The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1901-11-17

Greek ana Latln tnan iIoth any o'hN' v"
complishment, and that OF all literature
he preferred the ancient. Nevertheless
he admitted. ITO my own mortihcation,
I am Of all men living the last who should
undertake to decide as to the merits OF
poetry" He objected TO fiction. He held
that novels werc a great obstacle to a goou
education, Tor the time lost IN reading
them should he instructiveiy employed.
For a like reason too much poetry shoulu
not he INDUCED in. This conscious ma
bility to ~criticise poetry was doubtpss coh-
nected psychologically with another ron.
genital defect. Jefferson mad no sense OF
humor. He rarely told n story. and seldom
enjoyed one; witticisms were wasted III
his presence.
When Jefferson, then 80 years old, went
to the Continental Con gress in iI75 he carried
with him a deserved reputation for great
literary requirements John Adams notes
at tho time In his diary that Duane Gays
jefferson Is the greatest rubber OF . gust
that ho ever met with; that he has learned
French, Italian and Spanish. and wants
To learn German" Early in life jefferson
formed a vocabulary of spch objects as
would nave a name in every language be-
cause of their presence In every country
and in every station OF life. He carr'eu
on this work for many years In seVerai
languages, and endeavored 10 persuade
Ezra stiles and DR.. Sibley to continue IL
until they should have produced n dlcuoh-
ary covering the familiar words IN all ian
pla1es. We also learn from MIR. curtis
that Jefferson had a plan for s~peihngre-
form, so as TO bring photography nearer
TO the pronunciation Of words He ad-
vocated the dropping Of the letter
from such words as Judge. bridge
hedge knowledge" and the letter u
from words ending in 'our, such as hon
our" -~caudour,' and 'rigour." a change
now mado in the United States. though
not in the United Kingdom.
".
To turn from literature TO science. We
find that jefferson had more or less know
led &c Of anatomy, civil Ell gineering. physics
mechanics, meteorology, astronomy, arch-
lecture and botany. Mr.. Curtis relates
a story that on one occasion, while stopping
nj an inn, jefferson spent an evening WIN
a stranger from the North, a highly edu-
Gated man, who was SO charmed with ms
conversation and amazed at his learning
that he inquired Of the landlord who MS
companion might be. When he spoke
Of law, said the stranger thought ne
was a lawyer; when he talked about me
chanics, | was sure he was an engineer;
when he got into medicine, IL was evident
that he wa a physician. when he discussed
theology, was convinced that he must
be n clergyman; when he talked OF literature,
] made up my mind that | had run against
IL ..hA IVnuv AynFVfh1nn -
OF all the sciences jefferson took the least
interest in geology, because. in his J~ng-
ment. IL had "a limited usefulness,
He could not see any practical impor-
tance in knowing whether the earth was
5000 or 5000 900 years old and the different
formations were Of no consequence 80 long
as they were not composed OF coal, IRON
or other useful minerals. Again; IN"
skin deep scratches which we can make or
find on the surface of the earth do not re-
pay our time with as certain and useful
deductions as the pursuit OF some other
branches.- jefferson wrote a great deal
on palgontology, however. sven beiufe
il was recognized as a science. He was
curious about petrifactions and fossils
and in discussing those that ann unu'r
his observation, advanced some theories
thai have since been fully substantiated
He contended that many animals. then
unknown 20 zoology, were wandering wa
i'm the Louisiana Territory, upon the pralr-
los and in the mountains aud TO the end
Of life hoped that the explorers would
bring into captivity one Of the gigantic
creatures Whose bones he had examined
with keen interest. Mr. Curtis recalls that
Jefferson had a controversy In France CON
c.rning the origin Il the marine shells
that are found ON the SUBMITS OF noun
tains. We're they deposited 10y the Hood
Of Noah. or had the earth risen from IN"
sea In volcanic convulsion, or did they
grow ike CRYSTALS 10y virtue ~ the same
force IN nature that shaped stones into
f~auta-tic forms' The theory Of shell
growth W. popular II wa advocated
by Volta ~. who rejected the Biblical
account 81 the creation; but Jefferson
de- lined 80 commit himself and advised
h- friends g. postpone final judgment
until they had further light un th" subject
NJ Curtis adds that Jefferson wa- proud
Of h- attainment ~ natural history ana
I utrlcuIaIy - their recognition 10y ~"
naiImh-t. Button "a whom b" sent -Ts-'l-
u.u- and Information bunpu Sru'" Jrf"r-
Ell. should have cuu-uItei you, cir.
J i.ilrr Publishing my natural history aud
tn.r -I.iII have h.eu -uur uf CO." flrf.
J-f,r-.ur proficiency in astronomy .-
. ar.-..,. Dol. 'Ir fa.i- tlaf Dee DlIld r'skuu
/ hrr4l.a4I I.Usi'IUr l- VEL d. au a.r.u.
.,i r.,isa,lr aud tiai hr calculated
. tHr u.Ir-. . ftJ,. vItU ,surtry Ma'i'.
maiu.r ua- lus fa,put' study We iaN"
OIL. tl,-,r..- tl."n" hr u-sl to -ay -u.
~ HH- H.#H -- -