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> I am trying to locate a quote attributable to Mr. Jefferson. > I have had no success thus far. > > The context in which this quotation was to have been made > was with Mr. Jefferson explaining his views on different > social classes existing within a democracy. > > The quote -- and I paraphrase -- goes something like this: > > "I can envision an aristocracy of achievement stemming from > a democracy of opportunity." I have not seen a passage in Jefferson's writings exactly like that about which you inquire. That does not mean it does not exist, of course. The closest thing to it is the following: "There is a natural aristocracy among men. The grounds of this are virtue and talents... There is also an artificial aristocracy founded on wealth and birth, without either virtue or talents; for with these it would belong to the first class... The artificial aristocracy is a mischievous ingredient in government, and provision should be made to prevent its ascendency." --Thomas Jefferson to John Adams, 1813. ME 13:396 "Instead of an aristocracy of wealth, of more harm and danger than benefit to society, to make an opening for the aristocracy of virtue and talent, which nature has wisely provided for the direction of the interests of society and scattered with equal hand through all its conditions, was deemed essential to a well-ordered republic." --Thomas Jefferson: Autobiography, 1821. MW 1:54 It is interesting to observe the difference between the above views on an aristocracy of talents, and the aristocracy of achievement gained through taking advantage of the opportunities presented in a free and democratic society, which seems to be the point of the quote you inquire about. Offhand, it doesn't sound like Jefferson to me. It does not seem to be his style, though that could be because it is imperfectly remembered. This is pure speculation on my part, but it doesn't seem to fit squarely into Jefferson's philosophy to me. Jefferson seemed always to be sceptical of ANY aristocracy, and only spoke of an "aristocracy of talents" in order to contrast it with the establishment aristocracy based on wealth and nothing else. Therefore, I have difficulty hearing Jefferson speak well of an aristocracy gained through achievement, even if it results from talent being exercised under the opportunities presented by a democratic society. An aristocracy of talent uses the word "aristocracy" as a metaphor. But an aristocracy of achievement seems to imply that through one achievements, one has elevated oneself to a position above others. I am reminded of the passage in which Jefferson wrote, "Because Sir Isaac Newton was superior to others in understanding, he was not therefore lord of the person or property of others." --Thomas Jefferson to Henri Gregoire, 1809. ME 12:255 You could reword that to say, Because Newton was a man of great achievement, that did not make him an aristocrat with respect to others. Whether that is a fair paraphrase or not could be debated. But my point is, the idea of someone being an aristocrat in some respect that made a man superior *as a person* to others was, IMO, quite foreign to Jefferson's philosophy of "all men are created equal." Thus, a person might very well be superior in talents or achievements, but that would not elevate him to a position of superiority above others, as seems to be implied by the term "aristocracy of achievement." That is my opinion of the quotation, but as I said, I could be completely wrong.