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Excerpt from The Autobiography of Joseph Jefferson<br/><br/>An Irishman once exclaimed that no man should write his autobiography but himself. If Pat were not quite precise in his expression, still we can arrive at what he meant.<br/><br/>One's own history will naturally be clearer when told by one's self than it could be if passed through the esteem of a friend or the prejudice of a foe; besides a man can with impunity chastise his own acts in a manner that would look cruel in an enemy, and will naturally avoid that kind of praise a friend might lavish, knowing that he would only be ridiculed for vaunting his own merits. The curious memories that rush upon one when alone are fresher and more vital than those that are coldly drawn out by a succession of premeditated interviews. Thoughts, too, should be jotted down as quickly as they come, and are more vigorous if shaped by the simple language that usually accompanies them; labored alteration will sometimes rob them of their value, as a master stroke of the brush is often ruined by elaboration.<br/><br/>How often the painter, after having spoiled his first work by some intellectual modification, has said to himself, "Oh, how I wish I had let it alone."<br/><br/>About the Publisher<br/><br/>Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com<br/><br/>This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.