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The World is Shades of Grey

In his Literary Commonplace Book, Jefferson copies quotes from a wide range of authors, on a wider range of topics. The quotes often hold contradictions even within the same vein of reading, such as when he includes statements on the differences between men and women. This suggests that the commonplace book was for collecting ideas far more than forming an ideology, though he may have identified more strongly with some quotes than others.

In his commonplace book, Jefferson includes a section on the capacities, natures, and abilities of men versus women. Among the quotes are those that comment rather bluntly, “I’d leave the World for him that hates a Woman. / Woman the Fountain of all human Frailty! / What mighty ills have not been done by Woman?” (pg 118, 306). Others say that men “have the Frailties common to Man’s Nature; / The fiery Seeds of Wrath are in [their] Temper” (pg 120, 314) and of women, “Opinion you have none. / […] Virtue you affect, Inconstancy’s your Practice; / And when your loose Desires once get Dominion / No hungry Churl feeds coarser at a Feast” (pg 117, 302). Yet, barely a page apart, Jefferson also includes a quote contemplating “Can there in Women be such glorious Faith? / Sure all ill Stories of thy Sex are false! / O Woman! lovely Woman! Nature made thee / To temper Man: we had been Brutes without you” (pg 119, 309).

The breadth of opinions shown is fascinating, especially when attempting to parse what Jefferson might have thought about them. However, with only the quotes and no personal comments to judge them by, his ideas could have been anything from total agreement to playing devil’s advocate or planning some hypothetical defense against a given ideal. While it may not give full insight into Jefferson’s personality, it does prove vitally useful from a historical and anthropological perspective. Modern readers and scholars can better understand what authors are most important in society, education, and politics during Jefferson’s youth, even if they cannot formally determine what he might have been thinking or supporting at the time, and the commonplace book is a cultural tradition that is notably well preserved.

Works Cited

Jefferson, Thomas. ed Wilson. The Literary Commonplace Book.