During his presidency, Thomas
Jefferson was determined to make himself a great leader remembered by later
generations as a leader for his great virtues. His deter-mination was reflected
in his inclusion of a poem that Confucius recommended in his personal
scrapbook.[1] The poem paid tribute to
Prince Wei (衞武公)
from the State of Wei
Since Jefferson loved the
poem so much he placed the poem in his personal books. It is worth sharing quotes
from this poem. They will help us understand Jefferson ’s
purpose of having this poem.
[1]
Colin Wells, Thomas Jefferson's Scrapbooks: Poems
of Nation, Family, and Romantic Love Collected by
[2] This poem is in
Shijing (诗经The Book of Odes) compiled by Confucius. It is available on line at http://www.shigeku.org/shiku/ws/sy/shijing.htm
