At length he
determined upon a work called The Mystery of Iniquity, in a brief
Examination of the Practice of the Times. This he published in the year
1729, though the chief judge had threatened him if he should give it to the
world, and he circulated it free of expense wherever he believed it would
be useful. The above work was excellent as a composition. The language of
it was correct. The style manly and energetic. And it abounded with facts,
sentiments, and quotations, which, while they showed the virtue and talents
of the author, rendered it a valuable appeal in behalf of the African
cause.
The next public advocate was Benjamin Lay[A], who lived at Abington, at the
distance of twelve or fourteen miles from Philadelphia. Benjamin Lay was
known, when in England, to the royal family of that day, into whose private
presence he was admitted. On his return to America, he took an active part
in behalf of the oppressed Africans. In the year 1737, he published a
treatise on Slave-keeping. This he gave away among his neighbours and
others, but more particularly among the rising youth, many of whom he
visited in their respective schools.
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