Thomas Jeffersons Bible: With Introduction and Critical Commentary [1 ed.] 3110617560, 9783110617566

Table of contents :
Preface
Overview
Introduction How Jefferson Came to Jesus
A Table of the Texts
The Jefferson Bible
Commentary Jefferson’s Principles of Construction
Index

Citation preview

M. Andrew Holowchak Thomas Jefferson’s Bible

Studies of the Bible and Its Reception

Edited by Christine Helmer, Steven McKenzie, Thomas Römer, Jens Schröter, Barry Dov Walfish, and Eric Ziolkowski

Volume 14

M. Andrew Holowchak

Thomas Jefferson’s Bible With Introduction and Critical Commentary

ISBN 978-3-11-061756-6 e-ISBN (PDF) 978-3-11-061984-3 e-ISBN (EPUB) 978-3-11-061910-2 ISSN 2195-450X Library of Congress Control Number: 2018956859 Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available in the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de. © 2019 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston Logo: Martin Zech Printing and binding: CPI books GmbH, Leck www.degruyter.com

Preface Writes Lord Bolingbroke, as commonplaced by Thomas Jefferson in his Literary Commonplace Book: “It is not true that Christ revealed an entire body of ethics, proved to be the law of nature from principles of reason, and reaching all the duties of life. … A system thus collected from the writings of antient heathen moralists of Tully, of Seneca, of Epictetus, and others, would be more full, more entire, more coherent, and more clearly deduced from unquestionable principles of knowledge.”¹ Jefferson agreed with Bolingbroke on the incompleteness of Christ’s teachings. Jesus died in the prime of his years, Jefferson writes in his “Syllabus on an Estimate of the Merit of the Doctrines of Jesus, Compared to Those of Others,” included in a letter to Dr. Benjamin Rush (21 Apr. 1803), and thus, there were no “occasions for developing a complete system of morals.” What is worse, Jefferson continues, is that the fragments which have come down to us, “disfigured by the corruptions of schismatising followers,” are “mutilated, misstated, & often unintelligible.” In spite of their incompleteness and disfiguration, Jefferson disagreed with Bolingbroke on the lack of fullness and coherency of Jesus’ moral views and their inferiority to those principles or systems of ancient moralists. He writes, “Notwithstanding these disadvantages, a system of morals is presented to us, which, if filled up in the true style and spirit of the rich fragments he left us, would be the most perfect and sublime that has ever been taught by man.” The fragments left to posterity, it seems, are so rich, perfect, and sublime that they allow, with some ingenuity, for restoration or reconstruction of a body of ethics, simple yet pure, hence the motivation for Jefferson’s own version of the New Testament—what is now called Jefferson’s Bible, that is, The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth (1820; hereafter, LMJ). I have come indirectly to LMJ. With my primary interest being in the philosophical content of Jefferson’s writings, I began to study the relationship for Jefferson between religion and philosophy, morality especially, and I became particularly interested in Jefferson’s preoccupation with Jesus that began at least a decade prior to his presidency. Why would a person, highly critical of the merits of the New Testament early in life, become obsessed with Jesus and become convinced later in life that Jesus was a great religious reformer and the world’s greatest moralist? Why would such a person create, not once, but twice, his own version of the New Testament, expurgated of its “corruptions”?  Thomas Jefferson, Jefferson’s Literary Commonplace Book, ed. Douglas L. Wilson (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1989), §28. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110619843-001

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There is a considerable body of literature on Jefferson’s religious views and his “bible.” Much is written about the passages Jefferson selected. The consensus seems to be, I show in the critical commentary, that Jefferson’s selection process, guided by his own secularist views of morality, tells us more about Jefferson than about Jesus. That I aim to show is not the case. Jefferson’s words and modus agendi concerning the construction of his bible show plainly that he was interested in depicting the historical Jesus, not a Jeffersonian Jesus. In a similar manner, I too am interested in the historical Jefferson, not a Holowchakian Jefferson, and I boldly assert that this book will do much to further our grasps of Jefferson’s religiosity as well as of Jefferson the man. Moreover, of all that has been written, nothing has been written that critically details just how Jefferson plucked out, in his own words, the “diamonds from the dunghills”—the actual from false words and deeds of Jesus. Jefferson’s letters offer substantive clues to his selection process, but those clues do not tell the whole story. Certain questions go unanswered. Were the avowed principles, mentioned in letters, just those and only just those that Jefferson used to construct his Bible consistent? Furthermore, did Jefferson consistently adhere to them? The metaphor of plucking out diamonds from dunghills seems to relate neatly to the process Jefferson employed in constructing LMJ. Jefferson literally cut out passages from Bibles of four languages and meticulously glued them on to loose pieces of paper. Yet to answer the questions I have asked, it occurred to me that it is not sufficient to examine the diamonds Jefferson plucked, but also the dunghills from which they were plucked, for the principles Jefferson avowedly employed were both of selection and of deselection. In short, it was not merely a matter of constructing a bible by plucking out diamonds from dunghills, but also a matter of finding diamonds, as it were, by scattering the feculent matter of the heap. One the one hand, it was a matter of recognizing diamonds (selection); on the other, recognizing feculence (deselection). Thus, to get inside Jefferson’s mind as he constructed his Bible, it is necessary to study not just what he included in his bible, but also what he excluded from it—viz., just what makes a verse feculent. That project was on the mind of another, accountant Cari Haus, who in 2009 self-published The Reverse Jefferson Bible. ² In it, she claims to focus on what Jefferson left out of the Bible. Her intension, however, was otherwise—i. e., to underscore Jefferson’s irreligiosity by showing that his deterging process was unconscionable and most un-Christian.

 Cari Haus, The Reverse Jefferson Bible (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2009).

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In recent years, “The Jefferson Bible” has become popular among readers who wish to consider the teachings of Jesus outside of His claims to be God. While many atheists and even some Christians see merit in such a study, others point with concern to the warning of Revelation 22:19: “And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”

Haus’ aim, it is clear, was not to advance scholarly understanding of Jefferson through analysis of Jefferson’s bible and the passages he omitted, but instead as the quote from Revelations shows, to heap Christian castigation upon Jefferson for having the boldness to tamper with the Bible. Thomas Jefferson’s Bible, With Introduction and a Critical Commentary, is the first attempt at a critical analysis of Jefferson’s bible. In letters to select correspondents that pertain to LMJ, Jefferson mentions certain principles of selection/deselection, which he employed in its construction. Yet careful examination of his bible and the verses from the Gospels that were omitted from it shows that he was also guided by certain methodological principles, not inviolably employed. Moreover, Jefferson’s account of the life and morals of Jesus was constructed with an eye to improving the literary merits of the work—with an eye to completeness, economy of expression, and smoothness. First, given the material in the four Gospels, he aimed to construct the most complete account, minus redundancies, of Jesus’ life and teachings. Second, his account was constructed, as was his wont, with due regard for laconic expression.³ Finally, perusal of LMJ shows a preoccupation with creating a story with flow and continuancy. Thus, LMJ is anything but an incondite rendering of the New Testament. In that regard, he aimed to improve the bible as a literary work—no small task. There are three parts to Thomas Jefferson’s Bible: an introduction, Jefferson’s Bible (English text only), and a commentary. The introduction, in gist a lengthy overview of Jefferson’s views of religion, begins with a discussion of Jefferson on religion, sectarian and non-sectarian. I answer such questions: What precisely did Jefferson mean by “religion”? How does his view of religion relate to morality? I then turn to Jefferson’s interest in Jesus. His early-life interest in the New Testament, as his Literary Commonplace Book shows, is mostly critical, and skeptical. Why then does Jefferson later in life begin to take seriously Jesus and his teachings in the New Testament? Why does he feel the need to deterge the New Testament in the composition of  In a letter to David Harding (20 Apr. 1824), Jefferson writes of the “sententious brevity” of Livy, Sallust, and Tacitus. He adds: “Amplification is the vice of modern oratory. It is an insult to an assembly of reasonable men, disgusting and revolting instead of persuading. Speeches measured by the hour, die with the hour.”

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his own harmony of the gospels? Next, I turn to Jefferson’s “Syllabus,” which is a critique of the Old Testament, ancient philosophy, and the life and teachings of Jesus. Following that, I investigate Jefferson’s interest in composing a “harmony” of the gospels—first, his non-extant The Philosophy of Jesus (1804), and then, his The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth (1820). I close with some thoughts on Jefferson’s purchase of “Unitarianism.” Did he embrace Unitarianism as a sectarian religion or in a more catholic sense for personal, moral use? The second part houses Jefferson’s bible—LMJ. I begin with his “A Table of the Texts,” which serves as a table of contents for his bible. Next, I include the full text of LMJ. Part 3, the last part, is a lengthy critical commentary on LMJ—especially its principles of construction. First, what were Jefferson’s principles of selection/deselection? As the oft-used metaphor of plucking out diamonds from dunghills suggests, the process of selection/deselection may have been repulsive and tedious, but Jefferson did not in principle consider the project to be difficult. Moreover, given that Jefferson aimed also at composing succinctly, coherently, and fluidly a narrative of the life and teachings of Jesus, there were certain methodological concerns which guided construction and point to methodological principles: redundancy, transition, and complementarity. I then turn to Jefferson’s use of Jesus’ parables. I end with some thoughts on what LMJ tells us about Jefferson’s deity, Jefferson’s Jesus, and Jefferson’s Unitarianism. I end this preface with two remarks. First, in a work such as this, it is important to have direct access to what Jefferson said. That means one can opt for a postscript, which includes writings relevant to Jefferson’s bible, or for inclusion of large chunks of relevant material from those writings in the introduction and commentary. I have chosen the latter, though it may seem clumsy at times. Second, because the work is of much magnitude and there are numerous minutiae, it cannot be that I cover so much turf without some mistakes along the way. I merely hope that the mistakes are few and relatively innocuous.

Overview Introduction How Jefferson Came to Jesus A Table of the Texts The Jefferson Bible

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26 29

Commentary Jefferson’s Principles of Construction Index

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Introduction How Jefferson Came to Jesus “Don Quixote undertook to redress the bodily wrongs of the world, but the redressment of mental vagaries would be an enterprise more than Quixotic.” TJ to Benjamin Waterhouse, 19 July 1822

There is a story—of which I am amply fond and which I hope is true, for it gets at the gist of Thomas Jefferson the man—told by early biographer Henry Randall. En route to his getaway residence, Poplar Forest, some 70 miles southwest of Monticello, Jefferson stopped one night to repast and rest at Ford’s Tavern. He took supper and sat by a clergyman, who did not recognize him, and the two engaged in friendly conversation. The conversation began with mechanics, turned to husbandry, and finally, to religion. So adept at conversing in each subject was Jefferson that the clergyman first thought his discussant was an engineer, then a successful husbandman, and then a fellow man of the cloth. The clergyman, puzzled, asked the landlord the next morning about his learned discussant. He was informed that it was none other than Thomas Jefferson. The clergyman, astonished, said, “I tell you that was neither an atheist nor irreligious man—one of juster sentiments I never met with.”¹ I suspect that the story, in gist, is true, because it says much about the virtues of Jefferson. He was polymathic, and capable of speaking plainly, intelligently, and in detail to others about what he knew—and he knew much about many things—and doing so without pomp, or verbigeration. He was sociable, as he preferred to have with his meal pleasant conversation with another. He was democratic, for he did not feel the need to reveal himself to his dining companion, and perhaps thus unevenly weigh the conversation. Like the clergyman said, Jefferson was neither an atheist nor an irreligious man. He believed in a benevolent deity and was profoundly religious—though religious in a noiseless, unassuming, and idiosyncratic manner. Religion, he constantly avowed, was a personal affair—a matter between each man and his god. Deity’s presence in the cosmos, Jefferson believed, was literally visible to anyone who bothered to observe the cosmos. One could find symmetry, regularity, order, and goodness—each accessible to the eye.² The true enemies of reli-

 Henry S. Randall, The Life of Thomas Jefferson (New York, 1858), III.345.  Aside from such things, Jefferson believed deity to be good and perfect, but he refrained from further speculation. “I am, therefore of His theology,” he writes to Ezra Styles (25 June 1819), “believing that we have neither words nor ideas adequate to that definition.” https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110619843-002

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gion were the sectarian proselytizers whose fiery banter betrayed a political, not a veridical, agenda, for true religion for Jefferson comprised those principles confirmed by the moral sense and common to all religions. To William Canby (18 Sept. 1813), he stated that whoever observes the principles common to all religions “will never be questioned at the gates of heaven.” In what follows, I offer a summary of the development of Jefferson’s views on the significance of Jesus and his teachings in some effort to show why he composed his harmony The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth.

“The quiet as well as the comfort”: Jefferson and Religion Henry Randall states that Jefferson went to his death calm and composed—without regrets or remorse. On hearing the name of his minister the day prior to his death, he said he did not object to seeing the man prior to his death but only as “a kind and good neighbor.”³ The story speaks volumes about Jefferson’s views on religion—the topic of this section. All Americans, Jefferson asserts in his First Inaugural Address, are “enlightened by a benign religion, professed, indeed, and practiced in various forms, yet all of them inculcating honesty, truth, temperance, gratitude, and the love of man.”⁴ That sentiment, as one scholar notes, epitomizes Jefferson’s philosophy of religion, which entails public worship of God, various means of religious expression, and religious practice for the sake of preserving peace and social order.⁵ Yet a philosophy of religion is not necessarily identical with a personal religion, so one can ask this: What precisely were Jefferson’s own religious beliefs? There has been, and there continues to be, great befuddlement concerning Jefferson’s religious beliefs, and Jefferson is partly to blame for that. He proposed to secularize primary schools; he refused to speak of his religious beliefs or lack of them even to members of his family;⁶ he authored a bill for disestablishment of the Church of England; he was friends with the heretic Thomas Paine (“this Satanic disciple, this moving lump of infamy and rottenness, … this Blasphemer

 Henry S. Randall, The Life of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 3 (New York, 1858), 543.  Thomas Jefferson, First Inaugural Address¸ Thomas Jefferson: Writings, ed. Merrill D. Peterson (New York: Library of America, 1984), 494.  Herbert W. Schneider, “The Enlightenment in Thomas Jefferson,” Ethics, Vol. 53, No. 4, 1943, 249.  E. g., TJ to Benjamin Waterhouse, 19 July 1822. See William D. Gould, “The Religious Opinions of Thomas Jefferson,” The Mississippi Valley Historical Review, Vol. 20, No. 2, 1933, 196.

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of our Saviour”)⁷; he refused an offer to become godson to the stepson-in-law of friend Philip Mazzei because to do so would mean a “solemn profession, before god and the world,” of faith in the Episcopal Church’s articles, “which I had never sense enough to comprehend”; and he fully supported early on the anticlerical French Revolution. In his Notes on the State of Virginia, he wrote that only reason, not faith or revelation, could reveal the true religion; that only the allowance of the free expression of reason in the Roman republic enabled Christianity to take root and its corruptions to have been expurgated;⁸ and both that “it neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg” to say “there are twenty gods, or no god”⁹ and that “the way to silence religious disputes, is to take no notice of them”—the former, suggesting religious indifference; the latter, suggesting religious hostility.¹⁰ Furthermore, he at least implicitly challenged the notion that the Jews were God’s chosen people when he wrote, “Those who labour in the earth are the chosen people of God, if ever he had chosen people.”¹¹ Because of his liberalism and latitudinarianism (not the seventeenth-century movement)—he championed successfully the cause of religious freedom—Jefferson was customarily treated, especially by religious clerics during his presidential runs, as an atheist or infidel. Rev. John Mitchell Mason, in “Voice of Warning to Christians,” expressed dread of Jefferson’s election as president because the politician was a “confirmed infidel.”¹² Rev. William Linn, appealing to Jefferson’s liberal and anti-Biblical claims in his Notes on the State of Virginia, ¹³ published “Serious Considerations on the Election of a President” to warn the nation of the

 Constance B. Schulz, “‘Of Bigotry in Politics and Religion’: Jefferson’s Religion, the Federalist Press, and the Syllabus,” The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 91, No. 1, 1983, 83.  Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, ed. William Peden (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1954), 159.  Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, 159.  Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, 161. Pocock writes of Jeffersonian silence as a weapon against sectarian religion. “Silence is his weapon in the confusions of tongues.” J.G.A. Pocock, “Religious Freedom and the Desacralization of Politics: From the English Civil Wars to the Virginia Statute,” The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom: Its Evolution and Consequences in American History, ed. Merrill D. Peterson and Robert C. Vaughan (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988), 64.  Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, 161– 65.  Rev. John Mitchell Mason, Voice of Warning to Christians on the Ensuing Election of a President of the United States (New York: G.F. Hopkins, 1800), 8.  E. g., his rejection of the biblical flood because of its impossibility. Jefferson writes that were all the moisture surrounding the earth to turn into water, the cumulative effect would be to raise the seas some 52½ feet, which would not be sufficient for a global flood. Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, 31.

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deleterious effects of electing an irreligious president¹⁴—i. e., Jefferson. William L. Smith in 1796 published The Pretensions of Thomas Jefferson to the Presidency Examined, in which the author challenged Jefferson’s “happy discovery” that religious disputes could be effectively silenced by ignoring them.¹⁵ Rev. Timothy Dwight, president of Yale College, cautioned in 1798 that with Jefferson as president, all Bibles would be cast into a bonfire and “wheedled or terrified” children would chant “mockeries against God.”¹⁶ In the Washington Federalist, a certain “Lucius” in 1800 wrote that Jefferson belonged to the “school of Voltaire,” grounded on “deep rooted hatred … of the Christian religion.” In 1802, “Recantur” stated that Jefferson’s silence vis-à-vis the numerous claims of his irreligiosity were proof that he was an unbeliever and hypocrite.¹⁷ In 1808, someone writing under the name Civis had this to say concerning Jefferson’s capabilities as president: I think him possessed of talents, of useful information, but they are not of that kind which qualify him for the government of an empire so extensive, so important, and so enterprising, as that of the United States. In a republic like that of Lacedemon, if there is such in existence, insulated from all kinds of commerce with the world, unacquainted with the luxuries of any clime but its own, and having no temptation to industry or enterprise, I think he might be extremely useful in dealing out some useful precepts of philosophy or temperance, or measuring out with a ladle some dishes of the Spartan soup to a large family.¹⁸

Then there is the controversy generated by Jefferson’s two bibles—The Philosophy of Jesus (1804; hereafter, PJ) and The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth (1820; hereafter, LMJ). In numerous writings, Jefferson complained that the New Testament was fraught with falsifications, corruptions, and impossibilities, and he sought to deterge it of such defects to disclose a précis of a system of most intemerate morality. He writes to William Short (31 Oct. 1819), “Abstracting what is really his from the rubbish in which it is buried … we have the outlines of a system of the most sublime morality which has ever fallen from the lips of  William Linn, “Serious Considerations on the Election of a President” (New York, 1800), 17– 18.  A reference to Query XIX of Jefferson’s Notes (Thomas Jefferson, Notes on Virginia, 161). William L. Smith, The Pretensions of Thomas Jefferson to the Presidency Examined, (Philadelphia, 1976), 37– 39.  Daniel L. Driesback, “Defining and Testing the Prohibition on Religious Establishments in the Early Republic,” No Establishment of Religion: America’s Original Contribution to Religious Liberty (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012), 260.  Lucius and Recantur, each taken from Constance B. Schulz, “‘Of Bigotry in Politics and Religion,’” 82.  “Remarks on the Embargo Law … by Civis” (New York, 1808), 13.

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man.” Jefferson’s subsumption under “rubbish” of episodes of prophesy, divine visitation, Jesus’ claims to divinity, Jesus’ numerous miracles, and reports of a day of judgment would not have sat well with the religionists of Jefferson’s day, just as they do not sit well with biblical literalists of our day. Thus, Jefferson’s bibles, attempts to expurgate the New Testament of its “rubbish,” offer more fuel for enemies of Jefferson—a topic discussed more fully in the commentary. Jefferson was wont to state that the principles common to all religions— those principles etched in the heart of each person—are the true principles of religion and the correct principles of morality.¹⁹ Following philosopher Henry St. John Bolingbroke, he believed that “the law of nature is the law of god”²⁰— viz., right religion was natural religion—and natural religion for Jefferson entailed duties to deity and duties to others. Humans, literally seeing deity in cosmic order, were bound unconditionally to love god. Moreover, humans were bound to all others by ties of beneficence.²¹ Jefferson’s thoughts on religion, being a private affair between each man and his deity, naturally led to his belief in separation of the political and the religious —his Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom, put before the Virginia House of Delegates in 1779.²² To the Virginian Baptists of Chesterfield, VA (21 Nov. 1808), Jefferson writes concerning the passing of that bill of the quiet and comfort that has ensued with religious pluralism. in [sic] reviewing the history of the times through which we have past, no portion of it gives greater satisfaction, on reflection, than that which presents the efforts of the friends of religious freedom, & the success with which they were crowned. we have solved, by fair experiment, the great & interesting question Whether freedom of religion is compatible with order in government and obedience to the laws; & we have experienced the quiet as well as the comfort which results from leaving every one to profess freely & openly those principles

 E. g., TJ to Thomas Leiper, 21 Jan. 1809; TJ to William Canby, 18 Sept. 1813; TJ to John Adams, 11 Jan. 1817; and TJ to Thomas Parker, 15 May 1819.  Thomas Jefferson, Jefferson’s Literary Commonplace Book, ed. Douglas L. Wilson (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1989), §36 and §56.  See M. Andrew Holowchak, “Duty to Man and Duty to God,” Thomas Jefferson, Moralist (London: Brill, 2017).  Buckley argues cogently that the bill, in conjunction with Jefferson’s Declaration and his views on religion in Notes on Virginia, give full expression to Jefferson’s views on religious freedom—“a public theology of the relationship of God to the human person and the nature of belief.” Thomas E. Buckley, S.J., “The Political Theology of Thomas Jefferson,” The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom: Its Evolution and Consequences in American History, ed. Merrill D. Peterson and Robert C. Vaughan (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988), 84.

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of religion which are the inductions of his own reason, & the serious convictions of his own enquiries.²³

Jefferson’s most extensive published discussion on religious pluralism occurs in Notes on the State of Virginia. Here he puts forth two separate lines of argument. The first comprises many separate arguments, many of them inchoate and some of them uncogent, to show that uniformity can be had only by coercion and that coercion can never secure religious truth. The second is a simple appeal to experience which shows, via an illustration nonpareil, the success of religious pluralism. Why is forced uniformity doomed? First, Jefferson argues from the nature of truth and untruth. He asserts both that truth can stand by itself and that only error needs the sanction of government. It follows that if a particular religious opinion is given the sanction of government, we cannot know if it is the true opinion, and it is likely sanctioned only because it cannot stand on its own, hence it is likely to be untrue.²⁴ Second, Jefferson gives an argument from religious inquisitors. He asserts that if religious opinion is subject to coercion, then “fallible men” or “men governed by bad passions” will be made inquisitors. Yet it is undesirable for such severely fallible men to be religious inquisitors. So, religious opinion ought not to be subject to coercion.²⁵ Third, Jefferson introduces what can only be taken as an aesthetic argument. He argues that uniformity of face or stature is undesirable, otherwise there could be no appreciation of beauty in faces. If uniformity of religious opinion is instantiated, then we introduce a bed of Procrustes and, as in the case of uniformity of stature, “the large men beat the small, make us all of a size, by lopping off the former and stretching the latter.” Yet uniformity of stature is undesirable. So, too is uniformity of religious opinion.²⁶ Fourth, Jefferson appeals to history. Coercion has been tried and coercion has failed. Christians have burnt, tortured, fined, and imprisoned “millions of in-

 As Pocock notes, “Freedom of religion and freedom from religion had by the time of the statute’s framing become close partners, and have remained so.” J.G.A. Pocock, “Religious Freedom and the Desacralization of Politics,” 67.  Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, 160.  Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, 160.  Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, 160. Similar to an argument of Shaftesbury that Jefferson relates in certain notes on religion in 1776. “Notes on Locke and Shaftesbury, 11 October–9 December 1776,” Founders Online, National Archives, http://founders.archives.gov/ documents/Jefferson/01– 01– 02– 0222– 0007, accessed 18 June 2017.

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nocent men, women, and children.” With such tactics, “we have not advanced one inch towards uniformity.” We have instead made “one half of the world fools, and the other half hypocrites.”²⁷ To see why the Christian coercive experiment has failed and will continue to fail, Jefferson gives a fifth and general argument against coercive measures. The earth has thousands of millions of people and there are some one thousand different religions. If one should be right and that one should be ours, then there would be good reason for us to wish the other 999 religions “gathered into the fold of truth.” Yet reason and either persuasion or coercion are the only viable methods. We cannot effect such a fold by coercion. So, we must effect the fold by reason and persuasion. If there is to be reason and persuasion, there must be free inquiry.²⁸ Here we encounter another problem. We wish others to allow us freedom of religious expression, but we disallow it to others through insistence that ours is the right religion. Yet if we disallow it to others, others will not allow it to us. Thus, free inquiry must be granted across the board, or not at all. If not at all, then there cannot be free inquiry. Without free inquiry, there cannot be exercise of reason and persuasion. Without exercise of reason and persuasion, then there will be no means by which the right religion can gather the 999 wrong religions to the fold of truth.²⁹ After having shown that coercive measures cannot work to effect uniformity, Jefferson turns to an argument from toleration. Those in Pennsylvania and New York have long subsisted without state sanction of any one religion. “They flourish infinitely. Religion is well supported; of various kinds, indeed, but all good enough; all sufficient to preserve peace and order.” When a sect arises that is subversive to morality, good sense “laughs it out of doors.” Religious harmony can only be ascribed to “unbounded toleration.”³⁰ Given what Jefferson has said concerning the right religion essaying to convince 999 wrong religions of their waywardness, one is tempted to view the argument from toleration as an argument for pluralism, and to view free inquiry and exercise of reason as jointly sufficient for disclosure of the true religion. Many scholars have done just that.³¹ Jefferson, however, thought freedom of religion would not lead to quiet and comfort in any straightforward sense. Jefferson did not believe that religious plu    

Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, 160. Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, 160. Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, 160. Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, 160 – 61. E. g., Thomas E. Buckley, “The Political Theology of Thomas Jefferson,” 89.

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ralism and free inquiry would lead to knowledge of the one right sectarian religion. He is clear that those principles common to all morality-abiding religions comprise natural religion or true morality. “Reading, reflection and time,” he writes to Presbyterian minister, lawyer, and doctor, James Fishback (27 Sept. 1809), “have convinced me that the interests of society require the observation of those moral precepts only in which all religions agree (for all forbid us to steal, murder, plunder, or bear false witness), and that we should not intermeddle with the particular dogmas in which all religions differ, and which are totally unconnected with morality.”³² Thus, true religion is pure morality, and the superfluous precepts espoused and embraced by sectarian religionists are empty metaphysical dogmata that make up the topics for treadmill debates that stir the passions and inveigle reason.³³ In that regard, one can only assume that the quiet and comfort are exclusively of a political sort—i. e., there is greater order in government when it is not aligned with any particular religious sect. Jefferson does say in his Notes on the State of Virginia, “We have made the happy discovery, that the way to silence religious disputes, is to take no notice of them.”³⁴ The suggestion, strong, is that Jefferson is interested in religious silencing. When disputes are openly aired and no one sect is given political privileges, the political effect is quiet. That is just what we find in Jefferson’s appeal to toleration in Pennsylvania and New York. He makes no mention of any direct positives; only of eschewal of negatives—that is, there is peace and order when all are given equal voice and none is given political sanction. What Jefferson had in mind was segregation of the religious and political. By allowing dogmatists and proselytizers to have their own social, non-political spaces, they would have little direct influence on political matters. Free expression of all sectarian religions would neutralize the effect of any one of them on political matters. When any one religious sect is privy to political spaces, then difficulties aplenty exist.

 See also TJ to Thomas Leiper, 21 Jan. 1809; TJ to Miles King, 26 Sept. 1814; TJ to George Logan, 12 Nov. 1816; TJ to John Adams, 11 Jan. 1817; TJ to John Adams, 5 May 1817; and TJ to Thomas Parker, 15 May 1819.  A point strangely seldom recognized. For an exception, see David Little, “Religion and Civil Virtue in America: Jefferson’s Statute Reconsidered,” The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom: Its Evolution and Consequences in American History, ed. Merrill D. Peterson and Robert C. Vaughan (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988), 240.  Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, 161.

“Teaching innocence of conduct”: Jefferson’s Interest in Jesus

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“Teaching innocence of conduct”: Jefferson’s Interest in Jesus Much has been written on Jefferson’s bibles—how they were composed and what motivated him to compose them. The process, Jefferson says, was relatively easy —like plucking diamonds from dunghills. The motivation for each work was to salvage the teachings of the world’s greatest moralist, and concerning his second bible, to gain also a fuller grasp of the life of Jesus. Outside of numerous outlandish and unsustainable claims by calumniators and radical revisionists—and the two cannot always be neatly segregated—there is general scholarly consensus about Jefferson’s interest in Jesus. Most scholars agree that Jefferson’s interest in Jesus changed over time. There is what might be called his literary-criticism phase of his salad years and his naturalized-religion phase of his later, more mature years. In his literary-criticism phase, Jefferson’s interest in the Bible is critical—a skill he might have learned from his early education with Rev. James Maury.³⁵ The Bible is a significant work of literature that is taken literally by millions, in spite of numerous hyperboles and absurdities. Thus, it is as good a book as any, and much better than most, on which to hone one’s critical skills. Jefferson begins censoriously and skeptically early in life—with critical preoccupation with the merits of the Bible qua historical book and qua book of moral instruction. Evidence for that exists in his Literary Commonplace Book, where Jefferson copies or paraphrases 54 passages from Lord Bolingbroke’s Philosophical Works (§§4– 34 and §§36 – 58). There Bolingbroke rubbishes all such happenings that bely the laws of nature, common experience, or common sense: e. g., miracles³⁶ (e. g., §7, §22, §23, §26, and §37), the immateriality of the soul or mind (§§8 – 11), lesser evil deities (e. g., §14 and §15), anthropocentric notions of deity (§§16 – 18 and §46), reward and punishment in an afterlife (§16, §48, and §§51– 55), Trinitarianism (§20 and §21), Christ’s divinity (e. g., §20), divine intervention through divine inspiration (e. g., §5, §6, §20, §27, and §32), the fall of man (e. g., §30 and §42), and the sacrifice of Christ for the sins of man (e. g.,

 See Thomas E. Buckley, S.J., “Placing Thomas Jefferson and Religion in Context, Then and Now,” Seeing Jefferson Anew: In His Time and Ours (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press), 132– 33.  Jefferson commonplaces Bolingbroke, “Nothing can be less reconcileable to the notion of an all-perfect being, than the imagination that he undoes by his power in particular cases [miracles] what his wisdom, to whom nothing is future, once thought sufficient to be established for all cases.” Thomas Jefferson, Jefferson’s Literary Commonplace Book, in The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Second Series, ed. Douglas L. Wilson (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1989), 49.

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§30 and §44).³⁷ In the words of one scholar, “Christianity held little or nothing that attracted him” in his period.³⁸ Those commonplaced passages, which seem to have occupied much of Jefferson’s cogitations on the Bible early in his life, almost certainly reflect Jefferson’s early views on Christianity. As a young man, he examines the Bible merely or mostly as a text that amply allows exercise of one’s critical faculties. Following Bolingbroke and embracing a Bolingbrokean conception of deity which he never abandoned, Jefferson’s critical investigation here focuses on what is false or absurd, and there seems to be little regard for what, if anything, is salvageable from the Bible.³⁹ Writes E.S. Gaustad, “Bolingbroke, applying his own form of methodological doubt to religion, provided Jefferson with ample precedent for questioning most of the basic doctrines of Christian theology and most of the basic assumptions about Christian history.” From his twenties to his forties, “Jefferson found answers more in politics than in religion.”⁴⁰ Early in his forties, Jefferson begins a volte-face concerning the merits of the Bible, specifically the New Testament, and thus starts his naturalized-religion phase, which would last to the end of his life. Meeting Unitarian minister and polymath Richard Price in London and having begun in 1785 a correspondence which was mostly an exchange of several polite political letters,⁴¹ Jefferson writes Price (12 July 1789): “Is there any thing good on the subject of the Socinian doctrine, levelled to a mind not habituated to abstract reasoning? I would thank you to recommend such a work to me. Or have you written any thing of that kind?” Recommending and including a work of Dr. Nathaniel Lardner—“Two  Thomas Jefferson, Jefferson’s Literary Commonplace Book, §22 – 58.  Fred C. Luebke, “The Origins of Thomas Jefferson’s Anti-Clericism,” Church History, Vol. 32, No. 3, 1963, 345.  See Eugene R. Sheridan, “Introduction,” in Thomas Jefferson, Jefferson’s Extracts from the Gospels, ed. Dickinson W. Adams (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1983), 5 – 7.  E.S. Gaustad, “Religion,” Thomas Jefferson: A Reference Biography, ed. Merrill D. Peterson (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons: 1986), 278 – 79.  Price sent to Jefferson his Observations on the Importance of the American Revolution and the Means of Making It a Benefit to the World, which Jefferson read with avidity (TJ to Richard Price, 1 Feb. 1785). The work championed a very republican-friendly form of Unitarianism. “It is indeed only a rational and liberal religion, a religion founded on just notions of the Deity as a being who regards equally every sincere worshipper, and by whom all are alike favoured as far as they act up to the light they enjoy, a religion which consists in the imitation of the moral perfections of an almighty but benevolent governor of nature, who directs for the best all events, in confidence in the care of his providence, in resignation to his will, and in the faithful discharge of every duty of piety and morality from a regard to his authority and the apprehension of a future righteous retribution.” Richard Price, Observations on the Importance of the American Revolution, http://www.constitution.org/price/price_6.htm, accessed 4 June 2017.

“Teaching innocence of conduct”: Jefferson’s Interest in Jesus

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Schemes of a Trinity Considered, and the Divine Unity Asserted”—some letters of Joseph Priestley, and other writings, Price replies on August 3, 1789: In consequence of your desire that I would convey to you some tracts on the Socinian doctrine, I desire your acceptance of the volume of Sermons and the pamphlets that accompany this letter. The first part of Dr. Priestley’s letters I cannot immediately get; but it shall be sent to you by the first opportunity. The pamphlet entitled [sic] Two Schemes of a Trinity &c. is reckoned by the Socinians one of the best of all the publications in favour of their doctrine. You will see that Dr. Priestley and I differ much, but we do it with perfect respect for one another.⁴² He is a materialist and fatalist and we published some years ago a correspondence on these Subjects.

Fascination with Jesus takes root when Jefferson reads philosopher and Unitarian theologian Joseph Priestley’s An History of the Corruptions of Christianity (1782) and later An History of Early Opinions concerning Jesus Christ Compiled from Original Writers, Proving that the Christian Church Was at first Unitarian (1786). As Gaustad writes, “Jefferson’s reading of Priestley was like Immanuel Kant’s reading of David Hume: it awakened him from dogmatic slumber and pointed him toward a new reformulation or reformation of the Christian religion.”⁴³ Priestley believed that Jesus was not divine, but was inspired by God to teach men to be virtuous so that they might get to heaven. In that regard, he was empowered to perform miracles and was enabled to rise from his grave, after his crucifixion and death. Priestley, however, rejected the trinity, atonement, and original sin. The works, especially the former, which he recommends to several correspondents in recommended reading lists,⁴⁴ had a marked influence on Jefferson. We can presume that Jefferson appropriated much of what Priestley wrote concerning the corruptions of the Bible. In a letter to Bishop James Madison (31 Jan. 1800), cousin to the politician and future president of the same name, Jefferson expresses keen interest in Jesus as philosopher. He writes of the beliefs of German philosopher and founder of Illuminism, Adam Weishaupt. Wishaupt [sic] … is among those (as you know the excellent Price and Priestly [sic] also are) who believe in the indefinite perfectibility of man. he thinks he may in time be rendered so

 For more on the differences between Price and Priestley, see M. Andrew Holowchak, American Messiah: The Not-So-Radical Religious Views of Thomas Jefferson (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2018).  Edwin S. Gaustad, Sworn on the Altar of God: A Religious Biography of Thomas Jefferson (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1996), 113 – 14.  E. g., TJ to Joseph C. Cabell, Sept. 1800; TJ to Richard Mentor Johnson, 10 Mar. 1808; TJ to unknown, ca. 4 Oct. 1809; and TJ to Gen. John Minor, 30 Aug. 1814.

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perfect that he will be able to govern himself in every circumstance so as to injure none, to do all the good he can, to leave government no occasion to exercise their powers over him, & of course to render political government useless. … Wishaupt believes that to promote this perfection of the human character was the object of Jesus Christ. that his intention was simply to reinstate natural religion, & by diffusing the light of his morality, to teach us to govern ourselves. his precepts are the love of god & love of our neighbor. and by teaching innocence of conduct, he expected to place men in their natural state of liberty & equality. he says, no one ever laid a surer foundation for liberty than our grand master, Jesus of Nazareth.

Jefferson appropriates Weishaupt’s optimism concerning naturalized Christianity as the undergirding of republican governing and “the indefinite perfectibility of man”—the latter, commonly adopted by Enlightenment thinkers like Condorcet and Mercier. As president, he expresses those sentiments in a letter to Priestley over a year later (21 Mar. 1801). “The Christian religion, when divested of the rags in which they have enveloped it, and brought to the original purity and simplicity of its benevolent institutor, is a religion of all others most friendly to liberty, science, and the freest expansion of the human mind.” So too does physician Benjamin Rush, who writes in a letter to Jefferson (22 Aug. 1800): “I have always considered Christianity as the strong ground of Republicanism. Its Spirit is opposed, not only to the Splendor, but even to the very forms of monarchy, and many of its Precepts have for their Objects, republican liberty & equality, as well as simplicity, integrity Oconomy [sic] in government. It is only necessary for Republicanism to ally itself to the Christian Religion, to overturn all the corrupted political and religious institutions of the World.”⁴⁵ Here one must be cautious. Rush’s purchase of Christianity differed markedly from Jefferson’s. Jefferson’s was a secularized Christianity.⁴⁶ The teachings of Jesus, if deterged of their corruptions and fully adopted, would prove to be a naturalized religion that would lay the surest foundation

 Writes Isaac Kramnick of Tocqueville: “The gradual unfurling of equality in social conditions is [for Tocqueville] … a providential fact which reflects its principal characteristics; it is universal, it is lasting and it constantly eludes human interference; its development is served equally by every event and every human being.” Isaac Kramnick, “Introduction,” in Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, trans. Gerald E. Bevan (New York: Penguin Books, 2003), 15.  Says Eugene Sheridan: “The theologically universalist Rush considered it as essentially a religious movement that was part of a divine plan to bring about the kingdom of God on earth by freeing mankind from the burden of royal and ecclesiastical oppression through the spread of the principles of human equality and Christian charity.” Eugene R. Sheridan, Jefferson and Religion (Charlottesville: Thomas Jefferson Foundation, 1998), 29.

“In this state of things … Jesus appeared”: Jefferson’s “Syllabus”

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for liberty in America through ensuring its moral stability.⁴⁷ Had Jesus’ teachings never been sullied, he says to Unitarian Thomas Wittemore (5 June 1822), “the whole civilized world would at this day have formed but a single sect.”

“In this state of things … Jesus appeared”: Jefferson’s “Syllabus” Priestley’s Socrates and Jesus Compared, published in 1803, over two decades after his An History of the Corruptions of Christianity, was the catalyst for Jefferson’s own revised thoughts on the nature and teachings of Jesus as philosopher. The book—somewhat underwhelming when compared to other such comparative Christian apologetic works of the day⁴⁸—had a marked influence on Jefferson, perhaps because in part of Priestley’s own status as a republican and scientist, and because of high regard for other writings of Priestley. Jefferson writes to Priestley (9 Apr. 1803): While on a short visit lately to Monticello, I received from you a copy of your comparative view of Socrates & Jesus, and I avail myself of the first moment of leisure after my return to acknolege the pleasure I had in the perusal of it, and the desire it excited to see you take up the subject on a more extensive scale. In consequence of some conversation with Dr. Rush, in the year 1798 – 99, I had promised some day to write him a letter giving him my view of the Christian system. I have reflected often on it since, even sketched the outlines in my own mind.⁴⁹ I should first take a general view of the moral doctrines of the most remarkable of the antient philosophers, of whose ethics we have sufficient information to make an estimate, say of Pythagoras, Epicurus, Epictetus, Socrates, Cicero, Seneca, Antoninus. I should do justice to the branches of morality they have treated well; but point out the importance of those in which they are deficient. I should then take a view of the deism and ethics of the Jews, and show in what a degraded state they were, and the necessity they presented of a reformation. I should proceed to a view of the life, character, doctrines of

 A point made by Sheridan about Jefferson’s investment in Jesus’ teachings. Eugene R. Sheridan, “Introduction,” Jefferson’s Extracts from the Gospels, ed. Dickinson W. Adams (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1983), 19.  A point noticed too by Wills. Garry Wills, “Jefferson’s Jesus,” 2– 3.  This strongly suggests that the jolt of Priestley’s little book on Jesus and Socrates was not so much do to the excellence of the book or the cogency of Priestley’s arguments, but instead to it bringing to mind a similar comparative project over which Jefferson had recently been mulling. Cf. Sheridan, who maintains that Priestley’s book prompted Jefferson to consider his project in the “Syllabus.” He writes, “Jefferson was so impressed by Priestley’s use of the comparative method in Socrates and Jesus that he decided it would also be an excellent way for him to present his own unorthodox religious views.” Eugene R. Sheridan, Jefferson and Religion (Charlottesville: The Thomas Jefferson Foundation, 1998), 32– 33.

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Jesus, who sensible of incorrectness of their ideas of the Deity, and of morality, endeavored to bring them to the principles of a pure deism, and juster notions of the attributes of God, to reform their moral doctrines to the standard of reason, justice philanthropy, and to inculcate the belief of a future state. This view would purposely omit the question of his divinity, even his inspiration. To do him justice, it would be necessary to remark the disadvantages his doctrines have to encounter, not having been committed to writing by himself, but by the most unlettered of men, by memory, long after they had heard them from him; when much was forgotten, much misunderstood, presented in very paradoxical shapes. Yet such are the fragments remaining as to show a master workman, and that his system of morality was the most benevolent & sublime probably that has been ever taught, and consequently more perfect than those of any of the antient philosophers. His character doctrines have received still greater injury from those who pretend to be his special disciples, and who have disfigured and sophisticated his actions & precepts, from views of personal interest, so as to induce the unthinking part of mankind to throw off the whole system in disgust, and to pass sentence as an impostor on the most innocent, the most benevolent, the most eloquent and sublime character that ever has been exhibited to man. This is the outline; but I have not the time, still less the information which the subject needs. It will therefore rest with me in contemplation only.

The “comparative merits” concern Jefferson’s view of Jesus’ teachings of the New Testament compared both to the Jewish morality of the Old Testament and to select ancient moralists of Greco-Roman antiquity.⁵⁰ Thus, Priestley’s underwhelming booklet fascinates Jefferson not so much on account of its content, but more on account of its modus agendi. Jefferson has for some time had a similar project in mind. On April 21, 1803, Jefferson fulfils the promise he had made to Rush and births his secret—his “Syllabus of an Estimate of the Merit of the Doctrines of Jesus, compared with Those of Others” (hereafter, “Syllabus”)—sent to Rush with an introductory letter. In the letter, Jefferson states: “In the moment of

 Some 10 years later, Jefferson expounds on the story to John Adams (22 Aug. 1813): “Very soon after my letter to Doctor Priestley, the subject being still in my mind I had leisure during an abstraction from business for a day or two, while on the road, to think a little more on it, and to sketch more fully than I had done to him, a syllabus of the matter which I thought should enter into the work. I wrote it to Doctor Rush, and there ended all my labor on the subject; himself and Doctor Priestley being the only two depositories of my secret.” Jefferson also concedes some unfamiliarity with Priestley’s writings on Christianity. He tells Adams: “You are right in supposing, in one of yours, that I had not read much of Priestley’s Predestination, his no-soul system, or his controversy with Horsley. But I have read his Corruptions of Christianity, and Early Opinions of Jesus, over and over again; and I rest on them, and on Middleton’s writings, especially his letters from Rome, and to Waterland, as the basis of my own faith. These writings have never been answered, nor can be answered by quoting historical proofs, as they have done. For these facts, therefore, I cling to their learning, so much superior to my own.”

“In this state of things … Jesus appeared”: Jefferson’s “Syllabus”

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my late departure from Monticello, I received from Doctr Priestley, his little treatise of ‘Socrates & Jesus compared.’ This being a section of the general view I had taken of the field, it became a subject of reflection while on the road, and unoccupied otherwise. The result was, to arrange in my mind a syllabus, or outline of such an estimate of the comparative merits of Christianity, as I wished to see executed by some one of more leisure and information for the task, than myself.” As the “Syllabus” shows, Jesus’ moral views derive their merit by proving themselves superior to the ethical systems of the ancients and prodigiously superior to Jewish morality. Superiority to ancient ethical systems notwithstanding, he tells Edward Dowse (19 Apr. 1803) that it is necessary to give the ancients “their just due”; it is not necessary “to libel and decry the doctrines of the philosophers.” The syllabus, which was subsequently sent to other select correspondents,⁵¹ I include below en bloc. In a comparative view of the Ethics of the enlightened nations of antiquity, of the Jews and of Jesus, no notice should be taken of the corruptions of reason among the ancients, to wit, the idolatry & superstition of the vulgar, nor of the corruptions of Christianity by the learned among its professors. Let a just view be taken of the moral principles inculcated by the most esteemed of the sects of ancient philosophy, or of their individuals; particularly Pythagoras, Socrates, Epicurus, Cicero, Epictetus, Seneca, Antoninus. “I. Philosophers. 1. Their precepts related chiefly to ourselves, and the government of those passions which, unrestrained, would disturb our tranquillity [sic] of mind. In this branch of philosophy they were really great. 2. In developing our duties to others, they were short and defective. They embraced, indeed, the circles of kindred & friends, and inculcated patriotism or the love of our country in the aggregate, as a primary obligation: toward our neighbors & countrymen they taught justice, but scarcely viewed them as within the circle of benevolence. Still less have they inculcated peace, charity & love to our fellow men, or embraced with benevolence the whole family of mankind. II. Jews. 1. Their system was Deism; that is, the belief of one only God. But their ideas of him & of his attributes were degrading & injurious. 2. Their Ethics were not only imperfect, but often irreconcilable with the sound dictates of reason & morality, as they respect intercourse with those around us; & repulsive & anti-social, as respecting other nations. They needed reformation, therefore, in an eminent degree.

 See TJ to Henry Dearborn, Levi Lincoln, and Others, 23 Apr. 1803; TJ to Joseph Priestley, 24 Apr. 1803; TJ to Martha Jefferson Randolph, 25 Apr. 1803; TJ to Mary Jefferson Eppes, 25 Apr. 1803; and TJ to John Page, 12 Sept. 1803. The “others” of his letter to Dearborn and Lincoln probably included dear friend James Madison perhaps included his other cabinet members, Secretary of Treasury Albert Gallatin, and Postmaster General Gideon Granger.

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III. Jesus. In this state of things among the Jews Jesus appeared. His parentage was obscure; his condition poor; his education null;⁵² his natural endowments great; his life correct and innocent: he was meek, benevolent, patient, firm, disinterested, & of the sublimest eloquence. The disadvantages under which his doctrines appear are remarkable. 1. Like Socrates & Epictetus, he wrote nothing himself. 2. But he had not, like them, a Xenophon or an Arrian to write for him. On the contrary, all the learned of his country, entrenched in its power and riches, were opposed to him, lest his labors should undermine their advantages; and the committing to writing his life & doctrines fell on the most unlettered & ignorant men; who wrote, too, from memory, & not till long after the transactions had passed. 3. According to the ordinary fate of those who attempt to enlighten and reform mankind, he fell an early victim to the jealousy & combination of the altar and the throne, at about 33. years of age, his reason having not yet attained the maximum of its energy, nor the course of his preaching, which was but of 3. years at most, presented occasions for developing a complete system of morals.⁵³ 4. Hence the doctrines which he really delivered were defective as a whole, and fragments only of what he did deliver have come to us mutilated, misstated, & often unintelligible. 5. They have been still more disfigured by the corruptions of schismatising followers, who have found an interest in sophisticating & perverting the simple doctrines he taught by engrafting on them the mysticisms of a Grecian sophist, frittering them into subtleties, & obscuring them with jargon, until they have caused good men to reject the whole in disgust, & to view Jesus himself as an impostor. Notwithstanding these disadvantages, a system of morals is presented to us, which, if filled up in the true style and spirit of the rich fragments he left us, would be the most perfect and sublime that has ever been taught by man. The question of his being a member of the God-head, or in direct communication with it, claimed for him by some of his followers, and denied by others is foreign to the present view, which is merely an estimate of the intrinsic merit of his doctrines. 1. He corrected the Deism of the Jews, confirming them in their belief of one only God, and giving them juster notions of his attributes and government. 2. His moral doctrines, relating to kindred & friends, were more pure & perfect than those of the most correct of the philosophers, and greatly more so than those of the Jews; and they went far beyond both in inculcating universal philanthropy, not only to kindred and friends, to neighbors and countrymen, but to all mankind, gathering all into one family, under the bonds of love, charity, peace, common wants and common aids. A development of this head will evince the peculiar superiority of the system of Jesus over all others. 3. The precepts of philosophy, & of the Hebrew code, laid hold of actions only. He pushed his scrutinies into the heart of man; erected his tribunal in the region of his thoughts, and purified the waters at the fountain head. 4. He taught, emphatically, the doctrines of a future state, which was either doubted, or disbelieved by the Jews; and wielded it with efficacy, as an important incentive, supplementary to the other motives to moral conduct.

 Priestley writes, “The circumstances of the parents of Jesus, and his low occupation till he appared in public, exclude the supposion [sic] of his having had any advantage of liberal education.” Joseph Priestley, Socrates and Jesus Compared (Philadelphia, 1803), 37.  Cf. Bolingbroke, whom Jefferson commonplaces, “It is not true that Christ revealed an entire body of ethics.” Thomas Jefferson, Literary Commonplace Book, §28.

“In this state of things … Jesus appeared”: Jefferson’s “Syllabus”

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I start with a preliminary comment. Overall, the influence of Priestley in places is substantial, but one must not overemphasize the debt,⁵⁴ which is more motivational than substantive.⁵⁵ We might presume, because of his enthusiasm for Priestley’s religious writings, Jefferson took on board most of what Priestley wrote in his An History of the Corruptions of Christianity, and that is the case. Yet, as LMJ shows, there were key disagreements between Priestley and Jefferson. Jefferson rejected Priestley’s notions that Christ was empowered by deity to perform miracles, that Christ rose from the grave, that deity “interested himself in the affairs of men by occasional interpositions,”⁵⁶ that there would be a judgment day, that revelation and not reason proved the existence of deity, and that the epistles of Paul were viable. Jefferson was no uncritical eclectic, as some scholars insist.⁵⁷ He knew well the New Testament. I begin with the Jewish system, since it can be discussed briefly. Jefferson’s critique, we know from a subsequent letter to John Adams (12 Oct. 1813), draws much from that of William Enfield, who writes in his History of Philosophy, “What a wretched depravity of sentiment and manners must have prevailed before such corrupt maxims could have obtained credit!” Not much is salvageable, Jefferson thinks, from the Old Testament. The Jews got one thing, it seems, and only one thing right—monotheism. Yet their conception of the one God was not only degrading but also injurious.⁵⁸ Moreover, the ethical system in the Old Testament is irreconcilable with reason and exoteric, common-sense morality. It is, thus, an esoteric morality that is in want of reformation “in an eminent degree.”⁵⁹ Jefferson’s criticism of the ancient philosophers—he lists Pythagoras, Socrates, Epicurus, Cicero, and the Stoics Epictetus, Seneca, and Antoninus (Aurelius) —is more difficult to grasp. One acquainted with the works of Cicero and the Stoics Epictetus and Seneca, for instance, will know that there is a communitarian

 Koch writes, “We have Jefferson’s work that this religious opinions were based on Priestley’s writings, especially on the latter’s Corruptions of Christianity and Early opinions of Jesus.” Adrienne Koch, The Philosophy of Thomas Jefferson (Gloucester, MS: Peter Smith, 1957), 27.  Jefferson was true to Bolingbroke, not Priestley, concerning God and Jesus.  Joseph Priestley, Socrates and Jesus Compared, 31.  E. g., Paul K. Conkin, “The Religious Pilgrimage of Thomas Jefferson,” Jeffersonian Legacies (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1993), 35.  Kames writes that a change in the manners of humans over time—from brutality to beneficence—has changed the way modern men worship deity. Rude nations depict God as angry. “Happy for us to have received more refined notions of the Deity,” of whom “benevolence is his prime attribute.” Lord Kames, Sketches of the History of Man, Vol. 1 (London, 1807), 302– 3.  For more on the defects of Jewish morality, see TJ to John Adams, 12 Oct. 1813.

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strain in them. Each has sensible arguments for humans’ duties to others and to deity. What then is Jefferson’s gripe? The great ancient philosophers, he acknowledges, have given men serviceable arguments for equanimity, but that is all. They are defective in outlining men’s duties to others, because in limning men’s duties to others, such duties are delineated by the dictates of justice, which, if morally justifiable, leads to equanimity—a personal gain. What is missing is benevolence—actions motivated irrespective of gain—and benevolence-based action requires viewing all humans in the circle of one’s family.⁶⁰ For Jefferson, morally correct action cannot be justified by appeal to rational principles or rational argument. One merely “senses” right action.⁶¹ That said, the “egoistic” strain and rationalism of the ancient moralists make their systems untenable. Jefferson then turns to the personage and teachings of Jesus. We know little of his upbringing, other than that he was poor and uneducated. He is said to be meek, benevolent, patient, firm, disinterested, and of matchless eloquence. His teachings show a man of great endowments. Jesus’ teachings come to us indirectly, for he wrote nothing. Moreover, he had no learned pupils to chronicle his life and register his teachings, as Socrates had Xenophon or Epictetus had Arrian. Thus, what we know of his life and teachings come down to us through “the most unlettered & ignorant men,” writing from memory and long after Jesus had passed. Again, Jesus was put to death prior to his reason having reached its zenith. For all those reasons, his teachings are fragmentary, disfigured, misrepresented, and sometimes even indecipherable. What is worse, they have been corrupted further by “schismatising followers,” who have engrafted on to them the feculent mysticisms of a “Grecian sophist”—i. e., Plato. The result is that good men, viewing Jesus as a masquerader, are turned away by the New Testament. Though Jefferson’s aim in his “Syllabus” was to show Jesus was no masquerader, but an on-the-level, nonpareil philosopher, that is not to say that he agreed philosophically with Jesus on all moral matters. He writes to former secretary William Short (13 Apr. 1820): “It is not to be understood that I am with him in all his doctrines. I am a Materialist; he takes the side of spiritualism: he preaches the efficacy of repentance towards forgiveness [of sin], I require a counterpoise of good works to redeem it &c, &c.” What then does Jefferson find so enticing about Jesus and his teachings? He continues to Short, “It is the innocence of his char Cf. David Hume, “The Populousness of Ancient Nations,” Essays Moral, Political, and Literary, ed. Eugene Miller Indianapolis: Liberty Classics, 1985), 407– 8.  For more, see M. Andrew Holowchak, Thomas Jefferson, Moralist (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2017).

“In this state of things … Jesus appeared”: Jefferson’s “Syllabus”

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acter, the purity & sublimity of his moral precepts, the eloquence of his inculcations, the beauty of the apologues in which he conveys them, that I so much admire.” Jesus is the paradigm Jeffersonian republican, the model citizen of Jefferson’s ideal political system, and his “principles” of morality, reducible to love of others and of God, are the axial principles of Jeffersonian republicanism. Jesus’ teachings, stripped of their metaphysical baggage, happily accord with freedom and science.⁶² On January 29, 1804, just days prior to Priestley’s death, Jefferson thanks the learned Priestley for taking up the topic. Jefferson has merely outlined in his “Syllabus,” though one must believe, given that Jefferson disagrees with much of what Priestley has to say concerning what is true in the gospels, Jefferson will have certain reservations concerning the finished product. Priestley who has been working on that project, publishes quickly his Doctrines of Heathen Philosophy, Compared with Those of Revelation. On August 22, 1813, Jefferson writes belatedly to John Adams—Priestley had died early on February 6, 1804—about Priestley’s work. It is with great pleasure I can inform you, that Priestley finished the comparative view of the doctrines of the philosophers of antiquity, and of Jesus, before his death; and that it was printed soon after. And, with still greater pleasure, that I can have a copy of his work forwarded from Philadelphia, by a correspondent there, and presented for your acceptance, by the same mail which carries you this, or very soon after. The branch of the work which the title announces, is executed with learning and candor, as was everything Priestley wrote, but perhaps a little hastily; for he felt himself pressed by the hand of death. The Abbé Batteux had, in fact laid the foundation of this part in his Causes Premieres, with which he has given us the originals of Ocellus and Timæus, who first committed the doctrines of Pythagoras to writing, and Enfield, to whom the Doctor refers, had done it more copiously. But he has omitted the important branch, which, in your letter of August the 9th, you say you have never seen executed, a comparison of the morality of the Old Testament with that of the New. And yet, no two things were ever more unlike. I ought not to have asked him to give it. He dared not. He would have been eaten alive by his intolerant brethren, the Cannibal priests. And yet, this was really the most interesting branch of the work.⁶³

Jefferson expresses concern about the quality of the work—it is done with “candor and learning,” but “perhaps a little hastily”—and he regrets omission of a critical analysis of the Old Testament.⁶⁴ There is no question of Jefferson’s disappointment, but Priestley was seriously ill and frail at the time, and Jefferson knew of his ill health.

 TJ to Joseph Priestley, 21 Mar. 1801.  See also TJ to Benjamin Smith Barton, 14 Feb. 1805.  TJ to Benjamin Barton, 14 Feb. 1805.

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Introduction How Jefferson Came to Jesus

“I too have a wee little book”: The Philosophy of Jesus In May, 1803, Jefferson receives Priestley’s An Harmony of the Evangelists in English and An Harmony of the Evangelists in Greek. It was not uncommon at the time for deistic scholars—especially Unitarians, who were singled out for denying the divinity of Jesus—to compose harmonies. Shortly after having composed his “Syllabus,” Jefferson begins work on his own harmony of the gospels—his booklet, The Philosophy of Jesus of Nazareth, Extracted from the Account of His Life and Doctrines as Given by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, Being an Abridgment of the New Testament for the Use of the Indians, ⁶⁵ Unembarrassed with Matters of Fact or Faith beyond the Level of their Comprehensions (PJ)—a 46-page, cut-and-paste compilation of the moral teachings of Jesus. Though no known copy of the booklet survives, we know of this work through references to it in several of Jefferson’s letters, given below. Reconstruction of the booklet was undertaken meticulously by Dickinson W. Adams by working from a list of the gospels Jefferson used in constructing the work as well as inspection of the two New Testaments from which he clipped the verses.⁶⁶ Jefferson’s motivation for the book, says Eugene R. Sheridan in his excellent introduction of the reconstruction, was not only to rebut the charge of atheism by calumniators, but also to solve the political factionalism and social disharmony that threatened to dissolve republican government. Jefferson aimed “to set forth a demystified form of Christianity that he deemed appropriate for a society that had chosen to live according to republican principles.”⁶⁷ His aim, thinks Sheridan, was publication. PJ was in some sense incomplete. In keeping with the aim of his “Syllabus,” Jefferson’s intention was to compare the real teachings of Jesus to the morality of the Jews and to the morality of the ancient philosophers. Later letters show that

 There is no scholarly consensus on what Jefferson means by “for use by the Indians….” Did Jefferson wish the book to be copied and used as an introductory biblical text for the edification of American Indians? If so, why then does he tell John Adams (12 Oct. 1813) that the book was made “for my own use”? Jefferson does offer the book to friends Benjamin Rush (8 Aug. 1804) and F.A. Van der Kemp (25 Apr. 1816), and tells Van der Kemp that he can put it to use in his own researches, so long as Jefferson can remain anonymous. Sheridan argues that Jefferson had in mind “the Federalists and their clerical allies.” That seems reasonable, but on assumption of the truth of his statement to Adams, the joke was merely for self-amusement. Eugene R. Sheridan, “Introduction,” Jefferson’s Extracts from the Gospels, ed. Dickinson W. Adams (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1983), 28.  Dickinson W. Adams, “The Reconstruction of ‘The Philosophy of Jesus,’” Jefferson’s Extracts from the Gospels (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1983), 45 – 47.  Eugene R. Sheridan, “Introduction, 13.

“I too have a wee little book”: The Philosophy of Jesus

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Jefferson too wished to include a translation of Pierre Gassendi’s Syntagma, which Jefferson mistakenly takes to be a faithful rendering of Epicurean principles, and a translation of Epictetus—doubtless his short work Enchiridion. ⁶⁸ There exist several references to Jefferson’s PJ. In the letter of January 29, 1804, to Joseph Priestley, Jefferson thanks his correspondent for promising to take up the comparative assessment of the moralities of the ancient philosophers, of the Jews in the Old Testament, and of Jesus in the New Testament—Priestley’s Doctrines of Heathen Philosophy. He adds: “I think you cannot avoid giving, as preliminary to the comparison, a digest of his moral doctrines, extracted in his own words from the Evangelists, and leaving out everything relative to his personal history and character. It would be short and precious. With a view to do this for my own satisfaction, I had sent to Philadelphia to get two [Greek] testaments of the same edition, and two English, with a design to cut out the morsels of morality, and paste them on the leaves of a book, in the manner you describe as having been pursued in, forming your Harmony. But I shall now get the thing done by better hands.” It is clear that Jefferson, if he has begun his project, has done precious little. The letter shows that Jefferson’s aim is something larger than a mere harmony of the Bible. A harmony of Jesus’ true teachings is merely “preliminary to the comparison” of Jesus’ morality with that of the ancients. On August 8, 1804, Jefferson ends thus a brief letter to Dr. Benjamin Rush, “I have also a little volume, a mere and faithful compilation which I shall some of these days ask you to read as containing the exemplification of what I advance in a former letter as to the excellence of ‘the Philosophy of Jesus of Nazareth.’” This letter is a clear indication that Jefferson had completed his own harmony by August. Jefferson never sent to Rush a copy of the booklet, probably because Rush stated to Jefferson (29 Aug. 1804) that it was necessary to acknowledge the divinity of Christ in order to render “his death as well as his life necessary for the restoration of mankind.”⁶⁹ That Jefferson could not do. Nearly 10 years later, Jefferson sends a copy of his “Syllabus” to John Adams (12 Oct. 1813), and expounds on his stripping process—how he extracted from the New Testament the true teachings of Jesus from the numerous “amphibologisms,” “unintelligibilities,” and “misconceptions” for his PJ. That done, “there will be found remaining the most sublime and benevolent code of morals which has ever been offered to man.” He adds, “I have performed this operation

 TJ to Charles Thomson, 9 Jan. 1815, and TJ to William Short, 31 Oct. 1819.  The tension between Rush and Jefferson over the divinity of Christ remained unresolved, when Rush died.

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Introduction How Jefferson Came to Jesus

for my own use, by cutting verse by verse out of the printed book, and arranging the matter which is evidently his and which is as easily distinguished as diamonds in a dung-hill. The result is an octavo of forty-six pages.” Jefferson also writes of PJ to Rev. Charles Clay months later (29 Jan. 1815). “Probably you have heard me say I had taken the four Evangelists, had cut out from them every text they had recorded of the moral precepts of Jesus, and arranged them in a certain order, and although they appeared but as fragments, yet fragments of the most sublime edifice of morality which had ever been exhibited to man.” The notion of having the book published, Jefferson adds, is ludicrous. One year later (9 Jan. 1816), Jefferson writes to Charles Thomson, former secretary of the Continental Congress, of the latter’s “Synopsis of the Four Evangelists.”⁷⁰ He adds: “I too have made a wee little book from the same materials, which I call the Philosophy of Jesus; it is a paradigma of his doctrines, made by cutting the texts out of the book, and arranging them on the pages of a blank book, in a certain order of time or subject. A more beautiful or precious morsel of ethics I have never seen; it is a document in proof that I am a real Christian, that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus.”⁷¹ The final sentence suggests publication to vindicate Jefferson from aspersions concerning his irreligiosity. Months later, Jefferson mentions the booklet to maverick Unitarian Francis Van der Kemp (25 Apr. 1816), a favorite correspondent in that year on the topic of religion. “I made, for my own satisfaction, an extract from the Evangelists of the text of His morals, selecting those only whose style and spirit proved them genuine, and his own. It was too hastily done, however, being the work of one or two evenings only, while I lived at Washington, overwhelmed with other business, and it is my intention to go over it again at more leisure. This

 Charles Thomson, A Synopsis of the Four Evangelists: or, A Regular History of the Conception, Birth, Doctrine, Miracles, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus Christ, in the Words of the Evangelists (Wm. McCulloch, 1815).  In a class on Jefferson, student Michael Peña challenged Jefferson’s claim to being a real Christian. “What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus? The disciples tried not only to follow the teachings of Jesus, but also to emulate the way he lived. Many have done this by giving away their riches, and in more extreme cases, becoming willing martyrs. However, as Judaizers of the Christian faith often point out—Jesus was a practicing Jew. Included in Jefferson’s bible is the fact that Jesus was circumcised. He often quoted the prophets. He prayed at the temple and at the synagogues. He observed Jewish feasts and Jewish holidays such as the Passover. He kept the Jewish dietary restrictions. He even referred to a Gentile woman as a dog (Mt: 15:26—Jefferson omits this). If we are to emulate Jesus in a literal sense, then this in many ways implies behaving like a Jew.”

“After the fogs shall be dispelled”: The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth

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shall be the work of the ensuing winter. I gave it the title of ‘The Philosophy of Jesus Extracted from the Text of the Evangelists.’” Finally, Jefferson mentions PJ in his I-too-am-an-Epicurean letter to his former secretary and close friend, William Short (31 Oct. 1819). “The last [PJ] I attempted too hastily some 12. or 15. years ago. It was the work of 2. or 3. nights only, at Washington, after getting thro’ the evening task of reading the letters and papers of the day.” With “one foot in the grave,” such tasks he now finds “idle.” Jefferson’s reconstruction of Jesus’ teachings probably had both personal and political motives. He wished to draw personal inspiration from the booklet, as indicated by his remark to Adams in the 1813 letter that the book was composed “for my own use,” but as the 1800 letter to Bishop James Madison suggests, he likely thought also that a compendium of Jesus’ philosophical message, extracted from the Bible and demythologized, might prove both a catholicon for the ignorance of his time and a foundation for his republicanism. For those aims to be actualized, PJ would have to be published, if only under a pseudonym.

“After the fogs shall be dispelled”: The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth (LMJ) was composed in 1819 or 1820— the late-1819 letter to Short, in which he describes the tasks of reconstructing the New Testament as “idle,” is reason for preferring 1820 to 1819 as the year of completion, in spite of Jefferson’s capacity for intense concentration when fronted with a significant task. Moreover, Short replies in a subsequent letter (1 Dec. 1819) in which he enjoins Jefferson to flesh out his skeletal “Syllabus,” or in Jefferson’s own words to John Adams (12 Oct. 1813), “to fill up this skeleton with arteries, with veins, with nerves, muscles and flesh.” Short continues: “I see with real pains that you have no intention of continuing the abstract for the Evangelists which you begun at Washington. … I know nothing which could be more so [agreeable], and at the same time more useful to others.”⁷² As the title indicates, Jefferson’s express intendment with the second compilation, 82 pages in length, is broader—to salvage from the New Testament not only the moral teachings of Jesus but also some account of the life of Jesus by  The compilation is never mentioned in his correspondence and it became evident to family members only after Jefferson’s death. See Eugene R. Sheridan, “Introduction,” in Thomas Jefferson, Jefferson’s Extracts from the Gospels, ed. Dickinson W. Adams (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1983), 38.

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Introduction How Jefferson Came to Jesus

rubbishing all such passages that are unconcerned with moral instruction or the life of Jesus. It is an aim Jefferson all along had wished to achieve. He writes to Van der Kemp (25 Apr. 1816), “To this Syllabus and Extract [PJ], if a history of his life can be added, written with the same view of the subject, the world will see, after the fogs shall be dispelled, … the immortal merit of this first of human Sages.”⁷³ Not only does Jefferson wish to rescue the teachings of Jesus, he also wishes to show that what can be salvaged of his life shows him to be a true sage. Finally, addition of “the world will see” indicates a motive that is not merely personal. LMJ is much more ambitious than PJ. First and as the titles imply, while the aim of PJ is solely normative—Jefferson wishes to extract from the Bible Jesus’ ethical system, or as much of a system as can be extracted—in LMJ Jefferson’s aims are normative and historical. He aims to discover, insofar as the New Testament will allow, not only what Jesus taught, but also who he was and what he did.⁷⁴ Second, adding the historical dimension would seem to make for differences in Jefferson’s modus agendi. PJ, it seems, is to be created by extraction, and essaying to extract the true teachings of Jesus does not necessarily commit Jefferson to any view of what is not extracted. In contrast, LMJ, because it has also historical intendment, is to be created both by extraction and by scrapping. Jefferson’s intention is to remove not only all such passages that are unphilosophical but also those that are historically improbable. Finally, since the aim of PJ is philosophical, its text is arranged topically, while the text of LMJ, constrained by regard for historical accuracy, is constrained by chronological considerations and by need of fluidity of prose to bring alive the matchless personage of Jesus. Such things noted, Jefferson did not in all aspects betray a scholar’s preoccupation with the project. As notes Garry Wills, in LMJ, Jefferson begins with the King James Bible, and his choice for Latin, Greek, and French translations to accompany the English text seems chiefly driven by size of text, not the best scholarly editions. He chooses a school text of the Greek Bible, a Latin trot of the

 Jefferson wished to see Van der Kemp undertake the fleshing out of his “Syllabus.” Van der Kemp subsequently sent to Jefferson (1 Nov. 1816) a detailed syllabus of what he proposed to write. The syllabus—with a focus on revelation and not reason, and inclusive of numerous sentiments with which Jefferson would have disagreed (Jesus’ virgin birth, Jesus being both a real human and part of the godhead, Jesus’ resurrection, the reality of miracles, “unquestionable proof” of a future state, and Jesus dying for the sin of the human race)—must have floored Jefferson, as Van der Kemp proved himself to be not much of a Unitarian.  The Philosophy of Jesus does begin, in Section I, with some account of the life of Jesus.

“After the fogs shall be dispelled”: The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth

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Greek text, and a French translation by a Swiss Protestant.⁷⁵ Jefferson “penned only one note into the book,” says Wills. “He made only two changes in the English of the King James, for stylistic elegance, not accuracy. He showed no interest in debate over cruxes famous even in his day, such as the meaning of that odd word translated as ‘daily’ in the Lord’s Prayer. In accord with the misconceptions of his time, he thought the Gospels were composed earlier than the Pauline Epistles, and that Matthew was the earliest Gospel.”⁷⁶ Those criticisms might suggest some dilettantism—Jefferson was no biblical scholar and never professed to be one—but as scrutiny of construction of LMJ shows (see Commentary), the book was put together by someone with great familiarity with the four gospels and profound respect for the deterged content of them.⁷⁷ Jefferson, his bible shows, spent much time not only reading but also studying the Bible. He may not have been a biblical scholar, but he was no dilettante.

 Goodspeed notes that Jefferson uses Leusden’s Greek text (first published, Utrecht, 1675, though Jefferson likely used a later version, 1794), Benedictus Arius Montanus’s Latin text (which appeared in the 1794 Wingrave printing of the Greek-Latin pairing, used by Jefferson; a version of Jean Frederic Ostervald’s French Bible (Paris, 1802). Edgar Goodspeed, “Thomas Jefferson and the Bible,” The Harvard Theological Review, Vol. 40, No. 1, 1947, 71– 76.  Garry Wills, “Jefferson’s Jesus,” The New York Review of Books¸ http://www.nybooks.com/articles/1983/11/24/jeffersons-jesus/, accessed 19 May 2018.  See TJ to Dr. Joseph Priestley, 29 Jan. 1804.

A Table of the Texts Jefferson begins his The Life and Morals of Jesus with a table of contents, or in his own works, “A Table of the Texts from the Evangelists employed in this Narrative, and of the order of their arrangement,” which I reproduce below. Following his breakdown of passages, there are 70 different stories Jefferson tells through his culling of the material. The reconstruction is as faithful to Jefferson’s table of texts as I can be. Discrepancies between the table and LMJ are noted in footnotes. Numbers (leftmost) refer to the pages of Jefferson’s original book.  – :

.

 – .

.  – .

 – .

.  – .  – .  – .  – . .  – .  – .  – .

L. :  – . Joseph & Mary go to Bethlehem, where Jesus is born. L. :  and . he is circumcised & named & they return to Nazareth. L. : ;  – ; and  – . at  years of age he accompanies his parents to Jerusalem and returns. L. :  – ; Mk. : ; and M. :  – . John baptizes in Jordan. M. : . Jesus is baptized. L. : . at  years of age. J. :  – . drives the traders out of the temple. J. : ; M. : ; and Mk. :  – . he baptizes but retires into Galilei on the death of John. Mk. :  – . he teaches in the Synagogue. M. :  –  and  – ; Mk. : ; and M. :  – . explains the Sabbath. L. :  – . call of his disciples. M. :  – ; L. :  – ; M. :  – ; L. :  – ; M. :  –  and : ¹; L. : ; M. :  – , :  – , and :  – . The Sermon in [sic] the Mount. M. : ; Mk. : ; and M. :  – . exhorts. L. :  – . A woman anointeth him. Mk. :  – , and L. :  –  and  – . precepts. L. :  – . parable of the rich man. L. :  –  and  – , and :  – . precepts. L. :  – . parable of the fig tree. L. :  –  and  – . precepts. M. :  – ; Mk. : ; and M. :  – . parable of the Sower. Mk. :  – . precepts M. :  –  and  – . parable of the Tares.

 M. 7.2 is included in LMJ but not in the Table of the Texts. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110619843-003

A Table of the Texts

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 – . Mk. :  – ; L. :  –  and :  – ; and Mk. :  –  precepts. L. :  – . parable of new wine in old bottles.  – . M. :  – . a prophet hath no honor in his own country.  – . M. : ; Mk. : ; M. :  – ,  – , , and  – ; and Mk. :  and . mission, instructions [writing unclear], return of apostles  – . J. : ; Mk. :  –  and  – ; M. :  – ,  – ,  – , and  – . precepts.  – . M. :  – . parable of the wicked servant.  – . L. :  –  and  – . mission of the LXX.  – . J. :  – ,  – , , and  – . the feast of the tabernacles. . J. :  – . the woman taken in Adultery. . J. :  – . To be born blind no proof of sin. J. :  – ,  – , and . The good shepherd. . L. :  – . Love god & thy neighbor. parable of the Samaritan.  – . L. :  – . form of prayer. . L. :  – . the Sabbath.  – . L. :  – .² the bidden to a feast.  – . L. :  – . precepts.  – . L. :  – . parables of the lost sheep and Prodigal son.  – . L. :  – . parable of the unjust steward.  – . L. :  – . parable of Lazarus.  – . L. :  – ,  – , , and  – . precepts to be always ready.  – . L. :  – . parables of the widow & judge, the Pharisee & Publican.  – . L. :  – , and M. :  – . precepts.  – . M. :  – . parable of the laborers in the vineyard.  – . L. :  – . Zaccheus, & the parable of the talents.  – . M. :  – ,  – , and ; J. :  – ; and M. : . goes to Jerusalem & Bethany. Mk. :  and  – . the traders cast out of the temple. Mk. :  and M. :  – . parable of the two sons. M. : ; Mk. :  – ; and M. :  – . parable of the vineyard . & husbandmen.  – . M. :  – . parable of the king and wedding.  – . M. :  – . tribute. marriage. resurrection. . Mk. :  – ; M. : ; and Mk. :  – . the two commandments.

 L. 14: 15 does not occur in the text of LMJ.

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 – . M. :  – . precepts. pride. hypocrisy, swearing. . Mk. :  – . the widow’s mite.  – . M. :  – ,  – , [,]³  – ,  – , and  – . Jerusalem & the day of judgement. M. :  – . the faithful and wise servant. . M. :  – . parable of the ten virgins.  – . M. :  – . parable of the talents.  – . L. :  – , and M. :  – . the day of judgement.  – . Mk. :  – . a woman anointeth him. M. :  – . Judas undertakes to point out Jesus.  – . M. :  – ; L. :  – ; J. : ,  – ,  – , , and  – ; M. :  and ; L. :  – ; and M. :  – . precepts to his disciples. washes their feet. trouble of mind and prayer.  – . J. :  – , and M. :  – . Judas conducts the officers to Jesus.  – . J. :  – ; M. :  – ,  – ; Mk. :  – ; M. : ; J. :  – ;⁴ J. :  – ; M. : ; J. :  – ; Mk. :  – ; L. :  –  and , and Mk. :  – . he is arrested & carried before Caiaphas the High priest & is condemned.  – . J. :  –  and  – ; L. : , and M. : . is then carried to Pilate. . L. :  – . who sends him to Herod.  – . L. :  – , M. :  –  and . receives him back, scourges and delivers him to execution.  – . M. : [⁵],  – , and  – ; L. :  – ; J. :  – ; M. :  – ; L. :  –  and ; J. :  – ; and M. :  – , and  – . his crucifixion, death and burial. . J. .  –  and  – , and M. . . his burial.

 M. 24: 29 is included in the text of LMJ, but not in Table of the Texts.  Jefferson’s ordering in Table of the Texts and the text of LMJ is J. 18: 15, 16, 18, and then 17.  M. 27: 27 is included in the text of LMJ, but not in Table of the Texts.

The Jefferson Bible Joseph & Mary go to Bethlehem, where Jesus is born¹ L. 2: 1 And it came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from Cesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.² 2 (And this taxing was first made when Gyrenius was governor of Syria.) 3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem (because he was of the house and lineage of David,) 5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. 6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid Mm in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. he is circumcised & named & they return to Nazareth 21 And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS. 39 And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth. at 12 years of age he accompanies his parents to Jerusalem and returns 40 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. 43 And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. 44 But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day’s journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance.  These headings, taken from the Table of the Texts, are not part of Jefferson’s LMJ.  Jefferson begins rather blandly with Book 2 of Luke. Gone is the rich genealogy of Matthew, which links Jesus to David and Abraham; Mark’s prophecy of Jesus’ coming and his statement of his divine parentage; and John’s famous “In the beginning was the word….” The intimation is that Jesus is to be understood as a man in his own time and social climate. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110619843-004

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45 And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. 46 And it came to pass that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. 47 And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. 48 And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. 51 And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them. 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature.

John baptizes in Jordan L. 3: 1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Cesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, 2 Annas and Gaiaphas being the high priests, Mk. 1: 4 John did baptize in the wilderness, M. 3: 4 And the same John had his raiment of camels’ hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region round about Jordan, 6 and were baptized of him in Jordan. Jesus is baptized M.3: 13 Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. at 30 years of age L. 3: 23 And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, drives the traders out of the temple J. 2: 12 After this he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples; and they continued there not many days. 13 And the Jews passover was at hand; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem,

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14 And found in the temple those that sold oxen, and sheep, and doves, and the changers of money, sitting: 15 And, when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables; 16 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house a house of merchandise. he baptizes but retires into Galilei on the death of John J. 3: 22 After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized. Now, when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee: M. 4: 12 Now, when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee: Mk 6: 17 For Herod himself had sent forth, and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias sake, his brother Philip’s wife: for he had married her. 18 For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife. 19 Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not: 20 For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man, and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly. 21 And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee; 22 And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. 23 And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. 24 And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. 25 And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me, by and by in a charger, the head of John the Baptist. 26 And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath’s sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. 27 And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison,

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28 And brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother. he teaches in the Synagogue Mk 1: 21 And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath-day, he entered into the synagogue, and taught. 22 And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes. explains the Sabbath M. 12: 1 At that time Jesus went on the sabbath-day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungered, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath-day. 3 But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did when he was an hungered, and they that were with him; 4 How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or, have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath-days, the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless? 9 And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue: 10 And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath-days? that they might accuse him. 11 And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath-day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? 12 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath-days. Mk. 2: 27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath: M. 12: 14 Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him. 15 But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him.

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call of his disciples L. 6: 12 And it came to pass in those days, that he went up into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. 13 And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples; and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named Apostles; 14 Simon, (whom he also named Peter), and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, 15 Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alpheus, and Simon called Zelotes, 16 and Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor. 17 And he came down with them, and stood in the plain; and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the sea-coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, The Sermon in the Mount³ M. 5: 1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him; 2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, 3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are they that mourn: For they shall be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek: For they shall inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: For they shall befitted. 7 Blessed are the merciful: For they shall obtain mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart: For they shall see God. 9 Blessed are the peace-makers: For they shall be called the children of God. 10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake: For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. L. 6: 24 But woe unto you that are rich! For ye have received your consolation. 25 Woe unto you that are full! For ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! For ye shall mourn and weep.

 To George Thatcher (26 Jan. 1824), Jefferson writes, “If all Christian sects would rally to the Sermon in the mount, make that the central point of Union in religion, and the stamp of genuine Christianity,” then pointless metaphysical disputes about the nature of Jesus would cease.

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26 Woe unto you when all men shall speak well of you! For so did their fathers to the false prophets. M. 5: 13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. 14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. 17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19 Whosoever, therefore, shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so a he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall do, and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say unto you that, except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. 21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment 22 But I say unto you that, whosoever is angry with his brother without cause, shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hellfire. 23 Therefore, if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee; 24 Leave there thy gift before the altar and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. 25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, whilst thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. 26 Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing. 27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, ‘Thou shalt not commit adultery:

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28 But I say unto you that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. 29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee, that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 31 It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: 32 But I say unto you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery. 33 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths. 34 But I say unto you, ‘Swear not at all: neither by heaven: for it is God’s throne: 35 Nor by the earth: for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem: for it is the city of the great King: 36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. 37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. 38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. 39 But I say unto you, that ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. 41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. 42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee, turn not thou away. 43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy: 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

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46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?⁴ L. 6: 34 And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners to receive as much again. 35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again: and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful, and to the evil. 36 Be ye, therefore, merciful, as your Father also is merciful. M. 6: 1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. 2 Therefore, when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: 4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, himself shall reward thee openly. 5 And when thou prayest, them shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues, and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet; and, when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. 7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 8 Be not ye, therefore, like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. 9 After this manner, therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done In earthy as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day Our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

 M. 5: 48 excised and replaced by L. 6: 34– 36 which focuses on God’s mercifulness, reads, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”

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13 And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen 14 For if ye forgive men. their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. 16 Moreover, when ye fast, be not as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; 18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. 19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earthy Where moth and rust doth corrupt, And where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. Where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, And where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 22 The light of the body is the eye: if, therefore, thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. 23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If, therefore, the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness? 24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. 25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27 Which of you, by taking thought, can add one cubit unto his stature? 28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field how they grow: they toil not, neither do they spin; 29 And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you? O ye of little faith? 31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

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32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. M. 7: 1 Judge not, that ye be not judged. 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. L. 6: 38 Give, and it shall be given unto you: good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. M. 7: 3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? 5 Thou hypocrite! First cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye. 6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, Neither cast ye your pearls before swine, Lest they trample them under their feet, And turn again and rend you. 7 Ask, and it shall be given you: and ye shall find: and it shall be opened unto you: 8 For every one that asketh receiveth; And he that seeketh findeth; And to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 9 Or what man is there of you whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? 10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? 12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. 13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. 15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

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16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. M. 12: 35 A good man, out of the good treasure of the heart, bringeth forth good things: and an evil man, out of the evil treasure, bringeth forth evil things. 36 But 1 say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. 37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. M. 7: 24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell, and great was the fall of it. 28 And it came to pass when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: 29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. exhorts M. 8: 1 When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. Mk. 6: 6 And he went round about the villages, teaching. M. 11: 28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

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30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. A woman anointeth him L. 7: 36 And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to meat. 37 And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, 38 And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. 39 Now, when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him; for she is a sinner. 40 And Jesus, answering, said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on. 41 There was a certain creditor, which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. 42 And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me, therefore, which of them will love him most? 43 Simon answered, and said, I suppose that he to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. 44 And he turned to the woman and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. 45 Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman, since the time I came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. precepts Mk. 3: 31 There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him. 32 And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee. 33 And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren? 34 And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! 35 For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.

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L. 12: 1 In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known. 3 Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness, shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops. 4 And I say unto you, my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. 5 But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which, after he hath killed, hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him. 6 Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings? And not one of them is forgotten before God. 7 But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows. 13 And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me. 14 And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge, or a divider over you? 15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness; for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. parable of the rich man 16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully. 17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? 18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years: take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 20 But God said unto him, Thou fool! this night thy soul shall be required of thee; then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? 21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. precepts 22 And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. 23 The life is more than meat and the body is more than raiment.

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24 Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn, and God feedeth them. How much more are ye better than the fowls? 25 And which of you, with taking thought, can add to his stature one cubit? 26 If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest? 27 Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not, and yet I say unto you, that Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these. 28 If then God so clothe the grass, which is today in the field, and tomorrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you? O ye of little faith! 29 And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; neither be ye of doubtful mind. 30 For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. 31 But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. 32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth a neither moth corrupteth. 34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 35 Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning: 36 And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. 37 Blessed are those servants, whom the lord, when he cometh, shall find watching: verily I say unto you that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. 38 And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. 39 And this know, that if the good man of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. 40 Be ye, therefore, ready also: for the Son of Man cometh at an hour when ye think not. 41 Then Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or even to all?

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42 And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? 43 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord, when he cometh, shall find so doing. 44 Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath. 45 But, and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the men-servants, and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; 46 The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder. 47 And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. 48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes shall be beaten with few stripes: for unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. 54 And he said also to the people, When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower, and so it is. 55 And when ye see the south wind blow, ye say, ‘There will be heat; and it cometh to pass. 56 Ye hypocrites! ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it, that ye do not discern this time? 57 Yea, and why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right? 58 When thou goest with thine adversary to the magistrate, as thou art in the way, give diligence that thou mayest be delivered from him; lest he hale thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and the officer cast thee into prison. 59 I tell thee, Thou shalt not depart thence, till thou hast paid the very last mite. L. 13: 1 There were present at that season some that told him of the Galileans, those blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And Jesus, answering, said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans, because they suffered such things? 3 I tell you, Nay; but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them; think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, Nay, but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. parable of the fig tree 6 He spake also this parable: A certain man had a fig-tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none.

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7 Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig-tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? 8 And he, answering, said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: 9 And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down. precepts L. 11: 37 And as he spake, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him: and he went in, and sat down to meat. 38 And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not first washed before dinner. 39 And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness. 40 Ye fools! did not he that made that which is without, make that which is within also? 41 But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold all things are clean unto you. 42 But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint, and rue, and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. 43 Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets. 44 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them. 45 Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying, thou reproachest us also. 46 And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers. 52 Woe unto you, Lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered. 53 And as he said these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many things; 54 Laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him. parable of the sower M. 13: 1 The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side.

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2 And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. 3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; 4 And, when he sowed some seeds fell by the wayside and the fowls came and devoured them. 5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: 6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched: and, because they had not root, they withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up and choked them: 8 But other fell into good ground and brought forth fruit, some an hundred-fold, some sixty-fold, some thirty-fold. 9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. Mk. 4: 10 And when he was alone, they that were about him, with the twelve, asked of him the parable. M. 13: 18 Hear ye, therefore, the parable of the sower. 19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. 20 But he that received the seed in the stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; 21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while; for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. 22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. 23 But he that received seed into the good ground, is he that heareth the word and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundred-fold, some sixty, some thirty. Precepts Mk. 4: 21 And he said unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed, and not to be set on a candlestick? 22 For there is nothing hid which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad. 23 If any man have ears to hear, let him.

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parable of the Tares M. 13: 24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: 25 But, while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way: 26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. 27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? 28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? 29 But he said, Nay, lest, while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest; and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. 36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. 37 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of Man; 38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; 39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world: and the reapers are the angels. 40 As, therefore, the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.⁵ 41 The Son of Man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; 42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. 44 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found he hideth, and, for joy thereof, goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.

 Jefferson here allows Jesus to speak of judgment day, though all references by the four evangelists to such supernature are expunged.

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45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchantman, seeking goodly pearls: 46 Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. 47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: 48 Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. 49 So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just. 50 And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 51 Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord. 52 Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old. precepts Mk. 4: 26 And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; 27 And should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. 28 For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. 29 But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come. 30 And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it? 31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is own in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth: 32 But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it. 33 And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it. 34 But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.

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L. 9: 57 And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. 58 And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head. 59 And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. 60 Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. 61 And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee: but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. 62 And Jesus said unto him, No man having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. L. 5: 27 And after these things, he went forth, and saw a publican named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said unto him, follow me. 28 And he left all, rose up, and followed him. 29 And Levi made him a great feast in his own house; Mk. 2: 15 And many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples: for there were many and they followed him. 16 And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners? 17 When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. parable of the new wine in old bottles L. 5: 36 And he spake also a parable unto them, No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new inaketh a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old. 37 And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. 38 But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved. A prophet hath no honor in his own country M. 13: 53 And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence.

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54 And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works? 55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? 56 And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? 57 And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house. mission, instructions [writing unclear], return of apostles M. 9: 36 But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Mk. 6: 7 And he calleth unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; M. 10: 5 And commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: 6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 9 Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses; 10 Nor script for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat. 11 And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence. 12 And when ye come into an house, salute it. 13 And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house, or city, shake off the dust of your feet. 15 Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha, in the day of judgment, than for that city. 16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye, therefore, wise as serpents, and harmless as doves 17 But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues: 18 And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.

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23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: 26 Fear them not, therefore: for there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. 27 What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. 28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear ye not, therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. Mk. 6: 12 And they went out, and preached that men should repent. 30 And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught. precepts J. 7: 1 After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him. Mk. 7: 1 Then came together unto him, the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem. 2 And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled (that is to say, with unwashen) hands, they found fault. 3 For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders. 4 And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, and of brasen vessels, and tables. 5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands? 14 And when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand: 15 There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man. 16 If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.

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17 And, when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable. 18 And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him. 19 Because it enterest not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats? 20 And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. 21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: 23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man. 24 And from thence he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it: but he could not be hid. M. 18: 1 At the same time, came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? 2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, 3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whosoever, therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 7 Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! 8 Wherefore, if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands, or two feet, to be cast into everlasting fire. 9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hellfire. 12 How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? 13 And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, He rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. 14 Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.

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15 Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. 16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. 17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. 21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? 22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, until seven times but, until seventy times seven. parable of the wicked servant 23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. 24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 The servant, therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. 28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellow-servants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. 29 And his fellow-servant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. 31 So when his fellow-servants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. 32 Then hid lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desirest me: 33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow-servant, even as I had pity on thee? 34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.

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35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses. mission of the LXX L. 10: 1 After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come. 2 Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest. 3 Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves. 4 Carry neither purse, nor script, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way. 5 And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house. 6 And if the Son of Peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again. 7 And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house. 8 And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you. 10 But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say, 11 Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding, be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. 12 But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city. the feast of the tabernacles J. 7: 2 Now the Jews feast of tabernacles was at hand. 3 His brethren, therefore, said unto Him, Depart hence, and go into Judea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest: 4 For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world. 5 For neither did his brethren believe in him. 6 Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is always ready. 7 The world cannot hate you: but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.

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8 Go ye up unto this feast: I go not up yet unto this feast; for my time is not yet full come. 9 When he had said these words unto them, he abode still in Galilee. 10 But when his brethren were gone up, then went he also up unto the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. 11 Then the Jews sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he? 12 And there was much murmuring among the people concerning him: for some said, He is a good man. Others said, Nay, but he deceiveth the people. 13 Howbeit no man spake openly of him for fear of the Jews. 14 Now, about the midst of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple, and taught. 15 And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned? 16 Jesus answered them, and said, 19 Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me? 20 The people answered and said, Thou hast a devil: who goeth about to kill thee? 21 Jesus answered, and said unto them, I have done one work and ye all marvel. 22 Moses, therefore, gave unto you circumcision (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers) and ye on the sabbath-day circumcise a man. 23 If a man on the sabbath-day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath-day? 24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. 25 Then said some of them of Jerusalem, Is not this he whom they seek to kill? 26 But, lo he speaketh boldly, and they say nothing unto him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ? 32 The Pharisees heard that the people murmured such things concerning him; and the Pharisees, and the chief priest sent officers to take him. 43 So there was a division among the people because of him. 44 And some of them would have taken him: but no man laid hands on him. 45 Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought him? 46 The officers answered, Never man spake like this man. 47 Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived? 48 Have any of the rulers, or of the Pharisees, believed in him? 49 But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed.

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50 Nicodemus saith unto them (he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them,) 51 Doth our law judge any man before it hear him, and know what he doeth? 52 They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet. 53 And every man went unto his own house. the woman taken in adultery J. 8:1 JESUS went unto the mount of Olives. 2 And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him: and he sat down and taught them. 3 And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, 4 They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. 5 Now Moses in the law commanded us that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? 6 This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. 7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. 8 And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. 9 And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee? 11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. To be born blind no proof of sin J. 9: 1 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? 3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. The good shepherd J. 10: 1 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

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2 But he that entereth in by the door, is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out 4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow Him: for they know his voice. 5 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. 11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. 12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. 13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine, 16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. Love god & thy neighbor. Parable of the Samaritan L. 10: 25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted Him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? 27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind: and thy neighbour as thyself. 28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. 29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? 30 And Jesus, answering, said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 And, by chance, there came down a certain priest that way; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him. 34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

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35 And on the morrow, when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him: and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. 36 Which now of these three thinkest thou was a neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise. 37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise. form of prayer L. 11: 1 And it came to pass, that as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. 2 And he said unto them, When ye pray say, Our Father, which art in heaven; Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. 3 Give us day by day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 5 And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; 6 For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? 7 And he from within shall answer, and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. 8 I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend; yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. 9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you, seek, and ye shall find: knock, and it shall be opened unto you. 10 For every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened. 11 If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or, if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? 12 Or, if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13 If ye then, being evil know how to give good gifts unto your children; how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

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the Sabbath L. 14: 1 And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Phariees to eat bread on the sabbath-day, that they watched him. 2 And, behold, there was a certain man before him, which had the dropsy. 3 And Jesus, answering, spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath-day? 4 And they held their peace. … ⁶ 5 And he saith unto them, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath-day? 6 And they could not answer him again to these things. the bidden to a feast 7 And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them, 8 When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him; 9 And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place, and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room. 10 But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee. 11 For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. 12 Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee. 13 But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: 14 And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just. 16 Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: 17 And sent his servant at supper-time to say to them that were bidden, Come, for all things are now ready. 18 And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. 19 And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused.

 Jefferson eliminates the account of Jesus’ cure of the man with dropsy.

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20 And another said, I have married a wife; and therefore I cannot come. 21 So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. 22 And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. 23 And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I say unto you that none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper. precepts 28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? 29 Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, 30 Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. 31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? 32 Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, lie sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. parables of the lost sheep and Prodigal son L. 15: 1 Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. 3 And he spake this parable unto them, saying, 4 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? 5 And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. 7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance. 8 Either what woman, having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?

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9 And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. 10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God, over one sinner that repenteth. 11 And he said, A certain man had two sons; 12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. 13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. 14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. 15 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent Him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto Him. 17 And when he came to Himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough, and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise, and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, 19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. 20 And he arose, and came to his father. But, when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. 21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. 22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: 23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. 25 Now, his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing. 26 And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. 28 And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and entreated him.

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29 And he, answering, said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment; and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: 30 But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou has killed for him the fatted calf. 31 And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. 32 It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found. parable of the unjust steward L. 16: 1 And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. 2 And lie called Him, and said unto Him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. 3 Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do, for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship? I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. 4 I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. 5 So he called every one of his lord’s debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? 6 And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. 7 Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. 8 And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. 9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. 10 He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in much; and he that is unjust in the least, is unjust also in much. 11 If, therefore, ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12 And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own? 13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. 14 And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided Him.

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15 And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God. parable of Lazarus 18 Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband, committeth adultery. 19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: 20 And there was a certain beggar, named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate full of sores, 21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23 And in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 And he cried, and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me; and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. 25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy life time receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. 26 And, besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. 27 Then he said, I pray thee, therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: 28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. 29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets: let them hear them. 30 And he said, Nay, Father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead they will repent. 31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead.

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precepts to be always ready L. 17: 1 Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him through whom they come? 2 It were better for him that a mill-stone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. 3 Take heed to yourselves: if thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. 4 And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him. 7 But which of you having a servant plowing, or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? 8 And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? 9 Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not. 10 So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are comanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do. 20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them, and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation. 26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of Man: 27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark; and the flood came, and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise also, as it was in the days of Lot, they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded: 29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. 30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. 31 In that day, he which shall be upon the house-top, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. 32 Remember Lot’s wife.

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33 Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. 34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. 35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. parables of the widow & judge, the Pharisee & Publican L. 18: 1 And he spake a parable unto them, to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint, 2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: 3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. 4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; 5 Yet, because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. 6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. 7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? 8 I tell you, that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man cometh, shall lie find faith on the earth? 9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves, that they were righteous, and despised others: 10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. 13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased: and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. precepts L. 10: 38 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman, named Martha, received him into her house.

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39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus feet, and heard his word. 40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? Bid her, therefore, that she help me. 41 And Jesus, answered, and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful, and troubled about many things: 42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part which shall not be taken away from her. M. 19: 1 And it came to pass, that, when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judea beyond Jordan: 2 And great multitudes followed Him, 3 The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? 4 And he answered and said unto them, have ye not read, that He which made them at the beginning, made them male and female? 5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they twain shall be one flesh. 6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What, therefore, God hath joined together, let no man put asunder. 7 They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? 8 He saith unto them, Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso manieth her which is put away doth commit adultery. 10 His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry. 11 But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it’s given. 12 For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their ⁷ [Mother’s womb; and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom] of heaven’s sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.

 The omitted text in English is Jefferson’s mistake, as it is included in the Greek, Latin, and French.

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13 Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them and pray: and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. 15 And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence. 16 And behold, one came and said unto him, Good master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? 17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. 18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shall do no murder, Thou shall not commit adultery, Thou shall not steal, Thou shall not bear false witness, 19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, thou shall love they neighbour as thyself. 20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? 21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have reassure in heaven; and come and follow me. 22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. 23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, verily I say unto you that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. 24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. 25 When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? 26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. parable of the laborers in the vineyard M. 20: 1 For the Kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. 2 And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 And said unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard: and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. 5 Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise.

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6 And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? 7 They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. 8 So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. 9 And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. 10 But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny. 11 And when they had received it, they murmured against the good man of the house, 12 Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. 13 But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? 14 Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. 15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? is thine eye evil because I am good? 16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen. Zaccheus, & the parable of the talents L. 19: 1 And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 2 And, behold, there was a man named Zaccheus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. 3 And he sought to see Jesus who he was: and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. 4 And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycamore-tree to see him; for he was to pass that way. 5 And, when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zaccheus, make haste, and come down; for today I must abide at thy house. 6 And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, that he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. 8 And Zaccheus stood, and said unto the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, restore him fourfold. 9 And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

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11 And, as they heard these things, he added, and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear. 12 He said, therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. 13 And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. 14 But his citizens hated him and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. 15 And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. 16 Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. 17 And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant; because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. 18 And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. 19 And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities. 20 And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound which I have kept laid up in a napkin: 21 For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man; thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow. 22 And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow: 23 Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury? 24 And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds. 25 (And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.) 26 For I say unto you that unto every one which hath, shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath, shall be taken away from him. 27 But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me. 28 And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem. goes to Jerusalem & Bethany M. 21: 1 And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethpage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, 2 Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me.

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3 And if any man say aught unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them. 6 And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, 7 And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes and they set him thereon. 8 And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way, others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. 10 And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? J. 12: 19 The Pharisees, therefore, said among themselves, Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? behold, the world is gone after him. 20 And there were certain Greeks among them, that came up to worship at the feast: 21 The same came, therefore, to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. 22 Philip cometh and telleth Andrew; and again, Andrew and Philip tell Jesus. 23 And Jesus answered them, saying, 24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. M. 21. 17 And he left them, and went out of the city into Bethany; and he lodged there. the traders cast out of the temple Mk. 11: 12 And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, 15 Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of them that sold doves; 16 And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple. 17 And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves. 18 And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, because all the people was astonished at his doctrine. 19 And when even was come he went out of the city.

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parable of the two sons Mk. 11: 27 And they come again to Jerusalem: and as he was walking in the temple, there come to him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders.⁸ M. 21: 28 And he said unto them,⁹ But what think ye, A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work today in my vineyard. 29 He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. 30 And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not. 31 Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you that, the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. parable of the vineyard & husbandmen M. 21: 33 Hear another parable: Mk. 12: 1 A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the wine-fat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country. 2 And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard. 3 And they caught him, and beat him, and sent him away empty. 4 And again he sent unto them another servant; and at him they cast stones, and wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully handled. 5 And again he sent another; and him they killed, and many others; beating some, and killing some. 6 Having yet, therefore, one son, his well-beloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son. 7 But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours. 8 And they took him, and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard. 9 What shall, therefore, the lord of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others. M. 21: 45 And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them.

 This verse, in English, is cut and fixed to the side of the page.  This again, in English, is cut and fixed to the side of the page.

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46 But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet. parable of the king and wedding M. 22: 1 And Jesus answered, and spake unto them again by parables, and said, 2 The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, 3 And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding; and they would not come. 4 Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. 5 But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: 6 And the remnant took his servants, and intreated them spitefully, and slew them. 7 But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burnt up their city. 8 Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. 9 Go ye therefore into the highways, and, as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. 10 So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests. 11 And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: 12 And he saith unto him, Friend, how earnest thou in hither, not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. 13 Then saith the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 14 For many are called, but few are chosen. Tribute, marriage, resurrection 15 Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk. 16 And they sent out unto him their disciples, with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men.

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17 Tell us, therefore, what thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Cesar, or not? 18 But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? 19 Shew me the tribute-money. And they brought unto him a penny. 20 And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? 21 They say unto him, Cesar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render, therefore, unto Cesar the things which are Cesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s. 22 When they heard these words, they marvelled, and left him, and went their way. 23 The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him, 24 Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. 25 Now, there were with us seven brethren: and the first when he had married a wife, deceased; and having no issue, left his wife unto his brother: 26 Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. 27 And last of all the woman died also. 28 Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her. 29 Jesus answered, and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage: but are as the angels of God in heaven. 31 But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, 32 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. 33 And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine. the two commandments Mk. 12: 28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? 29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: 30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. This is the first commandment. 31 And the second is like, namely this: Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

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M. 22: 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Mk. 12: 32 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: 33 And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices. Precepts, pride, hypocrisy, swearing M. 23: 1 Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples saying, 2 The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses seat: 3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say and do not. 4 For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. 5 But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, 6 And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, 7 And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. 8 But be not ye called Rabbi; for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. 9 And call no man your Father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. 10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your master, even Christ. 11 But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. 13 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in your selves; neither suffer ye them that are entering, to go in. 14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. 15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he is made, ye make him two-fold more the child of hell than yourselves. 16 Woe unto you, ye blind guides! which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor.

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17 Ye fools and blind! for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? 18 And, whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. 19 Ye fools, and blind! for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? 20 Whoso, therefore, shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. 21 And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. 22 And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon. 23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint, and anise, and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. 24 Ye blind guides! which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. 25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. 26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. 27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleairness. 28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. 29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous. 30 And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. 31 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. 32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. 33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers! how can ye escape the damnation of hell? the widow’s mite Mk. 12: 41 And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury; and many that were rich cast in much. 42 And there came a certain poor widow and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.

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43 And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily, I say unto you that this poor widow hath cast more in than all they which have cast into the treasury: 44 For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living. Jerusalem & the day of judgement M. 24: 1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple; and his disciples came to him, for to shew him the buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? Verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. 16 Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains: 17 Let him which is on the house-top not come down to take anything out of his house: 18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. 19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! 20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath-day: 21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 32 Now learn a parable of the fig-tree; when his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: 33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. 36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. 37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coining of the Son of Man be. 38 For in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, 39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; 40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

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41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 42 Watch, therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 43 But know this, that if the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. 44 Therefore be ye also ready. the faithful and wise servant 45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? 46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh, shall find so doing. 47 Verily I say unto you that he shall make him ruler over all his goods. 48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; 49 And shall begin to smite his fellow-servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken, 50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of. 51 And shall cut him asunder and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. parable of the ten virgins M. 25: 1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps and went forth to meet the bride-groom. 2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: 4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. 6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh: go ye out to meet him. 7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. 9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so: lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came: and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. 11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. 12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

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13 Watch therefore. parable of the talents 14 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. 15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. 16 Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. 17 And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. 18 But he that had received one, went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money. 19 After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. 20 And so he that had received five talents came, and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: Behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. 21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. 22 He also that had received two talents came, and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. 23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. 24 Then he which had received the one talent came, and said, Lord, I knew thee, that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. 26 His lord answered, and said unto him, thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed. 27 Thou oughtest, therefore, to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. 28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. 29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not, shall be taken away even that which he hath. 30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

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the day of judgement¹⁰ L. 21: 34 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. 35 For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 Watch ye, therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man. M. 25: 31 When the Son of Man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in; 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer, and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

 In the parable of Sowing Tares too, Jefferson has Jesus speak of Judgment Day.

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45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. a woman anointeth him Mk. 14: 1 After two days was the feast of the passover, and of unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put him to death. 2 But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar of the people, 3 And being in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster-box of ointment of spikenard, very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head. 4 And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made? 5 For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her. 6 And Jesus said, Let her alone, why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me. 7 For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will, ye may do them good; but me ye have not always. 8 She hath done what she could; she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying. Judas undertakes to point out Jesus M. 26: 14 Then one of the twelve called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, 15 And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. 16 And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him. precepts to his disciples, washes their feet, trouble of mind and prayer 17 Now, the first day of the feast of unleavened bread, the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover? 18 And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples.

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19 And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the passover. 20 Now, when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve. L. 22: 24 And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest. 25 And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. 26 But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. 27 For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth. J. 13: 2 And supper being ended, 4 He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. 5 After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. 6 Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? 7 Jesus answered, and said unto him, What I do, thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. 8 Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. 9 Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. 10 Jesus saith to him, He that is Washed, needeth not, save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all. 11 For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean. 12 So, after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done unto you? 13 Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. 16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord: neither he that is sent, greater than he that sent him. 17 If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.

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21 When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you that one of you shall betray me. 22 Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake. 23 Now there was leaning on Jesus bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved. 24 Simon Peter, therefore, beckoned to him, that he should ask who it should be of whom he spake. 25 He then, lying on Jesus’ breast, saith unto him, Lord, who is it? 26 Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. 31 Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, 34 A new commandment I give unto you: that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. M. 26: 31 Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: 33 Peter answered, and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended. L. 22: 33 I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death. 34 And he said, I tell thee, Peter, The cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me. M. 26: 35 Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples. 36 Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. 37 And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. 38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. 39 And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed saying, Oh my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.

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40 And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What! could ye not watch with me one hour? 41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. 42 He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. 43 And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. 44 And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. 45 Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest. Judas conducts the officers to Jesus J. 18: 1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron, where was a garden, into the which he entered, and his disciples. 2 And Judas also, which betrayed him, knew the place: for Jesus oft-times resorted thither with his disciples. 3 Judas then, having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns, and torches, and weapons. M. 26: 48 Now he that betrayeth him gave them a sign saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast. 49 And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, Master, and kissed him. 50 And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? he is arrested & carried before Caiaphas the High priest & is condemned J. 18: 4 Jesus, therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? 5 They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. (And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them.) 6 As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground. 7 Then asked he them again, Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. 8 Jesus answered, I have told you, that I am he: if, therefore, ye seek me, let these go their way; M. 26: 50 Then came they and laid hands on Jesus, and took him. 51 And, behold, one of them, which were with Jesus, stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest, and smote off his ear.

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52 Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. 55 In that same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a thief with swords, and staves for to take me? I sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold on me. 56 Then all the disciples forsook him and fled. Mk. 14: 51 And there followed Him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men laid hold on him: 52 And he left the linen cloth, and fled from them naked. M. 26: 57 And they that had laid hold on Jesus, led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. J. 18: 15 And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. That disciple was known unto the high priest, and went in with Jesus into the palace of the high priest. 16 But Peter stood at the door without. Then went out that other disciple, which was known unto the high priest, and spake unto her that kept the door, and brought in Peter. 18 And the servants and officers stood there, who had made a fire of coals, (for it was cold,) and they warmed themselves: and Peter stood with them, and warmed himself.¹¹ 17 Then saith the damsel, that kept the door, unto Peter, Art not thou also one of this man’s disciples? He saith, I am not. 25 And Simon Peter stood and warmed himself: they said, therefore, unto him, Art not thou also one of his disciples? He denied it, and said, I am not. 26 One of the servants of the high priest, (being his kinsman whose ear Peter cut off,) saith, Did not I see thee in the garden with him? 27 Peter then denied again: and immediately the cock crew. M. 26: 75 And Peter remembered the words of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out and wept bitterly.

 Note that Jefferson switches the order of 17 and 18 for the sake of narrative flow.

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J. 18: 19 The high priest then asked Jesus of his disciples, and of his doctrine. 20 Jesus answered him, I spake openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing. 21 Why asketh thou me? ask them which heard me, what I have said unto them: behold, they know what I said. 22 And, when he had thus spoken, one of the officers which stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, Answerest thou the high priest so? 23 Jesus answered him, If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why smitest thou me? Mk. 14: 53 And they led Jesus away to the high priest; and with him were assembled all the chief priests, and the elders, and the scribes.¹² 55 And the chief priests, and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death; and found none: 56 For many bare false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together. 57 And there arose certain, and bare false witness against him, saying, 58 We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands. 59 But neither so did their witness agree together. 60 And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? 61 But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? L. 22: 67 And he said unto them, If I tell you, ye will not believe: 68 And if I also ask you, ye will not answer me, nor let me go. 70 Then said they all, Art thou then the Son of God? And he said unto them, Ye say that I am. Mk. 14: 63 Then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What need we any further witnesses?

 This verse is included in the English, but is crossed out. It is not included in the Greek, Latin, or French, so it is clear that Jefferson excised it. One wonders why.

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64 Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death. 65 And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say unto him, Prophesy: and the servants did strike him with the palms of their hands. is then carried to Pilate J. 18: 28 Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment.¹³ And it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment-hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover. 29 Pilate then went out unto them, and said, What accusation bring ye against this man? 30 They answered, and said unto him, If he were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him up unto thee. 31 Then said Pilate unto them, Take ye him, and judge him according to your law. The Jews therefore said unto him, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death; 33 Then Pilate entered into the judgment-hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto Him, Art thou the King of the Jews? 34 Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me? 35 Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me. What hast thou done? 36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. 37 Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a King then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. 38 Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all. L. 23: 5 And they were the more fierce saying, He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Jewry, beginning from Galilee to this place.

 This sentence, which begins J. 18: 28, is fixed to the side of the page.

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M. 27: 13 Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee? who sends him to Herod L. 23: 6 When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked whether the man were a Galilean. 7 And as soon as he knew that he belonged unto Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who himself also was at Jerusalem at that time. 8 And when Herod saw Jesus he was exceeding glad: for he was desirous to see him of a long season, because he had heard many things of him; and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by him. 9 Then he questioned with him in many words; but he answered him nothing. 10 And the chief priests and scribes stood, and vehemently accused him. 11 And Herod, with his men of war, set him at nought, and mocked him, and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate. 12 And the same day Pilate and Herod were made friends together: for before they were at enmity between themselves. receives him back, scourges and delivers him to execution 13 And Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests, and the rulers, and the people, 14 Said unto them, Ye have brought this man unto me, as one that perverteth the people: and, behold, I, having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man, touching those things whereof ye accuse him: 15 No, nor yet Herod: for I sent you to him: and lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him: 16 I will therefore chastise him, and release him. M. 27: 15 Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would. 16 And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas. 17 Therefore, when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus, which is called Christ? 18 For he knew that for envy they had delivered him. 19 When he was set down on the judgment-seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him. 20 But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. 21 The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas.

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22 Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus, which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified. 23 And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified. 26 Then released he Barabbas, unto them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. His crucifixion, death and burial 27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers. ¹⁴ 29 And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand; and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! 30 And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head. 31 And after they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him. M. 27: 3 Then Judas which had betrayed him when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 Saying, I have sinned, in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. 5 And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. 6 And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood. 7 And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. 8 Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this lay¹⁵ [sic]. L. 23: 26 And, as they led him away they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coining out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus.

 Not included in his table of texts. It seems better placed in the section on Jesus’ crucifixion.  There is a slight tear in the pasted verses so that “day” reads “lay”—part of the “d” has been torn off.

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27 And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him. 28 But Jesus, turning unto them, said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. 29 For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck. 30 Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Tall on us; and to the hills, Cover us. 31 For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry? 32 And there were also two others, malefactors, led with him to be put to death. J. 19: 17 And he, bearing his cross, went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew, Golgotha; 18 Where they crucified him, and two others with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst. 19 And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross, and the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. 20 This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin. 21 Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews, but that he said, I am King of the Jews. 22 Pilate answered, What I have written, I have written. 23 Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part, and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. 24 They said, therefore, among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be. M. 27: 39 And they that passed by reviled Him, wagging their heads, 40 And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. 41 Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, 42 He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. 43 He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God. L. 23: 39 And one of the malefactors, which were hanged, railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.

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40 But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. 34 Then said Jesus, Father forgive them. For they know not what they do. J. 19: 25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus, therefore, saw his mother, and the disciple standing by whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy Son! 27 Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home. M. 27: 46 And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? 47 Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias. 48 And straightway one of them ran, and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink. 49 The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him. 50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. 55 And many women were there, beholding afar off, which followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him: 56 Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee’s children. his burial J. 19: 31 The Jews, therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath-day, (for that sabbath-day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. 32 Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. 33 But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: 34 But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came thereout blood and water.

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38 And after this, Joseph of Arimathea, (being a disciple of Jesus but secretly for fear of the Jews,) [sic] besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus. 39 And there came also Nicodemus (which at the first came to Jesus by night and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight ¹⁶ [sic]. 40 Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury. 41 Now, in the place where he was crucified, there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. 42 There laid they Jesus, M. 27: 60 And he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.

 The parenthesis should be closed after “weight,” but it is not in the text Jefferson employs.

Commentary Jefferson’s Principles of Construction In the introduction, I essayed to explain why Jefferson undertook construction of The Life and Morals of Jesus (LMJ) as well as The Philosophy of Jesus (PJ). This commentary is an effort to understand how Jefferson crafted his bibles, with a focus on LMJ. Scrutiny of Jefferson’s bible as well as relevant letters on both PJ and LMJ shows that he employed principles of selection/deselection and certain methodological principles. Did he consistently adhere to those principles or were they defeasible guides? I add critical analysis on other matters related to Jefferson’s religiosity: his inclusion of Jesus’ parables; his notions of God, Jesus, and the afterlife; and his patronage of Unitarianism. As I note in the introduction, my preference, because of a need for utmost clarity, is for Jefferson’s own words, not paraphrase. Consequently, I often include large chunks from Jefferson’s religious writings as they relate to his bibles, especially LMJ.

“A quiet euthanasia of the heresy of bigotry and fanaticism”: Diamonds and Dunghills How is one to extricate those passages in the New Testament that relate to the life of the real Jesus of Nazareth and his true teachings? Several letters offer important clues that enable us to arrive at an answer to that question. With the exception of a significant letter to former secretary William Short in 1820, all relate to the process Jefferson utilized in constructing PJ, but that process was not significantly different than the one used for LMJ. Prior to creating either of the two booklets, Jefferson writes to nephew Peter Carr (10 Aug. 1787) and enjoins study of the New Testament and the personage of Jesus. The passage is suggestive and sheds considerable light on the method Jefferson would employ in creating his two booklets. You will next read the new testament. It is the history of a personage called Jesus. Keep in your eye the opposite pretensions. 1. Of those who say he was begotten by god, born of a virgin, suspended and reversed the laws of nature at will, and ascended bodily into heaven: and 2. of those who say he was a man, of illegitimate birth, of a benevolent heart, enthusiastic mind, who set out without pretensions to divinity, ended in believing them, and was punished capitally for sedition by being gibbeted according to the Roman law which punished the first commission of that offence by whipping, and the second by exile or death in furcâ. … These questions are examined in the books I have mentioned under the head of https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110619843-005

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religion, and several others. They will assist you in your enquiries, but keep your reason firmly on the watch in reading them all. Do not be frightened from this enquiry by any fear of it’s consequences. If it ends in a belief that there is no god, you will find incitements to virtue in the comfort and pleasantness you feel in it’s exercise, and the love of others which it will procure you. If you find reason to believe there is a god, a consciousness that you are acting under his eye, and that he approves you, will be a vast additional incitement. If that there be a future state, the hope of a happy existence in that increases the appetite to deserve it; if that Jesus was also a god, you will be comforted by a belief of his aid and love. In fine, I repeat that you must lay aside all prejudice on both sides, and neither believe nor reject any thing because any other person, or description of persons have rejected or believed it. Your own reason is the only oracle given you by heaven, and you are answerable not for the rightness but uprightness of the decision.—I forgot to observe when speaking of the New testament that you should read all the histories of Christ, as well of those whom a council of ecclesiastics have decided for us to be Pseudo-evangelists, as those they named Evangelists, because these Pseudo-evangelists pretended to inspiration as much as the others, and you are to judge their pretensions by your own reason, and not by the reason of those ecclesiastics. Most of these are lost. There are some however still extant, collected by Fabricius which I will endeavor to get and send you.

Though it was written many years before PJ, the letter is still revelatory of Jefferson’s liberal approach to religious study. That approach tells us much about how he constructed his two bibles. In reading the New Testament, one must adopt an attitude of complete impartiality to use reason to fullest effect.¹ Authority is an albatross, not an asset, and revelation is worthless. It is shameful to have the right answer, if it is to be had by the wrong means. Uprightness is everything. That sentiment is corroborated in Henry Randall’s early biography of Jefferson. Grandson Thomas Jefferson Randolph writes thus to biographer Randall concerning his grandfather’s views on religion. “It was a subject each was bound to study assiduously for himself, unbiased by the opinions of others—it was a matter solely of conscience; after thorough investigation, they were responsible for the righteousness, but not the rightfulness of their opinions; that the expression of his opinion might influences theirs, and he would not give it!”²

 Jefferson is clear that reason is not importantly involved in moral “decision making” and that it is a faculty of lesser importance than the moral sense for several reasons—two of which are that while the moral sense is equally (or relatively so) given out to all persons, reason is given out to too few persons, and that rational decisions without moral implications are few in everyday living. Yet reason is prominently involved in religious criticism. See M. Andrew Holowchak, “‘An honest heart’ versus ‘A knowing head’: The Myth of the Preeminency of Rationality in Jefferson’s Conceptions of Man and Society,” Thomas Jefferson: The Man behind the Myths, ed. M. Andrew Holowchak and Brian Dotts (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2017).  Henry S. Randall, The Life of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 3 (New York, 1858), 672.

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Moreover, one must not be misled by the potential consequences of one’s deliberations. For instance, one must not reject outright atheism because of fear of eternal damnation. Furthermore, concerning the nature of Jesus, Jefferson bids Carr to examine both whether he was the son of God or merely thought himself to be of divine parentage. Next—and this point must be underscored—he adds that Carr ought also to read the accounts of the life of Jesus by the so-called pseudo-Evangelists, for the “Evangelists” are authorities on Jesus only insofar as a council of ecclesiastics have dubbed them authorities. Jefferson is clearly open to there being other assimilable accounts of the life and teachings of Jesus. Last, and this point is evident also in the quote by his grandson, Jefferson is steadfast in not proffering his opinion to anyone on religious matters—not even Carr, who for all intents and purposes, was his adopted son.³ Religion is a personal matter, and the varied religious opinions of learned persons like Priestley, Rush, and Price are proof sufficient that even with the most complete use of reason, there will still be differences of religious opinion. We are also aided in understanding his methods of selection/deselection by a metaphorical phrase that is used in several letters. To John Adams, Francis Adrian Van der Kemp, and William Short, Jefferson says the method of sifting out the truths of the New Testament is as simple as plucking diamonds from dunghills—the metaphor he uses, for reasons obvious, only in letters to intimate correspondents. Jefferson first uses the diamonds-in-dunghills metaphor in a letter to John Adams (12 Oct. 1813). it was the reformation of this ‘wretched depravity’ of morals which Jesus undertook. in extracting the pure principles which he taught, we should have to strip off the artificial vestments in which they have been muffled by priests, who have travestied them into various forms, as instruments of riches and power to them. we must dismiss the Platonists & Plotinists, the Stagyrites & Gamalielites, the Eclectics the Gnostics & Scholastics their essences & emanations, their Logos & Demi-urgos, Aeons & Daemons male & female, with a long train of &c. &c. &c. or, shall I say at once, of Nonsense. we must reduce our volume to the simple evangelists, select, even from them, the very words only of Jesus, paring off the Amphibologisms into which they have been led by forgetting often, or not understanding, what had fallen from him, by giving their own misconceptions as his dicta, and expressing unintelligibly for others what they had not understood themselves. there will be found remaining the most sublime and benevolent code of morals which has ever been of-

 Jefferson took in Peter Carr and his five siblings after the death of Peter’s father and Jefferson’s closest friend, Dabney Carr on May 16, 1773 and at the youthful age of 29.

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fered to man. I have performed this operation for my own use, by cutting verse by verse out of the printed book, and arranging, the matter which is evidently his, and which is as easily distinguishable as diamonds in a dunghill.

Empleomania is the issue—here, priests with political motivations. Jefferson’s choice of “amphibologisms” is strange, since an amphiboly is the use of grammatical obstruction through ambiguity and here one would think the obstruction is intentional. Yet Jefferson adds forgetfulness, misunderstanding, misconception, and unintelligibility. There is no hint of intentional misleading, and that would seem to soften the criticism of the travestying priests, driven if only by subconscious desire for riches and power. Months later, Jefferson uses the metaphor in another letter to Adams (24 Jan. 1814). in the New testament there is internal evidence that parts of it have proceeded from an extraordinary man; and that other parts are of the fabric of very inferior minds. it is as easy to separate those parts, as to pick out diamonds from dunghills. the matter of the first was such as would be preserved in the memory of the hearers, and handed on by tradition for a long time; the latter such stuff as might be gathered up, for imbedding it, any where, and at any time.—I have nothing of Vives, or Budaeus, and little of Erasmus. if the familiar histories of the saints, the want of which they regret, would have given us the histories of those tricks which these writers acknolege to have been practised, and of the lies they agree have been invented for the sake of religion, I join them in their regrets. these would be the only parts of their histories worth reading. it is not only the sacred volumes they have thus interpolated, gutted, and falsified, but the works of others relating to them, and even the laws of the land.

The New Testament, he claims, is a farrago. First, there are many bits of text that convey the teachings and preserve something of an extraordinary moralist. Next, there are more numerous bits of text that could only have been the “meretricious trappings”⁴ of inferior minds. Here, it is merely a matter of separating what must have come from a mind extraordinary from minds bottom rung, hence the diamonds-from-dunghills metaphor, with the implication of the relative ease of the stripping process. Two years later, Jefferson employs the metaphor in the missive to Unitarian Francis Adrian Van der Kemp (25 Apr. 1816) to which I have already alluded, as he writes of his construction of PJ. Pursuing the same ideas after writing the Syllabus, I made, for my own satisfaction, an extract from the Evangelists of His morals, selecting those only whose style and spirit roved

 TJ to Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse, 13 Oct. 1815.

A quiet euthanasia of the heresy of bigotry and fanaticism

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them genuine, and His own; and they are as distinguishable from the matter in which they are imbedded as diamonds in dunghills. A more precious morsel in ethics was never seen. It was too hastily done, however, being the work of one or two evenings only, while I lived at Washington, overwhelmed with other business, and it is my intention to go over it again at more leisure. This shall be the work of the ensuing winter. I gave it the title of “The Philosophy of Jesus Extracted from the Text of the Evangelists.” To this Syllabus and Extract, if a history of His life can be added, written with the same view of the subject, the world will see, after the fogs shall be dispelled, in which for fourteen centuries, He has been enveloped by jugglers to make money of Him, when the genuine character shall be exhibited, which they have dressed up in the rags of an impostor, the world, I say, will at length see the immortal merit of this first of human sages.

The project, “being the work of one or two evenings only” when Jefferson was president—that is difficult to swallow even given Jefferson’s intense powers of concentration when he is fronted with a significant task—was hasty, abortive. Thus, he wishes to think through and reconstruct the booklet with the anticipated leisure of the winter of 1817. Jefferson then immediately turns to Van der Kemp’s interest in taking up Jefferson’s project of reconstruction. I rejoice that you think of undertaking this work. It is one I have long wished to see written of the scale of a Laertius or a Nepos. Nor can it be a work of labor, or of volume, for His journeyings from Judea to Samaria, and Samaria to Galilee, do not cover much country; and the incidents of His life require little research. They are all at hand, and need only to be put into human dress; noticing such only as are within the physical laws of nature, and offending none by a denial or even a mention of what is not.

Reference to Diogenes Laertius⁵ and Cornelius Nepos⁶ shows that reconstruction entails enlargement, though not prodigious enlargement, for Jesus did not live long. Laertius and Nepos chronicled the thoughts as well as the lives of many of the eminent men of their day, and Jefferson too mentions the “incidents of His life” as part of the project. Both writers focused on writing history for the sake of its moral content. The constraints include working within the “physical laws of nature” and offending no one by refusal of inclusion of happenings which contravene the laws of nature.

 Author of Parallel Lives of Eminent Philosophers—a work pairing a prominent Greek with a prominent Roman (e. g., Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar in generalship, or Demosthenes and Cicero in oratory).  His only surviving work is Excellentium Imperatorum Vitae.

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Finally, to his former secretary and lifelong friend, William Short (31 Oct. 1819), Jefferson contrasts Jesus’ teachings with the “rubbish,” “dross,” and “dunghill” created by biographers. The greatest of all the reformers of the depraved religion of his own country, was Jesus of Nazareth. Abstracting what is really his from the rubbish in which it is buried, easily distinguished by its lustre from the dross of his biographers, and as separable from that as the diamond from the dunghill, we have the outlines of a system of the most sublime morality which has ever fallen from the lips of man; outlines which it is lamentable he did not live to fill up. Epictetus and Epicurus give laws for governing ourselves, Jesus a supplement of the duties and charities we owe to others. The establishment of the innocent and genuine character of this benevolent moralist, and the rescuing it from the imputation of imposture, which has resulted from artificial systems, invented by ultra-Christian sects, unauthorized by a single word ever uttered by him, is a most desirable object, and one to which Priestley has successfully devoted his labors and learning. It would in time, it is to be hoped, effect a quiet euthanasia of the heresies of bigotry and fanaticism which have so long triumphed over human reason, and so generally and deeply afflicted mankind; but this work is to be begun by winnowing the grain from the chaff of the historians of his life.

Jefferson maintains here that deterging the texts of the four evangelists of its feculent material is a “most desirable object,” which would hopefully in time “effect a quiet euthanasia” of the bigotry and fanaticism that has characterized Christianity over the centuries. The project’s potential political and moral significance, astronomical, is rife in his mind. The Bible as it comes down to us is the most significant book that has been crafted, and Jesus, the most significant moralist. If the New Testament could be purged of its falsifications and if the Old Testament could be ignored, then the world would have an intemerate and simple moral code, the implications of which would be profound. The metaphorical phrase “diamonds in a dunghill”—he sometimes uses “dunghill” and sometimes uses “dunghills”—is amply suggestive. What sticks out most are the following five claims, intimated by Jefferson’s use of the two metaphors. 1. The salvageable teachings of Jesus and narrative of his life are diamonds; 2. What remains are not merely residua, but feculence; 3. Diamonds are few; there is dung aplenty; 4. Diamonds and dung are immiscible, and thus, the diamonds are easily extracted, or relatively so; and 5. Those who added the feculence to the teachings of Jesus have behaved criminally.

“Winnowing the grain from the chaff”: Some Principles of Selection

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It might prima facie seem plausible to upbraid Jefferson for hyperbolizing in employment of the metaphors. There is something to be said for that. However, given his belief that the “Platonizers” have added feculence to something genuinely pure, and in doing so, have led millions of people for centuries to obliquity, the metaphorical phrase might seem anything but misleading. Frequent employment of the metaphors, then, is a measure of Jefferson’s disgust. It ought not to be taken as exaggeration.

“Winnowing the grain from the chaff”: Some Principles of Selection In several letters, Jefferson states that the process of religious criticism is easy. Moral truth is evident to the faculty of the moral sense, and moral truth is unpretentious and simple. As we have seen, to his William Short (31 Oct. 1819), Jefferson states that the process of salvaging the true teachings of Jesus from the “imposture, which has resulted from artificial systems,” is “a most desirable object.” It is a matter of “winnowing the grain from the chaff of the historians of his life.” Yet it is in another letter to Short the following year (4 Aug. 1820) that Jefferson gives his fullest illustration of how he crafted his bible. I include the relevant text of this lengthy letter. We find in the writings of his biographers matter of two distinct descriptions. First, a groundwork of vulgar ignorance, of things impossible, of superstitions, fanaticisms and fabrications. Intermixed with these, again, are sublime ideas of the Supreme Being, aphorisms and precepts of the purest morality and benevolence, sanctioned by a life of humility, innocence and simplicity of manners, neglect of riches, absence of worldly ambition and honors, with an eloquence and persuasiveness which have not been surpassed.

The passage gives us several principles of selection: the sublimity, the purity, and the guilelessness theses. First there is the sublimity thesis. Sublimity Thesis (ST): All passages sublimely expressive of a Supreme Being are to be selected. I offer three passages that are likely illustrations of the thesis. Matthew 19: 5 – 6 expresses how a man, leaving his father and mother to be wed to a women, thereby under the power of God, joins his flesh with hers as “one flesh.” Matthew writes, “What, therefore, god hath joined together, let no man put asun-

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der.” Mark 3: 35 states, “For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.” Luke 10: 27 says, “And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind: and thy neighbour as thyself.” Matthew 23: 22 says, “He that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.” Second, there is the purity thesis. Purity Thesis (PT): All aphorisms and precepts of pure morality and benevolence are to be selected. Jefferson is clear in the letter to Short and elsewhere that Jesus’ teachings are simple and democratic—that is, comprehensible to all. They are, he tells Thomas Law (13 June 1814), reducible to “duties to God and duties to man.” These aphorisms and precepts are also recognizable by Jesus’ matchless eloquence and persuasiveness. No better example is Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Jesus (Matthew 5: 3 – 11) preaches: 3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. 10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

Third, there is the guilelessness thesis. Guilelessness Thesis (GT): All passages describing Jesus as humble, innocent, simple, and ambition-free are to be selected. Jesus was the paradigm of authenticity. He preached love of God and love of others, and he lived in a manner consistent with his teachings. Jesus was humble, innocent, of simple manners, and neglectful of riches, of worldly ambition, and

“To strip off the artificial vestments”: Some Principles of Deselection

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of honors. Jesus at Luke 6: 34– 35 bids a crowd of people to give to others without expectation of receiving back—a sentiment at odds with what he says above in his Sermon on the Mount, where blessedness is linked with future reward. 34 And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners to receive as much again. 35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again: and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful, and to the evil.

At Mark 2: 16 – 17, Jesus eats with publicans and sinners in an effort to heal them, deemed sick. 16. And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners? 17. When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

“To strip off the artificial vestments”: Some Principles of Deselection So far, we have been involved in picking diamonds from dunghills. Yet the metaphor of plucking out diamonds from dunghills is aidful, but also misleads. Jefferson is clear that his deterging process is not merely a matter of picking out, but also of stripping off. “In extracting the pure principles which he taught, we should have to strip off the artificial vestments in which they have been muffled by priests,” he writes to John Adams (13 Oct. 1813). He continues, “There will be found remaining the most sublime and benevolent code of moral which has ever been offered to man.” In short, one can one pluck out diamonds that stick out in the dunghills, for as I say above, the dung and diamonds are immiscible. Yet that process, if we follow the metaphors, is unavailing, because the diamonds are few and the dung is plentiful. That one can see when by turning to the New Testament and measuring the proportion of deselected text in proportion to selected text. And so, it is critical to have something to say about the process of deselection that Jefferson likely followed. Jefferson in the 1820 letter to Short elaborates on how the stripping process essentially involves the “free exercise of reason.”⁷  See also TJ to Miles King, 26 Sept. 1814.

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When Livy or Siculus … tell us thing which coincide with our experience of the order of nature, we credit them on their word, and place their narrations among the records of credible history. But when they tell us of calves speaking, of statues sweating blood, and other things against the course of nature, we reject these as fables, not belonging to history. In like manner, when an historian, speaking of a character well known and established on satisfactory testimony imputes to it things incompatible with that character, we reject them without hesitation, and assent to that only of which we have better evidence…. In sum, the free exercise of reason is all I ask for the vindication of the character of Jesus.⁸

This section of text offers us two principles of deselection, given chiefly to assist disclosure of the historical personage of Jesus: the unnaturalness thesis and the inconsistency thesis. First there is the unnaturalness thesis. Unnaturalness Thesis (UT): All passages at variance with the laws of physical nature are to be deselected. Two illustrations will suffice. (Use of italics here and elsewhere is indicative of passages deselected.) Matthew 1: 18 reads, “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.” Matthew 17: 5 reads, “While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.” The first verse is omitted because Jesus is said to be the child of the Holy Ghost; the second, because there is a voice “out of the cloud.” Both are events at odds with physical nature. Second, there is the inconsistency thesis. Inconsistency Thesis (IT): All passages inconsistent with a historical character, here Jesus, based on satisfactory testimony, are to be deselected.⁹

 Cf. Thomas Jefferson, Literary Commonplace Book, §24.  Cf. Bolingbroke, whom Jefferson commonplaces in his Literary Commonplace Book and whose account of historiography certainly influenced Jefferson. “History to be authentic must give us not only the means of knowing the number but of knowing the character of witnesses.” He continues: “To constitute the authenticity of any history, these are some of the conditions necessary. 1. It must be writ by a contemporary author, or by one who had contemporary materials in his hands. 2. It must have been published among men who are able to judge of the capacity of the author, and of the authenticity of the memorials on which he write. 3. Nothing repugnant to the universal experience of mankind must be contained in it. 4. The principal facts at least, which it contains, must be confirmed by collateral testimony, that is, by the testimony of those who had

“Passages not free from objection”: Some Problems

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Consider Matthew 10: 34– 35: 34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. 35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

The verses are excised because they describe Jesus in an antagonistic, not benevolent, manner, and that is inconsistent with depictions of him throughout the four Gospels.

“Passages not free from objection”: Some Problems Consistent use of the principles of selection/deselection ought to allow any sober-sided person to come up with an account of the teachings of Jesus as well as his life. It is as easy as plucking diamonds from dunghills. Yet there is, as it were, grit in the oil, which Jefferson acknowledges in the 1820 letter to Short. “There are, I acknolege, passages not free from objection, which we may with probability ascribe to Jesus himself; but claiming indulgence for the circumstances under which he acted.” I illustrate the problem. I begin with difficulties with the principles of selection. First, Let us consider the sublimity thesis. There are numerous references to “God” in Jefferson’s bible and many are not depictions of God as a sublime Being. At Matthew 5.9, for instance, the peace-makers are deemed blessed and so they will be called “the children of God.” Moreover, it is not so clear just what constitutes sublimity. There are numerous references to the “kingdom of God” (e. g., Matthew 6: 33 and Luke 12: 31) in Jefferson’s bible. Are those instances of sublimity? It is not clear that ST does much selective work. Second, there is the purity thesis. Except for instances such as some of Jesus’ precepts in the Sermon on the Mount, PT is also problematic, whose meaning is often anything but obvious. The reason is Jesus’ tendency to teach through parables, which I discuss later in this commentary. Jesus says at Mark 4: 26 – 29: 26 So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; 27 And should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.

no common interest of country, of religion, or of profession, to disguise or falsify the truth.” Thomas Jefferson, Literary Commonplace Book, §58.

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28 For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. 29 But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.

Consider other enigmatic verses at Luke 9: 57– 58. A man tells Jesus that he is willing to follow him anywhere. Jesus replies, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man hath no where to lay his head.” So, PT does not seem to be unambiguously applicable. Finally, there is the guilelessness thesis, which bids Jefferson to select all passages where Jesus is described as humble, innocent, simple, and ambitionfree. GT is perhaps relatively unproblematic, as it is straightforwardly applicable. Yet it seems to imply that passages inconsistent with that depiction should be deselected. Consider Jesus, driving out the money-changers in a temple in Jerusalem on Passover (John 2: 13 – 16): 13 And the Jews passover was at hand; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, 14 And found in the temple those that sold oxen, and sheep, and doves, and the changers of money, sitting: 15 And, when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables; 16 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house a house of merchandise.

GT seems to enjoin Jefferson not to include a passage that depicts an angry Jesus. He does, and his choice of inclusion seems to be discretionary. There are also problems with the principles of deselection. First, let us note that “things against the course of nature” in the unnaturalness thesis is in some sense up for grabs. Jefferson, we shall find, was adamant that miracles (e. g., Jesus healing lazars or vinifying water), divine visitations or revelations (prophesying), metaphysical perplexities (that one can be a man and yet the son of deity), and other events that challenge common sense and amply confirmed experience of nature (e. g., a virgin birth or resurrection from the grave) be jettisoned. That implies non-interventionism on behalf of the creator —that the laws governing the universe are fixed, and following Bolingbroke— “Nothing can be less reconcileable [sic] to the notion of an all-perfect being, than the imagination that he undoes by his power in particular cases what his wisdom, to whom nothing is future once thought sufficient to be established

“Passages not free from objection”: Some Problems

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for all cases”¹⁰—that there is no need of periodic intervention to set aright nature. Psychoanalyst Erik Erikson states that it is not astonishing that Jefferson would omit all references to Jesus as healer, for “Jefferson believed in the preventative powers of an active life more than he did in the healing arts.”¹¹ Yet Jefferson was not in principle averse to the possibility of life after death, though he thought it improbable,¹² and left that among the axial teachings of Jesus. Jefferson also left open the possibility that Jesus thought himself to be divinely inspired in the manner of Socrates, who would hear the voice of a daimon whenever he was about to do wrong. As he told William Short (13 Apr. 1820) and as we saw in the introduction, Jefferson did not embrace all that Jesus taught. To John Adams (5 July 1814), Jefferson faults “Platonizers” for the defilements of the New Testament. Here he follows the lead of Priestley, who writes, “It was from the principles of philosophy, and especially that of Plato, that Christians learned that the soul was a thing distinct from the body, and capable of existing in a separate conscious state when the body was laid in the grave.”¹³ Jefferson contemns those who like Plato can graft three as one or can deify an attribute of divine being to make another deity.¹⁴ the Christian priesthood, finding the doctrines of Christ levelled to every understanding, and too plain to need explanation, saw, in the mysticisms of Plato, materials with which they might build up an artificial system which might, from it’s indistinctness, admit everlasting controversy, give employment for their order, and introduce it to profit, power & preeminence. the doctrines which flowed from the lips of Jesus himself are within the comprehension of a child; but thousands of volumes have not yet explained the Platonisms engrafted on them: and for this obvious reason that nonsense can never be explained. their purposes however are answered. Plato is canonised: and it is now deemed as impious to question his merits as those of an Apostle of Jesus. he is peculiarly appealed to as an advocate of the immortality of the soul; and yet I will venture to say that were there no better arguments than his in proof of it, not a man in the world would believe it.

 Thomas Jefferson, Literary Commonplace Book, § 49. See also §§14, 15, and 42.  Erik Erikson, Dimensions of a New Identity: The 1973 Jefferson Lectures in the Humanities (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1974), 48.  See M. Andrew Holowchak, American Messiah: The Not-So-Radical Religious Thinking of Thomas Jefferson (Tuscaloosa, AL: University of Alabama Press, 2019).  Joseph Priestley, A History of the Corruptions of Christianity (London, 1871), 108 – 9. See also 9 – 10.  See also TJ to John Adams, 22 Aug. 1813, 12 Oct. 1813, and 5 July 1814; TJ to William Short, 31 Oct. 1819 and 4 Aug. 1820; and TJ to John Davis, 18 Jan. 1824. In his Literary Commonplace Book, Jefferson commonplaces a passage from Bolingbroke, who particularly paved the way for polytheistic notions—especially the Trinitarianism. Thomas Jefferson, Literary Commonplace Book, ed. Douglas L. Wilson (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1989), §20.

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Given the purity and simplicity of Jesus’ teachings—the implication being that moral “truths” are accessible even to a child—the suggestion is to strip away all absurdities, or all things discordant with nature, and Jefferson was a complete physicalist. Even God was a material Being.¹⁵ Second, there seem to be difficulties in getting off the ground the inconsistency thesis. Inclusion of an angry Jesus, driving out the money-changers from the temple on Passover (John 2: 13 – 16) seems to be in violation of IT. Jefferson, we have seen, includes it. Moreover, what we customarily know about the life of Jesus we know chiefly from the four gospels of the New Testament, so great is our faith in them. These present a fairly consistent depiction of Jesus as mild-tempered, meek, generous, and kind. Yet why does Jefferson seem to have such faith that the books of the four evangelists—often referred to as the “canonical gospels”—proffer a relatively consistent depiction of Jesus and his teachings? Recall Jefferson enjoins his nephew to study the “pseudo-evangelists” as well as the “evangelists,” for it was a council of ecclesiasts that had decided who were to be evangelists and pseudo-evangelists. The question is not easily answered. Priestley in History of the Corruptions of Christianity mentions that the four gospels in their day “were generally received, and not immediately rejected by those to whom they were addressed” as “a proof that the history which they contained is in the main authentic.” There is agreement on “the main things,” though the order of narration differs and there is disagreement on minutiae “of little consequence.” He writes of the other “gospels”—sometimes today referred to as “non-canonical gospels”—as “forged gospels,” which were “not rejected without sufficient reason” at the time.¹⁶ Jefferson’s letter to Carr offers some evidence that he likely does not share Priestley’s faith that the pseudo-evangelical texts are fraudulent. He does, however, seem to share Priestley’s view that the evangelical gospels offer us a reliable account of the life and teachings of Jesus, perhaps because of similarities that exist in the accounts of Mark, Matthew, and Luke. We wish that Jefferson had said more. He did not. We may conclude that Jefferson’s principles of selection/deselection were not inviolable guides.

 TJ to John Adams, 15 Aug. 1820.  Joseph Priestley, History of the Corruptions of Christianity, 276 – 77. Non-canonical gospels here include Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of Peter, Gospel of Judas, Gospel of James, and the Infancy Gospel of Thomas.

“On these two commandments…”: Methodological Principles

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“On these two commandments…”: Methodological Principles Given that Jefferson aimed also at composing succinctly, coherently, and fluidly a narrative of the life and teachings of Jesus, there were certain methodological concerns which guided construction of LMJ. Those methodological concerns point to methodological principles Jefferson employed, though again certainly not inviolably. Such principles become apparent not through reading Jefferson’s letters on how he constructed his bible to select correspondents, but rather by analysis of both LMJ and the numerous verses Jefferson left out of his bible. I begin with biblical redundancy. Redundancy Thesis (RT): When a passage from one gospel merely rehashes an account contained in another, the less fuller of the accounts will be omitted. There are numerous instances of redundancy. I offer merely one. A section Jefferson titled “Tribute, Marriage, Resurrection” in Matthew (22: 15 – 33) contains a famous account (22: 22– 33) where Pharisees attempt to trick Jesus into declaring it is illicit to pay monetary tribute to Caesar. They ask Jesus whether it is “lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not.” Jesus asks for a penny, and noting that Caesar’s image is on it, says, “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.” Mark’s account (12: 13 – 17), presumed the oldest,¹⁷ and Luke’s account (20: 20 – 26) are nearly identical. In some sense, Jefferson’s preference for Matthew is discretionary. A second methodological principle, the transitional thesis, concerns narrative flow. Jefferson employs it tractably. Transitional Thesis (TT): Should a line or lines from an inferior account concerning some aspect of Jesus or his teachings, if added to the superior account, help transition (1) from some elided text or (2) from two different stories, then that line or those lines should be included, in the former case, to make smooth the transit across the gap created by the lacuna in the “elided” text or, in the latter case, to make smooth the transit from one story to the next. I illustrate the need of transition due to elided text—the smoothing out of a lacuna left by omission of some deficient text—with the account of the parable of  Both Matthew and Luke, which with Mark form the synoptic gospels—synoptic, because they are similar in arrangement, language, and content—draw abundantly from Mark. There are, however over 200 verses found in Matthew and Luke, but not in Mark, and that indicates a source for the two gospels, other than Mark, to which scholars refer as Quelle (G.; “Source”).

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Commentary Jefferson’s Principles of Construction

the sower in Matthew 13: 1– 23, which again, in keeping with the redundancy thesis, Jefferson prefers to the accounts of Mark 4: 1– 20 and Luke 8: 4– 18. Because Jefferson excises the text of Matthew 13: 10 – 17, which references the kingdom of heaven and prophecy, he includes a verse from Mark 4: 10, which he places after Matthew 13: 9 to act as a bridge to the text beginning at Matthew 13: 18. LMJ reads: M. 13: 9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. Mk. 4: 10 And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable. M. 13: 18 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower….

This and many other such instances show that Jefferson paid much attention to minutiae in constructing LMJ. He wished that the text he was to construct would have narrative flow. Mk. 4: 10, added to the account of the parable of the sower in Matthew, allows for Jefferson to excise the “feculent” text (M. 13: 10 – 17) and transition smoothly from M. 13: 9 to M. 13: 18. Typical of Jefferson’s regard for transitional flow occurs in transition from Matthew 21: 31 to Mark 12: 1. Jefferson ends a story concerning two disobedient sons (italics again indicative of text omitted by Jefferson): M. 21: 31 Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you that, the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. M. 21: 32 For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him. M. 21: 33 Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: Mk. 12: 1 And he began to speak unto them by parables. A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the wine-fat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country.

Jefferson segues to Mark’s account of a parable concerning a husbandman who plants a vineyard and lets it to other husbandmen to farm. The husbandmen wish to make the prolific vineyard their own and kill any messengers of the owner who aim to receive the yield. Jefferson excises Mark’s transition at 12: 1 —“And he began to speak unto them by parables”—and adds “Hear another parable” from Matthew 21: 33. The story is the same that begins at M. 21: 33. Jefferson chooses Mark’s and the reason is not obvious.

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I illustrate the need of transition from one story of one gospel to that of another gospel by the following two examples. First, consider Jefferson transitioning from, in his own words, “[Jesus] Goes to Jerusalem & Bethany” (M. 21: 1– 10 and J. 12: 19 – 24) to “The Traders Cast out of the Temple” (Mk. 11: 12 and 15 – 19). To smooth out the transition from John 12: 24 to Mark 11: 12, he adds a verse from Matthew (21: 17). J. 12: 24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. M. 21: 17 And he left them, and went out of the city into Bethany; and he lodged there. Mk. 11: 12 And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry…. ¹⁸ Mk. 11: 15 Jesus went into the temple….

Mk. 11: 12 follows sensibly enough from J. 12: 24, but the passage from John makes for a smoother transition. Second, consider Jefferson transitioning from “The Traders Cast out of the Temple” (Mk. 11: 12 and 15 – 19) and “The Parable of the Two Sons” (M. 21: 28 – 31). Here he uses a verse from Mark (11: 27) to smooth out the transition between the two stories. Mk. 11: 19 And when the even was come, he went out of the city. Mk. 11: 27 And they came again to Jerusalem: and, as he was walking in the temple, there come to him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders, M. 21: 28 And he said unto them, But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he come to the first, and said, Son, go work to-day in my vineyard.

There is a curious excision, worth mentioning. In a section titled, “He Is Arrested and Carried before Caiaphas, the High-Priest, and Is Condemned,” Jefferson segues from John 18: 23 to Mark 14: 55 ff. The passage in John concerns Jesus being rigorously questioned by the high priest apropos of his disciples and doctrines. Mark 14: 55 continues that episode. LMJ reads: J. 18: 23 Jesus answered him, If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why smites thou me? Mk. 14: 53 And they led Jesus away to the high priest; and with him were assembled all the chief priests, and the elders, and the scribes. Mk.14: 55 And the chief priests, and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death; and found none:

 Mk. 11: 13 – 14 continues with a brief account, which Jefferson excises, of searching for fruit on a fig tree, unripe.

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There is a single diagonal line, from top-left to middle-right, through Mk. 14: 53, which suggests that the verse is unwanted or unneeded. The verse seems a perfect transition. Why did Jefferson excise it? The verse is not included in any of the other three languages. Jefferson employs a third methodological principle—the complementarity thesis—to allow for inclusion of addition of lines from an inferior account concerning the life or teachings of Jesus, when they add something not covered by the superior account. Complementarity Thesis (CT): All such passages from an inferior account concerning some aspect of Jesus or his teachings that (1) are not contained in the superior account, (2) do not fall prey to the principles of selection/deselection, and (3) when added to the superior account, offer a more complete depiction of the life and morals of Jesus should be added to the superior account. A fine, simple example of complementarity is a section Jefferson titles “[Jesus] Explains the Sabbath.” M. 12: 1– 5 begins with Jesus’ disciples, plucking ears of corn to sate their hunger. Matthew 12: 6 – 8 is excised. Matthew 12: 9 continues: M. 12: 9 And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue. M. 12: 10 And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath-days? that they might accuse him. M. 12: 11 And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath-day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? M. 12: 12 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath-days. M. 12: 13 Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other. Mk. 2: 27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:

Jefferson excises M. 12: 13 because it is thaumaturgical. Mk. 2: 27 is added, as it perfectly sums how men are supposed to act on the Sabbath Day. A fine, complex example of complementarity is Jefferson’s account of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. It is unnecessary to examine fully the complete reconstruction. First, I offer his summary of the relevant passages. M. 5: 1– 12; L. 6: 24– 26; M. 5: 13 – 47; L. 6: 34– 36; M. 6: 1– 34 and 7: 1– 2; L. 6: 38; M. 7: 3 – 20, 12: 35 – 37, and 7: 24– 29.

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Note that Jefferson draws heavy from Matthew (90 verses) and supplements that account with selections (7 verses) from Book 6 of Luke. Second, I focus on one pericope: Jefferson’s addition of Luke 6: 34– 36 in between Matthew 5: 47 and 6: 1. Matthew in the New Testament reads: M. 5: 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans so? M. 5: 48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. (Book 5 ends.) M. 6: 1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.

In contrast, Jefferson’s LMJ reads (note Jefferson omits 5: 48, presumably on account of redundancy): M. 5: 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? M. 5: 48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. L. 6: 34 And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? For sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. L. 6: 35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. L. 6: 36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. M. 6: 1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.

Here L. 6: 36 says much the same thing as M. 5: 48, but L. 6: 34– 35 adds something crucial that is not contained in the gospel of Matthew: It is important for one to love one’s enemies without regard for gain, and that critical “diamond” is not contained in Books 5 or 6 of Matthew. Another example is, in Jefferson’s words, where “[Jesus] is arrested & carried before Caiaphas the High priest & is condemned.” The passages, which reconstruct the complex event, are drawn from each of the four gospels, which together give the fullest account Jesus’ arrest and condemnation. There is no need to include the lengthy text. J. 18: 25 – 27; M. 26: 75; J. 18: 19 – 23; Mk. 14: 55 – 61; L. 22: 67– 68 and 70; and Mk. 14: 63 – 65.

Still another example is Jefferson’s account of the two most important commandments: to love unconditionally God and to love one’s neighbor as oneself— from Mark 12: 20 – 33. After having given both commandments at Mark 12: 31– 32, Jefferson inserts from Matthew (22: 40) “On these two commandments hang all

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the law and the prophets,” before he resumes with Mark 12: 32, which continues the segment on the two greatest commandments. It might be construed as a trivial addition, but it does illustrate the axial nature of the two commandments, which make up the whole of our moral duties. Jefferson makes that point, as we have seen, in his 1814 letter to Thomas Law.

“With many such parables spake he unto them”: Jefferson’s Use of Jesus’ Parables Because Jefferson was motivated by ascertaining the true teachings of Jesus and giving a veridical account of his life, application of principles of selection/deselection, especially UT, could go only so far. Jesus’ morality Jefferson greatly admired, but it was not Jefferson’s. As his letter to Short (13 Apr. 1820) indicates, there were differences—e. g., Jefferson believing in redemption for misdeeds, not in mere forgiveness; Jefferson being a materialist, not a spiritualist. He continues to Short: “The syllabus is therefore of his doctrines, not all of mine. I read them as I do those of other ancient and modern moralists, with a mixture of approbation and dissent.” Jefferson, it is likely, also did not believe in an afterlife; Jesus did. Finally, Jefferson, though he said that Jesus did not mean to impose himself on mankind as the son of god,¹⁹ he does allow Jesus to speak of himself as the son of God (e. g., M. 18: 35 and 24: 36), but that might not be so problematic, as there are passages where Jesus speaks of god as every person’s father (e. g., M. 5: 16 and 5: 45). Finally, he allows Jesus to speak often of the kingdom of Heaven, as reward for piety and benevolence, though Jefferson did not believe that piety and benevolence were to be pursued on account of reward (or their opposites avoided on account of punition). One of the peculiarities of Jesus’ teachings—a peculiarity not shared by the ancient philosophers of Jefferson’s “Syllabus”—concerns Jesus’ use of parables in teaching. Whereas, for instance, Socrates used dialectic (Gr., elenchos) in a joint effort with an interlocutor or interlocutors with an aim to arrive at knowledge (e. g., the meaning of “peity” in Euthyphro) through questions that required short answers, Jesus approached elliptically moral inquiry through parables— viz., short allegorical stories, aiming to teach or reinforce some moral truth. In that regard and unlike Socrates, Jesus was a didact, not an inquirer; a preacher, not a teacher; a parabolist, not a dialectician. Unlike Socrates, he was not in search of the truth; instead, he was a repository of truth, and use of parables

 TJ to William Short, 4. Aug. 1804.

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was Jesus’ way of making poignant moral points that were more visceral than intellectual. Jesus spoke to the heart, not the head. In Socrates and Jesus Compared, Joseph Priestley says of Jesus’ preference for instruction through parables: “A great peculiarity in the discourses of Jesus … consisted in his numerous parables, the meaning of which, when he intended it to be so, was sufficiently obvious, and peculiarly striking.” Yet Jesus’ parables, he adds and as I have already shown, were not always obvious. There often was an “intended obscurity,” for Jesus “did not always wish to be understood at the time, but to have what he said to be remembered, and reflected upon afterward.”²⁰ Continues Priestley: “Numerous as they are, they all appear to have been unpremeditated, as they arose from circumstances in which the speaker had no choice. There is nothing trifling or absurd in any of them. … The more they are studied the more admirable they are found to be.” He adds that there is no reason to believe that “the parables of Jesus received any improvement from the writers of his life.”²¹ “Parable” (Gr., parabolē) occurs 47 times in the King James’s Bible: 17 times in Matthew, 12 times in Mark, 17 times in Luke, but only once in John (10: 11; The Good Shepherd). Jefferson includes 20 parables from the gospels—at least, 20 are listed in his table of the texts. More are included under other rubrics. He had, a careful examination shows, a tendency to include all parables—omissions, I believe, likely being oversights and unintentional—and that shows the he, like Priestley, believed that the essence of Jesus’ teachings lay in his parables. Content that he might normally find offensive, say, because of UT—Jesus’ mention of miracles and his promises of reward or punishment in an afterlife—he had no scruples including, if they were part of a parable and believed by Jefferson to have come from the lips of Jesus. Jefferson included in LMJ all the main parables in Matthew and Mark and the one in John, but omitted a few from Luke. Below is a list of the parables that Jefferson included in LMJ, the pages being from his version. Parable Parable Parable Parable Parable Parable

of of of of of of

the the the the the the

rich man (L. 12: 16 – 21; pp. 17– 18) fig tree (L. 13: 6 – 9; p. 21) sower (M. 13: 1– 9, Mk. 4: 10, and M. 13: 18 – 23; pp. 22– 23) tares (M. 13: 24– 30 and 36 – 52; pp. 24– 25) new wine in old bottles (L. 5: 36 – 38; p. 27) wicked servant (M. 18: 23 – 35; pp. 32– 33)

 Joseph Priestley, Socrates and Jesus Compared (Northumberland, 1803), 35.  Joseph Priestley, Socrates and Jesus Compared (Northumberland, 1803), 35.

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Parable of the Samaritan (L. 10: 25 – 37; p. 38) Parables of the lost sheep (L. 15. 1– 10, p. 42) Parable of the prodigal son (L. 15: 11– 32; pp. 43 – 44) Parable of the unjust steward (L. 16: 1– 15; pp. 44– 45) Parable of Lazarus (L. 16: 18 – 31; pp. 46 – 47) Parables of the widow & judge (L. 18: 1– 8; p. 47) Parable of the Pharisee & Publican (L. 18: 8 – 14; pp. 47– 48) Parable of the laborers in the vineyard (M. 20: 1– 16; pp. 53 – 53) Parable of the talents (L. 19: 11– 28; pp. 54– 55) Parable of the two sons (Mk. 11: 27 and M. 21. 28 – 31; p. 56) Parable of the vineyard and husbandmen (M. 21: 33, Mk. 12: 1– 9, and M. 21: 45 – 46; p. 57) Parable of the king and wedding (M. 22: 1– 14; pp. 57– 58) Parable of the ten virgins (M. 25: 1– 13; p. 65) Parable of the talents (M. 25: 14– 30; p. 66)

Matthew 13: 10 – 17, which Jefferson does not include in LMJ, makes it clear that Jesus’ use of parables was not necessarily to make plain difficult points through use of metaphors. 10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. 13 Speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, 14 By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: 15 For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. 16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, 17 That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

Parables were intended for initiates, whose ears, eyes, and hearts were open to Jesus’ messages, and not for the learned. Yet Jefferson excises all of Matthew 13: 10 – 17. That suggests that he disagreed with the sentiment. Jesus’ teachings were superior to those of the ancient ethicians, he makes it manifest in numerous letters and in his “Syllabus,” just because they were simple, accessible to all and not merely initiates. They spoke not to the intellect of every person—most persons were not of intellect sufficient to grasp argument—but to the heart, that is, the moral sense, of every per-

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son. Thus, a parable was, Jefferson thought, a “democratic,” exoteric way of reinforcing moral lessons, not a way of making esoteric points to initiates. To return to and parry the common objection that Jefferson’s bible was constructed in conformancy with his own moral views, I begin by noting that in the parables Jefferson included, there are sentiments expressed that are at odds with his own views. Consider the parable of the lost sheep (L. 15: 1– 10). It is a story of a shepherd who loses one of his 100 sheep and leaves behind his flock to find it. Upon finding it, he rejoices. What is instructive in the parable is that the 99 non-straying sheep are like 99 virtuous persons, “which need no repentence,” while the one lost does. Jesus says, “There is joy in the presence of the angels of God, over one sinner that repenteth.” Jefferson, however, was never in the habit of converting others to his point of view—religious or otherwise. “I inquire after no man’s, and trouble none with mine,” Jefferson writes to Miles King (26 Sept. 1814), “nor is it given to us in this life to know whether yours or mine, our friends or our foes, are exactly the right.” Consider also the parable of the beggar Lazarus (L. 16: 18 – 31). The beggar, full of sores, was laid at the gate of a rich man. He desired only to feed off the crumbs, which fell from the table of the rich man. Lazarus soon died. Shortly thereafter too did the rich man die. In the afterlife, Lazarus was comforted in the bosom of Abraham; the rich man, tormented by amaranthine thirst in the flames of perdition. The latter asked to be relieved of his torment by Lazarus’ fingertip, dipped in water, placed on his tongue. Abraham refused. Jefferson, I show later, very likely did not believe in an afterlife and he very likely agreed with Bolingbroke that there is no deed so unspeakably vicious or virtuous that warrants eternal punition or reward. Yet he includes this parable, which shows punishment meted out to those who have been selfish; reward, to those who have suffered. Consider finally the parable of the prodigal son (L. 15: 11– 32). As one of the two sons of a father who have given both much abundancy, the prodigal son spent lavishly his abundancy, and was forced, through depletion in dire straits, to feed on “the husks that the swine did eat.” Having recognized that he had dishonored his father and sinned against heaven, the prodigal son returned home to implore his father not to forgive him, but merely to treat him as one of the servants. The father, instantly forgave his son, and thus enjoined the servants, “Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet.” Jefferson disagreed with Jesus (TJ to William Short, 13 Apr. 1820) on forgiveness—“[Jesus] preaches the efficacy of repentance towards

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forgiveness of sin; I require a counterpoise of good works²² to redeem it”—but includes the passage. Such inclusions show plainly that Jefferson’s aim in construction of LMJ was to offer an account of the actual life and morals of Jesus, not to cull biblical passages in conformancy with his own ethical views, howsoever similar they might have been to Jesus’. They offer evidence that Jefferson genuinely undertook the project not merely for his own ethical education, but also for the sake of knowing the historical Jesus and his teachings, and thus perhaps also for the sake of educating others concerning them. In sum, though he considered Jesus the greatest moralist, he was still a man, and as a man, a flawed moralist. Next, I have some comments about overlooked parables. The parable of the candle (Mk. 4: 21– 23) Jefferson includes under “Precepts” in his Table of the Texts. Here Jesus asks whether a candle is to be placed under a bushel or a bed, instead of on a candlestick. The answer, obvious, leads to the moral of the parable. At some point, everything hidden will become manifested and every secret will be known. Jefferson does not list this as a separate parable perhaps because Mark does not call the verses a parable. The same cannot be said of the parable of the mustard seed and leaven (M. 4: 30 – 33), which Jefferson again lists under “precepts.” Jesus compares here the kingdom of heaven to a mustard seed, “which … is less than all the seeds that be in the earth,” yet “when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all the herbs.” After the simile, Mark writes, “And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it.” “The parable of the fig tree” (M. 24: 32– 33) is included in the large account of “Jerusalem and the day of judgment” in TT. The fig tree is a favorite metaphor of the evangelists (M. 21: 18 – 22; M. 24: 32– 33; Mk. 11: 12 – 14; Mk. 11: 20 – 26; Mk. 13: 28 – 29; L. 13: 6 – 9; L. 21: 29 – 31; and J. 1: 48 – 50). Here the tenderness of the tree’s branches, evidenced by them putting forth leaves, is a sign of the beginning of summer. The fig tree is also used as a metaphor for knowing when the kingdom of heaven is near—viz., judgment day. Luke 21: 29 – 31, which Jefferson excises perhaps on account of redundancy, gives a similar account. John 1: 48 – 50 links the fig tree with judgment day, but only accidentally. Jefferson likely does not include this as a separate parable so that he can give a relatively uninterrupted account of Jerusalem at the Day of Judgment. Next, there is the parable of the narrow door (L. 13: 22– 30). It is not listed as a parable and Jefferson does not include it in his bible. One wonders why it was

 The term good works is used abundantly by Priestley in his History of the Corruptions of Christianity (e. g., 87, 90, 95, and 180).

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excluded, for clearly it is a parable, even if it is not called one, and Jefferson seems to have made an especial effort to include all of Jesus’ parables. 22 And he went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, 24 Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. 25 When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: 26 Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. 27 But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. 28 There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.’ 29 And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God. 30 And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.

Finally, there is the parable of the good shepherd (J. 10: 1– 16), which Jefferson lists merely as “The good shepherd” in his Table of the Texts. There is no reason to believe that Jefferson saw this passage as anything other than a parable—John uses the word—and so omission of “parable” was probably an oversight. Jesus compares himself both to the door into the sheepfold and to a good shepherd. Jefferson excises six verses, perhaps because of redundancy (though verse 15 is excised probably because it implies Jesus’ divinity). The passage with excisions reads differently, and so it is worth revisiting. 1 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. 2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. 4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. 5 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. 6 This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them. 7 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. 9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. 10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might

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have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. 12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. 13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. 15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

Last, there are certain passages, explicitly listed as parables, Jefferson excluded—three in all and all in Luke. I offer no commentary of these parables. The parable of the blind leading the blind (L. 6: 39 – 42) runs as follows: 39 And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? Shall they not both fall into the ditch? 40 The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master. 41 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but notice not the beam that is in thine own eye? 42 Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother’s eye.

Again, there is the parable of those bidden to a feast (L. 14: 7– 24). 7 And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them. 8 When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him; 9 And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room. 10 But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee. 11 For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. 12 Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee.

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13 But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: 14 And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just. 15 And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. 16 Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: 17 And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. 18 And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. 19 And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. 20 And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. 21 So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. 22 And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. 23 And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.

Finally, there is the parable of the wicked husbandmen (L. 20: 9 – 19). 9 Then began he to speak to the people this parable; A certain man planted a vineyard, and let it forth to husbandmen, and went into a far country for a long time. 10 And at the season he sent a servant to the husbandmen, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard: but the husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty. 11 And again he sent another servant: and they beat him also, and entreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty. 12 And again he sent a third: and they wounded him also, and cast him out. 13 Then said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son: it may be they will reverence him when they see him. 14 But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the heir: come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours. 15 So they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore shall the lord of the vineyard do unto them? 16 He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the vineyard to others. And when they heard it, they said, God forbid.

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17 And he beheld them, and said, What is this then that is written, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner? 18 Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. 19 And the chief priests and the scribes the same hour sought to lay hands on him; and they feared the people: for they perceived that he had spoken this parable against them.

All things considered, since it is clear that Jefferson did his best to include all parables—especially larger accounts—it is strange that these three parables have been omitted.

“Fabricator of all things from matter and motion”: Jefferson’s Deity Jefferson employed often “deity” and “god” in writings. “I pray to God” and “god bless you” occur with great frequency in writings, and he frequently ignored capitalizing the latter, when doing so would not prove offensive to a correspondent. That is not inconsequential. Yet Jefferson seemed never to have had much to say on the nature of deity, and he habitually refused to speak of his religiosity. To John Adams (11 Jan. 1817), he gave his customary reply to anyone who would press him on religion: “Say nothing of my religion. It is known to my God and myself alone.” Jefferson, however, wrote enough on deity to enable us to piece together, with a great degree of accuracy, the nature of his god. One must appeal especially to his letters to intimates, his Literary Commonplace Book, and LMJ. In his Literary Commonplace Book (LCB), as we saw in the introduction, Jefferson abundantly commonplaces Lord Bolingbroke’s religious views from the latter’s Philosophical Works. Bolingbroke has much to say about God. His deity is “sovereignly good, … almighty and alwise” (§14), and has no difficulty enabling certain types of matter to think (§§11– 13). Bolingbroke’s god does not intervene in foreordained cosmic events—e. g., through Christ’s miracles (§22 and §26), punishment for the fall of man (§15 and §42), or divine superintendency —but establishes once and for all cosmic harmony, as “nothing can be less reconcileable [sic] to the notion of an all-perfect being, than the imagination that he undoes by his power in particular cases what his wisdom … once thought sufficient to be established for all case” (§49)—thus, deism, not theism. Moreover, Bolingbroke’s deity has not made “man the final cause of the whole creation” (§16 and §46). Bolingbroke’s deity does not communicate his existence through revelation or inspiration, or only to one type of people (§16, §§20 – 22, §24, and

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§32). Bolingbroke’s deity does not punish or reward humans in an eternal afterlife, for “justice requires that punishments … and rewards … [ought to] be measured [o]ut in various degrees and manners, according to the various [c]ircumstances of particular cases, and in due proportion to them” (§52)—i. e., justice ought to be meted out in this life. The religious law of Bolingbroke’s deity— “the law of nature is the law of god” (§36)—is to be found in nature. “Natural religion represents an allperfect being to our adoration and to our live,” and requires humans to “love the lord thy god with all thy heart” (§56). It is clear from the passages commonplaced in LCB that Jefferson early in life made purchase of Bolingbroke’s conception of god. What has not been so obvious to historians is that Jefferson’s conception of deity changed little, if at all, over time. The Bolingbrokean critique of philosophy of religion, unlike Jefferson’s altered conception of Jesus and his teachings, never changed over time. The implications for PJ and LMJ are profound. Like Bolingbroke and others—e. g., Lord Kames, Adam Smith, A.L.C. Destutt de Tracy, and perhaps even David Hume—whom Jefferson read and assimilated, Jefferson thought deity was visible in the cosmos. He writes to John Adams (11 Apr. 1823): “When we take a view of the Universe, in it’s parts general or particular, it is impossible for the human mind not to be percieve [sic] and feel a conviction of design, consummate skill, and indefinite power in every atom of it’s composition.” Use of “see” and “feel” indicate appropriation of the epistemology of Destutt de Tracy and Lord Kames, each of whom stated deity was immediately visible in or felt through the cosmos. Neither invoked an argument from design, which would have involved reason. That sensual epistemic appropriation is also manifest in a letter to John Adams (15 Aug. 1820) to whom Jefferson states paronomastically in the manner of Descartes: “I feel: therefore I exist. … On the basis of sensation, of matter and motion, we may erect the fabric of all the certainties we can have or need.” There is no appeal to reason. Jefferson limns the attributes of deity in both letters to Adams. In the 1823 letter, he says that God is the designer and “fabricator of all things from matter and motion, their preserver and regulator while permitted to exist in their present forms, and their regenerator into new and other forms.” God is a “superintending power” that “maintains the Universe in it’s course and order.” Regeneration and superintendency are attributed to deity because of new discoveries in astronomy—“Stars, well known, have disappeared, new ones have come into view”—and in biology—“certain races of animals are become extinct,” and here Jefferson seems to part with Bolingbroke. In the 1820 letter, he states that all things—“the human soul, angels, god”—are matter, for if not, “they are nothings.” He cites Locke, Tracy, and Stewart as authorities for his materialism.

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The question redounds: Was Jefferson a deist, like Bolingbroke, or a theist, like Priestley, who empowered Jesus as a thaumaturgist and allowed him to rise from the grave to show humans that the good will join Jesus in heaven? Some writings, especially early ones, offer evidence of deism. He writes to Dr. Benjamin Rush (23 Sept. 1800) concerning the yellow-fever epidemic in Philadelphia: “When great evils happen, I am in the habit of looking out for what good may arise from them as consolations to us, and Providence has in fact so established the order of things, as that most evils are the means of producing some good.” Here the suggestion is that of a pre-established order, implying nonintervention and deism. Yet the 1823 letter to Adams speaks of God as a regenerator or superintendent—implying periodic intervention and theism. Could it be, as others have claimed, that Jefferson began as a deist and was forced to accept theism, for instance, because of species extinction, which he was early in life disinclined to accept, and supernovae, like that of 1572? On settling that bristly issue, Jefferson’s LMJ has a bearing. Reconstructing the works of the four evangelists in the New Testament, Jefferson, freely using UT, is insistent on removing all thaumaturgy—“things against the course of nature” (TJ to William Short, 4 Aug. 1820). He cites “calves speaking” and “statues sweating blood” as illustrations. Hence, passages in which Jesus feeds a great crowd with two fish and five loaves of bread (M. 15: 32– 38) or brings back to life a dead young woman (M. 9: 18 – 26) are excised. Insistence that all thaumaturgy be removed from his bible, which he believed to be the real life and words of Jesus, is another way of Jefferson, following Bolingbroke, saying that God, through Jesus’ miracles, “undoes by his power in particular cases what his wisdom … once thought sufficient to be established for all case”—viz., that he allows for periodic exceptions to the laws of nature—evidence of divine impotency, not divine omnipotency. Thus, divine superintendency is best explained for Jefferson by a deity that is either equivalent to the cosmos (a Stoic deity) or a deity that has built superintendency into the cosmos in the manner of a builder who fashions a thermostat for a house to regulate its temperature. Theism, of the sort proposed by Charles Sanford,²³ is unneeded. Nonetheless, such a god, creator of an enormous cosmos, is not a being to whom a person would sing or pray. Such a god could take no notice of song or prayer by creatures, beautifully constructed and essential parts of the cosmos, but nonetheless relatively inconsequential. Such a god could care nowise of its name being spelled by humans with a lowercase “g.”

 Charles B. Sanford, The Religious Life of Thomas Jefferson (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia), 92– 94.

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Yet the existence of the cosmos is one miracle in which Jefferson, a disdainer of miracles, believes. And so he considers it to be a moral duty of sensual and rational creatures to pay homage to their creator, because of human awareness of the enormousness, beauty, and perfection of the cosmos. Perhaps the best ways of fulfilling that duty are through science—e. g., study of the cosmic “skeleton” through reading Newton’s Principia Mathematica, examining telescopic and microscopic phenomena, or even participating in scientific farming—or through art—e. g., replicating great figures of human history for future generations through sculpture or painting, or innovating in architecture as in the pavilions at his University of Virginia. Why then did Jefferson, who periodically attended religious services and sang and prayed at them, do so when his god was deaf to supplication and praise? Why did Jefferson befriend certain religious clerics of various denominations when he always believed that the principles that distinguished one religion from another were political or metaphysical twaddle? Given his God, are these not instances of Tartuffery? Jefferson’s god, for whatever reason, created humans in such a way that they would greatly debate religious (and political) matters²⁴ through misuses of reason. Thus, they would even form different conceptions of deity, and worship god in varied manners. Deity, Jefferson concludes, must have deemed inhomogeneity vis-à-vis such concerns to be good, at least at this stage of human development—Jefferson was a dyed-in-the-wool progressivist—and humans ought not to question the ways of deity. In such matters, ignorance, as he, following Montaigne,²⁵ is sometimes wont to say, is the softest pillow. It follows that Jefferson’s avowed Tartuffery is best explicated by his conception of deity and by his love of god and of the cosmos. Knowing that god has created humans to be religiously and politically diverse, it is not his task to challenge another’s religious views—even those of an atheist. Reason, in time, will have its say. As he says famously in Query XIV of Notes on the State of Virginia: “Reason and free enquiry are the only effectual agents against error. … They are the natural enemies of error, and of error only.”²⁶

 Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, Query XVII, ed. William Peden (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1954), 159 – 60.  “O que c’est un doux et mol chevet et sain, que l’ignorance et l’incuriosité, à reposer une teste bien faite.” Michel Eyquem de Montaigne, Les Essais, vol. 3, ed. P. Villey et Verdun L. Saulnier, http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/efts/ARTFL/projects/montaigne/, accessed 9 Sept. 2015, 1074.  Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, 159.

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“I place Him among the greatest reformers of morals”: Jefferson’s Jesus It is, I iterate, a common complaint of critics that Jefferson, in constructing LMJ, aimed to construct a bible in keeping with his own moral sentiments. That complaint I fully address in this section on Jefferson’s Jesus. J. Lesslie Hall in 1913 complained that Jefferson’s mutilation of the Bible in his The Life and Morals of Jesus (hereafter, LMJ) put into doubt the ingenuousness of his politics. “Is this the kind of criticism that Jefferson applied to political papers and documents?”²⁷ Hall’s implicit argument, an argument from discretion, is as follows: Jefferson in taking it upon himself to dismiss much of what is contained in the New Testament, will have a similar dismissive attitude to political affairs that run counter to his own political prejudices or intuitions. Such a discretionary attitude is dangerous in a politician. So, Jefferson is an unfit politician. Arthur Kinsolving, citing Jefferson’s rejection of revelation in construction of his bible, states that Jefferson had a marvelous “horizontal mind” concerning secular subjects—“among the most remarkable left by any man for generations”—but his “vertical knowledge, his knowledge of the supernatural, is conspicuously defective.”²⁸ Kinsolving, thus, argues, that Jefferson is a most suitable judge of “horizontal” secular matters, but a most unsuitable judge of “vertical” religious ones. More recently, Fawn Brodie notes that Jefferson’s interest in Jesus “was much more of an attempt at a resolution of a shattering personal dilemma [than a defense of Jefferson’s religiosity].” She adds, “One sees him wrestling with his own sense of betrayal and crucifixion.” The betrayal and crucifixion to which she re-

 J. Lesslie Hall, “The Religious Opinions of Thomas Jefferson,” The Sewanee Review, Vol. 21, No. 2, 1913: 175. Hall, however, is himself guilty of mutilation or creative reconstruction of a quoted source, aimed to show Jefferson’s pococurantism concerning religion. He quotes Jefferson from a letter to Rev. Isaac Story (5 Dec. 1801), “When a young man, I indulged in speculations as to the future life, but for many years I have ceased to read or to think concerning them.” The letter actually reads: “When I was young I was fond of the speculations which seemed to promise some insight into that hidden country, but observing at length that they left me in the same ignorance in which they had found me, I have for very many years ceased to read or to think concerning them, and have reposed my head on that pillow of ignorance which a benevolent creator has made so soft for us, knowing how much we should be forced to use it.” It shows not dilettantism, which Hall claims it shows, but instead disdain for dogmatism on religious matters.  Arthur Barksdale Kinsolving, “The Religious Opinions of Thomas Jefferson,” Historical Magazine of the Protestant Episcopal Church, Vol. 20, No. 3, 1951: 327.

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fers relate to Jefferson’s own guilt concerning his presumed affair with slave Sally Hemings.²⁹ Here, Jefferson turns to Jesus because of tormenting inner guilt vis-àvis his affair with his toothsome, young slave. Hence, his bible is more of an autobiography through identification than it is an attempt at disclosure of Jesus’ life and teachings. Paul Conkin cites Jefferson’s Tartuffery, dilettantism, and credulity. Jefferson uncritically accepted the views of Priestley and other of “his heroes,” and consequently, “always ended up with such an eclectic mix of ideas as to defy systematic ordering. He was a creature of mood and sentiment much more than a rigorous thinker.”³⁰ He had an “unwillingness to read the Jewish scriptures seriously or to make the same discriminating judgments about their diverse content that he was willing to do for the Christian scriptures.” Moreover, he was astonishingly credulous in that he believed “the actual, easily identifiable words of Jesus had been preserved in the texts.”³¹ Marilyn Mellowes asserts that Jefferson constructed his Jesus to be “a great Teacher of Common Sense,” whose message was “the morality of absolute love and service.” Rejecting Trinitarianism and the divinity or divine inspiration of Jesus, “Jefferson saw Jesus as a man, of illegitimate birth, of a benevolent heart, (and an) enthusiastic mind, who set out without pretensions of divinity, ended in believing them, and was punished capitally for sedition by being gibbeted according to the Roman law.” She sums, “Mr. Jefferson’s Jesus, modeled on the ideals of the Enlightenment thinkers of his day, bore a striking resemblance to Jefferson himself.”³² Thus, in constructing his bible, Jefferson was looking for himself, not Jesus. Susan Bryan employs a hermeneutic critique of LMJ. She states, “Rather than establishing a privileged set of verses, Jefferson’s work promotes a breakdown of textual inviolability that encourages constant re-evaluation and reinterpretation of each piece of the story.”³³ Jefferson, in paring down the Gospels, creates a Jeffersonized Jesus. He turns “Jesus into a subversive who was just as skeptical of his culture’s sacred texts as Jefferson was of the Gospels.” Jefferson’s

 Fawn Brodie, Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An Intimate History (New York: W.W. Norton, 1974), 371.  Paul K. Conkin, “The Religious Pilgrimage of Thomas Jefferson,” Jeffersonian Legacies (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1993), 35.  Paul K. Conkin, “The Religious Pilgrimage of Thomas Jefferson,” 37 and 40.  Marilyn Mellowes, “Thomas Jefferson and his Bible,” PBS: Frontline, http://www.pbs.org/ wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/jesus/jefferson.html, Apr. 1998, accessed 10 Dec. 2015.  Susan Bryan, “Reauthorizing the Text: Jefferson’s Scissor Edit of the Gospels,” Early American Literature, Vol. 22, No. 1, 1987, 36.

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Jesus does not employ argument-ending coup de boutoirs. Instead, “questions are meant to engender more questions, not to beat one’s opponents into silence.”³⁴ Disallowing Jesus’ divinity, Jefferson situates Jesus in time just like any other person, and he “forces Jesus’ moral code to be evaluated in terms of visible social utility rather than being blindly accepted on the invisible authority of its supposedly divine inspiration.”³⁵ Yet Jefferson’s clumsiness throughout in construction of the booklet “betrays the incompleteness of his own work and the existence of a fuller text.”³⁶ Finally, Charles Sanford states that Jefferson’s bible was shaped by idiosyncratic standards of selection and rejection. His “own preferences colored the enthusiasm with which he tossed aside as ‘rubbish’ certain verses of the New Testament and treasured as ‘diamonds’ other verses found beside them.”³⁷ All of the criticisms point to an argument from personal prejudices, stated as follows. 1. Jefferson aimed to disclose the life and teachings of Jesus in constructing LMJ from selected passages from the four evangelists. 2. Verses were selected according to his own principles of morality and natural philosophy. 3. So, LMJ tells us more about Jefferson than about Jesus.

However, before I begin a critique of the argument, which seems to be the received view, let us look at one other argument: an anticlerical argument. Charles Maybee rejects the view that LMJ is an anti-supernatural work. It is instead an anti-clerical work. He maintains that Jefferson’s scissors-and-paste construction allows for retention of the authority of the Bible. “In the format

 Susan Bryan, “Reauthorizing the Text: Jefferson’s Scissor Edit of the Gospels,” Early American Literature, Vol. 22, No. 1, 1987, 28.  Susan Bryan, “Reauthorizing the Text,” 23 – 24 and 32.  Susan Bryan, “Reauthorizing the Text,” 36. There are many intriguing points—evaluation in terms of social utility being the most intriguing. Yet one questions whether a hermeneutic critique of LMJ facilitates understanding of Jefferson’s intentions in constructing the work. There are throughout what might be called infelicities in the construction, yet they point to the extraordinary difficulty of such a construction through use of four languages to be fitted two per page on facing pages. Thus, many of the objections—like Jefferson’s employment of “now” on the last page (M. 27: 41), which “sounds like an aborted beginning,” or the incompleteness objection— are forced. Moreover, must not a hermeneutic analysis of any text lead to the notion of incompleteness?  He does concede that in general Jefferson’s choices were not discretionary. Charles B. Sanford, The Religious Life of Thomas Jefferson (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1984), 106.

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which Jefferson chose, the book is not to be read simply as his view of Jesus, but as the true Bible itself, displacing the one of the church. … This is the first and most obvious indication that Jefferson intended something more by his creation than a book for his own nightly reading table.”³⁸ Moreover, Jefferson’s intention was not to demythologize the New Testament—he retains “a goodly amount of the eschatological discourse of Matthew 24– 25”—but instead to “declericalize” it. He disqualifies “any passage which promotes the perspective or the interests of the priests.”³⁹ The point about Jefferson’s “declerical” motivation is reasonable, so long as one sees that motivation also as a complement to the demythologizing project. Concerning his comments on scissors-and-paste construction, he overlooks the obvious. Scissors-and-paste construction would allow for the neatest finished product, if personal usage were his primary intention. Let us now return to the argument from personal prejudices. As the letter to William Short shows, Jefferson never saw himself constructing his bible in pursuance of his own moral standards. Jefferson’s deterging process applies to events described by the evangelists in the third person, but not to words, especially in parables, attributed to Jesus and given in the first person. He had no difficulty including description of events in Jesus’ parables, which contravened UT, when there was good reason to believe that such descriptions truly came from the mouth of Jesus. In Matthew 24, Jefferson has no problem including Jesus’ account of judgment day, but he does carefully omit passages that refer to Jesus’ own second coming, implying that he is more than a man. For illustration verses 39 through 44 read: M. 24: 39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. M. 24: 40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. M. 24: 41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. M. 24: 42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. M. 24: 43 But know this, that if the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.

 Charles Mabee, “Jefferson’s Anti-Clerical Bible,” Historical Magazine of the Protestant Episcopal Church, Vol. 48, No. 4, 474.  Charles Mabee, “Jefferson’s Anti-Clerical Bible,” 478 – 79.

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M. 24: 44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

Jefferson carefully omits parts of verses 39 and 44, which talk of the coming of the “Son of man,” but keeps verse 42, which mentions the coming of the Lord —the Day of Judgement. Moreover, we have seen that Joseph Priestley was the key catalyst for the formation and development of Jefferson’s own thoughts on Jesus. Prodded intellectually by Priestley’s short book Socrates and Jesus Compared to construct his “Syllabus” and moved unquestionably by the great erudition shown in works such as History of the Corruptions of Christianity, Jefferson had extraordinary respect for Priestley’s capabilities as a biblical scholar. Yet Jefferson’s deity, we have seen, was not Priestley’s, but Bolingbroke’s. Thus, we must not presume, as does Conkin, that because Priestley was a catalyst for Jefferson’s express thoughts on religion and for construction of his two bibles, Jefferson’s Jesus was Priestley’s. It was not. They shared the notion that Jesus was a “mere man” and not a god—“if we once give up the idea of Christ having been the maker of the world, and content ourselves with supposing him to have been a being of a much more limited capacity, why may we not be satisfied with supposing him to have been a mere man?”⁴⁰—yet Priestley’s Jesus qua mere man—“aided, as he himself says he was, by the power of God, his Father”⁴¹—was god-privileged, and thus, a superman. Priestley thought Jesus was a thaumaturgist, empowered by deity to perform miracles, and brought back to life after death to teach humans that there is an afterlife. Jefferson’s Jesus, unlike Priestley’s, was no thaumaturgist. Jefferson’s Jesus, unlike Priestley’s, did not rise from the grave. Jefferson’s Jesus, unlike Priestley’s, was all too human. He merely possessed kindness and wisdom to the utmost human degree, and had a matchless gift for preaching. Thus, he, as mere man, became the greatest moralist and moral reformist. Though Jefferson believed Jesus was not of divine parentage, he acknowledged that Jesus might have believed himself to be god-sent. Jefferson writes to William Short (4 Aug. 1820) that Priestley taught him that Jesus did not “mean to impose himself on mankind as the son of god.” Still Jesus might have believed himself to be on a divine mission. That was not uncommon in antiquity. The religiosity of the Jews in which Jesus was raised, like that of the Greeks, “was founded on the belief of divine inspiration.” Thus, Jesus would

 Joseph Priestley, Corruptions of Christianity, 49.  Joseph Priestley, Corruptions of Christianity, 49.

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have differed little, for instance, from Socrates, who claimed to be inspired by a daimon that spoke to him only when he was about to embark on actions morally obliquitous, from Alexander the Great, who considered himself to be the son of Zeus, or from ancient poets who commonly claimed to be inspired by the Muses. Consistent with the metaphor of diamonds and with Jefferson’s belief that Jesus was the world’s foremost moralist, there is Jefferson’s use of superlatives in describing Jesus and his teachings. To Virginian and lawyer Samuel Kercheval (19 Jan. 1810), Jefferson states that Jesus gave us “the purest system of morals ever before preached to man.” He tells Rev. Charles Clay (29 Jan. 1815), “The genuine system of Jesus, and the artificial structures they have erected, to make them the instruments of wealth, power, and preeminence to themselves, are as distinct things in my view as light and darkness; and … I place Him among the greatest reformers of morals, and scourges of priest-craft that have ever existed.” To William Short (31 Oct. 1819), he calls Jesus “the greatest of all the Reformers of the depraved religion of his own country,” and states that his teachings are “the outlines of a system of the most sublime morality which has ever fallen from the lips of man.” Months later (4 Aug. 1820), he says Jesus has left behind “aphorisms and precepts of the purest morality and benevolence.” He writes to Unitarian minister Jarred Sparks (4 Nov. 1820), “I hold the precepts of Jesus, as delivered by himself, to be the most pure, benevolent, and sublime which have ever been preached to man.” Just what are the precepts of Jesus that result from his selection/deselection process? Jefferson states to Harvard professor and Unitarian Benjamin Waterhouse in a later letter (26 June 1822): “The doctrines of Jesus are simple, and tend all to the happiness of man. 1. that there is one God, and he all-perfect: 2. that there is a future state of rewards and punishments: 3. that to love God with all thy heart, & thy neighbor as thyself, is the sum of religion. these are the great points on which he endeavored to reform the religion of the Jews.”⁴² Hence, (1) any mention of Jesus as a deity or of a Holy Spirit will be stripped, (2) passages including mention of an afterlife will not be stripped, and (3) any expressed duties that are inconsistent with love of God or man will be stripped. Thus, given the sensibility of the principles Jefferson employed in constructing LMJ, given clear instances of inclusion of passages in LMJ at odds with his beliefs, and given Jefferson’s own statement that his aim was to find the real Jesus and his real teachings, the argument from personal prejudice is shown

 See also TJ to Francis Adrian van der Kemp, 9 July 1820; TJ to Jared Sparks, 4 Nov. 1820; TJ to Timothy Pickering, 27 Feb. 1821; TJ to Thomas Wittemore, 5 June 1822; TJ to John Adams, 11 Apr. 1823; TJ to John Davis, 18 Jan. 1823; and TJ to P.B. Tindall, 20, Apr. 1824.

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to be fallacious. Such things also provide evidence, beyond select letters, that in some sense LMJ was not wholly intended for personal inspiration in spite of the fact that no one—not even members of his family—knew of its existence upon his death. At day’s end, Jefferson’s Jesus is of humble circumstances, self-educated, of abundant natural endowments in heart and mind, of correct and innocent life, and, as Jefferson’s “Syllabus” notes, “meek, benevolent, patient, firm, disinterested, & of the sublimest eloquence.” He is a great reformer of the Jewish religion, the world’s foremost moralist, and the model citizen of a Jeffersonian republic, whose political principles are based much on Jesus’ teachings and the pattern of his life.

“Every time I kiss thy hand to bid adieu”: Jefferson and the Afterlife There is a general scholarly consensus that Thomas Jefferson believed in an afterlife, given numerous references to the hereafter in his letters, messages, and addresses.⁴³ Charles Sanford, citing two of Jefferson’s letters to Adams (9 Aug. 1816 and 8 Dec. 1818), maintains that Jefferson was “influenced by Adams’ arguments about spirit to find room in belief in immortality among the wondrous attributes of certain forms of matter.”⁴⁴ Elsewhere he says: “Matter had many mysterious properties, such as magnetism, gravity, and the power of the brain to think. Why not immortality for human beings?”⁴⁵ E.S. Gaustad maintains that the immortality of the soul was for Jefferson a “guarantor of morality.” He summarizes, “Justice and goodness must ultimately prevail, else this is not a moral universe.”⁴⁶ Eugene R. Sheridan acknowledges that Jefferson entertained doubts concerning an afterlife, “but, on the whole, hope triumphed over despair.”⁴⁷ Paul Conkin says that Jefferson “was always confident of life after

 For a fuller discussion, see M. Andrew Holowchak, American Messiah, chapter 4.  E. g., TJ to Adams, 26 May 1817 and 12 May 1820. Charles B. Sanford, The Religious Life of Thomas Jefferson (Charlottesville: The University of Virginia Press, 1984), 152.  Charles B. Sanford, “The Religious Beliefs of Thomas Jefferson,” 82.  E.S. Gaustad, “Religion,” Thomas Jefferson: A Reference Biography, ed. Merrill D. Peterson (New York: Charles Scribers’ Sons, 1984), 290.  Eugene R. Sheridan, “Introduction,” Jefferson’s Extracts from the Gospels, ed. Dickinson W. Adams, (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1983), 40 – 41.

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death,”⁴⁸ and J.G.A. Pocock states that “he seems to have retained a belief in personal immortality.”⁴⁹ John Ragosta argues that Jefferson’s insistence, pace Calvin, that one is to be judged by one’s deeds “suggests some belief in an afterlife,” though he admits the issue is far from settled.⁵⁰ There is reason to be guarded. All references by Jefferson to an afterlife in writings are terse. He never lapses into serious discussion of an afterlife in any writing, where he seems open to it as a possibility. Such references should not be taken as evidence of belief in an afterlife, for belief, as Jefferson wrote formally to Adams (22 Aug. 1813), is assent to a rationally intelligible proposition, and the notion of an afterlife seems not to be rationally intelligible—at least, not in the metempirical manner in which it had been historically discussed. Consider for instance Jefferson’s response to Rev. Isaac Story (5 Dec. 1810), who writes of belief in the transmigration of souls. Jefferson replies that he has nothing to say on the subject. Revelation is silent on the issue and “the laws of nature have withheld from us the means of physical knowledge of the country of spirits.” Thus, he has consigned himself to what he often calls the “softest pillow” of ignorance (e. g., TJ to Hugh White, 25 Apr. 1812). To John Adams (5 July 1814), Jefferson states, “Plato … is peculiarly appealed to as an advocate of the immortality of the soul; and yet I will venture to say that were there no better arguments than his in proof of it, not a man in the world would believe it.” Given the counterfactual expression, Jefferson commits himself to better arguments for the immortality of the soul than Plato’s—arguments sufficient to elicit the consent of some persons—but nothing more can be said. Given his reply to Story, I suspect he does not hold such better arguments in high regard. Yet have seen that Jefferson unequivocally commits himself to materialism, and there is no reason to believe, given the philosophical and scientific literature that Jefferson read, that he was ever anything but a full-fledged materialist. Consider in full the passage from the August 15, 1820, letter to Adams. I can conceive thought to be an action of a particular organisation of matter, formed for that purpose by it’s creator, as well as that attraction is an action of matter, or magnetism of loadstone. when he who denies to the Creator the power of endowing matter with the

 Paul K. Conkin, “The Religious Pilgrimage of Thomas Jefferson,” Jeffersonian Legacies: (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1993), 20.  J.G.A. Pocock, “Religious Freedom and the Desacralization of Politics: From the English Civil Wars to the Virginia Statute,” The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom: Its Evolution and Consequences in American History, ed. Merrill D. Peterson and Robert C. Vaughan (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988), 63.  John Ragosta, “Thomas Jefferson’s Religion and Religious Liberty,” Religious Freedom: Jefferson’s Legacy, America’s Creed (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2013), 21– 22.

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mode of action called thinking shall shew how he could endow the Sun with the mode of action called attraction, which reins the planets in the tract of their orbits, or how an absence of matter can have a will, and, by that will; put matter into motion, then the materialist may be lawfully required to explain the process by which matter exercises the faculty of thinking. when once we quit the basis of sensation all is in the wind. to talk of immaterial existences is to talk of nothings. to say that the human soul, angels, god, are immaterial, is to say they are nothings, or that there is no god, no angels, no soul. I cannot reason otherwise.

Thus, mind or the soul is some sort of matter; so too is deity. So the question of an afterlife reduces to the question of whether psychic matter is indissoluble, or as Carl Richard thinks, whether for Jefferson there can be an instauration of matter, once decayed. Richard says that Jefferson believed in the dissolution of the soul upon dissolution of the body, but adds that Jefferson believed in the resurrection of the body after death.⁵¹ If so, then why not include Jesus’ resurrection in LMJ as proof of such an instauration? Four letters have a bearing on the hereafter. The first letter, indicative of early skepticism concerning the soul leaving the body “at the instant of death,” is early in life and to boyhood friend John Page (26 July 1764). Jefferson recounts a story from a magazine that concerns a man, drowned and submerged in water for some 24 hours. The man was brought back to life by a method such as “to give the vital warmth to the whole body by gentle degrees, and to put the blood in motion by inflating the lungs.” We are taught, he continues, that when the bodily parts completely cease to function, the “soul leaves the body.” He sums, “But does not this story contradict this opinion?” To John Adams (14 Mar. 1820), Jefferson—referring to the works of Dugald Stewart, A.L.C. Destutt de Tracy, and Pierre Jean George Cabanis—offers an argument in two parts. First, he proceeds analogically. Thought is to the material organ of the brain as is magnetism is to a needle or elasticity is to a spring— merely a product of the matter thus structured. Dissolve the matter of the magnet and spring and their magnetism and elasticity cease. It is likewise with thought. “On ignition of the needle or spring, their magnetism and elasticity cease. So on dissolution of the material organ by death, its action of thought may cease also, and nobody supposes that the magnetism or elasticity retire to hold a substantive and distinct existence. These were qualities only of particular conformations of matter; change the conformation, and its qualities change also.”

 Carl J. Richard, “A Dialogue with the Ancients: Thomas Jefferson and Classical Philosophy and History,” Journal of the Early Republic, 9, 1989, 439.

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The question now becomes whether matter can be so structured that thought can occur. Following Locke, Jefferson considers deity endowing matter with thought. He asserts, “When I meet with a proposition beyond finite comprehension, I abandon it as I do a weight which human strength cannot lift.” Immediately, he adds: “Were it necessary, however, to form an opinion, I confess I should, with Mr. Locke, prefer swallowing one incomprehensibility rather than two.” In sum, matter endowed with thought is less incomprehensible than “an existence called spirit, of which we have neither evidence nor idea, and then … how that spirit, which has neither extension nor solidity, can put material organs into motion.” In late-life letters to John Adams (8 Jan. 1825) and to Francis Adrian Van der Kemp (11 Jan. 1825), Jefferson excitedly refers to experiments by Cabanis and Jean Pierre Flourens on vertebrates. Writes Jefferson to Adams of Flourens, after removing the cerebrum of some vertebrates, finding that “the animal loses all it’s senses of hearing, seeing, feeling, smelling tasting, is totally deprived of will, intelligence, memory, perception,” though it retains the power of locomotion, given external stimuli. After removing the cerebellum from vertebrates, “the animal retains all it’s senses, faculties & understanding, but loses the power of regulated motion, and exhibits all the symptoms of drunkenness.” Puncture of the medulla elonga results in instantaneous death. Jefferson adds: “I wish to see what the spiritualists will say to this. whether, in this state, the soul remains in the body deprived of it’s essence of thought, or whether it leaves it as in death and where it goes?” Three days later, Jefferson to Adrian Van der Kemp again writes of Flourens’ experiments, which demonstrate that the cerebrum is the “organ of thought” and “possesses alone the faculty of thinking.” He wishes to know whether the soul remains in the body when the brain is deprived of thought, and if it does leave, where it goes, if the thoughtless body still lives. The letters to Adams and Van der Kemp offer abundant evidence of doubt concerning the soul’s capacity to survive without the body. Given the cerebrum is the seat of sensation, perception, intelligence, memory, and thought, and given that the cerebellum is responsible for regulated motion, all the functions attributed to soul seem to be explicable by the brain. The conclusion seems plain that the soul just is the brain and the cerebrum is the intellective soul— a view that is consistent with much of the literature in contemporary philosophy of mind. With death, the body, and the brain with it, merely decay. Again, there is Jefferson’s omission of any account of Jesus’ resurrection in LMJ. If he had believed in an afterlife, he certainly would have included it as incentive for humans to live virtuously, as did Jesus, in this world. Priestley and

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Rush⁵² believed that Christ rose from the grave. So too did Van der Kemp.⁵³ Thus, if Jefferson did believe in an afterlife, it is curious that he included no account in LMJ of Christ’s resurrection, for could have readily conceded, as did Priestley, Jesus’ human nature, but have allowed that God allowed for Jesus to conquer death and rise from the grave. He did not, and that is consistent with his noninterventionist deism. Finally, there is also the prose from Laurence Sterne’s Tristram Shandy that Jefferson copies to a sheet of paper. “And every time I kiss thy hand to bid adieu, every absence which follows it, are preludes to that eternal separation which we are shortly to make.”⁵⁴ This is the second half of a passage on the folded paper— the first half written in the writing of Jefferson’s wife—which contained a lock of Martha Jefferson’s hair. This reference to “eternal separation,” written to his wife, perhaps moribund when composed, is persuasive. Disbelief in an afterlife also explains Jefferson’s excessive grieving on the passing of his wife.⁵⁵ One firmly convinced of an afterlife and of the prospect of loved ones meeting once again and sharing together eternity would have no reason for excessive grieving. Such things are weighty evidence of doubt concerning life after death. They make it probable that Jefferson’s many flippant references to the hereafter to correspondents and in political addresses and messages are mere instances of his cordiality and kindness—viz., a willingness to greet correspondents on their terms, not his own. At day’s end, it is likely that Jefferson, given his purchase of materialism, never really took seriously belief in an afterlife—certainly, not late in life.

“Follow the oracle of conscience”: Jefferson’s Unitarianism Before ending, something should be said of Jefferson’s uptake of Unitarianism, about which there is considerable confusion in the secondary literature. Jefferson’s Unitarianism is in effect a personal response to his abhorrence to Calvinism. The Trinitarianism of Calvin, Jefferson states in a letter to Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse (26 June 1822), asserts that (1) there are three gods, (2) benevolence and beneficence are nothing, (3) faith especially in what is unfathomable in religious matters is everything, (4) reason is unavailing in religious matters,  Benjamin Rush to TJ, 5 May 1803.  F.D. Van der Kemp to TJ, 1 Nov. 1816.  Taken from E.M. Halliday, Understanding Thomas Jefferson (New York: HarperCollins, 2001), 50 – 51.  A point shared with me by historian Arthur Scherr.

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and (5) we are saved or damned if predestined by deity to be saved or damned and not from our good or ill works. Yet such Trinitarianism, Jefferson says and he is certainly following Priestley, was nowhere expressly declared by any of the earliest fathers, & was never affirmed or taught by the Church before the Council of Nice.⁵⁶ Thus, it was a scabrous, senseless political embellishment to the teachings of Jesus the Nazarene. Unitarianism, as a formal movement and response to Trinitarianism, was a relatively recent development in Jefferson’s day. Its main teaching was that God was one, not three, and according to Jefferson in the letter to Waterhouse, it also was a commitment to (1) belief in a future state of rewards and punishments, (2) unconditional love of deity, and (3) love of one’s neighbor as one loves oneself. To offer a précis of Unitarianism as a movement—a grouping of Christian sects, each adhering to the oneness of God—is beyond the scope of this undertaking, and it would help us little in situating Jefferson’s commitment to Unitarianism. It is sufficient to note that belief that God was one entailed, for all Unitarians, that Jesus was not part of the godhead. There developed Socinian Christology, adhering to Jesus being born in time, and Arian Christology, adhering to Jesus having some existence in heaven prior to his incarnation, but a being of lesser worth than God. There were religious controversies endemic to Unitarianism as seen as a sectarian religion that Priestley, who was at the forefront of Unitarianism, examined in his An History of the Early Opinions of Jesus Christ and of which Jefferson, having studied Priestley, was aware. Unitarians posited the existence of only one God, but some maintained that Christ, as a lesser being than God, created and superintended the cosmos. Hence, eschewing the difficulty of explaining how Father, Spirit, and Son could be unique and yet one, those Unitarians faced the difficulty of explicating how Christ could have such superordinary powers without being a god.⁵⁷ Recall Priestley attributed to Jesus the God-given powers to perform miracles and rise from the grave. Moreover and as Priestley acknowledged, the existence of Christ as creator and superintendent of the cosmos would have made God unneeded. If cosmic design demands belief in an omnipotent and omnipresent Being—“who made all things, and who upholds all things by the word of his power, must necessarily

 Thomas Jefferson, “Notes on Religion,” 1776. It is generally accepted by scholars today that the Athanasian Creed was composed numerous years after the death of Athanasius.  Joseph Priestley, An History of Early Opinions concerning Jesus Christ, 73 – 75.

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be present every where, and know all things, as well as be able to do all things⁵⁸ —then what need is there of another infinitely powered Being?” Jefferson’s Unitarianism was mostly influenced by his correspondence with Priestley and Price, and reading the works of Priestley. Both Priestley and Price, I think it is likely, saw Unitarianism as a sectarian religion, not just a movement, with its own causes célèbres to be ironed out in time. Jefferson, I suspect, though he read Priestley carefully, was inattentive to the imbroglios. Deity existed, the cosmos was evidence of that, and Jesus for Jefferson was simply mortal, not super-mortal. Jefferson’s embrace of Unitarianism, thus, was a sort of selective engagement with certain axial moral principles common to all reasonable sectarian religions and selective disengagement with all metaphysical principles. In effect, Unitarianism was a name he appropriated (or misappropriated) for his own religious views—the sort of deterged Christianity that was reducible to the principles embraced by each person’s moral sense.⁵⁹ Jefferson might have meant by Unitarianism no more than religious toleration and simple morality above doctrinal and institutional orthodoxy along with, of course, belief in one god.⁶⁰ Unitarianism was his own naturalized, or as one scholar says, “nondenominational” religion—a sort of “unifying element that brought people together.”⁶¹ Jefferson’s writings support that view. He finds the notion of three deities in one inscrutable, and therefore physically impossible. Here he falls back on his naturalism. He allows nothing inconsistent with the laws of nature, gleaned through experience. Yet there is more. The sort of Unitarianism Jefferson promotes is not a religious sect, but instead a manner of approaching religion—a philosophy of reli-

 Joseph Priestley, An History of Early Opinions concerning Jesus Christ, 77– 79.  Hall writes that the most prominent Unitarian of his time was William Ellery Channing, who preached the oneness and indivisibility of God; that Christ performed miracles, overcame death, and was the greatest son of God, but not a member of the godhead; that Paul was an inspired and important teacher; that miracles and immortality were genuine; and that the Apostles were sacred writers. Jefferson stated Paul and the Apostles were corruptors of Jesus’ teachings, and denied miracles and inspiration, thereby disallowing and special status to Christ, other than being a great reformist and moralist. Jefferson, thus, could not have been a Unitarian. J. Lesslie Hall, “The Religious Opinions of Thomas Jefferson,” The Sewanee Review, Vol. 21, No. 2, 1913, 169 – 70.  J. Judd Owen, American Political Science Review, Vol. 101, No.3, 2007, 501.  Thomas E. Buckley, S.J., “Placing Thomas Jefferson and Religion in Context, Then and Now,” Seeing Jefferson Anew: In His Time and Ours (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press), 137.

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gion.⁶² Of his Unitarianism, Jefferson asserts to John Adams (22 Aug. 1813), “We should all then, like the Quakers, live without an order of priests, moralize for ourselves, follow the oracle of conscience, and say nothing about what no man can understand, nor therefore believe.” To Unitarian Dr. Thomas Cooper (2 Nov. 1822), Jefferson contrasts Unitarians with sectarian preachers, so Unitarians can be grasped as persons living fully in accordance with the dictates of their moral sense faculty. To Benjamin Waterhouse (8 Jan. 1825), Jefferson states that Unitarianism is primitive Christianity, “in all the simplicity in which it came from the lips of Jesus.” Such letters show plainly that monotheism, simplicity, and non-sectarianism are for Jefferson dependent issues. Jefferson made purchase of monotheism because it and benevolence were key tenets of Jesus’ uncorrupted teachings—the natural moral laws. Those two tenets, he believed, were the framework of his Unitarianism, or of any right religion.⁶³ Simplicity and non-sectarianism were essential, as the God-given laws of morality could not be complex and must be accessible to all, hence the preferability of Jesus’ teachings to those of other, philosophy-minded moralists. Unitarianism was essentially a religion of liberal religious reforms, and the chief reform was to begin with a just and correct notion of God in His oneness—a reform into which Jefferson bought. Consider what Jefferson writes to Welshman Dr. Richard Price (26 Oct. 1788). “Plutarch, it is well known, has observd very justly that it is better not to believe in a God than to believe him to be a capricious and malevolent being. These reflexions have Struck me very forcibly….⁶⁴ They shew how incumbent it is on all who wish the happiness of the world to endeavour to propagate just notions of the Deity and of religion. I can reflect with Some Satisfaction that this has been one of the Studies and labours of my life.”

 Peterson states that Jefferson adhered to the three Unitarian principles—freedom of mind and spirit, tolerance of religious difference, and trust in reason and science—but notes that his revisions to the Bible would have been heretical for the Unitarians of his day. Merrill D. Peterson, The Jefferson Image in the American Mind (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, [1960] 1998), 303.  Onuf sensibly claims that Unitarianism for Jefferson was religious reform in keeping with his republican sentiments. “From Jefferson’s perspective, Unitarianism did not represent an elite reaction to the evangelical surge, but rather the precocious fulfillment of its ultimate theological tendencies,” which were democratic reforms of church hierarchies. Peter Onuf, The Mind of Thomas Jefferson (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2007), 157– 59 and also 151.  The context concerns Jefferson’s thoughts on reading a book by Jacques Necker: On the Importance of Religious Opinions (London: J. Johnson, 1788).

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There was considerable disagreement between Unitarians on religious beliefs. Consider the disagreements between Revs. Richard Price, with whom Jefferson exchanged mostly political letters in the late 1780s, and Joseph Priestley. Price was a prominent Unitarian minister, ethician, and mathematician, and pastor of London’s Newington Green Unitarian Church. Like Priestley, he rejected the notions of the Trinity, of original sin and of a retributive deity. Like Priestley, he also believed that Christ was a cynosure and great moral reformist—“God who sent Christ into the world and who is his, no less than he is our God and father”—and that humans were capable of much moral improvement. Yet, pace Priestley, he believed in the immateriality of the soul and in human free will. True religion, for Price, begins with a correct notion of God: almighty, allgood, all-benevolent, all-just, and one. Knowing God’s goodness, humans, with the promise of a future “righteous retribution,” ought to live as much as they can in imitation of God. Our moral duties, then, consist in loving God and loving all other persons with an equal love. “Christianity teaches us that there is none good but one, that is, God, that he willeth all men to be saved, and will punish nothing but wickedness, that he desires mercy and not sacrifice (benevolence rather than rituals), that loving him with all our hearts, and loving our neighbour as ourselves, is the whole of our duty, and that in every nation he that feareth him and worketh righteousness is accepted of him.” Our kingdom, we must understand, “is not of this world, and requires us to elevate our minds above temporal emoluments and to look forwards to a state beyond the grave where a government of perfect virtue will be erected under that Messiah who has tasted death for every man.”⁶⁵ In The Evidence for a Future Period of Improvement in the State of Mankind (1787), Price says, “That … there is a progressive improvement in human affairs which will terminate in greater degrees of light and virtue and happiness than have been yet known appears to me highly probable and my present business will be to represent … the nature, the grounds, and the uses of this expectation.”⁶⁶ America is to lead the way. Priestley—one of the early movers of the religion in England and America— entertained more radical views, aligned with his materialist philosophy. In Disquisitions Relating to Matter and Spirit (1777), he claimed that matter was capable of thought, once we reject the notion that solidity is the essential property of

 Richard Price, Observations on the Importance of the American Revolution, http://www.constitution.org/price/price_6.htm, accessed 4 June 2017.  Richard Price, The Evidence for a Future Period of Improvement in the State of Mankind, http://www.constitution.org/price/price_7.htm, accessed 4 June 2017.

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matter;⁶⁷ that the soul is material;⁶⁸ that God is material;⁶⁹ and that all things are necessitated by God—hence there was no room for free human agency. “Even a sparrow falls not to the ground without the will, the knowledge, and design of our heavenly father, and … the very hairs of our heads are numbered.”⁷⁰ He was a necessitarian and his necessitarianism had its roots in natural law, which was Godcreated and God-directed. Priestley’s materialist metaphysical views were weaved into his Unitarianism. He believed God was one; that eternal punishment was inconsistent with divine goodness; that Jesus was mortal, but endowed by God to perform superhuman deeds; that Jesus lived to be an example of the perfectibility of men; that Jesus rose from his grave for the sake of the reformation of sinners, not a divine sacrifice; that men were born with original sin; that Jesus ought not to be worshipped; that Jesus would again come to earth; that humans were to be judged by deeds, not faith, a doctrine inconsistent with Calvinist predestination; that there was no soul, separable from the body; and that life after death was possible, insofar as death was merely a decomposition and thus there could in some future state be a recomposition. Thus, his Unitarianism was an attempt to reconcile Christianity with reason and the science of his time. With the advances of reason and science, he believed, like Price, that God planned for continued intellectual and moral improvement in man.⁷¹ As the dissimilarities between Priestley’s and Price’s views show—Priestley being a full-fledged materialist and determinist and Price disagreeing with both—there were sometimes considerable differences among early Unitarians.⁷² Still, there were Unitarians even more radical than Priestley. Consider Francis Adrian Van der Kemp’s Unitarianism. Jefferson, we have seen, wished to see Van der Kemp undertake the fleshing out of his “Syllabus” in the form of a book. Van der Kemp consented to do so. He sent in a letter to Jefferson (1 Nov. 1816) a detailed précis of what he proposed to write. The précis articulated a focus on

 Joseph Priestley, Disquisitions Relating to Matter and Spirit (London: J. Johnson, 1777), xxxviii and 24 ff.  Joseph Priestley, Disquisitions Relating to Matter and Spirit, 33 ff.  Joseph Priestley, Disquisitions Relating to Matter and Spirit, 153.  Joseph Priestley, Disquisitions Relating to Matter and Spirit (London: J. Johnson, 1777), 152.  In 1780, Priestley constructed his own harmony by correcting the New Testament (A Harmony of the Evangelists in English), and later proposed a new edition of the New Testament, based on the latest advances in biblical criticism, but the manuscript was destroyed in the Birmingham fires. Lynn Zastoupil, “‘Notorious and Convicted Mutilators’: Rammohun Roy, Thomas Jefferson, and the Bible,” Journal of World History, Vol. 20, No. 3, 409.  Socian-based Unitarians maintain that Christ began when he was born. Arian-based Unitarians maintain that Christ, prior to his incarnation, existed as Logos in heaven with God.

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revelation and not reason, and accounts of Jesus’ virgin birth, of Jesus being both a real human and part of the godhead, of Jesus’ resurrection, the reality of miracles, “unquestionable proof” of a future state, and of Jesus dying for the sin of the human race. Jefferson must have been rankled on reading the précis, as in all such things, Van der Kemp was offering a depiction of Jesus closer to the account in the New Testament than to Jefferson’s own eventual deterged account in LMJ. Jefferson was not only stirred by Priestley’s Anglican anticlerical Unitarianism, but also that of Rev. Conyers Middleton (1683 – 1750), an anticleric who expressed skepticism concerning the credibility of testimonies of the early Church fathers on miracles and who was considered an apostate.⁷³ Jefferson writes to John Adams (22 Aug. 1813) of his familiarity with certain of Middleton’s heterodox writings. Middleton published A Free Inquiry into the Miraculous Powers, which are Supposed to Have Subsisted in the Christian Church (1749) and An Examination of the Lord Bishop of London’s Discourses concerning the Use and Intent of Prophecy, with … a further Inquiry into the Mosaic account of the Fall (1750). Writes Herbert Schneider: “They [Priestley and Middleton] looked upon the growth of clerical power and of theological conflict as corruptions of Christianity and took a personal religious interest in the ‘pure and simple’ teachings of Christ. They were exceptionally broad churchmen, who were persecuted and became personally embittered against their fellow-clergymen, regarding them, as Jefferson expressed it, as ‘cannibal priests.’ And yet they were sincerely religious.”⁷⁴ The same can be said of Jefferson. Like Newton in his day and Einstein in ours, he found deity not in houses of worship, but in nature. The brushstrokes of deity qua artistic creator were to be found in the beauty of the snow-berry bush, in the first songs of the fox-colored thrush, and even in the simplicity of Jefferson’s political philosophy, with its commitments to thin government, to government by the will of the majority of citizens, to periodic constitutional renewal, to freedom of religion, and to partnership of science and politics, inter alia. In sum, Jefferson was a Unitarian insofar as he made purchases of belief in one God and of belief that humans had duties to that God and duties to each other. In such purchases, however, he was not buying into any sect of religion, but merely into a naturalized and anticlerical religion, where each best fulfilled his duties to God through study of and immersion in the God-crafted cosmos—

 “Conyers Middleton,” Trinity College Chapel, http://trinitycollegechapel.com/about/memorials/shields/middleton/, accessed 3 February 2015.  Herbert W. Schneider, “The Enlightenment in Thomas Jefferson,” Ethics, Vol. 53, No. 4, 1943, 251.

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study of the cosmos perhaps best done at the secular University of Virginia⁷⁵— and each fulfilled his duties to others by benevolent deeds, not inspired by regard for future reward or fear of future punishment. Jefferson, we can conclude, gave religious matters much greater thought— and he thought omnifariously of them—than the overwhelming majority of religionists who have been and continue to be critical of him. He was, like Price and Priestley, a profoundly religious man and his bibles were evidence of deep regard for his twin duties: to God and to others.

 “We suspect that Jefferson envisioned [by UVa] a place where he would no longer be a sect unto himself, or at least a place where all others would be a sect among themselves as independent followers of the same or similar natural religion.” Thomas C. Hunt and Jim Garrison, “Thomas Jefferson on Freedom of Religion and Inquiry: The Paradoxes of Liberal Modernity,” Freedom of Religion and Inquiry, Vol. 21, Nos. 1– 2, 1996, 35.

Index Adams, Dickinson W. 20 Adams, John 14n50, 17, 19, 20n65, 21, 23, 93, 94, 99, 103, 118, 119, 120, 128, 129, 130, 131, 135, 138 Alexander of Macedon 127 Antoninus 13, 15, 17 Baptists 5 Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom 5 Bolingbroke, Lord v, 5, 9, 9n36, 10, 17n55, 100n9, 102, 103n14, 113, 118 – 19, 120, 127 Buckley, Thomas E. 5n22 Cabanis, Pierre Jean George 130, 131 Calvin, John 129, 132 – 33 Canby, William 2 Carr, Peter 91, 93, 93n3, 104 Cicero, Marcus 13, 15, 17, 95n5 Clay, Rev. Charles 22, 127 Condorcet, Marquis de 12 Conkin, Paul 128 Dowse, Edward 15 Dwight, Rev. Timothy 4 Einstein, Albert 138 Epictetus v, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21, 96 Epicurus 13, 15, 17, 21, 23, 96 Erikson, Erik 103 Flourens, Pierre 131 French Revolution 3 Gaustad, E.S. 10, 11, 128 Goodspeed, Edgar 25n75 Hall, J. Lesley 134n59 Harding, David, viin3 Haus, Cari vi–vii Holowchak, M. Andrew vi, 5n21, 11n42, 18n61, 92n1, 103n12, 128n43 Hume, David 11 https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110619843-006

Jefferson, Thomas – and afterlife 9, 91, 110, 111, 113, 119, 127, 128 – 32 – on atheism 1, 3, 20, 120, 121 – and benevolence 5, 10n41, 12, 14, 15 – 16, 17n58, 18, 21, 91, 93, 96, 97, 98, 99, 101, 110, 122n27, 123, 127, 128, 132, 135, 136, 139 – on Biblical Flood 3n13 – and deity 118 – 21 – First Inaugural Address of 2 – on Jesus 5, 9 – 13, 21, 113 – 14, 122 – 28 – and Jesus’ parables 110 – 18 – latitudinarianism of 3 – liberalism of 3, 10n41, 16n52, 92, 135 – materialism of 104 – on morality 15, 16 – 17 – ancient 15 – Jesus’ 16 – 17 – Jewish 15 – Philosophy of Jesus 20 – 23 – on religion: – as natural morality vii, 5, 12 – versus uniformity of 6 – 8 Kames, Lord 17n58, 119 Kant, Immanuel 11 Kercheval, Samuel 127 King, Miles 113 Koch, Adrienne 17n54 Kramnick, Isaac 12n45 Laertius, Diogenes 95 Lardner, Richard 10 Law, Thomas 98, 110 Life and Morals of Jesus 23 – 25 – construction of vi–vii, viii, 91 – 129 – methodological principles 105 – 110 – principles of deselection 99 – 101 – principles of selection 97 – 99 – problematic passages 101 – 5 – Table of the Texts of viii, 26 – 28 – Text of 29 – 90

Index

Little, David 8n33 Livy 100 Locke, John 131 Lucilius 4 Madison, Bishop James 11 Madison, James 15n51, 23 Mason, Rev. John Mitchell 3 Mazzei, Philip 3 Mercier, Louis Sébastien 12 Middleton, Rev. Conyers 138 Montaigne 12, 125 Nepos, Cornelius 95 New Testament v, vii, 4, 5, 10, 14, 17, 18, 20, 21, 23, 24, 91 – 92, 93, 94, 96, 99, 103, 104, 109, 120, 122, 124, 125, 137n71, 138 Newton, Isaac 121, 138 Notes on Virginia 3, 6, 8, 121 Onuf, Peter 135n63 Paine, Thomas 2 Pena, Michael 22n71 Plato/Platonizers 18, 93, 97, 103, 129 – Plutarch 135 Pocock, J.G.A. 3n10 Poplar Forest 1 Price, Richard 10, 10n41, 11, 11bn42, 93, 134, 135 – 39 Priestley, Joseph 11, 11n42, 12, 13, 13n49, 14, 14n50, 15, 16n52, 17, 17n54, 17n55, 19, 20, 21, 93, 96, 103, 104, 111, 114n22, 120, 123, 126, 131, 133, 134, 136 – 37, 138, 139 Pythagoras 13, 15, 17, 19 Quakers 135 Randall, Henry 1, 2, 92

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Recantur 4 religious freedom 3, 3n10, 5, 5n22, 6n23, 8n33 Richard, Carl 130 Rome, Roman Republic 3, 14, 91, 95n5, 123 Rush, Benjamin vi, 12n46, 14, 20n65, 21, 21n69, 120 Sanford, Charles 120, 124, 128 Seneca v, 13, 17 Sheridan, Eugene R. 12n6, 13n47, 13n49, 20, 20n65, 128 Short, William 4, 18, 23, 91, 93, 96, 97, 98, 99, 101, 110, 113, 120, 125, 126, 127 Siculus, Diodorus 100 Smith, William L. 4 Socrates 13, 13n49, 15, 16, 17, 18, 103, 110 – 11, 126, 127 Sparks, Jared 127 Styles, Ezra 1n2 Syllabus vi, vii, 3n7, 13 – 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 24n73, 94 – 95, 110, 112, 126, 127, 137 Thatcher, George 33n3 Thomson, Charles 22 Tocqueville, Alexis de 12n45 Tracy, A.L.C. Destutt de 119, 130 Trinitarianism 9, 11, 103n14, 123, 132, 133, 136 Unitarianism 10n41, 91, 132 – 39 Van der Kemp, Francis Adrian 20n65, 22, 24, 24n73, 93, 94, 95, 131, 132, 137, 138 Waterhouse, Benjamin, 1, 127, 135 Weishaupt, Adam 11 – 12 Whittemore, Thomas 13 Wills, Gary 24