January 2024 Auction Ends Thursday, January 25th, 5pm Pacific
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 1/25/2024
William Wilberforce handwritten poem and biblical passage, signed at the conclusion and datelined Hampstead, 15 July 1823. Wilberforce was the leading abolitionist in the United Kingdom, a cause he championed shortly after his conversion to Christianity as a 26-year old man. As a member of Parliament for 45 years, Wilberforce worked more than any other lawmaker to pass both the Slave Trade Act of 1807 and the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833. He died in 1833 three days after hearing that passage of the latter act was assured. In this manuscript, Wilberforce first handwrites a poem by Scottish poet James Beattie, himself an abolitionist, and then writes his thoughts about the poem from a Christian perspective, ending the manuscript with a passage from Romans 14:8. Document reads in full,
'''And, from the prayer of Want, and plaint of Woe,
O never, never turn away thine ear!
Forlorn in this bleak wilderness below,
Ah! what were man, should heaven refuse to hear!
The Christians Motto - Beattie
'For none of Us liveth to himself, (ie Us Christians)
And no man dieth to himself; Whether We (ie We Xtians)
live, We live unto the Lord, or whether We die, We
die unto the Lord. Whether We love, Wherefore, or die;
We are the Lord's - Rom[ans] 14:
W Wilberforce''
Lot is also accompanied by ''The Minstrel'', the book of poetry by James Beattie quoted by Wilberforce. New York: William Durell, 1802. Poem appears on p. 25 of the book. Manuscript measures 7.75'' x 5''. Minor foxing, else near fine condition.
William Wilberforce Handwritten & Signed Poem & Biblical Passage -- Wilberforce Was the Leading Abolitionist in the United Kingdom, Whose Work Led to Passage of the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833
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