430 DIFFERENCES IN 



our countrymen to exert themselves in behalf of the unen- 

 lightened and oppressed : I cannot contemplate without 

 strong admiration, the heroic self-denial, and the generous 

 devotion of those, vi^ho, foregoing the comforts, luxuries, and 

 rational enjoyments of polished society, expose themselves 

 to noxious climates and to all the perils of unknown coun- 

 tries, in order to win over the savage to the settled habits, 

 the useful arts, and the various advantages of civilized life, 

 to rescue him from the terrors of superstition, and bestow 

 on him the inestimable blessings of mental culture and pure 

 religion. But our expectations and exertions in this, as in 

 other cases, must be limited by the natural capabilities of 

 the subject. The retreating forehead and the depressed 

 vertex of the dark varieties of man make me strongly doubt 

 whether they are susceptible of these high destinies ; — 

 whether they are capable of fathoming the depths of 

 science ; of understanding and appreciating the doctrines 

 and the mysteries of our religion. These obstacles will, I 

 fear, be too powerful for Missionaries and Bible Societies ; 

 for Bell and Lancaster Schools. Variety of powers in 

 the various races corresponds to the differences, both in 

 kind and degree, which characterize the individuals of each 

 race, — indeed, to the general character of all nature, in 

 which uniformity is most carefully avoided. To expect 

 that the Americans or Africans can be raised by any culture 

 to an equal height in moral sentiments and intellectual 

 energy with Europeans, appears to me quite as unreason- 

 able as it would be to hope that the bull-dog may equal the 

 greyhound in speed ; that the latter may be taught to hunt 

 by scent like the hound ; or that the mastiff may rival in ta- 

 lents and acquirements the sagacious and docile poodle. 



