托马斯杰弗逊致侄儿

　　paris，august10，1787
　　dear peter，——i have received your twoletters of december the 30th and april the 18th，and am very happy to find by them，as well as byletters from mr.wythe，that you have been sofortunate as to attract his notice and good will；iam sure you will find this to have been one of themost fortunate events of your life，as i have everbeen sensible it was of mine.i enclose you a sketchreading，which submit to his correction.many ofthese are among your father's books，which youshould have brought to you.as i do not recollectthose of them not in his library，you must write tome for them，making out a catalogue of such asyou think you shall have occasion for，in eighteenmonths from the date of your letter，andconsulting mr.wythe on the subject.to thissketch.i will add a few particular observations：
　　italian.i fear that learning this language willconfound you french and spanish.being all ofthem degenerated dialects of the latin，they areapt to mix in conversation.i have never seen aperson speaking the three languages，who did notmix them.it is a delightful language，but lateevents having rendered the spanish more useful，lay it aside to prosecute that.
　　moral philosophy.i think it lost time toattend lectures on this branch.he who made uswould have been a pitiful bungler，if he had madethe rules of our moral conduct a matter of science.for one man of science，there are thousands whoare not.what would have become of them？man was destined for society.his morality，therefore，was to be formed to this object.he was endowed with a sense of right and wrong，merely relative tothis.this sense is as much a part of his nature，asthe sense of hearing，seeing，feeling；it is the truefoundation of morality，and not the to kaol，truth，etc.，as fanciful writers have imagined.the moral sense，or conscience，is as much a partof man as his leg or arm.it is given to all humanbeings in a stronger or weaker degree，as force ofmembers is given them in a greater or less degree.it may be strengthened by exercise，as may any particular limb of the body.this sense is submitted，indeed，in some degree，to the guidance of reason；but it is a small stock which isrequired for this even a less one than what we callcommon sense.state a moral case to a plowmanand a professor.the former will decide it as welland often better than the latter，because he has notbeen led astray by artificial rules.in this branch，therefore，read good books，because they willencourage，as well as direct your feelings.thewritings of sterne，particularly，form the bestcourse of morality that ever was written.besidesthese，read the books mentioned in the enclosedpaper，and，above all things，lose no occasion ofexercising your dispositions to be grateful，to begenerous，to be charitable，to be humane，to betrue，just，firm，orderly，courageous，etc.。consider every act of this kind， as an exercisewhich will strengthen your moral faculties andincrease your worth.

　　traveling.this makes men wiser，but lesshappy.when men of sober age travel，they gatherknowledge，which they may apply usefully for their country；but they are subject ever after torecollections mixed with regret；their affections areweakened by being extended over more objects； and they learn new habits which cannot be gratifiedwhen they return home.young men，who travel，are exposed to all these inconveniences in a higherdegree，to others still more serious， and do notacquire that wisdom for which a previous foundation is requisite by repeated and justobservations at home.the glare of pomp and pleasure is analogous to the motion of the blood；it absorbs all their affection and attention，they aretorn from it as from the only good in this world，and return to their home as to a place of exile andcondemnation.their eyes are forever turned backto the object they have lost，and its recollectionpoisons the residue of their lives.their first andmost delicate passions are hackneyed on unworthyobjects here，and they carry home the dregs，insufficient to make themselves or anybody elsehappy.add to this，that a habit of idleness，aninability to apply themselves to business isacquired，and renders them useless to themselvesand their country.these observations are foundedin experience.there is no place where your pursuit of knowledge will be so little obstructed byforeign objects，as in your own country，nor any，wherein the virtues of the heart will be lessexposed to be weakened.be good，be learned，and be industrious，and you will not want the aid oftraveling，to render you precious to your country，dear to your friends，happy within yourself.irepeat my advice，to take a great deal of exercise，and on foot. health is the first requisite aftermorality.write to me often，and be assured of theinterest i take in your success，as well as thewarmth of those sentiments of attachment withwhich i am，dear peter，your affectionate friend.