2388. EDUCATION, Devotion to.—
A
system of general instruction, which shall
reach every description of our citizens from
the richest to the poorest, as it was the earliest,
so will it be the latest of all the public
concerns in which I shall permit myself to
take an interest. Nor am I tenacious of the
form in which it shall be introduced. Be
that what it may, our descendants will be
as wise as we are, and will know how to
amend and amend it, until it shall suit their
circumstances. Give it to us then in any
shape, and receive for the inestimable boon
the thanks of the young and the blessings of
the old, who are past all other services but
prayers for the prosperity of their country,
and blessings for those who promote it.—
To Joseph C. Cabell.
Ford ed., x. 102.
(M.
1818)
