And in this wider field of benevolence
it would be unjust not to confess, that no country has shone with more
true lustre than our own, there being scarcely any case of acknowledged
affliction, for which some of her Christian children have not united in
an attempt to provide relief.
Among the evils corrected or subdued, either by the general influence of
Christianity on the minds of men, or by particular associations of
Christians, the African[A]. Slave Trade appears to me to have occupied
the foremost place. The abolition of it, therefore, of which it has
devolved upon me to write the history, should be accounted as one of the
greatest blessings, and as such should be one of the most copious
sources of our joy: indeed, I know of no evil, the removal of which
should excite in us a higher degree of pleasure. For, in considerations
of this kind, are we not usually influenced by circumstances? Are not
our feelings usually affected according to the situation, or the
magnitude, or the importance of these? Are they not more or less
elevated, as the evil under our contemplation has been more or less
productive of misery, or more or less productive of guilt? Are they not
more or less elevated again, as we have found it more or less
considerable in extent? Our sensations will undoubtedly be in proportion
to such circumstances, or our joy to the appreciation or mensuration of
the evil which has been removed.
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