The State legislators may truly be said to be "wiser in their generation than the children of light," and they ensure their safety by forbidding light to enter among them.

By the law of Virginia it is penal to teach any slave to read, and it is penal to be aiding and abetting in the act of instructing them.

This law speaks volumes.

Domestic slaves are, generally speaking, tolerably well fed, and decently clothed; and the mode in which they are lodged seems a matter of great indifference to them.
They are rarely exposed to the lash, and they are carefully nursed in sickness.

These are the favourable features of their situation.