Thomas Jefferson to John D’Wolf, 26 January 1822
To John D’Wolf
Monticello. Jan. 26. 22.
Th: Jefferson returns his thanks to mr D[.]Wolf fo[r the disc]ourse on Prejudice which he has been so [kind as to send him. this] great perverter of the human judgment, [it is to be feared] is too deeply1 rooted in the heart and affections of [man to] admit a hope that it can ever be eradicated. yet it’s influence on the happiness of society, and the general good2 is so3 baneful as to give merit to every endeavor to impair it’s power. mr D.Wolf’s discourse is well calculated to have this effect.4 Th:J. owes his particular homage to the lady who has taken the kind trouble of copying this gratification5 for him.
PoC (DLC); on verso of reused address cover of Francis Adrian Van der Kemp to TJ, 25 June 1820; dateline at foot of text; torn, with missing text supplied from Dft; endorsed by TJ. Dft (MHi); on verso of RC of D’Wolf to TJ, 7 Jan. 1822; lacks dateline.
1. Dft: “strongly.”
2. In Dft TJ here canceled “of man,” with the “of” mistakenly left uncanceled.
3. Word interlined in place of “too.”
4. Dft: “have effect in this way.”
5. Preceding two words interlined in Dft in place of “it.”