James Madison Papers
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To James Madison from James Ogilvie, August 1816

From James Ogilvie

Philadelphia August 1816.

I take the liberty, my dear Sir, to transmit for your perusal a sort of synopsis of a book which will shortly make its appearance.1

He must have stouter nerves than mine, who in an age like this, can provoke the attention & await the decision of the august & penetrating awarders of literary justice, without apprehension & awe.

But I have arrived somewhat abruptly & unpreparedly, at a stage in the prosecution of my enterprise, when farther success becomes hopeless, or worthless without the acquisition of some share of reputation as a philosophical enquirer & author. Recede I will not, stand still I cannot; I therefore must go on: And on I will go: Cheer’d by the retrospect of past success & “attended by the strong-siding champion Conscience”—& gladly welcome the smile of “white handed hope—That hovering angel girt with golden wings,”2 with a cordial wish that the bright & serene sunset of your political career, may be followed by a long twilight of philosophical leizure & domestic felicity & a night of the sweetest sleep I am with profound respect, & the most heart-felt esteem one of the million of your friends

James Ogilvie3

RC and enclosure (DLC). RC cover docketed by JM. For enclosure, see n. 1.

1. The enclosure was an undated two-page prospectus for Ogilvie’s Essays, &c. The author’s Philosophical Essays; To Which Are Subjoined, Copious Notes, Critical and Explanatory, and a Supplementary Narrative […] was published in Philadelphia in 1816 (Shaw and Shoemaker description begins R. R. Shaw and R. H. Shoemaker, comps., American Bibliography: A Preliminary Checklist for 1801–1819 (22 vols.; New York, 1958–66). description ends 38500).

2. Ogilvie quoted from Milton, Comus, lines 211–14.

3. Scottish-born educator James Ogilvie migrated to Virginia where he established a school in Milton. He occasionally corresponded with JM on educational matters (PJM description begins William T. Hutchinson et al., eds., The Papers of James Madison (1st ser., vols. 1–10, Chicago, 1962–77; vols. 11–17, Charlottesville, Va., 1977–91). description ends 17:256 n. 1; PJM-PS description begins Robert A. Rutland et al., eds., The Papers of James Madison: Presidential Series (10 vols. to date; Charlottesville, Va., 1984–). description ends 2:344 n. 1 PJM-SS description begins Robert J. Brugger et al., eds., The Papers of James Madison: Secretary of State Series (11 vols. to date; Charlottesville, Va., 1986–). description ends 6:575 and n. 2).

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    Madison Papers
    Title
    To James Madison from James Ogilvie, August 1816
    Author
    Ogilvie, James
    Recipient
    Madison, James
    Date
    1–31 August 1816

    Reference

    Cite as
    “To James Madison from James Ogilvie, August 1816,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/03-11-02-0266. [Original source: The Papers of James Madison, Presidential Series, vol. 11, 1 May 1816–3 March 1817, ed. J. C. A. Stagg, Mary Parke Johnson, Katharine E. Harbury, and Anne Mandeville Colony. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2020, p. 256.]

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