From James Madison to Robert C. Jones, James M. Jeffries, and James P. Henderson, [Post-17 December 1827]
To Robert C. Jones, James M. Jeffries, and James P. Henderson
[post–17 December 1827]
Your letter of the 17. has been duly recd. My respect for every Institution having in view the culture of the Mind, & for the kind motives of the Society you represent, does not permit1 to decline the honorary membership conferred on me, however sensible I may be that it cannot be due to any anticipated advantage from it. The Society, I doubt not will, best devise an appropriate motto. In compliance with you[r] request I suggest for consideration & comparison the two following.
Libertas et Literæ, custodes2 mutui3
Literæ Libertatis et4 decus et testamen5
The birth of which you enquire the date, was on the 16. N. S. of Mar. 1751.6 With friendly respects & good wishes
J.M.
Draft (DLC). Undated; conjectural date assigned based on Jones, Jeffries, and Henderson to JM, 17 Dec. 1827.
1. JM omitted “me” here.
2. JM interlined here and then canceled: “conservatores” [defenders].
3. Liberty and Learning: mutual guards.
4. JM interlined here and then canceled: “ornamentum & prasidium” [decoration & protection].
5. Learning: both the ornament and the proof of liberty.
6. Before this sentence JM wrote and then canceled two other mottoes: “Literarum, radices, interdum amarae fructus semper dulces” [the roots of learning are bitter for a while; the fruits are always sweet], and “In omnibus, priusquem aggridiare adhibenda est preparatio diligens. Cicero de Officii” [In everything, before undertaking any enterprise, careful preparation must be made. Cicero, On Offices].