Thanks, John. Some sanity at last. Apparently Lewis doesn't know that it was Jefferson who said it: "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!" It's in one of his most famous letters -- the "Head and Heart" letter. I assumed that specialists would immediately get the allusion. But it whizzed right past Lewis. Henry On Wed, Oct 17, 2012 at 5:15 PM, John Maass <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Is not Jan Lewis being a bit overblown when she faults the author for saying that Monticello was above the clouds? It is an obvious literary device, and I doubt it is meant to be taken literally by the author. Some of Jefferson's visitors also described the spot in similar terms, if I am not mistaken. If Lewis can't recognize this kind of writing, esp. in an intro., I'd hate to read one of her books.... > > John Maass, Ph.D. > 614-506-9537 (c) > New book project: http://tinyurl.com/93ahom4 > > ______________________________________ > To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at > http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html ______________________________________ To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html