As a
proof of the superiority of the natives to the Khartoumers, he had at
length been met by some Latookas, and not only was well treated and fed
by their women, but they had guided him to Ibrahim's camp.
The black man is a curious anomaly, the good and bad points of human
nature bursting forth without any arrangement, like the flowers and
thorns of his own wilderness. A creature of impulse, seldom actuated by
reflection, the black man astounds by his complete obtuseness, and as
suddenly confounds you by an unexpected exhibition of sympathy. From a
long experience with African savages, I think it is as absurd to condemn
the negro in toto, as it is preposterous to compare his intellectual
capacity with that of the white man. It is unfortunately the fashion for
one party to uphold the negro as a superior being, while the other
denies him the common powers of reason. So great a difference of opinion
has ever existed upon the intrinsic value of the negro, that the very
perplexity 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
management, so long will the former remain a thorn in the side of every
community to which he may unhappily belong.
Pages:
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304