from those of John Adams himself and the men of that day who were enamoured with the ideas of Voltaire and Rousseau.  At that time even the most influential of the clergy, especially in New England, were Arminians in their religious creed.  The eighteenth century was not a profound or religious epoch.  It was an age of war and political agitations,—­a drinking, swearing, licentious, godless age among the leaders of society, and of ignorance, prejudice, and pharisaic formalities among the people.  Jefferson’s own purity and uprightness of life amid the laxity of the times is an unquestionable evidence of the elevation of his character and the sincerity of his moral and religious beliefs.

The third great object of Jefferson’s life was to promote popular education as an essential condition to the safety of the republic.  While he advocated unbounded liberty, he knew well enough that it would degenerate into license unless the people were well-informed.  But what interested him the most was the University of Virginia, in whose behalf he spent the best part of his declining years.  He gave money freely himself, and induced the legislature to endow it liberally.  He superintended the construction of the buildings, which alone cost $300,000; he selected the professors, prescribed the course of study, was chairman of the board of trustees, and looked after the interests of the institution.  He thought more of those branches of knowledge which tended to liberalize the mind than of Latin and Greek.  He gave a practical direction to the studies of the young men, allowing them to select such branches as were congenial to them and would fit them for a useful life.  He would have no president, but gave the management of all details to the professors, who were equal in rank.  He appealed to the highest motives among the students, and recognized them as gentlemen rather than boys, allowing no espionage.  He was rigorous in the examinations of the students, and no one could obtain a degree unless it were deserved.  While he did not exclude religion from the college, morning prayers being held every day, attendance upon religious services was not obligatory.  Every Sunday some clergyman from the town or neighborhood preached a sermon, which was generally well attended.  Few colleges in this country have been more successful or more ably conducted, and the excellence of instruction drew students from every quarter of the South.  Before the war there were nearly seven hundred students, and I never saw a more enthusiastic set of young men, or a set who desired knowledge for the sake of knowledge more enthusiastically than did those in the University of Virginia.