Jefferson, Thomas -- Letter (1816-07-12) to “Henry Tompkinson” (Samuel Kercheval)

Dave — Thu, 03 Oct 2013 13:05:48 +0000

Some men look at Constitutions with sanctimonious reverence, & deem them, like the ark of the covenant, too sacred to be touched. they ascribe to the men of the preceding age a wisdom more than human, and suppose what they did to be beyond amendment. I knew that age well: I belonged to it, and labored with it. it deserved well of it’s country. it was very like the present, but without the experience of the present: and 40. years of experience in government is worth a century of book-reading: and this they would say themselves, were they to rise from the dead.

Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) American political philosopher, polymath, statesman, US President (1801–09)
Letter (1816-07-12) to “Henry Tompkinson” (Samuel Kercheval)
(Source)

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Jefferson, Thomas -- Letter (1816-07-12) to “Henry Tompkinson” (Samuel Kercheval)