by Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826)
I shall not die without a hope that...
Language: English
I shall not die without a hope that light and liberty are on steady advance... And even should the cloud of barbarism and despotism again obscure the science and liberties of Europe, this country remains to preserve and restore light and liberty to them... The flames kindled on the 4th of July, 1776, have spread over too much of the globe to be extinguished by the feeble engines of despotism; on the contrary, they will consume these engines and all who work them.
About the headline (FAQ)
Note: ths is from a letter to John Adams from 12 September 1821. Line breaks have been added.
Text Authorship:
- by Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826), written 1821 [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Randall Thompson (1899 - 1984), "I shall not die without a hope that light and liberty", 1943, published 1943 [ chorus and orchestra ], from cantata The Testament of Freedom, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Andrew Schneider [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2019-11-12
Line count: 9
Word count: 83