COMPLEXION. 
This fubj'e£t of'complexion has been very well iliuf- 
trated by Mr. Ciarkfon, in his Effay on the Comnierre 
and Slavery of the Human Species. The firlt point that 
occurs to be afcertained, is, ‘What part of the (kin is 
the feat of colour ?’ The old anatomills ufually divided 
the ficin into two parts or laminae ; the exterior and thin¬ 
ned:, called by the Greeks epidermis, by the Romans cu- 
ticula, and hence by us cuticle: and the interior, called 
by the former derma, and by the latter cutis, or true Jkin. 
Hence they mud neceflarily have fuppofed, that, as the 
true ficin was in every refpeft the lame in all human fub- 
je£ts, however various their external hue, fo the feat of 
colour mult have exifted in the cuticle or upper fujface. 
Malpighi, however, difcovered that the (kin was divided 
into three laminae or parts ; the cuticle, the true (kin, 
and a certain coagulated fubltance fituated between both, 
■which he diftinguiflied by the title of rete mucofumi 
■which coagulated fubltance adhered fo firmly to the cu¬ 
ticle, as, in all former anatomical preparations, to have 
come off with it ; and, from this circumftance, to have 
led the ancient anatomifts to believe, that there were but 
two laminae, or divifible portions in the human ficin. 
This difcovery proved fufticient to afcertain the point in 
queltion : for it-appeared afterwards that the cuticle, 
when divided according to this difcovery from the other 
lamina, was femi-tranfparent5 that the cuticle of the 
blacked negro was of the fame tranlparency as that of 
the pured white; and hence, the true ficin of both being 
invariably the fame, that the rete mucolum was the feat 
of colour. 
This has been confirmed by all fubfequent anatomical 
experiments; from which it appears, that, whatever is 
the colour of this intermediate coagulated fubltance, 
nearly the fame is the apparent colour of the upper fur- 
face of the ficin. Neither can it be otherwife; for the 
cuticle, from its tranfparency, mud neceflarily tranfmit 
the colour of the fubdance beneath it, in the fame man¬ 
ner, though not in the fame degree, as the cornea tranf- 
mits the colour of the iris of the eye. This tranfpa¬ 
rency is a matter of ocular demondration in white people. 
It is confpicuous in every blufh; for no on<- can imagine 
that the cuticle becomes red as often as this happens : 
nor is it lefs difcoverable in the veins, which are fo eafy 
to be difcerned ; for no one can fuppofe that the blue 
dreaks, which he condantly fees in the faired complexion, 
are painted, as it were, on the furface of the upper fkin. 
From thefe, and a variety of other obfervations, no 
maxim is more true in phyfrology, than that on the rete 
mucolum depends the colour of the human body ; or, in 
other words, that the rete mucofum being of a different 
coiour in different inhabitants of the globe, and appear¬ 
ing through the cuticle or upper fqrface of the lkin, 
gives that variety of complexion which drikes us fo for¬ 
cibly in contemplating the human race. And as this can 
be incontrovertibly afcertained, it is evident, that what¬ 
ever caufes co-operate in producing this different ap. 
pearance, they produce it by afting upon the rete nuico- 
fum ; which, from the almod incredible manner in which 
the cuticle is perforated, is as acceflible as the cuticle it- 
felf. Thefe caufes are probably thofe various qualities of 
things, which, combined with the influence of the fun, 
contribute to form what we call climate. For when any 
perfon confiders, that the mucous fubdance before men¬ 
tioned' is found to vary in its colour as the climates vary 
from the equator to the poles, his mind mult be inltantly 
druck with the hypothelis, and he will adopt it without 
any hefitation, as the genuine caufe of the phenomenon. 
This fait, of the variation of the mucous fubdance, 
according to the fituation of the place, has been clearly 
afcertained by numerous anatomical experiments, in 
■which lubjeits of all nations have come under confidera- 
tion. The natives of the kingdoms and iflesof Alia, are 
found to have their rete mucolum black; thofe of Africa, 
fituated. near the line, of the fame colour; thofe of the 
maritime parts of the fame continent, of adulky brown j 
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and the colour becomes lighter or darker, in proportion 
as the didance from the equator is either greater or lefs. 
The Europeans are the faired inhabitants of the world. 
Thofe fituated in the mod fouthern regions of Europe, 
have in their rete mucofum a tinge of the dark hue of 
their African neighbours; hence the epidemic com¬ 
plexion, prevalent among them, is nearly of the colour 
ot the pickled Spanifit olive ; while in this country, and 
thofe fituated nearer the north pole, it appears to be 
nearly, if not abfolutely, white. Thefe are fadfs which 
anatomy has eftabliflied ; and we acknowledge them to be 
Rich, that we cannot dived ourfelves of the idea, that 
climate has a confiderable (hare in producing a difference 
of colour. 
The only objeftion of any confequence that has ever 
been made to the hypothefis of climate, is this, that peo¬ 
ple under the fame parallels are not exadliy of the fame 
colour. But this is no objection in fa ft ; for it d es not 
follow that thofe countries which are at an equal didance 
from the equator, (hould have their climates the fame. 
Indeed nothing can be more contrary to experience. Cli¬ 
mate depends upon a variety of accidents. High moun¬ 
tains in the neighbourhood of a place make if cooler, by 
chilling the air that is carried over them by the winds. 
Large fpreading fucculent plants, if among the produc¬ 
tions of the foil, have the fame effeft ; they afford agree¬ 
able cooling (hades, and a mo id atmofphere from their 
continual exhalations, by which the ardour of the fun is 
confiderabiy abated. While the foil, on the other hand, 
"if of a fandy nature, retains the heat in an uncommon 
degree, and makes the fummers confiderabiy hotter than 
thofe which are found to exid in the fame latitude where 
the foil is different. To this proximity of what may be 
termed burning fands, and to the fulphureous and metallic 
particles which are continually exhaling from the bowels 
of the earth, is afcribed the different (hades of blacknefs 
by which fome African nations are diltinguifiiable from 
each other, though under the fame parallels. To thefe 
oblervations we may add, that though the inhabitants of 
the fame parallel are not exaflly of the fame hue, yet 
they differ only by (hades of the fame colour ; or, to (peak 
with more p'recifion, that there are no two people, in fuch 
a fituation, one of whom is white, and the other black. 
To lum up the whole, fuppofe we were to take a com¬ 
mon globe; to begin at the equator; to paint every 
country along the meridian line in fucceffion from thence 
to the poles; and to paint them with the fame colour 
which prevails in the refpective inhabitants of each, we 
(hould lee the black, with which we had been obliged to 
begin, infenfibly changing to an olive, and the olive, 
through as many intermediate colours, to a white : and 
if, on the other hand, we (hould complete any one of the 
parallels according to the lame plan, we Ihould lee a dif¬ 
ference perhaps in the appearance of fome of the coun- 
tiies through which it ran, though the difference would 
confilt wholly in various lhades of the fame colour. 
To this argument may be added one that is uncontro¬ 
vertible, which is, that when the black inhabitants of 
Africa are tranfplanted to colder, or the white inhabitants 
of Europe to hotter climates, their children, born there, 
are of a different colour from tbemlelves; that is, lighter 
in the firlt, and darker in the fecond inftance. As a proof 
of the firlt, we lhall give the words of the abbe Raynal. 
“The children,” fays he, “which the Africans procreate 
in America, are not fo black as their parents were. Af¬ 
ter each generation the difference becomes more palpable. 
It is pofiible, that after a numerous fucceffion of genera¬ 
tions, the men come from Africa would not be diltin- 
guilhed from thofe of the country into which they may 
have been tranfplanted.” This circumftance is confirmed 
by a variety of perfons who have been witneli'es of the 
fa6t; particularly by many intelligent Africans, who have 
been parents in America, and who have declared, that 
the difference is fo palpable in the northern provinces, 
that not only they themfelves have conllantly obferved it,. 
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