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Jefferson's courage and idealism were based on knowledge. He probably knew more than any other man of his age. He was an expert in agriculture, archeology, and medicine. He practiced crop rotation and soil conservation a century before these became standard practice, and he invented a plow superior to any other in existence. He influenced architecture throughout America, and he was constantly producing devices for making the tasks of ordinary life easier to perform.
杰斐逊的勇气和理想主义是以知识为基础的。他懂得的东西也许比同时代的任何人都要多。在农业、考古学和医学方面他都是专家。在人们普遍采用农作物轮作和土壤保持的做法以前一个世纪，他就这样做了。他还发明了一种比当时任何一种都好的耕犁。他影响了整个美国的建筑业，他还不断地制造出各种器械装置，使日常生活中需要做的许多工作变得更加容易。
Of all Jefferson's many talents, one is central. He was above all a good and tireless writer. His complete works, now being published for the first time, will fill more than fifty volumes. His talent as an author was soon discovered, and when the time came to write the Declaration of Independence at Philadelphia in 1776, the task of writing it was his. Millions have thrilled to his words: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal..."
在杰斐逊的众多才能中，有一种是最主要的：他首先是一位优秀的、不知疲倦的作家。目前正在第一次出版的他的全集将超过五十卷。他作为一个作家的才能很快便被发现了，所以，当1776年在费城要撰写《独立宣言》的时刻来到时，这一任务便落在了他肩上。数以百万计的人们读到他写的下列词句都激动不已：“我们认为这些真理是不言而喻的：一切人生来就是平等的……”
When Jefferson died on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of American independence, he left his countrymen a rich legacy of ideas and examples. American education owes a great debt to Thomas Jefferson, who believed that only a nation of educated people could remain free.
1826年7月4日，正值美国独立五十周年纪念日之际，杰斐逊与世长辞了。他给他的同胞留下了一份丰富的思想遗产和众多的榜样。托马斯·杰斐逊对美国的教育事业作出了巨大的贡献，他认为，只有受过教育的人民组成的国家才能保持自由。
