Sancho, Charles Ignatius (1729-1780)

Letters of the Late Ignatius Sancho, An African

London

Printed by J. Nichols

1782

"I am convinced that the general inhumanity of mankind proceeds--first, from the cursed false principle of common education--and, secondly, from a total indifference (if not disbelief) of the Christian faith;--a heart and mind impressed with a firm belief of the Christian tenets, must of course exercise itself in a constant uniform general philanthropy--such a being carries his heaven in his breast--and such be thou!"

MY gall has been plentifully stirred--by the barbarity of a set of gentry, who every morning offend my feelings--in their cruel parade through Charles Street to and from market--they vend potatoes in the day--and thieve in the night season.--A tall lazy villain was bestriding his poor beast (although loaded with two panniers of potatoes at the same time) and another of his companions, was good-naturedly employed in whipping the poor sinking animal--that the gentleman-rider might enjoy the two-fold pleasure of blasphemy and cruelty--this is a too common evil--and, for the honor of rationality, calls loudly for redress.--I do believe it might be in some measure amended--either by a hint in the papers, of the utility of impressing such vagrants for the king's service--or by laying a heavy tax upon the poor Jack-asses--I prefer the former, both for thy sake and mine;--and, as I am convinced we feel instinctively the injuries of our fellow creatures, I do insist upon your exercising your talents in behalf of the honest sufferers.--I ever had a kind of sympathetic (call it what you please) for that animal--and do I not love you?--Before Sterne had wrote them into respect, I had a friendship for them--and many a civil greeting have I given them at casual meetings--what has ever (with me) stamped a kind of uncommon value and dignity upon the long ear'd kind of the species, is, that our Blessed Saviour, in his day of worldly triumph, chose to use that in preference to the rest of his own blessed creation--"meek and lowly, riding upon an ass." I am convinced that the general inhumanity of mankind proceeds--first, from the cursed false principle of common education--and, secondly, from a total indifference (if not disbelief) of the Christian faith;--a heart and mind impressed with a firm belief of the Christian tenets, must of course exercise itself in a constant uniform general philanthropy--such a being carries his heaven in his breast--and such be thou! therefore write me a bitter Philippick against the misusers of Jack-asses--it shall honor a column in the Morning Post--and I will bray--bray my thanks to you--thou shalt figure away the champion of poor friendless asses here--and hereafter shalt not be ashamed in the great day of retribution.
(I.xlvii, pp. 133-5; pp. 91-2 in Carretta)

Impressions

Reading

Five entries in ESTC (1782, 1783, 1784). [Second edition in 1783, third in 1784.]

See Letters of the Late Ignatius Sancho, An African. In Two Volumes. To Which Are Prefixed, Memoirs of His Life (London: Printed by J. Nichols, 1782). <Link to text from Documenting the American South at UNC>

Reading Letters of the Late Ignatius Sancho, ed. Vincent Carretta (New York: Penguin, 1998).

07/11/2013