Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral
By
Phillis Wheatley
ON
VARIOUS SUBJECTS,
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL.
PHILLIS WHEATLEY,
NEGRO SERVANT to Mr. JOHN WHEATLEY,
of BOSTON, in NEW ENGLAND.
LONDON:
Printed for A. BELL, Bookseller, Aldgate; and sold by
Messrs. COX and BERRY, King-Street, BOSTON.
M DCC LXXIII. iii DEDICATION. To the Right Honourable the
COUNTESS OF HUNTINGDON,
THE FOLLOWING
POEMS
Are most respectfully
Inscribed,
By her much
obliged,
Very humble,
And devoted Servant,
Boston, June 12,
1773. iv PREFACE.
THE following POEMS were written originally for the Amusement of the Author, as they were the Products of her leisure Moments. She had no Intention ever to have published them; nor would they now have made their Appearance, but at the Importunity of many of her best, and most generous Friends; to whom she considers herself, as under the greatest Obligations.
As her Attempts in Poetry are now sent into the World, it is hoped the Critic will not severely censure their Defects; and we presume they have too much Merit v to be cast aside with Contempt, and worthless and trifling Effusions.
As to the Disadvantages she has laboured under, with Regard to Learning, nothing needs to be offered, as her Master's Letter in the following Page will sufficiently shew the Difficulties in the Respect she had to encounter.
With all their Imperfections, the Poems are now humbly submitted to the Perusal of the Public.
Phillis Wheatley, the surprising African Poetess, arrived from England, at Boston, about a fortnight ago.
Rivington's Gazetteer September 23, 1773. No. 23.__3:2.
Boston, September 20, 1773. In Captains [unclear] from London, came Passengers. Captain [unclear] and Lady, Mr. Alring; also Phyllis, the extraordinary poetical genius, Negro Servant to Mr. John Wheatley, of this Town.
Boston Evening Post, 29 Sep. 1773.3:2:3:2:23 Sept.
vi The following is a Copy of a LETTER sent by the Author's Master to the PublisherPHILLIS was brought from Africa to America, in the Year 1761, between Seven and Eight Years of Age. Without any Assistance from School Education, and by only what she was taught in the Family, she, in sixteen Months Time from her Arrival, attained the English Language, to which she was an utter Stranger before, the such a Degree, as to read any, the most difficult Parts of the Sacred Writings, to the great Astonishment of all who heard her.
As to her WRITING, her own Curiosity led her to it; and this she learnt in so short
a Time, that in the Year 1765, she wrote a
Letter to the Rev. Mr.
OCCOMoccomoccomIn Wheatley's letter to Samson Occom, she affirms
his "Vindication of their [the enslaved] natural Rights." She concludes with an
ellipsis in which she implicitly criticizes the "strange Absurdity" of Christian
slavers. To read the letter in its entirety, visit American Literature I. Samson Occom
(1723-1792), a Native American member of the Mohegan Nation, was an author,
teacher, judge, and Presbyterian minister. The image here, via Wikimedia Commons,
is a mezzotint portrait of the Reverend Occom from 1768.Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samson_Occom
- [MUStudStaff], the Indian Minister, while in England.
She has a great Inclination to learn the Latin Tongue, and has made some Progress in it. This Relation is given by her Master who bought her, and with whom she now lives.
JOHN WHEATLEY. Boston, Nov. 14, 1772. vii To the PUBLICK.AS it has been repeatedly suggested to the Publisher, by Persons, who have seen the Manuscript, that Numbers would be ready to suspect they were not really the Writings of PHILLIS, he has procured the following Attestation, from the most respectable Characters in Boston, that none might have the least Ground for disputing their Original.
WE whose Names are under-written, do assure the World, that the POEMS specified in the following Page, *auth1 were (as we verily believe) written by PHILLIS, a young Negro Girl, who was but a few Years since, brought an uncultivated Barbarian from Africa, and has ever since been, and now is, under the Disadvantage of serving as a Slave in a Family in this Town. She has been examined by some of the best Judges, and is thought qualified to write them.
His Excellency THOMAS HUTCHINSON, Governor, The Hon. ANDREW OLIVER, Lieutenant-Governor. The Hon. Thomas Hubbard, The Hon. John Erving, The Hon. James Pitts, The Hon. Harrison Gray, The Hon. James Bowdoin, John Hancock, Esq; Joseph Green, Esq; Richard Carey, Esq; The Rev. Charles Cheuney, D.D. The Rev. Mather Byles, D.D. The Rev. Ed. Pemberton, D.D. The Rev. Andrew Elliot, D.D. The Rev. Samuel Cooper, D.D. The Rev. Mr. Samuel Mather, The Rev. Mr. John Moorhead, Mr. John Wheatley, her Master.N. B. The original Attestation, signed by the above Gentlemen, may be seen by applying to Archibald Bell, Bookseller, No. 8, Aldgate-Street.
viii 9 POEMS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS TO MAECENAS. 1MAECENASmaecenasmaecenas









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