in manner than in the matter, which in so tolerant an age as ours would probably excite little comment; indeed, the book has long ago met its just deserts and few read it now. The tone of the work is flippant and generally in bad taste, in keeping with the irreverent spirit of dealing with sacred things common in the eighteenth century. Now, when it comes to The Crisis, the modern reader will understand at once why that work had such an influence over the thoughtful men of the time. The style is direct and vital, at times even breezy, and now and then an epigram sticks in the reader's memory. Washington thought so highly of the pamphlet as to have it read to the army at Valley Forge for encouragement. The opening sentences of The Crisis have often been quoted:

These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated.

"The Federalist": Hamilton; Madison; Jay.-Less popular and less immediately influential than Paine's pamphletsthough it was much praised and proved more far-reaching in its effects than these was The Federalist, the joint production of Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay. This series of political essays was originally contributed during the years 1787-'88 to New York papers in the form of letters to the people, for the purpose of defending and interpreting the newly adopted national Constitution. Considerable opposition to the Constitution in several states-notably that in Virginia led by Patrick Henry-made such a series of articles particularly timely. They were collected in 1788 in one volume and named The Federalist, a work which has come to be regarded as one of

our greatest political classics. As a clear exposition of the theory of government it has not been excelled, and its luminous arguments, dealing with basic principles, have been the admiration of publicists throughout our national existence.

Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804), who wrote more than half of the eighty-five papers in The Federalist, was born in the West Indies, but came to New York at fifteen and entered King's College (now Columbia University), where as a student he began writing for the press on political subjects. From that time to his death, he was active in public life,-in the army, in Congress, and as a member of Washington's cabinet. Hamilton was the leader of the Federalist party and an able defender of the principles of centralized government. In clearness of style and comprehensiveness of statement he is not surpassed by any of our political essayists.

James Madison (1751-1836), who was associated with Hamilton and Jay in writing The Federalist, was a Virginian, a graduate of Princeton College, member of Congress, secretary of State, and President of the United States. He has been called the "Father of the Constitution" because he fought so strenuously in the Virginia and national constitutional conventions for the adoption of the Constitution and explained and defended it so ably in The Federalist. He was a man of scholarly ability and philosophic temperament, a clear and painstaking writer on constitutional questions. Professor Trent is inclined to the opinion that Madison "approaches the best type of solid, well-trained, and widely informed British statesman more nearly than does any other American."

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826). The most accomplished, democratic, and farseeing of the nation-builders was Thomas Jefferson, author of the "Declaration of Independence,' minister to France, President of the United States, and founder of the University of Virginia. Educated at William and Mary College, he early entered political life, and until his death 'Trent: History of American Literature, p. 152.

at Monticello in 1826 he exerted a notable influence in his state and nation. A man of unusually rich and varied culture, he was both a brilliant theorist and a practical statesman. In him great mental power and wide knowledge were united with democratic sympathies more harmoniously than in any other political leader of his day. He recognized the worth of the individual and believed with all his soul in the rights of the masses; and so he touches the imagination of men of to-day as few of the elder statesmen do. He seems modern and therefore interests us, which is another way of saying that he was an idealist; and all idealists appeal to the future.

In the light of our national development it is very clear that Jefferson was a prophet; indeed, so far ahead of his own generation in his thinking and planning was this remarkable man, that not even yet have we realized his ideals. For instance,

he worked out an elaborate scheme of public education which long seemed quite theoretical, but which recent experience is showing to be beneficently practical. The aims of Jefferson were democratic in the best sense. If we judge from his epitaph, composed by himself, the three of his many services by which he wished to be remembered are the writing of the "Declaration of Independence," the proposing of the statute for religious freedom in Virginia, and the founding of the

Jefferson's Home near University of Virginia

University of Virginia. These contributions, it will be noted, stand respectively for three kinds of liberty-political, spiritual, and intellectual.

As a writer Jefferson is at his best in the "Declaration of Independence," though his first "Inaugural Address" has decided literary merit. The immortal "Declaration" appeals to the heart as well as to the head, and is therefore much more than a mere state paper. The introduction and the conclusion strike a note of real eloquence, despite the fact that the somewhat sonorous and formal style is no longer that of our best prose; certainly the form of statement and the abiding truth of

the principles laid down, also justify the classification of that document as literature. And if the germinal and tonic power of that paper in the cause of freedom the world over be taken into consideration, assuredly its author should be placed among the great creative geniuses. The first "Inaugural Address" is a political classic that should be read by every one who would understand the elemental principles of republican government and the motives which inspired the founders of the American nation.

George Washington (1732-1799).—It would not be correct, of course, to call Washington a literary man, nor in truth does such a designation rightly belong to the political essayists who have just been considered, for they as well as the "Father of his Country" wrote literature only incidentally. The "Farewell Address" of Washington, however, is written in prose of such dignity and nobility and its thought is so solemnly sincere that it has long held a secure place among American prose classics. It has the hallowed tone of a benediction. The same high seriousness characterizes the letter "To the Governors of all the States" and other communications of this wellpoised and august personality. After all, it is the exalted character of Washington which, more than anything else, gives his writing its noble quality.

LITERATURE IN THE MIDDLE STATES

The Middle Colonies of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, were settled by the English later than the Northern and Southern colonies already considered. In the last third.of the seventeenth century there appeared a number of works in the Middle Colonies of a descriptive and historical nature, just as earlier, similar books had been published about the older colonies. These pamphlets hardly merit, however, any attention in so brief a work as this. During the eighteenth century the Middle Colonies became more prominent in