 exercise the same arts, as the ancestors of those very
Europeans, who boast of their great superiority, are described to have
done in the same uncultivated state. This appears from the Nubian's
Geography, the writings of Leo, the Moor, and all the subsequent
histories, which those, who have visited the African continent, have
written from their own inspection. Hence three conclusions; that their
abilities are sufficient for their situation;--that they are as great,
as those of other people have been, in the same stage of society;--and
that they are as great as those of any civilized people whatever, when
the degree of the barbarism of the one is drawn into a comparison with
that of the civilization of the other.

Let us now follow them to the colonies. They are carried over in the
unfavourable situation described. It is observed here, that though their
abilities cannot be estimated high from a want of cultivation, they are
yet various, and that they vary in proportion as the nation, from which
they have been brought, has advanced more or less in the scale of social
life. This observation, which is so frequently made, is of great
importance: for if their abilities expand in proportion to the
improvement of their state, it is a clear indication, that if they were
equally improved, they would be equally ingenious.

But here, before we consider any opportunities that may be afforded
them, let it be remembered that even their most polished situation may
be called barbarous, and that this circumstance, should they appear less
docile than others, may be considered as a sufficient answer to any
objection that may be made to their capacities. Notwithstanding this,
when they are put to the mechanical arts, they do not discover a want of
ingenuity. They attain them in as short a time as the Europeans, and
arrive at a degree of excellence equal to that of their teachers. This
is a fact, almost universally known, and affords us this proof, that
having learned with facility such of the mechanical arts, as they have
been taugh