Beatrice Adenigbagbe

English 460

Professor Nelson

13 April 2020

Post 6: Jefferson Self Reflects

What I found noteworthy about Jefferson’s Literary Commonplace Book was his obsession with death and the afterlife. Given that Jefferson was a Christian, it makes sense that he would be very familiar would biblical teachings and passages and it may be the reason why many of his entries focused so intently on the aforementioned subjects, as the bible also speaks on what happens after death. The entries pertaining to death and the human soul started as early as the second and third entries within the commonplace book, which I found to be interesting, because it may mean that those were topics that took up a great deal of room in Jefferson’s mind. In later entries of the commonplace book, like entries 61 and 70, we get a translation of Latin quotes which apparently say, “What satisfaction can there be in living, when day and night we have to reflect that at this or that moment we must die” (Wilson 56) and, “For this life is indeed death, and I could sorrow over it if so I would” (Wilson 59). Given the tones of curiosity, melancholy, and even anxiety found in these quotes, the fact that Jefferson was so moved by them that he recorded them and included them in his commonplace book could mean that he was an extremely self reflective individual despite his high social standing in the world. Perhaps privately, he faced many internal battles regarding his purpose in life and how his actions could possibly influence his final destination after death.

Works Cited:

Wilson, Douglas L. Jefferson's Literary Commonplace Book. Princeton University Press, 2016.