American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson

American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson, is a 1996 book written by Joseph Ellis, a professor of History at Mount Holyoke College. It won the 1997 National Book Award for Nonfiction.

Read more about American Sphinx: The Character Of Thomas Jefferson:  Overview, Reception, Relationship Between Jefferson and Hemings

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    When we consider how much climate contributes to the happiness of our condition, by the fine sensation it excites, and the productions it is the parent of, we have reason to value highly the accident of birth in such a one as that of Virginia.
    Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)

    I repeat that in this sense the most splendid court in Christendom is provincial, having authority to consult about Transalpine interests only, and not the affairs of Rome. A prætor or proconsul would suffice to settle the questions which absorb the attention of the English Parliament and the American Congress.
    Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)

    You can tell a lot about a fellow’s character by his way of eating jelly beans.
    Ronald Reagan (b. 1911)

    Out of the sighs a little comes,
    But not of grief, for I have knocked down that
    Before the agony; the spirit grows,
    Forgets, and cries;
    A little comes, is tasted and found good....
    —Dylan Thomas (1914–1953)

    You see I am an enthusiast on the subject of the arts.
    —Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)