OCR Text |
Show 186 ON THE SLAVERY AND COMMERCE former but by a lhade. Thus you may proceed, taking each in a regular fuccellion to the poles. But who are you, that thus take into llavery fo many people ? Where do you live yourfelf? Do you live in Spain, or in France, or in Britain? If in either of thefe countries, take care Jell the whiter ltatives of the 11orth il1ould have a claim upon yourfelf.-But the argument is too ridiculous to be farther noticed. Having now filenced the whole argument, we might immediately proceed to the difcullion of other points, without even declaring our opinion as to which of the fuppofitions may be right, on which it has been refuted; but we do not think ourfelvcs at liberty to do this. The prefent age would rejoice to find that the fcriptures had no foundation, and would anxioufly catch at the writings of him, who lhould mention them in a doubtful manner. We lhall , therefore declare our fentiments, by aiierting that they are true, and that all mankind, however various their appearance, are derived from the fame flock. Tq OF THE H UMAN SPECIES. To prove this, we i11all not produce thofe innumerable arguments, by which the fcriptures have flood the tell: of ages, but advert to a lingle fatl:. It is an univer£,[ law, ob~ fervable throughout the whole creation, that if t'vo animals qf a dijj"erent jpecies propagate, their qffspring is unable to continue its own · jpecies. By this admirable law, the different fpecies ·are preferved dill:i ntl:; every poffibility of confufion is prevented, and the world is forbidden to be over-run by a race of monll:ers. Now, if we apply this law to thofe of the human kind, who are faid to be of a dill:intl: fpecies from each other, it immediately fails. The mu/attoe is as capable of continuing his own fpccies as his father; a clear and irrefragable proof, ~hat fhc t fcripture account of ;he creation is true, t "''hen America was 6rft difcovcrccl, it w:ts thought by fame. that the fcripture account of the crcatiotl was falfc, and that there were different fpecies of men, bccaufe they could neve:- fuppofe that people. in f9 rude a fbtc as the Americans, could h:~.ve tranfported themfelves to that continent from any pans of the known world. This opinion howe,•er was re~ futed by the celebrated Captain Cooke. who fhewcd that the !rajetl. between the ~ontinents of Afia and Amer:ca. was as fl10rt |