624 Jefferson, Thomas
as the disparity in physical beauty between the two
races. Unlike his treatment of Native Americans,
he now spends several pages listing the physical
differences of black slaves and how these physical
attributes somehow affect their abilities and moral-
ity. He suggests, for example, they require less sleep
and are more ardent in desire. Because of their more
primitive nature, he says, they are more feeling than
they are thinking. He talks of famous black literati
of the time, but they are always inferior according to
his standards. In other words, the racial difference
becomes the ground on which Jefferson judges their
mental and moral capacity.
This view of racial difference as set in nature
hinders Jefferson from realizing true equality. It also
echoes Alexander Pope’s idea of a “Great Chain
of Beings,” meaning the world is a hierarchical
structure created by God. It would then be unwise
for the two races to mingle together. For Jefferson,
there is a definite racial hierarchy among the white
settlers, Native Americans, and African Americans.
But despite his historical limitations, Jefferson does
recognize the injustice of racial oppressions, and as
an Enlightenment thinker, he at least takes the first
step toward eliminating the racial barriers and turn-
ing them into mutual understandings.
Huang-hua Chen
reliGion in Notes on the State of Virginia
Thomas Jefferson’s Notes is not a religious piece per
se, but it is definitely filled with religious sentiments
and views. While the Notes is mostly concerned
with the miscellaneous affairs of Virginia, there is
usually a religious subtext that the reader can detect.
Whether or not it is specific to a Christian world
view is another matter.
One can start to sense this religious undertone
when Jefferson describes his experience of the
sublime in the Blue Ridge Mountains. This idea is
important in the 18th century because, while this is
the age of reason, the sublime represents that which
is beyond the reasonable boundary, religious experi-
ence being something that does cross this boundary.
The 18th century produced several philosophical
works on the sublime, and Jefferson seems to be pre-
occupied as well. While remarking on the dynamic
pictures of the Shenandoah Valley, Jefferson states
that “the piles of rock on each hand, but particu-
larly on the Shenandoah, the evident marks of their
disrupture and avulsion from their beds by the most
powerful agents of nature, corroborate the impres-
sion.” That the world we live in changes over time is
not something Jefferson is willing to give up, accord-
ing to his religious belief. But how do you reconcile
the obvious contradiction between the sublime and
the harmonious world? He proposes to look at the
“small catch of smooth blue horizon, at an infinite
distance in the plain country” because here “the eye
ultimately composes itself.” Through this experience
of the sublime, Jefferson seems to say that while
religion or religious experience is sometimes said to
be incomprehensible to finite beings such as us, it is
only because of our limited capacity. When we look
at the big picture, not the mere “impression,” we will
be able to find the reasonableness of the world we
live in.
This world view is reminiscent of Alexander
Pope’s famous dictum, “Whatever is, is Right.” Both
are influenced by Christianity and try to grapple
with a world filled with obvious contradictions. This
subtext can be seen when Jefferson observes the fos-
sil bones of mammoths. He asks his readers whether
he should omit references to the extinction of mam-
moths, saying. “Such is the economy of nature, that
no instance can be produced of her having permitted
any one race of her animals to become extinct; of her
having formed any link in her great work so weak
as to be broken.” For Jefferson, nature is very much
the work of God, and to some extent, an equivalent
of God, and for nature to be broken down is utterly
unthinkable. This idea that religious truth can be
found in nature is not uncommon, but in the context
of Christianity, nature often represents the work of
God and thus indicates a sense of harmonious order
or hierarchy.
This parallel between a natural order and reli-
gion can be found in Jefferson’s attitude toward
slaves. It is important to know that Jefferson adopts
an abolitionist attitude. But again, the religious
subtext plays into the decision as well. While he
supports the emancipation of the slaves, he does it
because he learns from religion and history that the
world is constantly in cyclical movement. Here we
find the perfect example where nature and religion