4–10 November 1822

To glory which is departed, to majesty which hath ceased, to intellect which is quenched — I bring no homage, — no, not a grain of gold. For why seek to contradict the voice of Nature and of God, which saith over them, "It is finished," by wasting our imaginations upon the deaf ear of the dead? Turn rather to the mighty multi- tude, the thunder of whose footsteps shakes now the earth ; whose faces are flushed by the blood of life ; whose eye is enlightened by a living soul. Is there none in this countless assembly who hath acclaim on the reverence of the sons of Minerva?

At least we may look farther than to the simple fact and perhaps aid our faith by freer speculation. I believe that nobody now regards the maxim " that all men are born equal," as any thing more than a convenient hypothesis or an extravagant declamation. For the reverse is true, — that all men are born unequal in per- sonal powers, and in those essential circum- stances, of time, parentage, country, fortune. The least knowledge of the natural history of man adds another important particular to these ; namely, what class of men he belongs to — European, Moor, Tartar, African? Because Nature has plainly assigned different degrees of intellect to these different races, and the barriers between are insurmountable.