New-York tribune., 1901-12-07
JEFFERSON.
THE AMERICAN STATESMAN IN A PoPU-
LAR BIOGRAPHY.

THE TRUE THOMAS JEFFERSON. by pI,I WIliiaLn s1
! Eleroy Curtis. octave, PIP XVI 80, iiii"Nei
phia: j. B. Lippincott Company
The sanity shade of priestly' philosophe
| Pascal should it chance to have coshiIdiIe W
| Mr. Curtis's recent setting forth OF the chai id0
. ter of Thomas Jefferson. could ma IN II oi.s
| the fullest justification for both clauses OF MS
| oldtine perfervid apostrophe: 20! the maJests
| and the meanness of men.' Seldom. indeed
| mas any biographer said much both OF sooo
| and bad for his subject as has the aulhor Vi
| this latest in the Lippincotts series OF true
lives. Pretty much all of it. both as resaros
Jefferson's virtues and vices-hls majesty anu
| meanness-has been said before, ana repeateoiS'
| HIT the currents of good and i'll have come down
| to us from distinct sources and by separate anu
widely sundered courses. Now for the flrst time
ua have these currents merged and pretty thor
oushlv rnixed-if not perfectly blended-the re-
suit being q book which compares with filoSI oi
its predecessors in the same department OF HI
erature as a moderately deep and placid pooi
does with the turbulent torrents that contribute
to it, We are by means unmindtui OF ME-
Henry Adams's elaborate study of the United
States in the period between 1901 and 1917, in
which the son of great statesman and the
grandson of another showed himself capable OF
most punctously judicial and just treatment
Of the man to whose whole political system his
forebears were Numerically opposed-but that
was essentially the historic view and MI Cur
ris's work is still entitled to be called the first
of the really bipartisan biographies of Jeffer-
son.
While full recognition is accorded the great
ability and achievements of the founder of
democracy; while his versatility and brilliancy,
his earnestness and the fervor of his patriotism
are fully set forth-it seems to have been the
serious study of the writer to offset every eX-
cellence with some demerit, and the general
impression produced by pushing this method to
an extreme is a curious one to which readers
have not been accustomed. At first the feeling
is that the subject has been even unduly and
undeservingy disparaged, but on further read
ing and after little reflection, one realizes
that jefferson was, after all, so great charac-
ter that even the friendliest biographer could
afford to present his faults fully as his vir-
tues-and in fact. that perfect candor in the
relation of the former only aids the convincing
quality of those portions of the story which
carry praise. Mr.. Curtis frankly says:
jefferson is usually conceded to be the
shrewdest politician this country has ever
produced, and he resorted to measures which
would not be tolerated in this generation. His
personal correspondence and the confidential
diary which he kept under the title of 'Anas'
prove that he used underhand methods and was
commonly engaged in intrigue not only against
his colleagues in the Cabinet, but against
Washington, whose loyalty and confidence in
MIN were complete.
Again, of the "Anas' we are told that there
was mo doubt that it was kept for campaign
purposes, because it covers minutely the records
OF Hamilton's actions and conversations, even
the most trivial gossip. &. After his retire
ment he revised the manuscript, prepared long
and virtuous introduction. and left it with other
papers, evidently expecting it to be published.
That such record, intended to belitte his col
leagues and grossly violating the confidence of
Washington, we'll the proprieties of his
own position. should be made a part of history
aroused indignant remonstrances. 1t viii al
ways be a cloud upon his integrity of purpose"
Still again (in the matter OF the Assumption bill
and the Capitol bill trade) the author fatty says
that Jefferson "endeavored unfairly TO place the
blame Of his own mistake upon others, and TO
represent himself as a guileess victim of wick