ABSTRACT
In true Epicureanism there is inherently an element of Stoicism, and Jefferson's circumstances gave him ample chance to exercise that, too. His last years were overshadowed with debts and sickness. To meet at least part of his debt obligation, he sold a ten-thousand-volume library to the national government, which became the nucleus of the present Library of Congress. After a lifetime of extraordinary health, except for the early migraine headaches, Jefferson's body began to give way to the onslaught of the diseases of old age. The spare frame, which had stood up against the ordeals of his long journeys on horseback, suffered from rheumatic attacks, making his beloved daily riding more difficult. His end came on a day and in a manner that has made the death itself seem a symbol of the life. He survived the night of 3 July after a fitful comatose sleep.
