CHAP. VIII.] 
THE AFRICAN FLACK. 
H5 
So great a difference of opinion has ever existed upon 
the intrinsic value of the negro, that the very per¬ 
plexity of the question is a proof that he is altogether 
a distinct variety. So long as it is generally considered 
that the negro and the white man are to be governed 
by the same laws and guided by the same manage¬ 
ment, so long will the former remain a thorn in the 
side of every community to which he may unhappily 
belong. When the horse and the ass shall be found 
to match in double harness, the white man and the 
African black will pull together under the same regime. 
It is the grand error of equalizing that which is un¬ 
equal, that has lowered the negro character, and made 
the black man a reproach. 
In his savage home, what is the African ? Certainly 
bad; but not so bad as white men would (I believe) 
be under similar circumstances. He is acted upon by 
the bad passions inherent in human nature, but there 
is no exaggerated vice, such as is found in civilized 
countries. The strong takes from the weak, one tribe 
fights the other—do not perhaps we in Europe ? 
these are the legitimate acts of independent tribes, 
authorized by their chiefs. They mutually enslave 
each other—how long is it since America and we our¬ 
selves ceased to be slaveholders? He is callous and 
ungrateful—-in Europe is there no ingratitude ? He is 
cunning and a liar by nature—in Europe is all truth 
and sincerity ? Why should the black man not be equal 
to the white ? He is as powerful in frame, why should 
he not be as exalted in mind ? 
In childhood I believe the negro to be in advance, 
in intellectual quickness, of the white child of a similar 
age, but the mind does not expand-—it promises fruit, 
but does not ripen; and the negro man has grown in 
body, but has not advanced in intellect. 
The puppy of three months old is superior in intel¬ 
lect to a child of the same age, but the mind of the 
child expands, while that of the dog has arrived at its 
limit. The chicken of the common fowl has sufficient 
