MAN. 



ous. Strangers to the licentious appe- 

 tites which frequently proceed from a de- 

 praved imagination, they cheerfully re- 

 ceive the bounteous gifts of nature ; and 

 when midnight sways her ebon sceptre 

 over the country, 



" Sweetly composed the weary peasant 



lies, 

 Tlio* through the woods terrific winds 



resound ; 

 Tho' rattling thunder shakes the vaulted 



skies, 

 Or vivid lightning runs along the ground." 



We must remember, that the stature of 

 any tribe or nation will be gradually 

 changed by inter-marriages with others, 

 and that it can be preserved pure only by 

 avoiding such intercourse. That heredi- 

 tary disposition has great influence on 

 the size of the body, is undeniably prov- 

 ed by numerous examples of families re- 

 markable for their tallness or lowness of 

 stature. 



Faculties of the Mind. The different 

 progress of various nations in general ci- 

 vilization, and in the culture of the arts 

 and sciences, the different characters and 

 degrees of excellence in their literary 

 productions, their varied forms of go- 

 vernment, and many other considerations, 

 must convince us, beyond the possibility 

 of doubt, that the races of mankind are 

 no less characterized by diversity of men- 

 tal endowments, than by those differ- 

 ences of organization which we have al- 

 ready enumerated and considered. Such, 

 however, has been the effect of educa- 

 tion, of laws, of peculiar habits and cus- 

 toms, and of the different forms of go- 

 vernment, in modifying the mind and cha- 

 racter of men, that we cannot now dis- 

 cern what should be ascribed to original 

 difference, and what should be referred 

 to the operation of these external causes. 

 That climate will exert a powerful influ- 

 ence on the mind, may be very reasona- 

 bly expected ; and it lias an analogous in- 

 fluence on the animal creation. W e are 

 informed, that the dog in Kamtschatka, 

 instead of being faithful and attached to 

 his master, is malignant, treacherous, and 

 full of deceit. He does not bark in the 

 hot purls of Africa, nor in Greenland; 

 and in the latter country loses his docility, 

 so as not to be fit for hunting. 



Yet we are decidedly of opinion, that 

 the differences of intellect are not suffi- 

 cient, in any instance, to warrant us in re- 

 ferring a particular race to an originally 

 different species ; and we particularly 

 protest against the sentiments of those, 



VOL. IV. 



who would either entirely deny to the 

 Africans the enjoyment of reason ; or 

 who ascribe to them such vicious, malig- 

 nant, and treacherous propensities, as 

 would degrade them even below the le- 

 vel of the brute. It can be proved most 

 clearly, and the preceding observations 

 will suffice for this purpose, that there is 

 no circumstance of bodily structure so pe- 

 culiar to the Negro, as not to be found 

 also in other far distant nations ; no cha- 

 racter, which does not run into those of 

 other races, by the same insensible gra- 

 dations, as those which connect together 

 all the varieties of mankind. We cannot 

 but admire the reasoning and humanity of 

 those, who, after tearing the African from 

 his native soil, carrying him to the West 

 Indies, and dooming him there to perpe- 

 tual labour, complain that his understand- 

 ing shews no signs of improvement, and 

 that his temper and disposition are incor- 

 rigibly perverse, faithless, and treacher- 

 ous. Let us, however, observe him in a 

 somewhat more favourable state, than in 

 those dreadful receptacles of human mi- 

 sery, the crowded decks of the slave- 

 ship, or in the less openly shocking', but 

 constrained and extorted, and therefore 

 painful, labours of the sugar plantation. 

 The acute and accurate Barbot, in his. 

 large work on Africa, says, " The blacks 

 have sufficient sense and understanding, 

 their conceptions are quick and accurate, 

 and their memory possesses extraordinary 

 strength. For, although they can neither 

 read nor write, they never fall into con- 

 fusion or error in the greatest hurry of 

 business and traffic. Their experience of: 

 the knavery of Europeans has put them 

 completely on their guard, in transactions 

 of exchange : they carefully examined 

 all our goods, piece by piece, to ascertain, 

 if their quality and measure are correctly 

 stated ; and shew as much sagacity and 

 clearness in all these transactions, as any 

 European tradesman could do." Of those 

 imitative arts, in which perfection can be 

 attained only in an improved state of so- 

 ciety, it is natural to suppose that the Ne- 

 groes can have but little knowledge ; but 

 the fabric and colours of the Guinea 

 cloths are proofs of their native ingenui- 

 ty ; and, that they are capable of learn- 

 ing all kinds of the more delicate manual 

 labours, is proved by the fact, that nine- 

 tenths of the artificers in the West In- 

 dies are Negroes : many are expert car- 

 penters, and some watch-makers. The 

 travels of Barrow, Le Vaillant, and Mun- 

 go Park, abound with anecdotes honoura- 

 ble to the moral character of the Afri- 

 cans, and proving- that they betray no de- 

 F f 



