Thomas Jefferson Encyclopedia

Workhouse of Nature (Quotation)

Writing to Maria Cosway in 1786, Jefferson described the sublime experience of looking down from Monticello's mountaintop into what he called "the workhouse of nature" — clouds, hail, rain, and thunder at his feet.

Aerial view of the Monticello plantation in autumn; photographic image (c) Thomas Jefferson Foundation.

"And our own dear Monticello ... How sublime to look down into the workhouse of nature, to see her clouds, hail, snow, rain, thunder, all fabricated at our feet!"1
     - Thomas Jefferson to Maria Cosway, October 12, 1786

Footnotes

  1. PTJ, 10:447. Transcription available at Founders Online.