evidence: Earliest known appearance in print: Charles Bufe, The Heretic's Handbook of Quotations (San Francisco, CA: See Sharp Press, 1992), 200. (This source claims that the quote is from a letter to Jefferson's nephew, Peter Carr.) Comments: This quotation has not been found in any of the writings of Thomas Jefferson. It appears to be a collection of paraphrases of comments made in multiple Jefferson letters: [...] 931 Thomas Jefferson Parkway