the interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano 1789

I believe there are few events in my life, which have not happened to many: it is true the incidents of it are numerous and, did I consider myself an European, I might say my sufferings were great: but when I compare my lot with that of most of my countrymen, I regard myself as a particular favorite of Heaven, and acknowledge the mercies of Providence in every occurrence of my life. It is therefore, I confess, not a little hazardous in a private and obscure individual, and a stranger too, thus to solicit the indulgent attention of the public especially when I own I offer here the history of neither a faint, a hero, nor a tyrant. People generally think those memoirs only worthy to be read or remembered which abound in great or striking events, those, in short, which in a high degree excite either admiration or pity: all others they consign to contempt and oblivion. I believe it is difficult for those who publish their own memoirs to escape the imputation of vanity nor is this the only disadvantage under which they labour: it is also their misfortune, that what is uncommon is rarely, if ever, believed, and what is obvious we are apt to turn from with disgust, and to charge the writer with impertinence.

The author's account of his country, and their manners and customs-Administration of justice. Proofread and pages added by Jonathan Perry, March 2001. Proofread and posted by Raluca Preotu, August 1999. Scanned and proofread by Kathleen Diekhoff, May 1998.

Of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African

The interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano 1789