perils。Butweshallpreservethem；andourmassofweight&wealthonthegoodsideissogreat，astoleavenodangerthatforcewilleverbeattemptedagainstus。WehaveonlytoawakeandsnaptheLilliputiancordswithwhichtheyhavebeenentanglingusduringthefirstsleepwhichsucceededourlabors。Iwillforwardthetestimonialofthedeathofmrs。Mazzei，whichIcandothemoreincontrovertiblyassheisburiedinmygraveyard，andIpasshergravedaily。Theformalitiesoftheproofyourequire，willoccasiondelay。JohnPage&hissonMannarewell。ThefatherremarriedtoaladyfromN。York。BeverleyRandolphelasuaconsorteliving&
well。Theironlychildmarriedtothe2dofT。M。Randolph。Theeldestsonyouknowmarriedmyeldestdaughter，isanablelearned&
worthycharacter，butkeptdownbyillhealth。Theyhavetwochildren&stilllivewithme。Myyoungerdaughterwell。Colo。
Innisiswell，&atruerepublicanstillasareallthosebeforenamed。Colo。MonroeisourM。P。atParisamostworthypatriot&
honestman。Thesearethepersonsyouinquireafter。Ibegintofeeltheeffectsofage。Myhealthhassuddenlybrokedown，withsymptomswhichgivemetobelieveIshallnothavemuchtoencounterofthe_tediumvitae_。Whileitremains，however，myheartwillbewarminit’sfriendships，andamongthese，willalwaysfostertheaffectionwithwhichIam，dearSir，yourfriendandservant。
ANENTENTEWITHADAMS
_ToJamesMadison，withEnclosure_
_Jan。1，1797_
YoursofDec。19。hascomesafely。Theeventoftheelectionhasneverbeenamatterofdoubtinmymind。IknewthattheEasternstatesweredisciplinedintheschoolsoftheirtownmeetingstosacrificedifferencesofopiniontothegreatobjectofoperatinginphalanx，&thatthemorefree&moralagencypracticedintheotherstateswouldalwaysmakeupthesupplementoftheirweight。IndeedthevotecomesmuchneareranequalitythanIhadexpected。Iknowthedifficultyofobtainingbelieftoone’sdeclarationsofadisinclinationtohonors，&thatitisgreatestwiththosewhostillremainintheworld。Butnoargumentswerewantingtoreconcilemetoarelinquishmentofthefirstofficeoracquiescenceunderthesecond。Astothefirstitwasimpossiblethatamoresolidunwillingnesssettledonfullcalculation，couldhaveexistedinanyman’smind，shortofthedegreeofabsoluterefusal。TheonlyviewonwhichIwouldhavegoneintoitforawhilewastoputourvesselonherrepublicantackbeforesheshouldbethrowntoomuchtoleewardofhertrueprinciples。Astothesecond，itistheonlyofficeintheworldaboutwhichIamunabletodecideinmyownmindwhetherIhadratherhaveitornothaveit。Pridedoesnotenterintotheestimate；forIthinkwiththeRomansthatthegeneraloftodayshouldbeasoldiertomorrowifnecessary。Icanparticularlyhavenofeelingswhichwouldrevoltatasecondarypositiontomr。
Adams。Iamhisjuniorinlife，washisjuniorinCongress，hisjuniorinthediplomaticline，hisjuniorlatelyinthecivilgovernment。BeforethereceiptofyourletterIhadwrittentheenclosedonetohim。Ihadintendeditsometime，buthaddeferreditfromtimetotimeunderthediscouragementofadespairofmakinghimbelieveIcouldbesincereinit。ThepapersbythelastpostnotrenderingitnecessarytochangeanythingintheletterIencloseitopenforyourperusal，notonlythatyoumaypossesstheactualstateofdispositionsbetweenus，butthatifanythingshouldrenderthedeliveryofitineligibleinyouropinion，youmayreturnittome。Ifmr。Adamscanbeinducedtoadministerthegovernmentonit’strueprinciples，&torelinquishhisbiastoanEnglishconstitution，itistobeconsideredwhetheritwouldnotbeonthewholeforthepublicgoodtocometoagoodunderstandingwithhimastohisfutureelections。HeisperhapstheonlysurebarrieragainstHamilton’sgettingin。
SincemylastIhavereceivedapacketofbooks&pamphlets，thechoicenessofwhichtestifiesthattheycomefromyou。TheincidentsofHamilton’sinsurrectionisacuriousworkindeed。Theheroofitexhibitshimselfinalltheattitudesofadexterousbalancemaster。
ThePoliticalprogressisaworkofvalue&ofasingularcomplexion。Theeyeoftheauthorseemstobeanaturalachromatic，whichdivestseveryobjectoftheglareofcolour。Theprecedingworkunderthesametitlehadthesamemerit。Oneisdisgustedindeedwiththeulceratedstatewhichitpresentsofthehumanmind：
buttocureanulcerwemustgotoitsbottom：&nowriterhaseverdonethismoreradicallythanthisone。Thereflectionsintowhichheleadsonearenotflatteringtoourspecies。IntruthIdonotrecollectinalltheanimalkingdomasinglespeciesbutmanwhichiseternally&systematicallyengagedinthedestructionofitsownspecies。Whatiscalledcivilizationseemstohavenoothereffectonhimthantoteachhimtopursuetheprincipleofbellumomniuminomniaonalargerscale，&inplaceofthelittlecontestsoftribeagainsttribe，toengageallthequartersoftheearthinthesameworkofdestruction。Whenweaddtothisthatastotheotherspeciesofanimals，thelions&tigersaremerelambscomparedwithmanasadestroyer，wemustconcludethatitisinmanalonethatnaturehasbeenabletofindasufficientbarrieragainstthetoogreatmultiplicationofotheranimals&ofmanhimself，anequilibriatingpoweragainstthefecundityofgeneration。Mysituationpointsmyviewschieflytohiswarsinthephysicalworld：
yoursperhapsexhibithimasequallywarringinthemoralone。Weboth，Ibelieve，joininwishingtoseehimsoftened。Adieu。
ENCLOSURETOJOHNADAMS
_Monticello，Dec。28，1796_
DEARSIR——Thepublicandthepublicpapershavebeenmuchoccupiedlatelyinplacingusinapointofoppositiontoeachother。
Itrustwithconfidencethatlessofithasbeenfeltbyourselvespersonally。IntheretiredcantonwhereIam，Ilearnlittleofwhatispassing：pamphletsIseenever；papersbutafew；andthefewerthehappier。OurlatestintelligencefromPhiladelphiaatpresentisofthe16th。inst。buttho’atthatdateyourelectiontothefirstmagistracyseemsnottohavebeenknownasafact，yetwithmeithasneverbeendoubted。IknewitimpossibleyoushouldloseavoteNorthoftheDelaware，andevenifthatofPensylvaniashouldbeagainstyouinthemass，yetthatyouwouldgetenoughSouthofthattoplaceyoursuccessionoutofdanger。Ihaveneveronesinglemomentexpectedadifferentissue：andtho’IknowIshallnotbebelieved，yetitisnotthelesstruethatIhaveneverwishedit。
Myneighbors，asmycompurgators，couldaverthatfact，becausetheyseemyoccupationsandmyattachmenttothem。Indeeditispossiblethatyoumaybecheatedofyoursuccessionbyatrickworthythesubtletyofyourarch-friend[AlexanderHamilton]ofNewYork，whohasbeenabletomakeofyourrealfriendstoolstodefeattheirandyourjustwishes。Mostprobablyhewillbedisappointedastoyou；
andmyinclinationsplacemeoutofhisreach。Ileavetoothersthesublimedelightsofridinginthestorm，betterpleasedwithsoundsleepandawarmbirthbelow，withthesocietyofneighbors，friendsandfellowlaborersoftheearth，thanofspiesandsycophants。Noonethenwillcongratulateyouwithpurerdisinterestednessthanmyself。TheshareindeedwhichImayhavehadinthelatevote，I
shallstillvaluehighly，asanevidenceoftheshareIhaveintheesteemofmyfellowcitizens。Butwhile，inthispointofview，afewvoteslesswouldbelittlesensible，thedifferenceintheeffectofafewmorewouldbeverysensibleandoppressivetome。Ihavenoambitiontogovernmen。Itisapainfulandthanklessoffice。SincethedaytooonwhichyousignedthetreatyofParisourhorizonwasneversoovercast。Idevoutlywishyoumaybeabletoshunforusthiswarbywhichouragriculture，commerceandcreditwillbedestroyed。Ifyouare，theglorywillbeallyourown；andthatyouradministrationmaybefilledwithgloryandhappinesstoyourselfandadvantagetousisthesincerewishofonewhotho’，inthecourseofourvoyagethro’life，variouslittleincidentshavehappenedorbeencontrivedtoseparateus，retainsstillforyouthesolidesteemofthemomentswhenwewereworkingforourindependance，andsentimentsofrespectandaffectionateattachment。”PERFECTLYNEUTRALANDINDEPENDENT”
_ToElbridgeGerry_
_Philadelphia，May13，1797_
MYDEARFRIEND，——Yourfavorofthe4thinsttcametohandyesterday。Thatofthe4thofApr，withtheoneforMonroe，hasneverbeenreceived。Thefirst，ofMar27，didnotreachmetillApr21，whenIwaswithinafewdaysofsettingoutforthisplace，&I
putoffacknolegingittillIshouldcomehere。Ientirelycommendyourdispositionstowardsmr。Adams；knowinghisworthasintimatelyandesteemingitasmuchasanyone，andacknolegingthepreferenceofhisclaims，ifanyIcouldhavehad，tothehighofficeconferredonhim。Butintruth，Ihadneitherclaimsnorwishesonthesubject，thoIknowitwillbedifficulttoobtainbeliefofthis。
WhenIretiredfromthisplace&theofficeofSecyofstate，itwasinthefirmestcontemplationofnevermorereturninghere。Therehadindeedbeensuggestionsinthepublicpapers，thatIwaslookingtowardsasuccessiontothePresident’schair，butfeelingaconsciousnessoftheirfalsehood，andobservingthatthesuggestionscamefromhostilequarters，Iconsideredthemasintendedmerelytoexcitepublicodiumagainstme。Ineverinmylifeexchangedawordwithanyperson，onthesubject，tillIfoundmynamebroughtforwardgenerally，incompetitionwiththatofmr。Adams。ThosewithwhomI
thencommunicated，couldsay，ifitwerenecessary，whetherImetthecallwithdesire，orevenwithareadyacquiescence，andwhetherfromthemomentofmyfirstacquiescence，Ididnotdevoutlypraythattheverythingmighthappenwhichhashappened。Thesecondofficeofthisgovernmentishonorable&easy，thefirstisbutasplendidmisery。
Youexpressapprehensionsthatstratagemswillbeused，toproduceamisunderstandingbetweenthePresidentandmyself。Thonotawordhavingthistendencyhaseverbeenhazardedtomebyanyone，yetIconsiderasacertaintythatnothingwillbeleftuntriedtoalienatehimfromme。ThesemachinationswillproceedfromtheHamiltonsbywhomheissurrounded，andwhoareonlyalittlelesshostiletohimthantome。Itcannotbutdampthepleasureofcordiality，whenwesuspectthatitissuspected。Icannothelpfearing，thatitisimpossibleformr。Adamstobelievethatthestateofmymindiswhatitreallyis；thathemaythinkIviewhimasanobstacleinmyway。Ihavenosupernaturalpowertoimpresstruthonthemindofanother，norheanytodiscoverthattheestimatewhichhemayform，onajustviewofthehumanmindasgenerallyconstituted，maynotbejustinitsapplicationtoaspecialconstitution。Thismaybeasourceofprivateuneasinesstous；Ihonestlyconfessthatitissotomeatthistime。Butneitherofusarecapableoflettingithaveeffectonourpublicduties。
Thosewhomayendeavortoseparateus，areprobablyexcitedbythefearthatImighthaveinfluenceontheexecutivecouncils；butwhentheyshallknowthatIconsidermyofficeasconstitutionallyconfinedtolegislativefunctions，andthatIcouldnottakeanypartwhateverinexecutiveconsultations，evenwereitproposed，theirfearsmayperhapssubside，&theirobjectbefoundnotworthamachination。
Idosincerelywishwithyou，thatwecouldtakeourstandonagroundperfectlyneutral&independenttowardsallnations。Ithasbeenmyconstantobjectthropubliclife；andwithrespecttotheEnglish&French，particularly，Ihavetoooftenexpressedtotheformermywishes，&madetothempropositionsverbally&inwriting，officially&privately，toofficial&privatecharacters，forthemtodoubtofmyviews，iftheywouldbecontentwithequality。Ofthistheyareinpossessionofseveralwritten&formalproofs，inmyownhandwriting。Buttheyhavewishedamonopolyofcommerce&
influencewithus；andtheyhaveinfactobtainedit。Whenwetakenoticethattheirsistheworkshoptowhichwegoforallwewant；
thatwiththemcentreeitherimmediatelyorultimatelyallthelaborsofourhandsandlands；thattothembelongseitheropenlyorsecretlythegreatmassofournavigation；thateventhefactorageoftheiraffairshere，iskepttothemselvesbyfactitiouscitizenships；
thattheseforeign&falsecitizensnowconstitutethegreatbodyofwhatarecalledourmerchants，fillourseaports，areplantedineverylittletown&districtoftheinteriorcountry，swayeverythingintheformerplacesbytheirownvotes，&thoseoftheirdependants，inthelatter，bytheirinsinuations&theinfluenceoftheirledgers；thattheyareadvancingfasttoamonopolyofourbanks&