Real Abolitionists know full well, that the slave never has been, and never can be, a whit the better for mere abstractions, floating in the head of any man; and they also know, that principles, fixed in the heart, are things of another sort.
She distinguishes between abstract ideas and heartfelt principles, arguing that only the latter can truly benefit the enslaved.
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More from Angelina Emily Grimké
I have endeavoured to set before you the exceeding sinfulness of slavery, and to point you to the example of those noble women who have been raised up in the church to effect great revolutions, and to suffer for the truth's sake.
There is nothing to fear from immediate Emancipation, but every thing from the continuance of slavery.
They were occasioned not by Emancipation, but by the base attempt to fasten the chains of slavery on the limbs of liberated slaves.
What can I say more, my friends, to induce you to set your hands, and heads, and hearts, to this great work of justice and mercy.