ied
the place of our newspapers. Bolingbroke, Swift, Johnson, and Burke,
all the serious and some of the gay writers, acquired repute by this
kind of effort. Neither were the speeches of leading men circulated
then as at present. At the time of the Revolution, an oration never
reached those who did not hear it. This gave a great advantage to
the writer. The pamphlets of Otis and Thomas Paine were read by
multitudes who never heard a word of the eloquence of Henry and Adams.
A high standard of taste had been created, and success in political
dissertation was difficult, but, when obtained, it was of
proportionate value, and the source of wide and permanent influence.
Jefferson found a function requiring much the same talents with that
of the pamphleteer, but possessing some advantages over it. The only
means which the Continental Congress and the colonial legislatures
had of communicating with their constituents and the mother country
was by formal addresses. These documents were arguments upon public
questions, possessing the force which an argument always has when it
is the expression of great numbers of minds. An audience was certain.
At home they were sure to be read, and in England they attracted the
attention of every one connected with affairs. Jefferson's literary
talents were soon discovered. One successful performance in the
Virginia House of Delegates established a reputation which the
Declaration of Independence has made immortal.

In every point of view, Jefferson is entitled to a high place in
American literature. As a mere rhetorician, he has few equals; as a
political writer, not more than two or three. An adherence to
logical forms and the use of mathematical illustrations are his most
noticeable faults. But they are not found in his more elaborate
performances. He has the supreme merit of perfect clearness,
naturalness, and grace of expression. Though never eloquent, he
sometimes rises to an earnest and dignified declamation. Not
infrequently he has achieved the highest success, and clothed
valuable thought in language so appropriate, that the phrases have
passed into the national vocabulary and become popular catchwords.
His first inaugural address contains more of those expressions which
are daily heard in our political discussions than any other American
composition. There has been some speculation as to how it was
possible for a gentleman, with no other discipline than that afforded
by a colonial e