4119. JEFFERSON (Thomas), Offices refused.—
No circumstances will ever more
tempt me to engage in anything public. I
thought myself perfectly fixed in this determination
when I left Philadelphia, but
every day and hour since has added to its
inflexibility. It is a great pleasure to me to
retain the esteem and approbation of the President,
and this forms the only ground of any
reluctance at being unable to comply with
every wish of his. [259]
—
To Edmund Randolph. Washington ed. iv, 108.
Ford ed., vi, 512.
(M.
Sep. 1794)
