Let what will be said or done, preserve your sangfroid immovably, and to every obstacle, oppose patience, perseverance, and soothing language.

The sentence counsels emotional self-command under provocation: whatever others say or do, one should keep “sangfroid” (coolness of mind) steady and unshaken. Jefferson frames effective response to “obstacles” not as force or retaliation but as a disciplined triad—patience (restraint in the moment), perseverance (sustained effort over time), and “soothing language” (rhetorical tact that lowers conflict). Read as practical moral psychology, it treats composure as a strategic virtue: calm speech and steady persistence can outlast opposition and preserve one’s dignity and aims when circumstances invite anger or rashness.