Considering Lewis suffered from malaria, he also experienced hypochondriac affections. Hypochondria is often defined as the fear that a minor physical or mental symptom may indicate a serious illness, concluding in self-examination and self-diagnosis. In an 1816 letter to John Adams, Jefferson described Lewis as having “gloomy and hypochondriac minds.” He inferred that his hypochondriac minds were made by his practical depressions in his mind and such minds were “peculiar”. Jefferson claimed that any sudden outburst of any hypochondria would produce “painful reflections” (Danisi 21). What Jefferson meant, is that Lewis’s mind was starting to turn against him. Implying that his depressive state was a danger to him. Lewis’s body was “infected”