Thomas Jefferson to Richard Peters, 20 February 1822
To Richard Peters
Monticello Feb. 20. 22.
Th: Jefferson returns his thanks to his friend Judge Peters for mr Biddle’s instructive and well written Agricultural Address. it came to hand exactly as he was amusing himself with reading the agriculture of the Greeks in their Geoponics. mr Biddle has justly noticed their mass of excellent sense and admirable practice, disfigured by a fantastical mixture of superstician and empiricism, such as the recipe of the ass’s head in the middle of the garden Etc.1 these poor ignorant pagans seem not to have been aware that the privilege of producing ring-straked cattle by shewing them striped sticks did not extend to them.
Th:J. renews affectionately antient recollections with Judge Peters and assures him of his constant esteem & respect.
RC (NNGL); dateline at foot of text; lacking address cover. Tr (TJ Editorial Files); typescript of address cover supplied by Mr. W. B. Jefferson, San Francisco, 21 Nov. 1946; addressed (one word editorially corrected from “Plidelphia”): “The Honble Judge Peters Philadelphia”; franked; postmarked Milton, 23 Feb.; endorsed, presumably by Peters, in part, as pertaining to “Biddle’s address.” PoC (DLC); on verso of reused address cover to TJ; endorsed by TJ.
Both Γεωπονικά. Agricultural Pursuits (geoponics) (trans. Thomas Owen [London, 1805–06; , 6 (no. 249)]), 2:98, and Nicholas Biddle, Address delivered before the Philadelphia Society for promoting Agriculture, at its annual meeting, on the Fifteenth of January, 1822 (Philadelphia, 1822), 10, reference the agricultural advice of Democritus that one bury an ass’s head in the middle of the garden. In the Bible, Jacob placed striped sticks in front of mating sheep and goats in order to increase his flock with “ringstraked, speckled, and spotted” animals (Genesis 30.32–40).
1. Omitted period at right margin editorially supplied.
Index Entries
- Address delivered before the Philadelphia Society for promoting Agriculture, at its annual meeting, on the Fifteenth of January, 1822 (N. Biddle) search
- agriculture; and ancient superstitions search
- agriculture; books on search
- Bible; Genesis referenced search
- Biddle, Nicholas; Address delivered before the Philadelphia Society for promoting Agriculture, at its annual meeting, on the Fifteenth of January, 1822 search
- books; on agriculture search
- cattle; breeding of search
- Democritus (Greek philosopher) search
- Greece, ancient; agriculture in search
- Jefferson, Thomas; Books & Library; receives works search
- Jefferson, Thomas; Opinions on; ancient Greek agriculture search
- Owen, Thomas; translatesΓεωπονικά. Agricultural Pursuits search
- Peters, Richard; as president of Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture search
- Peters, Richard; letters to search
- Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture; addresses to search
- Γεωπονικά. Agricultural Pursuits (trans. T. Owen) search