William Small was a different story. Born in Scotland in 1734, Small graduated with his M.A. from Marischal College, Aberdeen, in 1755. Little is known of his whereabouts from the time of graduation until three years later, when he found himself in Virginia. He subscribed his oath as Professor of Natural Philosophy at William and Mary on October 19, 1758. With no one to replace Rowe after his dismissal, Small also assumed the responsibilities of the Professor of Moral Philosophy. Jefferson makes his attitude toward this development clear in the pages of his autobiography: “Fortunately the Philosophical chair became vacant soon after my arrival at college, and he was appointed to fill it per interim: and he was the first who ever gave in that college regular lectures in Ethics, Rhetoric and Belles lettres.”14 Filling both positions, Small was able to reshape the undergraduate curriculum and influence his pupils profoundly.
Jefferson’s comments suggest that Small changed not only what subjects were taught but also how those subjects were taught. He introduced the lecture system to William and Mary, a system of instruction he had learned at Aberdeen from some of the leading figures in the Scottish Enlightenment. Remembering Small many years later, Jefferson wrote: “He was Professor of Mathematics at William and Mary, and, for some time, was in the philosophical chair. He first introduced into both schools rational and elevated courses of study, and, from an extraordinary conjunction of eloquence and logic, was enabled to communicate them to the students with great effect.”15
Teaching both branches of study, Small saw no need to keep them distinct. He exposed students to new subjects and encouraged them to think about how knowledge was categorized and codified. The college statutes required the Professor of Moral Philosophy to teach “Rhetorick, Logick, and Ethicks.” Fulfilling the responsibilities of the position, Small, as Jefferson said, taught “Ethics, Rhetoric and Belles lettres.”16 Jefferson was not saying that Small quit teaching logic; he was saying that Small had broadened the curriculum to include more modern subjects. Happily, the college statutes gave Small the latitude to alter the curriculum as he saw fit. Recognizing the longstanding overreliance on Aristotelian thought in traditional European college curricula, those who drafted the statutes for William and Mary left it to the board of visitors and the instructors to determine “what Systems of Logick, Physicks, Ethicks, and Mathematicks they think fit.”17 This provision gave Small the opportunity to expand the natural philosophy curriculum significantly.
As Professor of Moral Philosophy, Small may have deemphasized the teaching of ethics, if the preferences Jefferson later conveyed are any indication. Enumerating several topics of study in an admonitory letter to Peter Carr, Jefferson wrote: “Moral philosophy. I think it lost time to attend lectures in this branch. He who made us would have been a pitiful bungler if he had made the rules of our moral conduct a matter of science.” With this advice, Jefferson was not recommending against the study of moral philosophy, but rather suggesting that the subject should be studied differently from the sciences. In pedagogical terms, lectures greatly aided the study of science and mathematics, as Jefferson’s classroom experience with Professor Small confirmed. Alternatively, reading, combined with contemplation and the exercise of reason, provided the best way to understand moral philosophy. “In this branch therefore,” Jefferson told Carr, “read good books because they will encourage as well as direct your feelings.”18 There is one way to reconcile what Jefferson says in this letter regarding how to learn moral philosophy with the list of general subjects he remembered Small teaching: Small taught belles lettres as a way of teaching moral philosophy.
William Small, by unknown artist. (The Assay Office, Birmingham, England)
Of all the possible subjects Small may have taught his pupils as Professor of Moral Philosophy, logic seems most certain. At Marischal College, he had studied under William Duncan, the author of Elements of Logick, a widely used logic textbook of the time. Duncan’s work originally appeared as part of the second volume of Robert Dodsley’s Preceptor. Retaining the major divisions of classical logic, Duncan sought to accommodate recent trends in Scottish common-sense philosophy, an approach Jefferson found amenable. Modern-day rhetoricians have noticed that the patterns of logic Duncan outlined in Elements of Logick recur frequently in Jefferson’s public and private writings.19
Despite his knowledge of moral philosophy, Small was more at home in the realm of natural philosophy, a category of learning that basically encompassed what is now termed the sciences. A brilliant scientist in his own right, Small opened his students’ minds to a vast array of scientific discoveries. Remembering the education he received at William and Mary, John Page recalled what subjects Small taught and how the professor had influenced him. Before Small had introduced him to the sciences, Page’s primary interest was history, but with Small’s help, “Natural and experimental Philosophy, Mechanics, and, in short, every branch of the Mathematics, particularly Algebra, and Geometry, warmly engaged my attention, till they led me on to Astronomy, to which after I had left College, till some time after I was married, I devoted my time.”20 This description of Small’s personal influence is no hyperbole. In 1769, Page became involved with one of the greatest cooperative scientific endeavors of the era—the observation of the transit of Venus. He also helped found the Virginia Society for the Promotion of Useful Knowledge in 1772 and became its president two years later. Furthermore, he was elected to the most prestigious scientific body on the continent, the American Philosophical Society.
Jefferson, too, remembered learning mathematics and astronomy from Small, knowledge that stuck with him throughout his life, even though he could not always devote as much attention to it as he wished. Involved with the Reverend James Madison in observing the eclipse of 1811, Jefferson wrote, “I have been for some time rubbing up my mathematics from the rust contracted by fifty years’ pursuits of a different kind. And thanks to the good foundation laid at college by my old master and friend Small, I am doing it with a delight and success beyond my expectation.”21 Jefferson’s gratitude toward Small was genuine, but his assertion that fifty years had passed since he had used the mathematics Small had taught him can hardly be believed. Throughout his life, he had had numerous opportunities to apply his mathematical knowledge and often took advantage of these.
At William and Mary, Jefferson learned calculus with William Emerson’s Doctrine of Fluxions—“the book I used at College” he called it.22 His correspondence makes reference to the work several times. When faced with intricate mathematical problems while separated from his library, Jefferson regretted being without his copy of Emerson’s Fluxions. Most important, he would use the work to help create his greatest agricultural invention, the Moldboard of Least Resistance. Jefferson’s knowledge of higher mathematics helped him design the curvature of the moldboard in such a way that it let a plough turn over furrows with much greater facility than previously possible.23
A note Jefferson made in his 1772 Virginia Almanack confirms that Small also taught mechanics and hints that he used another of Emerson’s textbooks, The Principles of Mechanics. Starting from Newton’s basic laws of motion, Emerson described pumps, simple steam engines, waterwheels, and many other practical devices. The numerous engraved plates that Emerson included greatly contributed to the book’s usefulness.24 Though taking Emerson as his starting point, Small did not feel bound to follow his text slavishly. He added his own ideas and modifications as he adapted Emerson’s Mechanics. Remembering what he had learned in college a decade later, Jefferson compared a “water mill on Small’s plan” with a “Spiral mill from Emerson’s mechanics.”25 Jefferson applied what he had learned in college by constructing models of the two mills in order to compare their efficiency.
Beyond what can be gleaned from incidental references among the papers of Page and Jefferson or conjectured from library inventories of Small’s other students, the specific science curriculum they and their classmates received from him during the early 1760s has otherwise escaped historic
al record. The circle of scientific friends Small developed and the range of scientific interests he displayed upon his return to Great Britain later that decade reveal his understanding of nearly every known branch of scientific inquiry. He already had an excellent knowledge of medicine. Within a year after his return to Great Britain in the mid-1760s, he arranged for a medical degree from Aberdeen. He subsequently established a practice in Birmingham, where he became the center of a group of leading scientists and literati known as the Lunar Circle: Matthew Boulton, Erasmus Darwin, Thomas Day, Richard Lovell Edgeworth, James Keir, John Roebuck, James Watt, and Josiah Wedgwood.
Small assisted Boulton and Watt with their steam-engine research. He conferred with Roebuck regarding the production of alkali. He experimented with chemistry and metallurgy. He imagined possible ways to alter the world’s climate. He experimented with optics and devised technical improvements for the telescope and microscope. He patented a new way of constructing timepieces. He gave thought to ways of improving agricultural machinery. He collected botanical specimens. And he even corresponded with Benjamin Franklin regarding a cure for the common cold.
Praising his teacher, Jefferson suggested that Small gave him the knowledge that fixed his destiny. Though effusive, this praise for Small is not unique. The prominent men who came to know him in Great Britain similarly honored him. Erasmus Darwin, who made Small his “favourite friend,” found him unequaled in terms of his “strength of Reasoning, quickness of Invention, Learning in the Discoveries of other men, and Integrity of Heart.” James Keir called him “a gentleman of very uncommon merit … who to the most extensive, various, and accurate knowledge in the sciences, in literature, and in life, joined engaging manners, a most exact conduct, a liberality of sentiment, and an enlightened humanity.” Richard Lovell Edgeworth stated that Small was “esteemed by all who knew him, and by all who were admitted to his friendship beloved with no common enthusiasm.”26
Jefferson, too, experienced Small’s integrity of heart, enlightened humanity, and enthusiastic friendship. In his autobiography, he explained how quickly their friendship blossomed and how deep went its roots. Small had “a happy talent of communication correct and gentlemanly manners, and an enlarged and liberal mind. He, most happily for me, became soon attached to me and made me his daily companion when not engaged in the school; and from his conversation I got my first views of the expansion of science and of the system of things in which we are placed.”27 It is not hard to imagine the daily conversations between Small and Jefferson. Their talks could have occurred in any of a number of different locations: up and down the Duke of Gloucester Street; across the tables at the Raleigh Tavern or the coffeehouse; amidst the college’s meager laboratory equipment, which Small took great pains to improve; or in Small’s modestly furnished apartment at the college.
In addition to his powers of communication, Small also had excellent powers of observation. Testing the capacity of human sight, Erasmus Darwin used Small as an experimental subject and found his eyesight exceptional. He was “capable of the most patient and most accurate observation.” After a number of independent trials, Small never lost sight of the smallest object with either of his eyes. Both literally and figuratively, Small helped his students see the world in new ways. “To his enlightened and affectionate guidance of my studies while at college,” Jefferson wrote, “I am indebted for everything.”28
Small likely shared his library with Jefferson, too. William and Mary had its own library, but it was woefully inadequate. After fire had destroyed the earlier college library in 1705, the collection had been rebuilt largely with donations from clergyman and philanthropists. In 1734, the Virginia legislature imposed a tax on imported liquor and earmarked its revenues for library books for the college. Subsequent fires during the nineteenth century ravaged the library’s collections, destroying nearly all of its books and almost all the evidence of its contents.29 Such evidence, had it survived, would contribute little toward understanding Jefferson’s education. Undergraduates traditionally did not have library privileges. Small could have helped Jefferson access the books in the college library, but his personal collection was more up-to-date and more pertinent to his student’s interests than the school library’s holdings.
Jefferson’s Williamsburg education extended beyond the printed word. When the Cherokee chief Ostenaco came to Williamsburg in the spring of 1762 at the head of a large band of Cherokee, he toured the college, met the governor, and made plans to visit London to meet King George III. The evening before his departure, Ostenaco delivered a moving oration to his people. Jefferson was present for this great speech and remembered it all his life. A half century later he recalled, “I was in his camp when he made his great farewell oration to his people, the evening before his departure for England. The moon was in full splendor, and to her he seemed to address himself in his prayers for his own safety on the voyage, and that of his people during his absence. His sounding voice, distinct articulation, animated action, and the solemn silence of his people at their several fires, filled me with awe and veneration, altho’ I did not understand a word he uttered.”30 Jefferson became fascinated with Indian oratory and subsequently devoted much effort collecting information about Indian languages. His encounter with Ostenaco, like so many of his early encounters in Williamsburg, helped shape ideas he would hold for a lifetime.
The education Jefferson received at William and Mary greatly surpassed his expectations. All he really hoped for was a little knowledge of mathematics. Instead, what he received was a thorough grounding in the field of modern scientific inquiry. He also made some longtime friends, the most important being John Page. Comments Jefferson made in his correspondence once both had left college reveal how close they had become. Upon expressing in a letter some philosophical ideas regarding man’s place in the universe, Jefferson confessed to Page, “I almost imagined myself in Williamsburgh talking to you in our old unreserved way.” Making additional reflections in another letter, he characterized these remarks as “a continuation of the many conversations we have had on subjects of this kind.”31 Their intimate discussions at college allowed both men to test their knowledge and rehearse new ideas as they occurred. The experience gave them memories they would cherish throughout their lives.
Page recalled that in their college days Jefferson preferred the life of the mind to social gatherings. Talking about the time they spent together at William and Mary, Page admitted, “I was too sociable, and fond of the conversation of my friends, to study as Mr. Jefferson did, who could tear himself away from his dearest friends, to fly to his studies.”32 Page’s words suggest that Jefferson successfully accomplished in Williamsburg what he had difficulty accomplishing at Shadwell: Becoming a college student, he transformed social intercourse from a matter of obligation to a matter of choice. When he wished, he could enjoy social gatherings. When he did not, he could devote time to his books.
CHAPTER 5
The Williamsburg Circle
Thomas Jefferson left William and Mary on April 25, 1762, without taking a degree. Under the old requirements, he had already attended college long enough to earn his baccalaureate. Under the new ones, he was only half finished. He saw no reason to continue. Richard Graham, dismissed as Professor of Natural Philosophy three years earlier, had been reappointed to the faculty in mid-1761, this time as Professor of Moral Philosophy. Despite Graham’s learning—he had an M.A. from Oxford—he made little impression on Jefferson, who much preferred William Small as Professor of Moral Philosophy. Deciding to leave college, Jefferson saw that getting an education was more important than earning a degree. He believed that a good education extends beyond the walls of a classroom.
He would keep learning from Professor Small whether or not he stayed in college. Their friendship would endure, and their almost daily conversations would continue while both remained in Williamsburg. The education he had received from Small already went beyond moral and natural philosophy. For one thing, Jefferso
n was learning much about proper social conduct from his teacher. With his gentlemanly manners, Small functioned as a kind of walking conduct manual for his student, whose subsequent reputation for courtesy and good manners owes much to William Small.1
Jefferson left college mainly because he had decided to read law under George Wythe (pronounced “with”). He was indebted to Small for introducing him to Wythe, who had a reputation as the finest legal mind in Virginia. Wythe was an excellent teacher, too. Unlike so many other contemporary lawyers who used their students to do the clerical chores they would prefer not to do, Wythe proved to be a sensitive and caring mentor. Finding him a kindred spirit, Jefferson considered Wythe his second father. Other Virginia lawyers surpassed him in oratorical ability; Wythe established his legal reputation through painstaking case preparation. The same could be said about Jefferson’s abilities as an attorney. Though he would study eloquence in an effort to hone his oratorical skills, he, too, would distinguish himself as a lawyer by the written word, not the spoken.2
In addition to setting a professional example for Jefferson’s legal training, Wythe represented the well-rounded man of letters. An aficionado of English verse, he was also an expert in the sciences, especially mathematics. Largely self-taught, Wythe was an excellent classicist, too. Andrew Burnaby, who met him during his time in Virginia, singled Wythe out among all Virginians and praised his “perfect knowledge of the Greek language, which was taught him by his mother in the back woods.”3
Characterizing Wythe’s personality, Jefferson found a classical reference useful: “No man ever left behind him a character more venerated than George Wythe. His virtue was of the purest tint; his integrity inflexible, and his justice exact; of warm patriotism, and, devoted as he was to liberty, and the natural and equal rights of man, he might truly be called the Cato of his country, without the avarice of the Roman, for a more disinterested person never lived.”4 Wythe made his classical learning part of his everyday life. He often peppered his conversations and correspondence with appropriate Latin mottos. His erudition allowed Jefferson to continue his pursuit of ancient tongues even as he began studying law.
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