"Would any one believe that I am master of slaves by my own purchase? I am drawn along by the general inconvenience of living without them. I will not -- I cannot justify it, however culpable my conduct. I will so far pay my devoir to Virtue, as to own the excellence and rectitude of her precepts, and to lament my want of conformity to them. I believe a time will come when an opportunity will be afforded to abolish this lamentable evil. Everything we can do, is to improve it, if It happens in our day; if not, let us transmit to our descendants, together with our slaves, a pity for their unhappy lot, and an abhorrence of Slavery. If we cannot reduce this wished-for reformation to practice, let us treat the unhappy victims with lenity. It is the furthest advancement we can make toward justice. It is a debt we owe to the purity of our religion, to show that it is at variance with that law which warrants Slavery".
Awww, what a poor little lamb he was! "I don't WANT to own slaves, but it would be SO inconvenient for me to get rid of them all. Why, I might have to
pay wages for people to do the things they did for me, or even
do it myself!! But I will continue to feel sorry for them - and when I transfer ownership to my offspring, I will hope they continue to feel sorry for them rather than actually
do anything."
Sorry, but I can't see anything especially praiseworthy in that quote.
