Sentence:  Jefferson was aware of the literary tradition of <WSD>anas</WSD>, which extended back at least as far as Athenaeus's "Dipnosophistarum", a delightful collection of table talk from ancient times covering a variety of subjects including law, literature, medicine, and philosophy. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A collection of things associated with a person or place, especially a personal collection of anecdotes or conversations at table