February 7, 1788 Quotes by Thomas Jefferson: Context & Meanings

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“I had rather be shut up in a very modest cottage with my books, my family and a few old friends.”

Thomas Jefferson

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Jefferson contrasts private intellectual and personal companionship with public grandeur, putting books alongside family and old friends as durable sources of contentment.

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Thomas Jefferson to Alexander Donald, February 7, 1788; excerpt from a longer comparison with holding a splendid public post.

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