Excerpt from A Plea for Africa: Delivered in New-Haven, July 4th, 1825 In describing the misery of that devoted race, whose cause it is my lot to advocate, I can only tell you a story of simple, unallevi ated, unromantic wretchedness. There are no Spirit-stirring as sociations to break the monotony of the description. I can tell of no distant and shadowy antiquity, when Africa was the cradle of the human race, and the seat of science and arts and empire. I cannot compare the darkness that is now resting on those tribes, with some period of ancient glory; nor can I enlighten the picture of their present degradation, by alluding to some former age of Ar cadian felicity. There are no lighter shades to variegate the gloom. The wretchedness is so great and so unmingled, that the mind shrinks from the conception, and seems almost ready to take refuge in a vague and quiet incredulity. And when I have told you what this wretchedness is, my plea is ended for the pres sent, - I Shall urge no other argument. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.