timelets

the yellow fever will discourage the growth of great cities in our nation; & I view great cities as pestilential to the morals, the health and the liberties of man. true, they nourish some of the elegant arts; but the useful ones can thrive elsewhere, and less perfection in the others with more health virtue & freedom would be my choice.

--- From Thomas Jefferson to Benjamin Rush, 23 September 1800.
https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-32-02-0102

re: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1793_Philadelphia_yellow_fever_epidemic

As usual, the future looks crazy, the past [even when represented by major figures of that time] looks stupid.