Dumas Malone was the unparalleled biographer of Thomas Jefferson. In one of his volumes, he attests to the fact that Thomas Jefferson was known to have an enormous faith in the goodness of man and nature.
When he was president, in the year 1807, Zeb Pike was exploring in the southwest and sent Jefferson some live Grizzly bear cubs. The President did not know much about them and hadn't yet read Lewis and Clark's report on the grizzly. Still, he observed that they seemed playful and cuddly, so he sent them to a friend of his, Charles Wilson Peale.
Peale was equally optimistic about the harmony of the animal world with humans. He receive Jefferson’s accompanying message well, "They [the grizzly bear cubs] know no benefactor but man. "
Unfortunately, events proved Jefferson's faith in the nature of animals unwarranted. When the bears grew bigger and older, one escaped from his cage and terrified the family." Peale killed both bears and had them stuffed. You can almost see Malone smile when he writes, “… in this harmless form Peale continued to exhibit them."
I see these grizzly cubs serving as effective metaphors for humanity. Likewise, people start out as warm and cuddly creatures. But I have found it important to never underestimate their power to hurt or maim others. If they don’t do so physically, they will emotionally. And sometimes, this is the more destructive course.
As Paul quoted from the Psalms in the Rom. 3:10, “As it is written:
"There is no one righteous, not even one…”
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