,,lectures ,,on ,,the ,philosophy and ,practice ,,of ,,slavery1 ,,as ,,exhibited ,,in ,,the ,,institution ,,of ,,domestic ,,slavery ,,in ,,the ,,united ,,states3 ,,with ,,the ,duties of ,masters to ,slaves4 ,,by ,,william ,a4 ,,smith1 ,d4,d41 ,,president ,,of ,,randolph-,,macon ,,college1 ,,and ,,professor ,,of ,,moral ,,and ,,intellectual ,,philosophy4 ,,edited ,,by ,,thomas ,o4 ,,summers1 ,d4,d4 ,nashville1 ,tenn43 ,,stevenson ,,and ,,evans4 #ahef4 ,entered1 according to ,act of ,congress1 in the year #ahef1 by ,,william ,a4 ,,smith1 ,in the ,office of the ,clerk of the ,district ,court for the ,middle ,district of ,tennessee4 ,,stereotyped ,,and ,,printed ,,by ,a4 ,a4 ,,stitt1 ,,southern ,,methodist ,,publishing ,,house1 ,,nashville1 ,,tenn4 ,contents4 ,,preface ,,lecture ,i4 ,,introductory ,,remarks ,,on ,,the ,,subject ,,of ,,african ,,slavery ,,in ,,the ,,united ,,states4 ,general subject enunciated--,why this discussion may be regarded as humiliating by ,southern people--,other stand-points1 however1 disclose an urgent necessity1 at this time1 for a thorough investigation of the whole subject--,the results to which it is the object of these lectures to conduct the mind ,,lecture ,,ii4 ,,the ,,abstract ,,principle ,,of ,,the ,,institution ,,of ,,domestic ,,slavery4 ,if the system be sinful1 per se1 the sin of it must be found in the principle--,is the principle sinful8--,the principle defined--,objections to the term 8submission0 answered--,the effects of ,mr4 ,jefferson's doctrine upon many conscientious persons in the ,southern ,states ,,lecture ,,iii4 ,,objections ,,considered4 ,objections classified--,popular views discussed--8,all men are born free and equal0--8,all men are created equal0--8,all men in a state of nature are free and equal0--,and the particular form in which ,dr4 ,wayland expresses the popular idea1 viz41 8,the relation in which men stand to each other is the relation of equality2 not equality of condition1 but equality of right0--,remarks on ,dr4 ,wayland's course--,his treatise on ,moral ,science as a text-book4 ,,lecture ,,iv4 ,,the ,,question ,,of ,,rights ,,discussed4 ,why it is necessary to define the term ,,rights--,the ,,right in itself defined to be the ,,good--,the doctrine that the will of ,god is the origin of the right considered--,the will of ,god not the origin of the right1 but an expression of the right which is the ,,good--,natural rights and acquired rights1 each defined ,,lecture ,v4 ,,the ,,doctrines ,,of ,,rights ,,applied ,,to ,,government4 ,government1 human as well as ,divine1 is a necessity of man's fallen condition--,all men concur in this--,man did not originate government3 he has only modified the form--,the legitimate objects of government1 and the means which it employs to effect these objects--,the logical inferences3 #a4 ,although he has the power1 he has no right to do wrong2 #b4 ,as a fallen being1 he is1 without a government over him1 liable to lose the power of self-control--,what are the rights of man1 #a4 ,in a state of infancy1 #b4 ,in a state of maturity1 and1 #c4 ,in a savage or uncivilized state--,civil government is not founded on a concession of rights ,,lecture ,,vi4 ,,the ,,abstract ,,principle ,,of ,,slavery ,,discussed ,,on ,,scripture ,,grounds1 ,,and ,,misrepresentation ,,of ,,the ,,principle ,,examined4 ,the true subjective right of self-control defined according to the ,scriptures--,the abstract principle of slavery sanctioned by the ,scriptures--,the ,roman government--,dr4 ,wayland's ,scripture argument examined and refuted--,the positions of ,dr4 ,channing and ,professor ,whewell examined and refuted ,,lecture ,,vii4 ,,the ,,institution ,,of ,,domestic ,,slavery4 ,the question stated--,the conduct of masters a separate question--,the institution defined--,the position of the abolitionists1 and that of the ,southern people--,the presumption is in favor of the latter--,those who claim freedom for the blacks of this country failed to secure it to those on whom they professed to confer it--,the doctrine by which they seek to vindicate the claim set up for them1 together with the fact of history assumed to be true1 is false ,,lecture ,,viii4 ,,domestic ,,slavery1 ,,as ,a ,,system ,,of ,,government ,,for ,,the ,,africans ,,in ,,america1 ,,examined ,,and ,,defended ,,on ,,the ,,ground ,,of ,,its ,,adaptation ,,to ,,the ,,present ,,conditions ,,of ,,the ,,race4 ,there should be a separate and subordinate government for our ,african population--,objection answered--,africans are not competent to that measure of self-government which entitles a man to political sovereignty--,they were not prepared for freedom when first brought into the country2 hence they were placed under the domestic form of government--,the humanity of this policy--,in the opinion of ,southern people1 they are still unprepared--,the fanaticism and rashness of some1 and the inexcusable wickedness of others1 who oppose the ,south ,,lecture ,,ix4 ,,the ,,necessity ,,for ,,the ,,institution ,,of ,,domestic ,,slavery ,,exemplified ,,by ,,facts4 ,the attempts made at domestic colonization--,the result of the experiment in the case of our free colored population--,the colonization experiment on the coast of ,africa--,the example of the ,canaanitish nations--,summary of the argument on the general point1 and inferences ,,lecture ,x4 ,,emancipation ,,doctrines ,,discussed4 ,gradual emancipation the popular plan--,it would operate to collect the slaves into a few ,states1 cut them off from contact with civilization1 and reduce them to barbarism--,it would make an opening for ,northern farmers and their menials to come into those ,states from which they retired--,the modifications which the system of slavery has undergone within late years--,a comparison of the menials of the free and of the slave ,states1 and the only plan of emancipation admissible--,the gospel the only remedy for the evils of slavery--,paul's philosophy and practice1 #a ,tim4 vi4 #a-e ,,lecture ,,xi4 ,,teaching ,,the ,,slaves ,,to ,,read ,,and ,,write4 ,superiors frequently neglect inferiors--,the policy of the ,south vindicated by necessity--,the results that would follow an attempt to establish a system for instructing the blacks in letters1 and those which would follow the establishment of such a system--,the domestic element of the system of slavery in the ,southern ,states affords the means for their improvement adapted to their condition and the circumstances of the country--,it affords the natural1 safe1 and the effectual means of the intellectual and moral elevation of the race--,the prospects of the ,africans in this country1 and their final removal to ,africa--,the country never will be entirely rid of them--,the ,southern policy wise and humane ,,lecture ,,xii4 ,,the ,,conservative ,,influence ,,of ,,the ,,african ,,population ,,of ,,the ,,south4 ,preliminary remarks--,american party--,the present and prospective condition of our country--,the large number of voters in the free-soil ,states who will be under a foreign influence1 political and religious1 inducing them to discard the ,bible and the right of private judgment--,the freedom of the ,southern ,states from this anti-,christian and anti-republican influence--,the presence of the ,african race in the ,southern ,states secures them this advantage--,the unpatriotic policy of freesoilism ,,lecture ,,xiii4 ,,the ,,duties ,,of ,,masters ,,to ,,slaves4 8,masters1 give unto your servants 71 slaves7 that which is just and equal1 knowing that ye also have a ,master in heaven40--,,col4 iv4 #a4 ,the duty of masters and the rights of slaves reciprocal--#a4 ,the duty of masters to their slaves considered as 8their money30 in regard to working1 resting1 feeding1 clothing1 housing1 and the employment of persons over them3 also to the sick and the aged4 #b4 ,their duty to their slaves considered as social beings--,punishments and the social principle discussed4 #c4 ,their duty to their slaves considered as religious beings--,public instruction on the ,sabbath and at other times1 and the opportunity of attending--,the employment of preachers1 and the religious instruction of children ,,preface4 ,the following pages contain the substance of ,lectures on the subject of ,domestic ,slavery in the ,united ,states1 which for several years have been delivered to the classes in ,moral ,science in ,randolph ,macon ,college4 ,since the year #ahdd1 ,i have been frequently called on to discuss this subject on various popular occasions in ,virginia and ,north ,carolina4 ,my classes in college were compelled to deal with the subject of domestic slavery4 ,not only the popular ideas in regard to ,african slavery in this country1 but the specific treatment of this topic by numerous text authors in ,moral ,science1 rendered this unavoidable4 ,a deep conviction that the minds of young men were receiving a wrong1 and1 in the present state of the country1 a fatal direction1 both as regards the principles of the institution1 and the institution itself1 induced me to substitute the text authorities on the subject by a course of lectures4 ,these lectures1 therefore1 were originally drawn up with a view to oral delivery4 ,they were modified by the circumstances of their origin4 ,in preparing them for the press1 however1 ,i was led to consider the class of persons for whose use they were chiefly designed1 and at the same time to adapt them as far as possible to the general reader4 ,i was aware of the difficulty of fixing definitely on the mind of the student the nature and limits of abstract truths1 and that this difficulty is1 if any thing1 greatly increased when we pass to those whose reading is not characterized by habits of thought1--as would be the case with many of those whose interest in the general subject of slavery might induce them to read these lectures4 ,the task of meeting these difficulties was encountered with a measure of painful distrust4 ,my views on the subject of slavery1 as a practical question1 will be found very generally to accord with the popular ideas of those communities in which the ,african population chiefly resides4 ,but1 as a question of ,moral ,science1 ,i will be found to differ1 and in some aspects very materially1 from those who have spoken and written on the subject4 ,the closing lecture is on the duties of masters to slaves4 ,on this point it may also appear that my views do not accord with those of some others4 ,there are men whose views ,i judge to be entirely too loose on the whole subject4 ,but ,i should consider any treatise on the subject of slavery as inexcusably defective that did not embrace the duties of masters to slaves2 and ,i persuade myself that the number1 if any1 who take a different view of the subject will be found to be exceedingly small4 ,whether ,i have acted wisely in endeavoring to combine in one performance a treatise adapted to the habits of the student1 and at the same time to the habits of the general reader2 and whether ,i have succeeded to any desirable extent in so difficult an undertaking1 it is not for me to determine4 ,i can only say1 that in giving these lectures to the public1 ,i have yielded to the earnest desire1 often expressed1 of a large number of friends whose judgment is entitled to my highest respect and confidence4 ,in meeting their wishes1 ,i have endeavored to do justice to the subject4 ,i have written honestly1 and with a sincere desire to do good4 ,for the many imperfections of this volume1 the author persuades himself that the assurance that it has been written and prepared for the press under the pressure of other important and frequently distracting avocations1 will be received as some apology4 ,in the humble hope that it may1 nevertheless1 shed some light on the difficulties of the general subject1 and thereby contribute to diffuse sounder views on the principles involved1 quiet the irritation of the public mind1 and give more stability to our political union1 and1 at the same time1 impress masters more deeply with the importance and obligations of their providential position1 it is with diffidence submitted to the judgment of the public4 ,,randolph ,,macon ,,college1 ,,va41 ,august #ahth1 #ahef4 ,,lectures ,,on ,,the ,philosophy and ,practice of ,slavery4 ,,lecture ,i4 ,,introductory ,,remarks ,,on ,,the ,,subject ,,of ,,african ,,slavery ,,in ,,the ,,united ,,states4 ,general subject enunciated--,why this discussion may be regarded as humiliating by ,southern people--,other stand-points1 however1 disclose an urgent necessity1 at this time1 for a thorough investigation of the whole subject--,the results to which it is the object of these lectures to conduct the mind4 ,the great question which arises in discussing the slavery of the ,african population of this country--correctly known as 8,domestic ,slavery0--is this3 ,is the institution of domestic slavery sinful8 ,the position ,i propose to maintain in these lectures is1 that slavery1 per se1 is right2 or that the great abstract principle of slavery is right1 because it is a fundamental principle of the social state2 and that domestic slavery1 as an institution1 is fully justified by the condition and circumstances 7essential and relative7 of the ,african race in this country1 and therefore equally right4 ,i confess that it is somewhat humiliating to discuss the question enunciated--,is the institution of domestic slavery sinful8 ,the affirmative assumes that an immense community of ,southern people1 of undoubted piety1 are1 nevertheless1 involved in great moral delinquency on the subject of slavery4 ,this is a palpable absurdity in regard to a great many4 ,for nothing is more certain than this1 that if it be sinful1 they either know it1 or are competent to know it1 and hence are responsible4 ,and as no plea of necessity can justify an enlightened man in committing known sin1 it follows that all such ,southern people are highly culpable1 which is utterly inconsistent with the admission that they are pious4 ,to say1 as some are accustomed to do1 that 8slavery is certainly wrong in the abstract10 that is1 in plain terms1 in itself sinful1 but that they cannot help themselves1 appears to me to be wholly unfounded4 ,it assumes that a man may be absolutely compelled to commit sin4 ,this certainly cannot be true4 ,all candid minds will readily allow1 that so far as ,deity has yet explained himself1 he has in no instance enjoined upon man the observance of any principle as his duty1 which he may be compelled1 in the order of his providence1 to violate4 ,it is equally false in fact1 for it is not true that we are absolutely compelled to be slaveholders4 ,if government be1 as it undoubtedly is1 the agent of the people1 and the people choose1 they are certainly competent by this agent to free themselves from this institution4 ,true1 the immense cost of such an enterprise would be the least in the catalogue of evils resulting from it2 for the total ruin of the ,african race in this country may be put down among the rest4 ,but what of all this8 ,nothing can justify an enlightened and civilized people in committing sin4 ,no2 not even the sacrifice of life itself4 ,withal1 if the civil society refuse to make so costly a sacrifice to avoid sin1 there is nothing that can compel any individual citizen to remain a slaveholder4 ,he can live in the community1 as some do1 without even hiring or owning a slave2 or he can remove to one of the so-called free ,states4 ,we should give no countenance1 therefore1 to any such mere attempts to apologize for domestic slavery4 ,the conduct of bad men may sometimes find apologists4 ,the conduct of good men always admits of defence4 ,hence1 with many others1 ,i have often been grieved by the repeated attempts of certain pseudo-friends to pass off this flimsy and ridiculous apology as an able defence of the ,south4 ,in maintaining the institution of domestic slavery1 we are either right or wrong1 in a moral point of view4 ,we ask no mere apology on the score of necessity1 and we can certainly claim none on the ground of ignorance4 ,those who affirm that we are wrong1 directly attack our morals4 ,in doing this1 they arraign the character of many thousands1 who are among the most civilized and pious people now living4 ,this fact alone is a sufficient refutation of so foul an aspersion2 and in this view1 it may be readily admitted that any attempt at a more formal refutation is a humiliating condescension1 to which few ,southern men can willingly submit4 ,but there is another stand-point from which this subject is to be viewed1 and which reflects it in a very different light1 and clearly indicates the duty of submitting it to the test of the soundest principles of philosophy and religion4 ,it is this3 the ascendency which certain popular errors on the subject of ,african slavery have acquired1 and the extent to which they peril the peace of the country1 if not the very liberties of the whole republic4 ,i allude to the fact that there are many in the country--and not a few of this number spread through our ,southern ,states--who would not intentionally arraign the piety of their fellow-citizens1 but whose minds 7it is painfully humiliating to know7 are in a state of great embarrassment on this subject2 so much so1 that they are constantly liable to be made the victims of any fanatical influences abroad in the land1 no less than the dupes of that large class of political aspirants who1 reckless of both truth and morals1 would secure their elevation at any price4 ,nor need we wonder at the ascendency of erroneous opinions on the subject of slavery1 any more than at the results which they threaten4 ,at an early period in our history1 ,thomas ,jefferson denounced domestic slavery as sinful1 per se1 and declared that 8there was no attribute in the ,divine mind which could take sides with the whites in a controversy between the races30 thus assuming in this remark1 that the providences as well as the attributes of the ,deity are against the slaveholder4 ,owing to the prominence given by our ,puritan fathers to the higher institutions of learning1 together with the fact that the soil and the climate of ,new ,england were unfavorable to agricultural pursuits1 citizens of these ,states have1 from an early period in the history of the republic1 supplied the most of the text-books for the schools and colleges of the whole country4 ,this grossly offensive error of ,mr4 ,jefferson has been more or less diffused through the whole of these text-books4 ,it has been among the first of speculations upon abstract truth presented to the minds of the ,american people4 ,it has been studiously inculcated from professors' chairs in colleges and universities in the ,northern ,states1 while ,southern literary institutions have been for the most part silent4 ,the pulpits of the ,south have also lent their aid1 and in some instances have been zealous and active in propagating this error4 ,as early as #aghj1 the ,methodists declared1 in a general convention of preachers1 that 8slavery is contrary to the laws of ,god1 man1 and nature1 and hurtful to society2 contrary to the dictates of conscience and pure religion2 doing that which we would not that others should do to us and ours2 and that we pass our disapprobation upon all our friends who keep slaves1 and advise their freedom40 ,this doctrine was resserted after the organization of the ,church in #aghd1 and1 with short intervals of time1 and unimportant variations of phraseology1 the essential features of this doctrine have been adhered to until the present time1 by this most numerous body of professing ,christians in this country4 ,at an early day1 ,bishop ,coke1 of the ,m4 ,e4 ,church1 openly advocated this doctrine in the pulpits of the country1 until silenced by the force of public opinion2 yet he did not cease1 while he remained in the country1 to exert the full amount of his personal influence in private and social circles against the institution of domestic slavery4 ,his example was followed by a large number of his preachers1 and many ministers of other ,christian denominations1 who imbibed the same doctrine and were animated by the same spirit of hostility to the institution2 and who1 like himself1 were only held in abeyance by the same force of public opinion4 ,many politicians1 also1 there were1 from time to time1 who did not scruple to avow ,mr4 ,jefferson's doctrine1 and like him affect to foresee dreadful calamities overhanging the country as a consequence of domestic slavery4 ,in view of these facts1 it cannot be a matter of surprise that abolition opinions and sentiments should pervade the non-slaveholding sections of the country2 and that at least a private but painful impression or suspicion that there must be something wrong in the principle of domestic slavery1 should be found to pervade a portion even of the ,southern mind4 ,reluctant as we may be to admit the truth1 necessity compels us to do so4 ,let the following facts bear witness4 ,no communities on earth are so free from domestic insurrections1 and the disturbing influences which come up from the lower orders of society as those of the ,southern ,states of this ,union4 ,the social condition of ,england and ,ireland1 and the states of the continent of ,europe1 are perpetually subject to the disturbing and ruinous influence of local1 and often widely spread1 insurrectionary movements against the social order1 and even the safety of the governments4 ,nor are the ,northern ,states of this ,union any more free from these agrarian movements1 than may be accounted for by the relative sparseness of their population4 ,yet a general feeling of security pervades all these people1 whilst it is notorious that there are a great many in ,southern communities who are in a constant state of feverish excitement on the subject of domestic insurrections4 ,any announcement of that kind is sufficient to convulse a whole community4 ,the trifling affair of ,nat4 ,turner 7trifling compared with the frequent disturbances and loss of life common in the communities just referred to7 painfully agitated the whole ,state of ,virginia2 and occupied her ,legislature through a whole winter in grave discussions as to the 8best means of freeing the ,state from the incubus of slavery40 ,these results have all followed from the causes at which we have glanced4 ,in this state of things1 it is in vain to appeal to the fact that ,mr4 ,jefferson1 though a profound statesman1 and to some extent a logician1 was neither a divine nor a metaphysician2 and that no people on the globe have shared more largely in the blessings of a bountiful ,providence than those of the ,southern ,states of this ,union4 ,in the progress of civilization and religion1 they have advanced more rapidly than any communities in the country4 ,still1 ,mr4 ,jefferson's name does not lose its enchantment2 and having already learned to despise the unexampled blessings of ,providence1 many of the ,southern people actually believed--until railroad communications began to dispel the illusion--that their own happy ,states were really falling back in civilization to the darkness of the middle ages4 ,add to all this1 the halls of legislation continue to echo the opinion that 8domestic slavery is a great moral1 political1 and social evil40 ,in this connection1 the phrase1 moral evil1 is restricted to its appropriate meaning1 sin4 ,no doubt1 ,messrs4 ,doddridge1 ,rives1 ,clay1 ,webster1 and many others--illustrious names6--who have substantially used this language in various connections1 only meant to deprecate the evils of slavery in strong terms1 that they might propitiate a more favorable consideration of what they had to say in its defence4 ,but if we be correct in the position already postulated1 it is quite time our politicians1 no less than our ecclesiastics1 had learned to chasten their language on this subject4 ,the fountains of public thought and feeling have1 to a great extent1 been poisoned3 that is1 the abstract opinions and religious sentiments of the people have been corrupted and perverted4 ,the three great ,protestant denominations#a of the country have been torn asunder4 ,the flags of their time-honored unions are trailing in the dust2 and they have ceased to operate as bonds to our political union4 ,a secret suspicion of the morality of ,african slavery in the ,south1 occupies the minds of many of our best citizens--citizens who are at a vast remove from the fanaticism which stigmatizes those who are known as the ultra abolitionists of the country4 ,the great family of ,methodists in the ,district of ,columbia1 the slave ,states of ,delaware and ,maryland1 in ,western ,virginia1 and a part of ,missouri1 retain their connection with the abolition division of the ,m4 ,e4 ,church4 ,all along the line of division between the ,m4 ,e4 ,church1 ,north1 and the ,m4 ,e4 ,church1 ,south1--running through ,virginia1 ,kentucky1 and ,missouri1--the evils resulting from the conflict and strife of opinions on this subject are daily multiplying4 ,the experiment of abolition fanaticism is progressing2 and the souls as well as the bodies of men are in the crucible4 ,it is clear that 8whilst we have slept1 an enemy hath sown these tares10 in our literature1 our politics1 and our theology4 #a ,the ,methodists and ,baptists1 it is well known1 divided directly upon the subject of slavery2 and the ,presbyterians mediately upon a question of constitutional law2 but there is reason to believe that the slavery agitation in the ,presbyterian ,church precipitated a division1 which otherwise would probably have been averted4 ,two striking phenomena remain to be noticed and accounted for4 ,amid all the conflict of opinion and feeling upon this subject1--which was inseparable from doctrines so utterly at war with the practices of the country--a conflict which at an early period found its way into the halls of legislation1 civil and ecclesiastical1 and has not ceased to the present time to modify the federal politics of the country1--the ,african population has yielded only to certain physical and moral laws as to the place of its location2 whilst the institution of slavery1 which embodies the great mass of that population in the country1 has held on the even tenor of its way1 unchecked in the slightest degree by the antagonistic doctrines and sentiments which have warred so fiercely against it1 and which at so many periods have threatened the country with a legion of disastrous consequences4 ,in the first place1 the ,african population has gradually receded to those sections of the ,union which1 from their climate and soil1 were better adapted to slave labor4 ,why did not the abstract opinions and sentiments set forth by ,mr4 ,jefferson and the ,m4 ,e4 ,church1 and which are supposed to have given birth to the emancipation laws of the ,northern ,states1 operate to retain within those ,states the large portion of slave population then held1 and secure their practical freedom8 ,why did they escape the supposed charity of these doctrines1 and find their way1 not as freemen1 but as slaves1 to a climate and soil more congenial to their nature and destiny8 ,are these doctrines real abstract truths1 as their advocates profess to believe them to be8 ,then they are fundamental--they are vital--they are life-giving1 and can never fail to impress their own essential character upon every system to which they are applied4 ,the citizens of the ,northern ,states adopted these doctrines4 ,then it was an affair of conscience4 ,emancipation laws were said to be the result4 ,but that these laws1 supposed to be founded in the belief of certain great abstract truths1 which secured to the ,african his civil freedom1 should operate only to transfer him to a climate and soil better suited to his condition as a slave1 is a phenomenon for which the hypothesis does not account4 ,and again1 the institution itself1 of domestic slavery1 by reason of causes which are evidently1 though mysteriously1 at work1 is this day more firmly grounded in the confidence of the great mass of the ,southern people1 and more extensively ramified and interlocked with other civil institutions of the whole country1 than at any former period of its history6 ,how is this8 ,the abstract opinions and sentiments in question1 pervading our literature1 our politics1 and our theology1 have been adopted by so many of our citizens as to entitle the doctrine to be regarded as a kind of national belief--the sentiment a kind of national feeling4 ,we are told that all men believe slavery to be wrong in principle2 that is1 wrong in itself6 and that all men feel that it is wrong6 ,and certain it is1 there is more truth than fiction in all this6 ,it is strictly true1 as to the citizens of the so-called free ,states4 ,the same doctrine is not without advocates at the ,south2 whilst many more1 as we have before stated1 who may not be said to believe it1 are nevertheless often the subjects of painful misgivings4 ,they fear it may be true4 ,the causes to which we have traced this1 fully account for it2 and we need not fear to state the truth4 ,but then again1 the question recurs--,how is this1 that the institution itself1 a great practical truth1 should daily1 for a long series of years1 become more and more practical--a fixed fact in the country8 ,truly1 this is a phenomenon for which the philosophy of the day will not account4 ,if those who believed this doctrine were ruthless fanatics--ultra abolitionists in the strictest sense--if those who oppose it were really 8pro-slavery0 men1 in the bad sense in which certain persons understand this phrase1 that is1 men who1 on the subject of slavery1 wickedly do what they know and feel to be wrong3 on either hypothesis we could account for the phenomenon in question4 ,but these are not the men with whom ,i deal in these lectures4 ,i lay all such out of the account4 ,they are men not to be reasoned with4 ,no3 the men of whom ,i speak1 both ,north and ,south1 are candid1 honest men4 ,i personally know many of them at the ,north4 ,i have met them on great battle-fields1 where more than blood was shed6 ,i know them to be good men and true1 and ,i believe the same of the large class they represent4 ,with many of those at the ,south who affiliate with them in opinion as firm believers in ,jefferson's doctrine1 or whose embryo opinions excite painful misgivings of mind1 ,i have often communed freely1 and have equal confidence in their integrity and honesty4 ,the whole taken together form a very numerous class1 and may be safely regarded as embodying the national belief and feeling on the subject of slavery4 ,and yet we find that slavery is a great practical truth1 a fixed fact in the country4 ,now1 can it be true that this opinion and feeling embodies a great abstract truth--a fundamental1 vital1 immutable principle1 which never did and never can fail to hold practical error in check1 because it takes hold of the conscience of an honest people--and whose tendency1 therefore1 is always to an ultimate practical triumph1 with all those who honestly receive it8 ,we dare not affirm this4 ,it is not mere belief1 nor is it mere honesty1 that produces results in practice2 but it is the reception of the truth in an honest heart1 which can never fail to result in practice4 ,now in this case the people are honest1 and the people believe2 and if it be essential truth which they thus believe1 then1 we say1 the fact that in all those ,states of this republic in which climate and soil are adapted to ,african labor--that precisely there the institution of domestic slavery should be rooted in the practice of a large portion of this believing and honest people1 and that it should strike its roots into the federal constitution1 and penetrate deeper and deeper every year into the legislation of the whole country1 and thus implicate more and more the whole mass of this believing people in the sin of it1 is a phenomenon1 for which the postulate1 that it is the truth they believe1 does not account--nor can it be made to account4 ,a false principle may be believed to be the truth4 ,and a false principle believed1 has its results1 because it is believed2 and they very much resemble the results of truth believed4 ,but we dare not admit that error can take hold of the conscience as pure principle1 essential truth will do it4 ,but1 again1 there is another great psychological fact1 which is often overlooked4 ,a false principle may be honestly believed by minds which1 at the same time1 adopt antagonistic principles that are essential truths2 but1 owing to various causes calculated to confuse the ideas1 the inconsistency is not perceived4 ,now1 in such a case as this1 the principle of essential truth is really brought into practical antagonism with essential error1 and that in the same minds and upon the same subject4 ,and as truth is more powerful than error in the minds of all honest people1 the truth holds its way in practical results1 in defiance of false principle1 which is relatively powerless in the presence of truth4 ,the antagonism between the false principle and the practical results of things may be perceived and acknowledged2 whilst the antagonism of the false principle with the true principle1 which underlies and produces these practical results by a law of its own operation1 is not only not perceived1 but actually denied to exist4 ,now so long as this false principle is honestly believed to be true1 and clearly perceived to be in conflict with the practice1 but not perceived to be in conflict with other and more latent principles1 which are in themselves truths1 and admitted to be truths1 and which produce this practice1 just so long will this false principle wage war1 by the simple law of belief1 against this practice4 ,but as this war is not sufficiently potent to overturn this practice1 because it is founded on the belief of principles true in themselves1 the practice will remain2 and so long as this false belief remains1 the strife with the practice must remain4 ,hence1 if this be the state of the public mind in this country on the subject of ,african slavery1 and it find no efficient remedy1 we can see nothing awaiting us but interminable strife--men against themselves--the country against the country6 ,we forbear to sketch the future4 ,but1 young gentlemen1 ,i submit if this psychology may not furnish a solution of the phenomena ,i have brought to your notice1 and also a remedy against that otherwise interminable strife which has already done so much to impair the moral power and blight the fairest hopes of the country4 ,may it not be that in admitting the great abstract doctrine of ,mr4 ,jefferson1 that the principle of ,african slavery is1 per se1 sinful1 and that1 as such1 the attributes and providence of ,deity are opposed to all who practice it1 we have most unwisely admitted a false doctrine8 ,and as this false doctrine1 though honestly believed by a number sufficiently large to designate it as the national belief and the national feeling1 has utterly failed to abolish or even to modify the institution of ,african slavery1 does it not afford a strong and clear presumption1 to say the least1 that this system which has held unbroken dominion over the ,african race in this country for over two centuries1 and which continues to strike its roots deeper and deeper into all the relations of society1 ,north and ,south--that this system1 so potent in practical results1 and so heedless of the fierce war that is waged against it1 is1 after all1 underlaid somewhere by a vast mine of principles--pure essential truths--which are firmly rooted in the belief of all civilized and honest men1 and which1 all along1 have imparted a spontaneous being and activity to the system1 and will continue to do so perhaps as long as any considerable portion of the race shall remain in the country8 ,if this hypothesis shall prove true1 the sovereign remedy for the otherwise interminable strife1 so potent for mischief1 is at hand4 ,let us then free ourselves1 let us free the country1 of the dominion of ,mr4 ,jefferson's philosophy1 because it is false4 ,in doing this1 we shall terminate the conflict which now rages with so much violence4 ,we shall be free to address ourselves to any modifications in the system of ,african slavery which may be demanded to adapt it to the progress of civilization4 ,regarding the whole subject in this light1 the duty of thoroughly investigating it seems to me to be laid upon the country as a moral necessity4 ,it is useless to talk of 8delicacy and humiliation10 in the presence of such fruits as a false philosophy has already borne plentifully throughout the land4 ,as your chosen instructor1 ,i owe you a service4 ,i dare not give up your minds to the dominion of ,wayland's ,philosophy1 7your text17 nor to any other text on this subject1 now known to the country4 ,i propose to lead your way in exploring the mine of truth which we may assume to underlie the system of ,african slavery4 ,we may look with confidence to reach these results3 #a4 ,that the philosophy of ,jefferson is false1 and that the opposite is true1 namely1 that the great abstract principle of domestic slavery is1 per se1 ,,right2 and therefore it is not in the use but in the abuse of this principle that we are liable to sin1 and thereby incur the ,divine displeasure4 #b4 ,that we should have a ,southern literature4 ,our schools must be supplied with correct text-books on this subject4 ,the poison which our texts now contain must be distilled from them by the learned of the land4 ,the ,church should not only right herself as she has done in the ,south1 but her voice should be heard in the pulpit enforcing right principles1 as well as right duties1 upon this subject4 ,truth is at all times intolerant of any abuse4 ,her voice should certainly be heard under circumstances so urgent as the present4 ,it is due to many in ,southern communities whose minds are1 more or less1 disturbed by the long-continued abuse of the pulpit1 and the social influence of mistaken ministers of religion in private life4 ,it is due to the interests of our common country4 ,we have lost much already in suppressing the truth4 ,we have much to gain by boldly asserting her claims--for 8truth is great1 and will prevail40 8,truth crushed to earth will rise again3 ,the eternal years of ,god are hers2 ,but ,error1 wounded1 writhes in pain1 ,and dies amid her worshippers40 ,,lecture ,,ii4 ,,the ,,abstract ,,principle ,,of ,,the ,,institution ,,of ,,domestic ,,slavery4 ,if the system be sinful1 per se1 the sin of it must be found in the principle--,is the principle sinful8--,the principle defined--,objections to the term submission answered--,the effect of ,mr4 ,jefferson's doctrine upon many conscientious persons in the ,southern ,states4 ,i now propose to enter directly upon the inquiry1 ,is the institution of domestic slavery sinful8 ,my plan will make it necessary1 in this lecture1 to limit the inquiry to the principle of the institution4 ,if the institution be sinful1 it must be so either in the abstract principle it involves1 or in the specific form under which it embodies that principle1 or in both4 ,in either case1 ,mr4 ,jefferson's doctrine is verified2 for if the abstract principle be wrong1 then the institution which envelops the principle1 and from which it derives its character1 is of course wrong4 ,it certainly is never right to act upon a wrong principle4 ,injustice1 as a principle1 is confessedly wrong in itself1 according to the ideas of all mankind4 ,no form which an action can take will make it right1 if it proceed upon an unjust principle4 ,hence1 no circumstances can justify any man in knowingly doing an act of injustice4 ,if the institution of domestic slavery envelops the idea of injustice1 or any similar element1 as its generic or abstract principle1 in such case it would certainly be wrong both in principle and in practice2 that is1 wrong in itself2 and we should1 without scruple1 abandon the controversy4 ,but a similar conclusion will not follow from a contrary proposition2 that is1 it will not follow1 that if the abstract principle of the institution be right1 the institution itself is right2 because the truth of a conditional proposition does not turn on the hypothesis1 but on the consequent1 as both true in itself and dependent upon the antecedent condition4 ,that this is not the case in this instance is developed by the fact that the affirmative proposition involved in this conditional is1 in itself1 an absurdity1 viz41 8,an abstract principle of action being right1 the action itself is right40 ,this is absurd4 ,for instance1 justice1 in itself1 is a right principle of action1 according to the ideas of all mankind2 but it does not follow that all actions which proceed upon the principle of justice are right actions4 ,a4 justly owes ,b4 one hundred dollars3 now1 to enforce the payment of this money would be in itself a just act1 because the money is honestly owed by ,a42 but if1 in doing this1 ,b4 should take the last bed from under the wife and children of ,a41 and deprive them of the last morsel of bread1 the act itself would be a very wicked one1 and he would be judged by mankind as but little less guilty than a highway robber1 because this is a case in which the claims of benevolence march before the claims of mere justice4 ,not to respect the claims of benevolence in such a case is to act upon the principle of pure selfishness4 ,this act1 then1 would envelop also a wrong principle--selfishness2 and it is the nature of a wrong principle to spread the hue and poison of guilt over every act into which it enters4 ,truth1 and its opposite1 as principles1 are striking examples4 ,if we speak at all1 we should speak the truth4 ,every utterance into which1 in its proper1 generic sense1 the lie enters1 even in the least degree1 is a poisoned act2 and he who does this1 is to that extent a basely wicked man1 however smooth his tongue or winning his manners4 ,guilt has poisoned his utterance2 and if this vice be not speedily arrested in its progress1 it will spread itself through the whole mass1 and break down his entire moral constitution4 ,but it does not certainly follow that all utterances which are in themselves truths1 are right utterances4 ,there are many facts1 to which1 if we were to give utterance1 we should only speak the truth1 but at the same time we all know that they should lie buried 7perhaps for ever7 in the depths of our own hearts4 ,to injure our neighbor by speaking the truth when no claim of paramount justice demanded it1 and the claims of charity or kindness forbade it1 would be a wicked act4 ,for a child in a similar way to injure a parent would be the conduct of a demon4 ,all such acts1 though they envelop a right principle--truth--do at the same time envelop a wrong principle--malevolence2 and it is the nature of wrong principle to stamp every act into which it enters with the character of guilt--it is wrong4 ,the conclusion we reach is this3 ,if the abstract or generic principle of an action be wrong1 the action itself is therefore wrong2 but that1 if the abstract principle be right1 it does not follow that the action is therefore right1 but that the action itself is either right or wrong1 as may be determined by the presence or absence of certain other coincident principles2 or1 as we usually say1 as may be determined by the circumstances4 ,if1 then1 the abstract principle of the institution of domestic slavery be wrong1 the institution itself is wrong1 and ought to be abolished2 but if the principle be correct1 the institution itself is or is not right1 just as the circumstances of the case may or may not require that it be maintained2 as in the case of any other act involving correct principle4 ,the points to be settled1 then1 are-- ,i4 ,is the abstract or generic principle of domestic slavery right or wrong8 ,and if it be right1 then1 ,,ii4 ,is the system 7so far as it is a system1 simply7 of domestic slavery1 enveloping this abstract principle1 justified by the circumstances of the case8 ,if so1 the system itself is also right4 ,whether many slaveholders or few1 or any at all1 are themselves doing right in the exercise of the legal functions of that relation1 are questions foreign from the present inquiries1 even on the hypothesis that the system itself is right4 ,their conduct1 be it right or wrong1 7and in many cases it is right1 and in many others it is no doubt wrong17 does not at all affect the truth or error of the questions now before us4 ,it is not with the conduct of individual men that we now deal2 but with the act of that great being1 the ,state--the system of ,african slavery established by law in the country--and with that profound principle of truth or error which not only makes it a system1 but makes it a right system or a wrong system1 as the case may be4 ,the philosophy which prevails on the question before us has originated two schools--the abolitionist and the anti-slavery4 ,the abolitionist maintain that the abstract principle of the system is wrong1 and that therefore the system itself is wrong under all circumstances4 ,the anti-slavery school agree with the abolitionist that the principle is wrong1 but divide among themselves as to the conclusion they draw4 ,some hold that the institution itself is not wrong under all circumstances1 and that therefore slaves may be held under it in given cases without guilt2 and others1 that the institution is wrong in itself1 and should be abolished by the ,state1 but that the holding of slaves under this wrong system is not an act in itself wrong in all cases4 ,a strict analysis of the subject will show that here is a strange medley of principles and conclusions4 ,i shall be found to agree with each1 and to disagree with each4 ,i disagree with both on the abstract principle4 ,hence1 ,i disagree with the abolitionists on the whole proposition4 ,but ,i agree with the abolitionists that ,,if the abstract principle be wrong1 the institution is wrong in all cases4 ,i say with them that all who grant the antecedent of this conditional are bound to admit the consequent4 ,hence ,i disagree with the anti-slavery school in admitting that the principle is wrong2 but in so far as they admit that the system may be right under given circumstances1 or that slaves may be held under it without guilt1 we agree4 ,i stand1 therefore1 committed to the affirmative of the question1 both in regard to the principle and to the institution1 and hence proceed to discuss the question3 ,i4 ,is the abstract principle of domestic slavery right or wrong8 ,i have already noticed that the public mind has been so long abused on this subject1 that it is usual for highly intelligent persons1 who have no idea of affirming that the slaveholder is necessarily a sinner1 to allow that slaveholding is wrong in principle4 ,but this1 to say the least1 is a strange abuse of terms4 ,the right or wrong of an action1 in itself considered1 is determined by the principle which it envelops1 and the moral character of the actor is determined by his intention in the performance1 or by his voluntary or involuntary ignorance of the principle4 ,it is reasonable1 therefore1 to infer that the public attach no well-defined meaning to the phrase1 the abstract principle of slavery4 ,its definite meaning1 however1 is indispensable in this investigation2 and1 indeed1 on all occasions1 if we would speak correctly1 and avoid a misapplication of this term4 ,what1 then1 is the principle of the system of domestic slavery8 ,observe that it is the principle for which we inquire4 ,what1 then1 is the system itself8 ,for 7to speak with strict philosophical propriety7 our idea of the system is the chronological condition of our idea of the principle1 as our idea of the principle is the logical condition of our idea of the system4 ,we must perceive an action before we can determine what is the principle of it1 although we must have an antecedent knowledge of the principle before we can determine what character that principle gives to the action4 ,the system is made up of two correlative relations--master and slave4 ,here there are but two ideas--the idea of master and the idea of slave1 as correlatives4 ,these are all the ideas that enter into the system1 as a system merely4 ,whatever abstract principle1 therefore1 this system envelops1 is to be found in these two terms4 ,it need not and should not be sought for anywhere else2 for these two relations make the whole system4 ,without these it could not be a system of slavery2 and with these1 it is therein1 and in virtue of that fact alone1 a system of slavery4 ,the answer to the question depends upon the meaning of these terms alone4 ,what1 then1 is the correlative meaning of these terms8 8,,master4 ,the ,latin is magister1 compounded of the root of magis1 major1 greater2 and the ,teutonic1 ster1 ,saxon1 steoran1 to steer40 ,the word1 then1 signifies a chief director--one who governs or directs either men or business4 ,the leading idea is that of governor by his own will4 ,,slave4 ,the derivation of this word is not a settled question4 ,there is no difficulty1 however1 in fixing the meaning--one who is subject to the will or direction of another4 ,as a concrete1 master means one who is governing in some particular instance or form by his own will2 and slave1 one who is so governed in some particular instance4 ,but these are abstract terms4 ,the ideas they convey may be conceived and held in the mind1 apart from any particular application of the one or the other4 ,and whether they are considered as abstract or concrete terms1 they are correlatives--the one implies the other4 ,a system of slavery is a state or order of things established by law or custom1 in which one set of men are the masters to a given extent1 and another are the slaves to that extent4 ,domestic slavery is an instance in which the order or state of things constituting the system itself1 is made a part of the family relation4 ,the head of the family is the master1 and the slave is subject1 as to the use of his time and labor1 to the control of the master1 as the other members of the family4 ,domestic slavery1 therefore1 is one of the forms of the general system of slavery4 ,the system has existed under various forms4 ,the ancient system of villanage in ,england1 of serfdom in ,russia1 the peon system of ,mexico1 as well as domestic slavery in the ,united ,states1 are all examples of slavery proper4 ,this leads us to remark that the terms master and slave are not only abstract but general abstract terms3 general1 because the abstract ideas they convey are common to each of these conditions4 ,each of these systems is pervaded by generic principles or ideas1 which classify the whole as belonging to the same genus--system of slavery4 ,the abstract principle of slavery is therefore the general idea1 which is enveloped alike in each and every form or system of slavery4 ,hence1 as the abstract idea of master is governing by one's own will1 and that of slave is submission or subjection to such control2 and as a system of slavery is a condition into which these ideas enter in correlation--it follows that the abstract principle of slavery is the general principle of submission or subjection to control by the will of another4 ,this is the fundamental idea which is common to every form of slavery4 ,no condition into which this does not enter as a fundamental idea is a state of slavery4 ,every condition into which it enters is a state of slavery to the extent in which it does so enter4 ,submission or subjection to control by the will of another being our definition of the abstract principle of the system of slavery1 two questions arise3 ,first--,is this a correct definition8 and second--,if it be correct1 is it a sound1 legitimate principle1 which may and ought to be adopted in practice1 whenever it may be wise to do so8 ,first--,is the definition correct8 ,subjection is the being put under the control of another4 ,submission is the delivery of one's self to the control of another4 ,the one implies the consent of the will1 and the other does not4 ,that subjection is an idea which fulfils the condition of slavery will not be disputed by any4 ,hence our definition is sufficiently wide to embrace that which is conceded by all4 ,but our definition gives much greater breadth to the principle4 ,it takes in submission as well as subjection4 ,it assumes that the willing or the nilling of the subject of this form of control does not necessarily enter into the principle which logically defines it4 ,he who is subjected to such control is a slave2 and he who submits to such control is not the less so4 ,this principle might therefore be still further generalized--control by the will of another1 with its correlative idea submission or subjection only implied4 ,but we prefer to define it in the terms employed1 as being more likely to be appreciated in the sense intended4 ,are we correct in giving this wide compass of meaning to the principle in question8 ,do we assume too much when we say that a man is not the less a captive1 and subject to the control of the captor1 because he voluntarily gives himself up as such8 ,is a man then the less a slave who voluntarily consents to be controlled by the will of another8 ,the popular use of terms in all languages shows that mankind have conceded this point4 ,they all apply the idea of slave to such a case4 ,nay1 more1 they furnish a constructive meaning of the term based upon this meaning4 ,they call a man a 8slave to his passions10 who has voluntarily given himself up to be controlled in his future volitions by his passions as the subjective motive of his actions4 8,no bondage is more grievous than that which is voluntary10 says ,seneca4 8,to be a slave to the passions is more grievous than to be a slave to a tyrant10 says ,pythagoras4 8,no one can be free who is intent on the indulgence of evil passions10 says ,plato4 ,and ,cicero says1 8,all wicked men are slaves40 ,st4 ,paul1 ,rom4 vi4 #af1 uses the term in the same sense1 and with the greatest propriety3 8,know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants 1 slaves to obey1 his servants slaves ye are to whom ye obey2 whether of sin unto death1 or obedience unto righteousness80 7,see ,dr4 ,a4 ,clarke1 in loc47 ,and again1 ,ephesians vi4 #e-g3 8,servants1 4 be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh1 with fear and trembling1 in singleness of your hearts as unto ,christ3 not with eye-service1 as men-pleasers1 but as the servants of ,christ1 doing the will of ,god from the heart2 with good will doing service1 as to the ,lord1 and not to men40 ,doing the will of ,god--with good will4 ,we must certainly understand that it was the duty of those slaves to give both assent and consent to their condition1 as a thing coming to them in the order of ,god's providence1 and pleasing to him2 and therefore serve their masters with the same willing obedience1 because therein they were serving the ,lord4 ,for these persons1 we may suppose1 were originally made slaves by subjection4 ,they are exhorted to submit themselves not only to the particular commands of their masters1 but also to their providential condition4 ,the commands of their masters might be obeyed from mere prudential considerations4 ,in this case1 their obedience would be without the religious element4 ,paul exhorts them to religious obedience4 ,many1 no doubt1 obeyed3 gave the consent of their wills1 as they gave the assent of their understandings2 and hence1 cheerfully submitting to their providential condition as from the ,lord1 they obeyed their masters 8in singleness of heart1 as unto ,christ40 ,they submitted1 as any other good man submits1 with consent as well as assent to his providential condition1 and goes forth to the duties of that condition with a cheerful heart4 ,their condition was therefore changed from that of subjection to one of submission1 and for as long a time as ,god might be pleased to continue it4 ,did they1 by reason of such submission1 cease to be slaves8 ,certainly not4 ,they were slaves when in a state of subjection4 ,they were not the less so when1 from the high ,christian motives commanded by the apostle1 their condition was changed to one of submission4 ,be this1 however1 as it may1 the following case is decisive of the whole question4 ,the ancient ,jew1 who gave himself into slavery1 was not the less a slave because he did it voluntarily2 and the ,mosaic law provided that such should be held and treated as slaves in perpetuity4 ,see ,exodus xxi4 #e1 #f3 8,and if the servant shall plainly say1 ,i love my master1 my wife1 and my children3 ,i will not go out free2 then his master shall bring him unto the judges3 he shall also bring him unto the door1 or to the door-post2 and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl2 and he shall serve him for ever40 ,thus the law of ,god made a man a slave who became so by his own voluntary act4 ,a state of submission1 therefore1 to control by the will of another1 is no less a state of slavery than a state of subjection4 ,if the state itself be one of slavery1 the idea1 submission1 which makes it so1 is in this case an element of the system4 ,hence1 the true philosophical definition of the principle1 as before stated1 is control by the will of another1 with its correlative 7subjection1 or submission1 as the case might be7 implied4 ,it may be the one2 it may be the other2 and whichever it is in a given case1 is the mere logical accident of that case1 and does not at all affect the principle itself4 ,as the whole of the abstract idea of the system of slavery is to be found in the terms master and slave in correlation2 and submission and subjection to control by the will of another is the whole idea contained in the correlative sense of these terms1 7certainly nothing more and nothing less17 the definition given is the whole1 and nothing more1 of the abstract principle of the institution4 ,whoever is in this condition is to that extent a slave4 ,whatever system envelops this principle--it matters not what form it may take1 what coincident principles it may include1 or what name may be given to it1 or how far the practical working of this principle may be modified--it is nevertheless to the extent that this principle enters into it a system of slavery4 ,it may be a wise system1 because it is a necessary means for the accomplishment of some desirable end2 or it may be an unwise system1 because it is a means unsuited to the end proposed4 ,but neither hypothesis will at all affect the principle4 ,that is the same in the one case as in the other2 that is1 whether it be abused or properly used1 the principle itself is the same4 ,but can it be properly used at all8 ,this leads to the second inquiry--,is this a sound1 legitimate principle1 which may and should be adopted in practice whenever it may be wise to do so8 ,we need not scruple to admit that if injustice or any similar idea should be found to enter as an element into the abstract principle1 it is a poisoned principle1 upon which no honest man will allow himself to act4 ,but is this the case8 ,doubtless1 there may be injustice in slavery1 as in every system which has persons for its subjects3 that is1 any master acting under the authority of this system may perpetrate great injustice2 but we maintain that when he does so he introduces a principle foreign to the system1 and for which he is individually responsible3 he does that which mars the character of the whole performance1 and stamps his own personal conduct with the guilt of injustice4 ,however carelessly many persons are accustomed to speak on this subject1 yet we may assure ourselves that a little reflection will satisfy any candid mind that the principle is a legitimate one1 and cannot with any degree of propriety be regarded as sinful4 ,it will readily occur to all intelligent minds1 that this principle enters more or less as an essential element into every form of human government4 ,no government can be appropriate to human beings1 in their present fallen condition1 that does not embody this generic element in a greater or less degree4 ,a form of control1 clearly embodying the idea of government1 and at the same time conferring absolute freedom1 is a solecism4 ,if men would uniformly govern themselves aright by their own wills1 there could be no necessity for government1 or room for its exercise1 at least in the sense in which we now understand the term4 ,a government adapted to such a people1 ,i allow1 might be without the element of physical control1 so indispensable in human governments4 ,it would be 7compared to human7 a modification of government--if government it might be called--for which our language supplies no term4 ,we cannot conceive it to be appropriate to any intelligences this side of the 8spirits of just men made perfect in heaven40 ,these1 we conceive1 are sufficiently intelligent to understand clearly and correctly all the duties appertaining to the various relations they sustain1 and so perfected in moral feeling as to fulfil these duties from the impulses of their own spontaneous volitions4 ,government1 as it may be understood and applied to such intelligences1 must be essentially different from that which is appropriate to beings of arbitrary volition2 and who1 therefore1 should be held to accountability in the exercise of their freedom by the most rigid restrictions from penal sanctions4 ,to these latter a government that did not embody the principle of slavery would be no government at all4 ,authoritative control1 with its correlative1 7according to the more general classification given17 is the abstract principle of slavery4 ,but a state of freedom is the opposite of a state of slavery4 ,the abstract principle of a state of freedom or liberty is1 therefore1 the opposite to that of slavery4 ,hence self-control is the abstract principle of freedom1 as its opposite--control by another--is the principle of slavery4 ,now every government adapted to fallen beings whose personal or mental liberty consists in arbitrary volition1 is necessarily a combination of these two opposite elements--the principle of freedom and the principle of slavery4 ,either of these entering alone into the system of government1 would in the end defeat the legitimate object of government--the happiness of the people4 ,if the government were based upon the principle of freedom alone1 allowing every man the unrestricted liberty of self-control1 the wildest anarchy would result3 if to avoid this the opposite principle should be adopted1 allowing no liberty of self-control1 but subjecting all to control by the will of another1 it would be found as impracticable as the other was disastrous1 and1 as far as successful1 only appropriate to idiots and infants4 ,a good government is such a harmonious union of these opposing elements1 as adapts it to the wants of the people4 ,for as1 in chemistry1 elements in opposite states of electricity unite and form valuable compounds1 so in political science1 antagonistic principles enter necessarily into the composition of government4 ,the character or kind of the government is defined by the ratios in which these elements enter into its formation4 ,if the principle of slavery enter very largely into the government1 in a highly consolidated form1 it is then an absolute monarchy or military despotism4 ,if the exercise of this supreme power is distributed among the heads of families1 it assumes the patriarchal or domestic form4 ,if this principle enter in a less degree1 but still in a much greater degree than the principle of self-control1 some one of the forms of constitutional monarchy or hereditary aristocracy will result4 ,if these opposite principles enter into the government in somewhat equal ratios1 it is then a democratic republic--a well-balanced government--such as ours is designed to be4 ,hence we see that ,god has rendered the blessing of civil freedom inseparable from the presence and operation of the principle of slavery4 ,such is the present arrangement1 that government can no otherwise secure freedom to its subjects than by abridging them to a certain extent of self-control2 or1 in other words1 government must place its subjects under the operation of the principle of slavery in some things1 the more effectually to secure their practical freedom in other things4 ,and the citizen who may be determined not to submit to this order of things1 and shall persist to do1 from the action of a depraved will1 what the ,state--his master--says he shall not do1 will1 sooner or later1 find himself reduced to a condition of most abject slavery1 within the walls of a public prison4 ,it is entirely obvious that a government1 to secure the highest amount of happiness to its subjects1 must be adapted to their social and moral condition4 ,this adaptation1 as before intimated1 can only be effected by the ratios in which the antagonistic elements of liberty and of slavery shall enter into the composition of the government4 ,now this is virtually the position1 after all1 of a no less distinguished abolitionist and literary man than ,dr4 ,wayland1 the author of your text4 ,on the subject 8of the mode in which the objects of society are accomplished10 after bringing to view the different forms of government--8wholly hereditary0--8partly hereditary0--8partly elective0--and 8wholly elective0--he asks1 8,which of these is the preferable form of government80 and adds1 8,the answer must be conditional4 ,the best form of government for any people1 is the best that its present moral and social condition render practicable4 ,a people may be so entirely surrendered to the influence of passion1 and so feebly influenced by moral restraint1 that a government which relied on moral restraint could not exist for a day4 ,in this case a subordinate and inferior principle yet remains--the principle of fear2 and the only resort is to a government of force1 or a military despotism40 ,now what is all this but a statement of the great truth which we have already discussed1 only in different terms1 that a government over a people1 in the moral and social condition described by ,dr4 ,wayland1 which relied upon 8moral restraint10 that is1 upon the principle of self-control1 8could not exist for a day20 and that for such a people1 8the only resort is to a government of force1 or a military despotism0--that is1 the highest conceivable form or system of slavery4 ,now this is said1 by ,dr4 ,wayland1 after waging a relentless war against both the principle and practice of slavery6 ,is not this an instance in which a great and honest mind1 having adopted certain false notions in antagonism with the system of slavery1 wars against this system2 whilst1 at the same time1 this system is underlaid1 even in his own method of reasoning1 by a vast mine of fundamental principles which1 in spite of him1 give it both being and activity8 ,why need one so learned as ,dr4 ,wayland allow the truth to escape his notice1 because in one connection it wears the livery of one form of words1 and in another connection very properly assumes the livery of a different form of language8 ,to proceed3 ,history informs us of many such communities as those defined by ,dr4 ,wayland1 to which any other form of government would be entirely inappropriate but the one he calls a 8government of force or a military despotism10 which is none other than the very highest form of slavery4 ,and your own good sense1 young gentlemen1 must assure you that it would be grossly absurd to confer on reckless boys of fifteen1 or a mass of stupid pagans1 all the rights of free citizens of this great republic4 ,no3 the one class should be retained under the slavery 7for let us not scruple to call things by their right names7 of authoritative control by their parents2 and the other should be subjected to the operation of the same general principle by the ,state4 ,and to adopt ,dr4 ,wayland's own language on this point--suicidal as it is to him--we add1 in regard to such citizens as are 8entirely surrendered to the influence of passion10 that 8after a government of force has been established1 and habits of subordination have been formed1 while the moral restraints are yet too feeble for self-government1 an hereditary government1 which addresses itself to the imagination1 and strengthens itself by the influence of domestic connections and established usage1 may be as good a form of government as they can sustain4 ,as they advance in intellectual and moral cultivation1 it may advantageously become more and more elective2 and in a suitable moral condition1 it may be wholly so40 ,now1 to vary the language in which these important facts are expressed1 so as to bring out the great philosophical principles which so evidently underlie them1 we would say1 that when the government adapted to an ignorant and depraved people has operated under wise appliances to form habits of subordination among the masses1 a modification of the elements of government is indicated as best suited to their condition4 ,some one of the forms of hereditary government may be adopted4 ,in this government1 the principle of slavery is made to operate less actively1 and there is more room for the play of the opposite principle of self-control4 ,but as the moral principle is yet too feeble for self-government proper1 it is still held in strong check by its antagonistic principle--the principle of slavery4 ,as they advance in intellectual and moral cultivation1 a further modification of the relative operation of these principles is indicated as proper4 ,it may become more and more elective3 that is1 more and more of a democratic republic2 and in a suitable moral condition it may be wholly so3 that is1 a government in which the principle of slavery and the principle of liberty operate in about equal ratios4 ,we call this a well-balanced government4 ,if it fulfil this condition1 it is because these opposing principles so check and counterpoise each other that the government is not likely to be unbalanced4 ,one holds the other in equilibrio4 ,the principle of self-control is in such vigorous operation among the masses1 and so craned up to a vigilant activity by coincident forces derived from intelligence and interest1 that the principle of slavery--control by the will of another1 which in this instance is the will of the majority--is not competent1 according to the theory of this government1 to override and crush the liberties of the country4 ,on the other hand1 the principle of slavery1 which is the great practical force of the government1 enfeebled as it is by a prevailing popular enthusiasm for the widest freedom1 and deriving no present aid from interest1 finds this deficiency so fully supplied by the fact that its impersonation is the will of the majority1 that it is competent to resist the most violent shocks which may come up from the misguided self-control of the masses4 ,how often have we seen1 in the history of our glorious republic1 the excited passions of the masses1 misdirecting their power of self-control1 sweep like a hurricane over the bosom of our political sea1 and lash the waters into a storm that threatened to engulf the hopes of the nation6 ,but so vital and so active was that principle which constitutes the true force of the government1 that that great ideal1 the ,state--the 8,ship of ,state60--outrode the tempest in perfect safety2 and last1 as first1 the flag of liberty still streamed from the mast-head4 ,now1 this is as far as the science of free government1 so called1 has been carried into practical operation2 and in this we cannot fail to see that the restraining and controlling principle of slavery is still in vigorous operation4 ,we call it1 by way of eminence1 a free government2 and so it is1 relatively to other forms1 a very free government4 ,but then it is only relatively1 not absolutely1 so2 for if it were rendered entirely free1 by excluding the operation of the principle of slavery altogether1 it would be reduced at once to a form of government which authorizes every man to do in all things and in all respects just as he might please to do--a guaranty which in the present state of fallen human nature it could never make good1 and1 therefore1 virtually it would be no government at all4 ,seeing that the abstract principle of slavery enters necessarily and essentially as an element into every form of civil government1 it is worse than idle to affirm that it is wrong1 per se4 ,but more than this1 it has the sanction of ,jehovah3 for government1 of which we have seen it is a necessary element1 is expressly declared in ,holy ,scripture to be his ordinance4 ,it entered largely into the theocracy by which he governed the ,jewish nation2 and indeed is equally prominent in the government which he exercises over all mankind1 if we take it in its wide sense as comprehending the ultimate rewards and punishments that await us in a future state4 ,how imbecile then is it to say of the system of slavery that it is wrong in the abstract--wrong in principle6 ,how little do men consider what they affirm in this declaration6 ,certainly no man in his senses will gravely affirm of an essential principle of government that it is wrong6 ,we repeat1 then1 it is really time that certain politicians1 as well as ecclesiastics1 had learned to chasten their language on this subject4 ,they have already accomplished incalculable mischief4 ,they have conceded that to the folly of fanaticism which1 if it were true1 would render domestic slavery1 with every other form of civil government1 wholly indefensible1 and their supporters the objects of the pity and scorn of the civilized world4 ,there are many among ourselves who1 though they are not sufficient metaphysicians to detect and expose the error of a conclusion1 are sufficiently candid to admit that if the conceded dogma of ,jefferson be true1 domestic slavery can never be justified in practice by any circumstances whatever2 and they have pious feeling enough to prompt them to great hesitation in supporting the institution in view of this admission1 although they are pressed to do so by circumstances of urgent duty to the slaves themselves4 ,in this state of things there arises in many sensitive minds a most painful state of feeling4 ,pressed on the one hand by what is assumed to be correct principle1 and on the other by the claims of a high moral necessity1--the necessity of governing and providing for their slaves1 which they erroneously suppose to be in conflict with right principle1--they really find themselves in a most embarrassing situation1 from which they sigh to be released4 ,many such have quietly retired from the ,state of their nativity and choice as their only alternative4 7,this may account for more of those removals1 usually attributed to worn-out lands1 than many of our politicians wot of47 ,others remain1 it is true1 but it is rather an act of subjection than submission4 ,citizens of this class 7and it is not a small class7 are of course always liable to become the victims of any fanatical movement on the subject of slavery that may be afoot in the land4 ,to all this mischief1 the speakers and writers in question have contributed their full share4 ,yea1 for myself1 ,i doubt not they have contributed much more to dissatisfy the religious community of the ,south--the large majority of the whole population--than all the abolitionists of the ,north put together4 ,it is doubtless the magic of their names which at present enables the ,m4 ,e4 ,church 7the most regular and well-defined anti-slavery1 if not indeed abolitionist1 association this day existing in the country7 to maintain its footing in the ,district of ,columbia1 the ,states of ,delaware and ,maryland1 and along the northern border of ,eastern and through a large part of ,western ,virginia1 together with a portion of ,kentucky and ,missouri4 ,it is the authority of their names1 also1 which so disquiets the feelings of many good people in the whole country as to make them the victims of the political legerdemain of certain politicians1 who1 under cover of 8free-soilism10 8fugitive slave law10 and 8,nebraska0 excitements1 are overriding their rights and insulting the whole country before the civilized world2 and who1 last though not least1 are daily oppressing the ,african population by the incubus of a morbid sensibility in regard to them1 which utterly prevents the system under which they live from any thing like a reasonable participation in the progress of civilization4 ,in view of these facts1 we again assume that it is really time they had learned to chasten their language on the subject of ,african slavery4 ,public opinion in the whole country must soon become intolerant of so great an abuse of the truth4 ,,lecture ,,iii4 ,,objections ,,considered4 ,objections classified--,popular views discussed--8,all men are born free and equal0--8,all men are created equal0--8,all men in a state of nature are free and equal0--,and the particular form in which ,dr4 ,wayland expresses the popular idea1 viz41 8,the relation in which men stand to each other is the relation of equality2 not equality of condition1 but equality of right0--,remarks on ,dr4 ,wayland's course--,his treatise on ,moral ,science as a text-book4 ,it is now appropriate to consider some of the speculations in ,moral ,science which may be supposed to invalidate the position discussed in the preceding lecture4 ,as far as they have come under my notice1 they all belong to one class4 ,the general objection may be thus stated3 ,slavery is an abridgment of rights to which the enslaved are entitled by nature2 or1 more logically1 slavery is an abridgment of inalienable rights4 ,this doctrine is expressed in different forms of language1 but is essentially the same in meaning4 ,it is with the popular view of this subject that ,i propose to deal in this lecture4 ,hence ,i shall restrict my remarks1 in the first place1 to the objection as it usually exists in thought1 and notice several popular forms of expression3 #a4 8,all men are born free and equal40 ,until within a few years past1 this dogma was stereotyped in all the text-books of the country--from the horn-book to the most eminent treatise on ,moral ,science for colleges and universities4 ,from the days of ,jefferson until now1 it has been the text for the noisy twaddle of the 8stump-politician10 and the profound discussions of the grave senator in the ,congress of the ,united ,states4 ,if this dogma1 as it generally exists in thought1 be true1 it will follow1 that any and every abridgment of liberty is a violation of original and natural right--that is1 inalienable right4 ,hence every system of slavery must be based upon a false principle4 ,the popular sense in which this language is generally understood1 from father to son1 is evidently the literal sense4 ,but taken in this sense1 the doctrine is utterly false4 ,for men are born in a state of infancy1 and grow up to the state of manhood2 and infants are entirely incapable of freedom1 and do not enjoy a particle of it4 ,they are not1 therefore1 born equally free1 but in a state of entire subjection4 ,they grow up1 it is true--if they be not imbeciles--to a degree of mental liberty1 that is1 the liberty of arbitrary volition in the plain matters of right and wrong1 and hence are accountable2 but the degree of this liberty1 or how far they are thus mentally free1 depends upon the accident of birth1 education1 and numerous coincident circumstances1 which destroys all equality of mental freedom2 and as to equality in other respects1 it is scarcely a decent regard to the feelings of mankind to affirm their equality4 ,they are not physically equal4 ,no two men will compare exactly in this respect4 ,they are not politically equal4 ,the history of all human governments1 throughout all time1 shows this4 ,to be 8hewers of wood and drawers of water10 in unequal and subordinate positions1 to the few1 has been the lot of the great mass of mankind from the days of ,adam4 ,but1 says the 8socialist10 7to whom the doctrine is far more creditable17 8this latter is precisely the state of things we deprecate1 and affirm that such was never the intention of ,deity1 but that it is his will that there should be no such inequality among men2 that his will is in itself the right2 and what it is his will we should be1 it is right for us to be1 and it is our right to be2 and that system which makes our condition other than this1 deprives us of our rights40 ,this is the philosophy of socialism4 ,now it is true that much of the inequality of condition among men is owing to an abuse of the superior power which intelligence confers upon the few2 but this admission does not advance the cause of socialism4 ,for if it were allowed that the will of ,god is the only rule of right--that is1 in itself the right1 instead of this1 that that which in itself is the right is the will of ,god--it will not help the argument4 ,for1 on this hypothesis1 the will of ,god is the only rule of right1 as on the other it conforms to the only rule of right2 so that on either1 the will of ,god may be taken as a certain rule of right4 ,what then does he will8 ,in regard to the present subject of inquiry1 we can only judge what he wills from that which he has done4 ,now we have seen that he has not endowed the souls of men with equal capacity1 nor has he even placed them in circumstances of providential equality1 favorable to an equal development of the unequal capacities he has given them4 ,superior intelligence is the condition of inequality4 ,where this exists1 there is essential inequality1 and practical inequality cannot usually be avoided4 ,hence superior and inferior1 and cognate terms1 are found in all languages1 and the conditions they represent are found amongst all people4 ,hence inequality among men is the will of ,god2 and if his will is the rule of our rights1 we have no abstract right to equality4 ,it is rather our duty to submit to that inequality of condition which results from the superior intelligence or moral power of others4 ,superior physical power may1 for a time1 give us the ascendency2 but things will find their level4 ,superior intelligence will ultimately bear its possessor to his destined eminence4 ,a state of oppression is not one of inequality merely4 ,it is one in which superior intelligence has degraded and afflicted those who rank below it1 in an inferior condition2 or it is an instance in which1 by the aid of brute force1 those of inferior condition have1 for a time1 risen at the expense of those of superior intelligence4 ,if we are oppressed1 in either of these ways1 we have a right to complain1 because our oppressors violate the will of ,god concerning us--violate our rights2 but we have no right to complain of inequality merely4 ,inequality is the law of ,heaven4 ,he who complains of this is not less unwise than the prisoner who frets at his condition1 and chafes himself against the bars and bolts of the prison which securely confines him6 ,but if the dogma in question cannot be made to serve the cause of truth1 it has often been made to serve the cause of policy4 ,many there are who have not scrupled to use it as a tocsin to call together a clan1 not their inferiors merely1 but so degraded in their inferiority1 that1 for the price of being honored with the distinction of 8free and equal fellow-citizens10 they have been ready as menials to bow their necks to their masters1 debase themselves1 dishonor the state1 and insult ,jehovah6 #b4 8,all men are created equal40 ,this is only another form in which the social philosophy is pleased to express its one idea4 ,we need only notice the additional error acquired by the change of language4 8,all men10 it is said1 8are created40 ,it is written in the first of ,genesis1 that 8,god created man in his own image3 in the image of ,god created he him3 male and female created he them40 ,the term 8man0 is1 of course1 to be understood in its generic sense1 and all that is affirmed is1 that ,god directly created ,adam and ,eve1 and all their posterity seminally in them2 and from whom1 therefore1 they have proceeded1 as to both soul and body1 by generation1 and not by a separate act of creation by ,jehovah4 ,now of these two created beings1 one was placed in direct and immediate subordination to the other2 and although it be true1 as it often practically is1 that the fall has reversed this order of things1 and placed the wife at the head of affairs1 still the doctrine of headship1 the doctrine of inequality1 prevails in the one case as in the other4 ,it is not amiss1 however1 to remark in passing1 that even so great and humble a man as the ,apostle ,paul preferred the old-fashioned doctrine3 he insists that we observe the original order of things3 8,i suffer not a woman to usurp authority over the man20 #a ,tim4 ii4 #ab2 8but they are commanded to be under obedience1 as also saith the law40 #a ,cor4 xiv4 #cd4 ,as to other points in this dogma1 they have been already treated4 ,we only add that philosophy1 no less than religion and true patriotism1 cannot fail to regret that a dogma setting each of their claims aside1 and teaching the purest agrarianism1 and that under the most deadly form--the form of pure abstract truth--should have found its way into that immortal instrument1 the ,declaration of ,american ,independence4 ,we cannot otherwise account for it than by the fact that one of the presiding minds of that great paper had become strongly tinctured with the infidel philosophy of ,france4 #c4 8,all men in a state of nature are free and equal40 ,this is the form of words by which that great man1 ,locke1 involved himself in the doctrine of socialism4 ,the school of philosophy has freed itself of the errors of ,locke1 and of much of the infidelity of ,hume which those errors precipitated upon the world4 ,the error now under notice1 in the unsettled political state of ,france1 was seized upon by the ,communists3 infidelity and anarchy followed4 ,from them1 it was consecrated in an abridged form of words in the greatest state paper that was ever written1--the 8,declaration of ,independence10--and incorporated into the popular language of the ,american people1 and1 indeed1 into that of every people where the ,english language is spoken4 ,great and good men1 who abhor the folly of socialism1 do not scruple to assert that the true theory of all governments is1 that they are an abridgment of original and natural rights2 forgetful of the fact that it is from the fountain of socialism that they draw their original supply of ideas4 ,those of the republican type maintain that the government should be founded upon the concessions of the majority1 and that any thing else is tyranny4 ,i propose to deal with this idea in a future lecture4 ,i now only consider the dogma in the literal sense--the form in which it exists in popular thought4 ,literally1 what is the state of man by nature8 and1 ,is he free and equal in that state8 ,we can conceive of man as existing only in one or the other of two states2 one of which is his natural state1 and the other merely hypothetical3 that is1 the simple1 or individual state1 and the complex1 or social state4 ,to conceive of men in their simple state1 or as not in a state of society1 is to conceive of them as existing as mere individuals3 that is1 without connection or relation one with the other4 ,is this the natural state of man--the state intended for him by nature8 ,certainly not4 ,it is not known to history1 any more than to us1 that any set of men ever existed in this way4 ,this1 then1 is a merely hypothetical state4 ,in reality1 there never was such a state of things1 and never will be4 ,indeed1 on the hypothesis that such was the original state of men by nature1 or as intended by the ,lord1 it would follow as a mere truism that each one of those separate individuals was free from control by any one or all of the others3 that is1 they were all free and equal4 ,that this truism expresses the truth of the case1 no doubt exists in the thought of a great many2 but they overlook the hypothesis which makes it a hypothetical truism1 merely because it never had any existence in fact1 and never can have4 ,to conceive of men in the social state is to conceive of them in their relations to each other4 ,hence it is a complex state4 ,several ideas enter into this state--not only individuality1 as in the former case1 but also contiguity of time and place1 variety1 and often contrariety of relations1 together with all the ideas which1 as sequences1 grow out of these4 ,now1 a leading idea involved in this state1 and inseparable from it1 is the idea of government3 that is1 the political is inseparable from the social state4 ,these various and conflicting relations must be defined by certain rules1 carrying the full idea of control4 ,without this1 these relations could not operate in harmonious agreement for a single day4 ,now1 as the natural state of man is the state for which he was made1--the state to which alone his entire nature is adapted1--there can be no dispute1 the social state is the natural state of man4 8,and the ,lord ,god said1 ,it is not good that the man should be alone3 ,i will make him an helpmeet for him40 ,he was made1 then1 for society1 and society was immediately furnished him4 ,but the law of relation1 we find1 was coincident with the relation itself3 8,therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother1 and shall cleave unto his wife40 ,gen4 ii4 #bd4 ,and so also1 every one born into the world was born in a state of society--the social state--and has always existed in this state3 that is1 under government4 ,but we have before proved that a state of slavery is fundamental in the complex idea of government4 ,there is1 there can be1 no government without it4 ,therefore1 the natural state of man1 or the state to which he is adapted by both his mental and physical constitution1 is a state of slavery in combination with liberty1 which is the complex idea of government4 #d4 8,the relation which men sustain to each other is the relation of equality3 not equality of condition1 but equality of right40 ,this is the form in which ,dr4 ,wayland prefers to express the doctrine of equality4#b ,he explains himself thus3 8,each separate individual is created with precisely the same right to use the advantages with which ,god has endowed him as any other individual40 ,from this position1 as thus explained1 he deduces an argument the force of which1 without expressing it in so many words1 is constructively made to pervade the whole performance4 ,for his whole argument may be embodied thus3 the government which places an individual in any other condition than that of political equality is an odious tyranny3 the government which establishes domestic slavery does this1 and is therefore an odious tyranny4 #b ,moral ,science4 ,part ,,ii41 ,division ,i--,reciprocity4 ,now1 the proposition1 as he explains it1 may be admitted as a truism2 but then the doctrine of essential equality of right will not follow from such an admission3 that is1 social and political equality4 ,for what if it be true that 8each separate individual has precisely the same right to use the advantages with which ,god has endowed him80 ,it only follows that each one has a common right in this respect merely1 but not that there is an essential equality of right in any available sense in which we are accustomed to understand the phrase4 ,for if so1 it will follow that brutes have an essential equality of rights with men1 and that both men and brutes have an essential equality of rights with angels4 ,this is not pushing the argument too far in either direction4 ,for brutes1 in a sense well defined by ,dr4 ,wayland himself1 have rights4 ,no one but a moral brute would deny the right of his fellow-creature--the brute--to appropriate an accessible bucket of refreshing water to slake his burning thirst4 ,nothing is more certain than that brutes1 men1 and angels have a common right to appropriate the advantages with which ,god has endowed them4 ,brutes could not have lower1 and angels could not have higher1 rights in this respect4 ,but surely it cannot be said that this common right confers on brutes1 men1 and angels1 essential equality of rights in any practical sense whatever2 for then it will follow that brutes1 men1 and angels have an equal right to social and political equality--a bold and reckless absurdity4 ,we admit that one man has a common right with each and all other men in the respect stated2 but not that they have common rights in other respects4 ,the common right to use our 8advantages to promote our happiness0 will not constitute us equals in any proper sense1 unless our advantages be equal4 ,now1 ,dr4 ,wayland himself allows1 in the very terms of his proposition1 that men are not equal in condition--that is1 not equal in advantages4 ,and nothing is more obvious than that men are not equal in that intellectual and moral condition which would enable them to use certain social and political advantages for the benefit of themselves and others3 consequently1 upon his own admission1 they would have no right to them4 ,unless1 then1 it can be shown that ,god has endowed all human beings with intellectual and moral capacities sufficiently developed to enable them to be used for the common welfare1 they have no right to what we call political freedom4 ,but it is unquestionable that men are not universally nor even generally so endowed4 ,it is not the case with minors4 ,political freedom is withheld from them by the laws of all ,states1 for the obvious reason that it is not among the privileges which ,god1 as yet1 endowed them with the ability to use for the common welfare4 ,still1 no one1 so far as we are aware1 ever dreamed that minors were herein abridged of their natural rights1 and that government and parents were 8odious tyrants0 because they subjected them to one of the known forms of domestic slavery6 ,we are not surprised1 therefore1 that ,dr4 ,wayland found himself compelled to admit that minors were exceptions to his rule2 which1 however1 he had argued as universal--universals admit of no exceptions4 ,again1 it is not true of barbarians1 through any of the stages of barbarism4 ,at no period are they in that state of intellectual and moral development in which they could use for the common welfare the blessings of civil freedom1 as understood and enjoyed by a highly civilized people4 ,if they were1 they would not be barbarians1 but a civilized people1 to whom the right of civilization--political freedom--would inure4 ,now ,i assume here1 what ,i shall prove in a future lecture1 that the ,african came into this country in a state of extreme barbarism2 and that1 in the judgment of ,southern people--whom prejudice itself can hardly deny are honest and the only competent judges in this matter--they are still1 as a race1 in a state of semi-barbarism1 to say the least4 ,if we are right in this position1 they also are an example of persons who are clearly not entitled to the rights which inure only to a state of civilization4 ,with what propriety1 therefore1 could any decent man1 whose object is not to insult1 affirm that we are 8odious tyrants10 for withholding from the ,african the rights which are appropriate only to a state of civilization3 unless he were prepared first to show that we are wrong in our position as to the question of fact1 that they are still in a state of semi-barbarism1 and1 therefore1 not entitled to civil freedom8 ,how shall we characterize the course of ,dr4 ,wayland6 ,after drawing an ingenious argument through many pages of his performance3 appealing to the facts and principles of ,holy ,scripture3 not failing1 in the progress and application of his false position1 to stigmatize the system of ,african slavery as an odious tyranny1 and this for the obvious purpose of degrading the ,southern ,states of this ,union in the eyes of the whole civilized world3 then1 when he is confronted1 as he necessarily was1 in the progress of his own argument1 by the only material fact in the whole discussion1 he adroitly evades all consideration of it whatever6 ,on page #baf1 fourth edition1 he states the position of the ,south1 that the 8slaves are not competent to self-government10 and shortly replies1 8,this is a question of fact which it is not the province of ,moral ,philosophy to decide40 ,why then did he decide it by an application of his false position to the ,south8 ,echo answers1 ,why8 ,had he confined the application of his principles to the rights which belong to a civilized people1 we should have no cause to complain2 or had he adduced facts to invalidate the position of the ,south in regard to its ,african population1 we should be bound to regard him as maintaining an honorable discussion2 or1 yielding this point1 had he attempted to define that form of government most appropriate to a mass of semi-barbarians1 dwelling in the midst of a highly civilized people1 with whom they could not amalgamate2 or1 declining this1 had he frankly confessed his incompetency 7as indeed will really appear upon a discussion of his basis principle7 to do justice to the subject of ,moral ,philosophy at this point at least--in either case we should be bound to respect his effort4 ,but departing1 as he evidently does1 from all these obvious lines of duty in the pathway of his desolating errors1 and inflicting so deep a wound upon the feelings of the whole ,southern community1 it must be allowed that our charity is heavily taxed in accounting for his course4 ,he can have no cause to complain that we adopt the opinion that he has permitted an early prejudice to grow into a feeling of fanaticism1 so fixed as to warp his judgment on points of very simple application in ,moral ,science4 ,dr4 ,wayland's treatise is a text-book in many of our literary institutions1 and he himself is eminently distinguished both in the religious and literary world4 ,such a text-book1 thus endorsed by both piety and learning1 put into the hands of our young men1 could rarely fail of its object--especially if the professor concur in enforcing its doctrines4 ,this is frequently the case in ,northern institutions1 and has often occurred in ,southern2 and where it has not1 the professor1 as a general thing1 is either silent1 or he concedes the doctrines of the text1 and rests the defence of the ,south upon the false position1 that 8she cannot help herself60 ,the assumption that ,god has placed men in circumstances in which they cannot avoid a violation of his own immutable principles of right1 may be so entirely overlooked1 as to leave the doctrines and arguments of the text to work an increasing conviction that there is moral wrong in ,african slavery4 ,if this state of things continue1 we must not be surprised if abolition fanaticism should have a still more rapid growth in our land4 ,,lecture ,,iv4 ,,the ,,question ,,of ,,rights ,,discussed4 ,why it is necessary to define the term ,,rights--,the right in itself defined to be the good--,the doctrine that the will of ,god is the origin of the right considered--,the will of ,god not the origin of the right1 but an expression of the right which is the good--,natural rights and acquired rights1 each defined4 ,there are questions which lie back of this discussion--errors1 as ,i think1 which underlie the popular ideas of both government and rights4 ,we should not consider that we had fully met the difficulties of the subject if we passed them by4 ,domestic slavery1 it is said1 is an abridgment of inalienable rights2 and legitimate government is a voluntary concession of certain alienable rights4 ,natural rights are1 of course1 such as are inherent in the constitution of man3 inalienable1 because in point of fact he cannot be substantively deprived of them4 ,the law which in any case provides to do this1 treats him as though he were not a rational1 but a mere sentient being--and therein alienates his rights4 ,domestic slavery is said to treat the slave as a mere chattel1 a thing1 not an entity1 and hence deprives him by provision of law of the right of being treated as a rational being as he is1 and not a mere thing4 ,this is said1 because it places his time and labor at the disposal of another man4 ,how far this reproach is just1 turns upon a definite answer to the question--,what are rights8 8,government is a voluntary concession of certain alienable rights40 ,if this concession be made by the majority of the citizens1 the government is called republican2 if otherwise1 it is called despotic4 ,in this theory of government1 certain rights are assumed to be given up1 in order to secure other and more important rights4 ,i have shown government to embody1 of necessity1 two great abstract principles in harmonious operation--though1 in their essential nature1 the one antagonizes the other4 ,now the principle of slavery--control by the will of another--certainly operates an abridgment of the exercise of self-control1 which is the principle of liberty4 ,and so far as the principle of slavery operates1 in any given instance of government1 is that1 in such instance1 a giving up1 to that extent1 of the right of self-control1 in order to secure a right to the self-control which remains ungiven up8 ,is this so8 ,this question also turn upon the solution of that other question--,what are rights8 ,and again1 self-control1 we say1 is the principle of liberty4 ,practical freedom is the exercise of the right of self-control4 ,how far does the right of self-control extend8 ,i say that an instance in which a body of men emerged from a state of nature1 7so called17 and formed a government by an original act1 is unknown to history4 ,it never occurred4 ,man was placed originally by ,jehovah himself under political law4 ,the very moment that he placed the first being in a relation to another by giving him a 8helpmeet10 he gave him a law to govern that relation1 as we have seen2 and all the subsequent acts of men in the matter of government-making1 have been such modifications of the existing form of government as they supposed would better suit their circumstances4 ,but it is said that when society meets in convention to agree upon certain principles called a constitution1 under which the laws shall be made1 men do virtually1 for the time being1 resolve themselves into their original position or state without government2 and that the constitution so formed is virtually an original formation4 ,well1 for the sake of the argument1 let it be so4 ,when1 therefore1 society thus falls back upon its original position1 men stand upon the basis of what are supposed their original rights6 ,what is that8 ,why1 the right that each man has to do as he may please4 ,they form a government3 that is1 give up a part1 more or less1 of their original right4 ,of course a part remains ungiven up1 and the giving up cannot be to secure the possession of that which is already in possession6 ,what is it that invests these questions with difficulty8 ,is it not the ambiguity of the term rights8 ,let us then define rights1 if we would not be for ever entoiled by these absurdities4 ,and still again3 ,is liberty the right of self-control8 ,is not man--accountable man--free in virtue of his very humanity8 ,does this freedom imply absolute liberty8 ,if so1 absolute liberty is inherent in his very constitution--it is inalienable4 ,what right1 then1 can he have to give it up1 or any part of it8 ,if so1 he has the right to do that which subjectively he cannot do4 ,if1 then1 government be a concession of the right of self-control in this sense1 it is the concession of an inalienable right1 and should be abandoned as a piece of folly4 ,it is entirely obvious1 therefore1 that we cannot advance in these inquiries at all without first settling the question1 ,what are rights8 ,the ,english language is allowed to be one of great power1 compass1 and accuracy1 and therefore eminently adapted to reasoning4 ,it derives this quality in a good degree from its flexibility1 the different varieties of idea1 and often the different shades of meaning in these varieties that may be expressed by one word4 ,no language is supposed to compare with it in this respect4 ,but whilst this adapts it to the purpose of correct reasoning1 it opens also a wide field for errors in argument4 ,men usually differ widely in opinion1 but they do not often differ in sentiment4 ,all intelligent and good men feel right1 and mean right4 ,they often differ in opinion because they differ in the meaning they attach to the language1 the same language1 which is the medium through which each views the same subject4 ,different men use the same word in different senses4 ,the same man often uses the same word by habit in different senses in the same connection4 ,they come to different conclusions1 of course1 and the same man often entoils himself by his own argument4 ,now1 there are few words with which men have more to do in discussions and opinions about liberty and government--the next most important matters to personal religion--than with the word rights2 and there are few words which are capable of more varied application1 and which are in truth oftener applied to express different shades of meaning1 than this word rights4 ,webster gives correctly some forty different meanings of this term1 together with several subordinate senses in which it occurs1 all of which are in common use4 ,our language--and of what language is not the same true8--our literature1 our theology1 our politics--society on all sides--is bristling with rights6 ,now1 is it not obvious that there must be some generic idea which classifies all the different meanings and applications of this term1 and which has its foundation in the common sense1 the common reason of all mankind8 ,if1 then1 we inquire what are our rights in any given case1 this question directly involves that other and ultimate question1 ,what is the right in itself8 the solution of which solves at once the general question in regard to all cases4 ,and although the case in which our rights may appear must be first in point of time before our minds1 to call up our idea of the right1 still our definite antecedent idea of the right is the logical condition on which we determine whether the right appears in that case4 ,call then1 to your mind1 an instance of justice1 and one of injustice3 a case of virtue and a case of crime3 an example of heroism and an example of weakness3 does not each of these cases embody1 the one class your idea of the right in itself1 and the other your idea of the wrong in itself8 ,but your conception of the cases in which your antecedent idea of the right and the wrong appears1 and your antecedent idea of that right and of that wrong1 are very different ideas3 that is1 the case itself and your idea of the principle are distinct3 the one a thing1 the other an idea of something real4 ,what1 then1 is your idea of the right1 which is so distinct in your mind from the case in which it appears8 ,interrogate your reason and consciousness4 ,interrogate the reason and consciousness of all mankind4 ,take this example3 8,the father of ,caius ,toranius had been proscribed by the triumvirate4 ,caius ,toranius1 coming over to the interest of that party1 discovered to the officers who were in pursuit of his father the place where he concealed himself1 and gave withal a description by which they might distinguish his person when they found him4 ,the old man1 more anxious for the safety and fortunes of his son than about the little that might remain of his own life1 began immediately to inquire of the officers who seized him1 whether his son were well1 whether he had done his duty to the satisfaction of the generals4 #8,that son1' replied one of the officers1 #8so dear to thy affections1 betrayed thee to us3 by his information thou art apprehended1 and diest4' ,the officer1 with this1 struck a poniard to his heart1 and the unhappy parent fell1 not so much affected by his fate as by the means to which he owed it40#c ,here is an example of the greatest filial impiety1 and of the highest parental affection4 ,the one fulfils our idea of the right1 the other our idea of the wrong4 ,now1 what is this idea of the right and the wrong in which all are supposed to agree8 ,we would not ask1 with the disciple of ,paley1 of ,condillac1 or of ,helvetius1 what the 8wild boy1 caught years ago in the woods of ,hanover10 would have thought of this case2 nor what the savage1 without experience and without instruction1 cut off in his infancy from all intercourse with his species1 would think of it4 ,no3 8the savage state offers us humanity in swaddling-clothes1 so to speak--the germ of humanity1 but not humanity entire4 ,the true man is the perfect man of his kind3 true human nature is human nature arrived at its development40#d ,we utterly deny that1 in order to arrive at the judgment of human nature1 we need consult a savage in such circumstances1 or indeed to consult a savage at all4 ,and yet we say that even a savage of good mind1 who has lived long enough in society to get the idea of the relation of parent and child--such as even savages have--would pronounce the conduct of the one to be right1 and of the other to be wrong1 and have a definite idea of that right and that wrong1 each in itself4 ,and we furthermore say1 that human nature cultivated to the highest degree bears the same testimony to the difference in the conduct of this father and this son1 and attaches essentially the same ideas to that difference4 ,in calling the one right and the other wrong1 men say1 and they mean to say1 that the one is good and the other is evil4 ,this is the uniform judgment of human reason--the permanent belief of mankind4 ,to this common sense bears ample testimony4 ,grammarians have not invented languages4 ,government itself dates back of legislators--they have only modified it4 ,philosophers have not invented beliefs3 without concert1 without conventions1 the world has fallen upon certain beliefs1 and certain signs to express these beliefs4 ,in the secret chambers of the soul1 not of any one individual man1 but of all men individually1 consciousness bears testimony that such and such is the belief of all men1 and this we call the judgment of common sense2 and such is also her testimony in all languages as to the thing that is right1 and that the right in any given case is the idea we have of the good in that case4 ,the right1 then1 is the good4 #c ,paley's ,philosophy4--,moral ,science4 #d ,m4 ,cousin4 8,right1 rectus10 says ,webster1 8straightness1 rectitude20 which he explains to be conformity to rule or law1 and that the will of ,god is the ultimate rule or law which determines the right or the wrong in all cases4 ,hence conformity to this rule is the generic idea of the right in itself1 according to ,webster4 ,in this view1 ,horne ,tooke1 in his ,diversions of ,purley1 concurs4 ,as his criticism is ingenious1 instructive1 and generally truthful1 ,i quote the more material portion of his article on rights4 ,after telling us in his dialogue that ,johnson only informs us that right is not wrong1 and wrong is not right1 he adds3 8,h4 ,,right is no other than ,,rectum1 7regetum17 the past participle of the ,latin verb regere1 etc4 8,in the same manner1 our ,english word ,,just is the past participle of the verb jubere4 8,,decree1 ,,edict1 ,,statute1 ,,institute1 ,,mandate1 ,,precept1 are all past participles4 8,f4 ,what then is law8 8,h4 ,it is merely the past tense and past participle of the ,gothic and ,anglo-,saxon verb which means something or any thing laid down as a rule of conduct4 ,thus when a man demands his ,,right1 he asks only that which it is ordered he shall have4 ,a ,,right conduct is that which is ordered3 a ,,right reckoning is that which is ordered3 a ,,right line is that which is ordered or directed1 7not a random extension1 but7 the shortest between two points3 the ,,right road is that ordered to be passed 7for the object you have in view37 to do ,,right is to do that which is ordered to be done3 to be in the ,,right is to be in such situation or circumstances as are ordered3 to have ,,right or law on one's side is to have in one's favor that which is ordered or laid down3 a ,,right and ,,just action is such an one as is ordered and commanded3 a ,,just man is such as he is commanded to be--qui leges juraque servat--who observes and obeys the things laid down or commanded2 and the ,,right hand is that which custom and those who have brought us up have ordered or directed us to use in preference1 when one hand only is employed2 and the ,,left hand is that which is leaved1 left1 or which we are taught to leave out of use on such occasions4 ,so that left1 you see1 is also a past participle4 8,f4 ,every thing1 then1 that is ordered and commanded is ,,right and ,,just8 8,h4 ,surely2 for that is only affirming that what is ordered and commanded1 is ordered and commanded4 8,f4 ,now what becomes of your vaunted ,,rights of man8 ,according to you1 the chief merit of man is obedience2 and whatever is ordered and commanded is ,,right and ,,just4 ,this is pretty well for a democrat4 ,and those have always been your sentiments8 8,h4 ,always2 and those sentiments confirm my democracy4 8,f4 ,those sentiments do not appear to have made you very conspicuous for obedience4 ,there are not a few passages1 ,i believe1 in your life1 where you have opposed what was ordered and commanded4 ,upon your principles1 was that ,,right8 8,h4 ,perfectly4 8,f4 ,how now6 ,was it ordered and commanded that you should oppose what was ordered and commanded6 ,can the same thing be at the same time both ,,right and ,,wrong8 8,h4 ,travel back to ,melinda1 and you will find the difficulty easily solved40 7,the people of ,melinda are all left-handed1 i4 e41 their right is our left4 ,but they are as right-handed as we are2 for they use that hand in preference which is ordered by their custom1 and is therefore their right hand1 and leave out of employ the other1 which is1 therefore1 their left hand47 8,a thing may be at the same time both ,,right and ,,wrong1 as well as ,,right and ,,left4 ,it may be commanded to be done and commanded not to be done4 ,the law--that which is laid down--may be different by different authorities4 8,i have always been most obedient when most taxed with disobedience4 ,but my ,,right hand is not the ,,right hand of ,melinda4 ,the ,,right ,i revere is not the right ordered by sycophants3 the jus vagum1 the capricious command of princes or ministers4 ,i follow the ,,law of ,god1 7what is laid down by him for the rule of my conduct17 when ,i follow the laws of human nature3 which without any human testimony we know must proceed from ,god2 and upon these are founded the ,,rights of man1 or what is ordered for man4 ,i revere the constitution and constitutional laws of ,england1 because they are in conformity with the ,,laws of ,god and nature2 and upon these are founded the rational rights of ,englishmen4 ,if princes1 or ministers1 or the corrupt sham-representatives of the people1 order1 command1 or lay down any thing contrary to that which is ordered1 commanded1 or laid down by ,god1 human nature1 or the constitution of this government1 ,i will still hold fast by the higher authorities4 ,if the meaner authorities are offended1 they can only destroy the body of the individual1 but never can affect the ,,right1 or that which is ordered by their superiors40#e #e ,see his whole article on ,rights4 ,thus he is found to agree with ,webster1 that the will of ,god is the ultimate genus of the ,,right4 ,that is ,,right1 which conforms to the will of ,god as laid down in law--whether that law be a written revelation1 nature1 or the customs of society1 7as in the case of the right and left hand17 as the exponent of that will--they are what is ordered in the case1 and make the ,,right4 ,hence he condemns as 8wretched mummery0 the distinction admitted by ,m4 ,portalis1 between obedience to a command1 and obedience to what is ,,right and ,,just in itself1 and1 on the same ground1 pronounces it 8highly improper0 to say1 with ,mr4 ,locke1 8,god has a ,,right to do it3 we are his creatures40 ,for truly if his will be the ultimate genus of ,,right1 then he can have no rights1 for there is certainly no superior to whose commands he conforms in the acts of his will4 ,but precisely at this point let us take our stand4 ,i affirm on the authority of ,scripture1 no less than sound philosophy1 7always in harmony17 that ,god has ,,rights1 and that the distinction of ,m4 ,portalis is in many instances correct2 and that hence ,tooke1 ,dr4 ,paley1 7who also concurs in this view--see his article ,rights1 in his ,moral ,philosophy17 ,dr4 ,webster1 with many others of great distinction1 strangely err1 not in their etymology of this word1 but in that hypothesis by which they make it a significate of the will of ,god4 ,we cannot agree with them that ,,rights and ,,duties which are reciprocal1 are resolvable only into the will of ,god--have his will alone for their ultimate foundation4 ,i take ground back of this4 ,true1 ,i say with them--and ,i claim full credit in the declaration--that the volitions1 the acts of ,god1 are always ,,right2 but ,i do not say that his will makes the essential or true distinction between right and wrong4 ,we dare not assume that ,god1 could1 by an act of volition1 make the right to be the wrong1 and the wrong to be the right--good evil1 and evil good6 ,it is absurd to assume that ,god can do things that are in themselves contradictory4 ,omnipotent1 we know1 he is2 but such things are not the objects of power1 any more than things which are the objects of power1 are1 in the same sense1 the objects of ,omniscience4 ,to affirm that he could make the right to be the wrong1 is as false as it would be impious to affirm that he would do it1 if he could--false1 because1 if he can1 he has not deposited the truth in that great master-work of his hand1 the mind of man2 for1 by the power of the intuition he has given us1 we are assured that the idea is in itself a gross absurdity4 ,and if this be not decisive of the question1 then neither intuition nor the deductions of intuition are of any authority4 ,man is the victim of a false guide within6 ,he may 8eat and drink1 for to-morrow he dies60 ,there will be no more of him2 or1 what is worse1 he is but a link in a chain of sentient beings who are governed by a cruel fate1 which regards not the distinctions of right and wrong2 and he may be the sport of wickedness in the world to come1 as he has been the victim of deception in this6 ,i think it more than error to reason thus6 ,i think it profane6 ,we may take ground back of this--ground as honorable to ,god as it is exalting to man and encouraging to his hopes4 ,it is true1 that both rectitude and duty1 together with liberty1 are resolvable into the essential good4 ,or1 in other words1 freedom1 rectitude1 and duty are the modes of thought in which we conceive of the good as existing in the soul of man1 and that they are1 each of them1 in their distinct nature and harmonious union1 the true ideal of the good--the modes of thought1 also1 in which the intuition of man perceives the good in the case of every moral action which is good4 ,and concerning the good in itself1 which is thus in an humble degree perceived by us1 it is certainly a reality which is immutable and eternal4 ,god did not make it--nor was it made4 ,it is of the essential nature of ,god1 and eternal4 ,he is the great impersonation of the good4 ,his will1 his volitions1 in all cases1 are but the expressions of this high attribute4 ,his will1 therefore1 always conforming to the essential good1 is a perfect rule of what is right in itself1 and proper to be observed by us1 as a rule of duty or conduct4 ,such a rule1 it will be seen1 is eminently adapted to the wants of humanity2 but1 at the same time1 his will and the good are different realities4 ,the one is an essential quality of his holy nature1 and the other is1 to a certain extent1 an expression of this attribute in the form of volitions4 ,that the will of ,god did not make the right in itself1 will readily appear4 ,is it to be conceived that there ever was a period in eternity past1 when truth was not truth1 or when truth did not exist8 when the good was not the good1 or when the good did not exist8 ,but does it not accord with the clearest teachings of reason1 that the truth always was the truth1 and ever will be the truth8 that the good always will be the good8 ,that two and two are equal to four2 that to affirm a thing to be and not to be at the same time is an absurdity and a contradiction2 and that things equal to one and the same thing are equal to one another1 we say are all intuitive truths--we cannot be mistaken about them4 ,so also in morals3 that the truth is good2 that virtue is good2 that a good action is not an evil action2 and that to affirm that a good action is not a good action is an absurdity1 a contradiction1 we say1 are all intuitions--we cannot be mistaken about them4 ,but is it not equally intuitive that these things were always so--that these truths were always truths--the good was always the good1 just as certainly as that they are so now8 ,then the eternity of these things is just as certainly an intuition1 as that they exist now is an intuition4 ,hence the eternity of ,god1 who is the great impersonation of this high quality1 or whose attribute it is1 is an intuitive truth4 ,hence his will did not make it1 for it is absurd to say that he made himself4 ,his will1 therefore1 which1 in given cases1 is his volition1 is but the expression of this essential quality of his holy nature4 ,hence his will is a rule of right1 because in all cases it conforms to the good1 but it did not make the good4 ,therefore the ,,right1 as it conforms to the essential ,,good1 is of the nature of the ,,good4 ,it is properly a significate of the good1 and not a significate of the will of ,god4 ,things agreeing with one and the same thing agree with each other4 ,hence it coincides with the will of ,god4 ,but such coincidence does not constitute any thing right in itself2 but it is because1 like the will of ,god1 it conforms to1 or is of the nature of1 the ,,essential ,,good1 that it is right4 ,the ,,right then1 in itself1 is the ,,good4 ,the ,,good is the true generic idea which classifies all the different applications of this term4 ,so far as any thing is of the nature of the ,,good1 it is in itself ,,right4 ,so far as any thing1 to which the idea of the ,,right applies1 is negative of the good1 i4 e41 is evil1 it is ,,wrong4 ,the ,,good1 therefore1 as an ultimate genus1 is much more extensive in meaning than the ,,right4 ,it extends to all physical as well as moral good4 ,our subject requires us to consider it only so far as it applies to humanity4 ,and how far is this8 ,when ,jehovah created man1 he pronounced him to be 8very good10 i4 e41 essentially good in the attributes of his nature4 ,he was created in 8his own image3 in the image of ,god created he him40 8,and the ,lord ,god formed man of the dust of the ground1 and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life2 and man became a living soul40 ,that is1 he was created a pure spiritual intelligence4 ,he had a clear and correct perception and judgment of pure abstract truth1 and of the relations of truth2 with the corresponding feelings of obligation to duty1 and a power of will sufficient to control the mental states within the sphere of its operations4 ,now1 as a pure intelligence1 thus endowed1 he is within the limits of his capacity a cause within himself--strictly a self-acting agent1 and hence accountable4 ,and as he was created with a feeling of obligation to observe the good as a rule in all his conduct1 he was created a subject of duty--he was under obligation to do1 to act2 and as in each of these respects1 and in all others1 he was created in conformity with the essential good1 he was rectus1 right4 ,all this is implied in that declaration of his essential nature1 as a pure spiritual intelligence1 7who was therein made in the image of ,god17 which defined him to be 8very good40 ,nor can we think of this good as a quality or attribute of humanity1 without being conscious1 if we reflect closely1 of associating in our minds the idea that the being who personates it is for that reason free2 that for that reason he is rectus1 straight1 conformed to the good as the rule1 that is1 right2 and that for the same reason he is under obligation--it is his duty to act according to that rule4 ,every instance of moral action that is good implies these ideas3 it is free1 it is rectus1 straight1 and it is done in accordance with duty4 ,in the same sense in which life1 sense1 and motion enter into and so form the comprehension of the creature1 animal2 so liberty1 rectitude1 and duty form the comprehension of moral good1 so far as it applies to humanity4 ,these are distinct ideas4 ,still they coincide1 and either implies the others as correlatives4 ,hence we say of a free action that it is good1 implying that it is at the same time rectus1 and done in accordance with duty2 and of an action in conformity to a proper rule1 that it is good1 implying at the same time that it is free1 and done in accordance with duty2 and also of an action in compliance with duty1 that it is good1 implying that it is also free1 and straight1 i4 e41 conformed to rule3 thus in each case we imply the correlative ideas4 ,now1 whatever is in my possession by natural endowment is mine1 in the strictest sense4 ,hence1 freedom is mine1 duty is mine1 and rectitude is mine1 because the good is mine1 and those are the elements of the good1 each one implying the others4 ,hence arises the idea of natural right3 that is1 the right with which ,i am endowed by the constitution of my nature as a rational being4 ,but what is that ,,right8 ,evidently1 the good4 ,the good as an attribute is in my possession4 ,i am constituted with it and by it4 ,hence it is inalienable4 ,divest me of the good as an attribute of my nature1 i4 e41 liberty1 rectitude1 and duty1 and ,i sink at once in the scale of being3 ,i cease altogether to be a rational or accountable being4 ,let no one imagine that this position conflicts with the well-known fact that man is a fallen being4 ,for although fallen1 he is still accountable4 ,true1 his moral nature is in ruins1 but still it is a moral nature4 ,though disordered1 it is not eradicated4 ,hence the restoration by grace is called a conversion2 but if the essential moral nature of man had been destroyed by the fall1 and an attribute of essential evil had taken the place of it1 his restoration could not be called1 as it is1 a change1 but should be called in the strictest sense an original creation4 ,hence1 although man is fallen1 depraved--and we need not object to the strong terms in which this depravity is usually expressed--still we find that the sentiment of all mankind is on the side of virtue1 on the side of the good2 and that men1 though unchanged by sovereign grace1 are still required to be honest1 gentlemanly1 and in all things regardful of each other's rights4 ,we admit of exceptions or modifications of this only in the case of those in whom humanity has not been fully developed1 as before noticed1 and those in civilized life who have so far abused their moral nature as1 in the language of ,paul1 to fit themselves for destruction4 ,therefore1 it still remains that the good in the form of rectitude1 right1 is in some modification an endowment of my nature3 the right1 in itself1 is mine by nature4 ,but the good1 as an attribute1 is an active principle4 ,we were endowed with it for the purpose of movement--for results4 ,it is my duty to act right--straight1 or in accordance with the good as a rule4 ,hence1 whatever is a necessary condition of the operation of this active principle1 the essential good1 is in itself a good which is either in my possession1 and hence is mine by possession2 or it ought to be in my possession1 and hence is mine by just title4 ,hence1 to breathe1 under all circumstances1 together with all physical motion and the sustenance of the body1 which involves the right of property to a certain extent1 each in given circumstances1 is the natural right of every one4 ,so also the right of the embryo-man1 the idiot1 the imbecile1 the uncivilized1 or the savage1 to protection and defence1 is a natural right2 and for the same reason1 to be protected and defended from certain helpless conditions by others1 is the natural right of every one in all states of humanity4 ,because each of these1 and of all similar things1 is in itself good1 being a necessary condition of the operation of the essential good1 and is either in our possession or ought to be in our possession2 each one is also a natural right1 the good that is or ought to be in our possession4 ,but there are acquired rights4 ,it is the duty of man to act1 from the very fact that he is endowed with the attribute of the good1 which envelops the idea of duty4 ,he also has power to act from the very same natural constitution4 ,now1 if he use this power as duty and rectitude indicate that he should do1 all nature teaches1 what the ,bible confirms1 that he will glorify ,god1 i4 e41 exemplify his goodness1 and therein promote his own happiness and the happiness of those with whom he is associated2 or1 in other words1 he will secure for himself and confer upon his fellows eminent benefits resulting from the performance of his duty4 ,now1 whatever results to him in this way is certainly his by possession1 or by ,divine grant1 as much so as any natural right2 but these benefits1 being of the nature of the essential good1 7for the reason that they are benefits1 are in themselves right17 result to him in the performance of his duty1 and therefore are his rights4 ,but the acquisition is made to depend upon the exercise of his arbitrary volition4 ,if he use this in pursuance of duty1 they follow4 ,if he use it in violation of duty1 they do not follow4 ,hence1 if he realize them at all1 either by possession or by title1 they are acquired1 and therefore are acquired rights or benefits4 ,therefore1 acquired rights may be defined1 such good1 in the form of benefits or privileges1 as results from the performance of duty4 ,logically1 they belong to the class of the essential good called benefits or privileges1 with the 8essential difference0 that they are such as result from the performance of duty4 ,any other result1 though in itself of the nature of the essential good1 yet1 as it conferred no benefit1 could not be said to be our right4 ,capital punishment1 for example1 when in accordance with the ,divine will1 is in itself of the nature of the essential good2 still1 it would be an abuse of language to say1 in any ordinary case1 that it was the right of the criminal to be hung6 because for no reason that we can imagine does it confer any benefit or privilege upon the criminal4 ,to be acquired rights1 therefore1 they must not only be of the nature of the good--that is1 actual benefits--but this good must result from the performance of duty1 and not from the non-performance of duty1 as in the example given4 ,the definition corresponds with the language of common sense4 ,all men1 in speaking of cases which are supposed to involve the question of rights1 employ the term in this sense4 ,you say1 of a farmer in a given case1 that he had no right to an abundant harvest3 why8 because he neglected his farm3 his lands were not properly prepared1 and the growing crop was left open to depredations from stock3 that is1 he neglected his duty2 he had no right to the benefit of an abundant harvest4 ,and again1 you say to a neighbor1 ,you should have paid a certain sum of money to ,a41 in a given case4 ,he had a right to the money1 because he complied with the conditions on which the money was to be paid4 ,he did his duty1 and therefore had a right to the money4 ,thus1 the neglect of duty negatives right in the one case1 and the performance affirms it in the other1 according to the common usage of language4 ,another idea which clearly enters into the common and correct use of this term is that it is reciprocal with obligation3 that is1 wherever there is a right in one person1 there is a corresponding obligation1 duty1 upon others4 ,if one man has a right to an estate1 others are under obligation1 that is1 it is their duty1 to abstain from it4 ,if the letting of it alone be the result of duty on the part of others1 the enjoyment of it by him must also result from duty on his part1 or the ideas do not coincide3 that which was duty in one set of men would not be duty in another1 in regard to the same thing1 and in correlative circumstances4 ,this would be absurd3 therefore1 the duty of one set of men to let another alone in the enjoyment of a certain benefit1 implies the correlative idea that they enjoy the benefit in virtue of doing their duty4 ,hence1 those benefits which are our rights result to us from the performance of our duty4 ,the points established in this discussion are3 #a4 ,that conformity to what is ordered or commanded is not the true generic idea of the right in itself4 ,what is ordered or commanded can only interpret the right1 when the command itself conforms to the essential good1 as in the case of the ,divine will4 ,this is always right1 because it so conforms1 or is always an expression of the essential good4 ,hence1 the good is the true generic idea of the right4 ,this alone can interpret the right in any case4 ,therefore1 although man1 in virtue of his constitution as a pure intelligence1 has the power to do wrong1 he has not1 and never can have1 the right to do wrong4 ,for wrong is the negative of right2 and any thing1 whether attribute1 quality1 opinion1 doctrine1 or act--every thing1 whether moral or physical--to be right1 must be of the nature of the good3 all else is wrong1 not right4 ,and it further follows1 that the only true subjective right which any man has to exercise his power of self-control1 is in doing that which is good1 and not in doing that which is evil4 #b4 ,the natural rights of man are1 ,first--,the essential good in his possession by natural endowment1 and which is therefore inalienable4 ,and1 ,second--,the necessary conditions1 whatever they may be1 of the operation of the inherent good as an active principle4 ,some of these are inalienable1 and others are alienable4 ,to this view of natural rights the common usage of language conforms4 #c4 ,the acquired rights of man are1 such good1 in the form of benefits or privileges1 as results to him from the performance of duty4 ,,lecture ,v4 ,,the ,,doctrines ,,of ,,rights ,,applied ,,to ,,government4 ,government1 human as well as ,divine1 is a necessity of man's fallen condition--,all men concur in this--,man did not originate government3 he has only modified the form--,the legitimate objects of government1 and the means which it employs to effect these objects--,the logical inferences3 #a4 ,although he has the power1 he has no right to do wrong2 #b4 ,as a fallen being1 he is1 without a government over him1 liable to lose the power of self-control--,what are the rights of man3 #a4 ,in a state of infancy2 #b4 ,in a state of maturity2 and1 #c4 ,in a savage or uncivilized state--,civil government is not founded on a concession of rights4 ,philosophers1 it seems to me1 strangely overlook the tendency of man's fall to modify the operation of the laws of mind2 and those who admit the fall still overlook this fact1 that the depravity of man's nature was the result of deprivation1 and not the infusion of an evil principle as an attribute of his nature4 ,but it is not with the theology of this subject that we are now dealing4 ,the fact that1 as a fallen being1 he was deprived of the immediate presiding influence of the ,divine ,spirit1 is the matter that more immediately engages our attention4 ,his lower physical nature1 the great medium of the soul's communication with the outward world1 and of consciousness in the embodied state1 originally operated in perfect and harmonious subordination to his higher spiritual nature4 ,in this condition1 his appetites1 propensities1 and passions presented no bar to his happiness1 or to that of his fellows4 ,the government or control which his situation demanded1 we may suppose1 was simple1 and concerned chiefly his relation to the ,deity4 ,but when1 on the great occasion of his trial1 he exercised his power of self-action1 and exalted this nature as a rule of moral action1 instead of the essential good of his higher nature1 of which the will of ,god in the given case was the full and just exponent1 there resulted a deprivation of the ,divine ,spirit1 such as entirely changed the relation of those departments of his nature4 ,under the clouded condition of intellect consequent upon this deprivation1 his lower nature1 with its appetites1 propensities1 and passions1 is brought into constant and fierce conflict with his spiritual nature4 ,this change in the condition of his humanity presents his case in an aspect altogether new4 ,the history of each individual man becomes the history of a warfare--a warfare with himself1 and a warfare with his fellows4 ,with a highly vigorous moral nature1 he is also the subject of a carnal or depraved nature4 ,in this state of things1 government becomes an actual necessity of his condition4 ,the ,divine government1 with all the aids and appliances afforded by the grand scheme of atonement1 must appeal to his passions1 both of hope and of fear4 ,for it is only by reducing his lower nature to its originally subordinate and harmonious position that an equilibrium will be established1 and his primordial happiness regained4 ,but the ,divine government1 though operating in harmony with the claims of his moral nature1 and founded upon the relation which he sustains to ,jehovah1 and indispensable to his happiness here and hereafter1 of itself alone does not meet a great many of the immediate demands of his condition4 ,hence the statement of ,solomon3 8,because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily1 therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil40 ,the consequences of obedience1 high and holy as they are1 and the consequences of disobedience1 great and terrible as they are1 are too remote from man1 in many states of intellect and feeling in which he often places himself1 to meet the immediate demands of his nature4 ,hence1 that modification of government called civil government1 is no less demanded by the necessities of his condition than the ,divine4 ,civil government deals chiefly with the relations of man to his fellow-man4 ,it coincides with the ,divine government4 ,they each aim at the control of the lower nature of man1 and the development of his higher nature4 ,the means they employ are the same in principle4 ,they address the same passions4 ,the rewards and punishments of the one are in this life1 and of the other chiefly in the life to come4 ,withal1 the civil has the sanction of the ,divine1 and the ,divine should always have the sanction of the civil1 government4 ,but still they are entirely distinct1 and should not be confounded either in theory or in practice4 ,the one is secular1 and the other is ,divine4 ,now1 we say that civil government--for of that we are called more particularly to speak--is a necessity of man's condition4 ,it dates back as early as the creation of man4 ,god himself established it in the law he gave to govern the first relation that existed on earth--the relation between ,adam and his 8helpmeet40 ,after the fall1 a necessity arose which gave it a new and more important bearing4 ,we soon see it ramifying itself through all society1 and dealing with all the relations of life4 ,its necessity and authority1 as a great means of controlling the lower nature of man1 is among the permanent beliefs of mankind4 ,neither legislators nor philosophers originated these beliefs4 ,they are among the intuitions of man4 ,the common judgment of mankind is not more assured that man exists1 than that fallen man must be controlled in his appetites1 propensities1 and passions--the sum of what is often considered his interest and his happiness--by the physical powers of government4 ,each individual man feels that he needs its powerful sanctions to arm him against himself1 when violently tempted to do wrong2 and that he needs its sanctions to protect him from outrage and wrong from his fellow-men1 when moved by similar forces4 ,the instincts of animal nature are not more certain in their movements than are the intuitive perceptions and spontaneous feelings of mankind1 causing them to lean upon the strong arm of civil government1 to control the propensities and passions1 and to promote the free exercise of the higher moral nature of man4 ,government is the whole society in action4 ,no people was ever known to exist for any definite period without government4 ,sometimes1 it is true1 the form has been the result of implied understandings among the people--as when 8there was no judge in ,israel30 at others1 a master-spirit has assumed the reins1 and been deferred to by common consent2 and at others1 it has been modified by formal processes--such as conventions and constitutions4 ,be this1 however1 as it may1 government has always existed4 ,legislators did not make it4 ,they have had much to do in modifying1 directing1 and often in corrupting the form2 but nothing to do in originating government1 in any proper sense of the term4 ,it sprang spontaneously from the common sense of mankind4 ,an agent indispensable to self-preservation was certainly coeval with the race4 ,in its true generic sense1 that is1 in a sense equally applicable to all forms1 government is control by the authority of ,god and the people4 ,god1 in his word1 declares the authority of the magistrate to be his ordinance2 and this accords with the intuitive belief and feeling of necessity of all mankind3 not that either approves in all cases of the form which government assumes1 but that the generic principle1 in all cases1 has the sanction of each4 ,the legitimate object of government is to secure to the people the highest amount of freedom which their moral condition and relative circumstances will admit4 ,the means which it employs to effect this object1 are1 #a4 ,suitable penalties1 addressed to their hopes and fears1 to lay them under such restraints as to the indulgence of their appetites1 propensities1 and passions1 as thereby to prevent them from operating as a bar to the free exercise of their intellectual and moral powers in pursuit of the essential good2 and1 #b4 ,the security which it offers to every man1 in the exercise of the higher powers of his nature1 that he may do it without restraint from the passions of men2 or1 in other words1 to guarantee to every man the free exercise of his essential power to do good4 ,that both the object of government1 and the means which it employs1 are correctly stated1 will not be disputed4 ,all men concur in these views4 ,they underlie all our opinions and reasonings on the subject of civil government4 ,but in assenting to this much1 7and how can it be avoided87 may we not stand committed to much more than many theoretical politicians are aware8 ,let us trace the logical inferences which arise from the principles discussed4 ,i4 ,man1 we find1 is endowed with a self-acting power of will1 which is called mental liberty1 and hence he is accountable4 ,for although it is admitted that there cannot be a volition without a motive1 yet it is an idea inseparable from our notions of mental liberty1 that there cannot be any thing in these motives necessitating the volition2 for in that case it would not be free4 ,but he is free to adopt either the right or the wrong motive of volition1 and therefore he is accountable for his actions4 ,nor does it follow that this liberty confers the right to do wrong4 ,his liberty1 as we have shown1 is to be understood in a sense agreeing with the coincident ideas of right and duty4 ,we are all conscious1 that so soon as we perceive the good1 in any case1 we have a feeling of obligation to observe it as the rule of conduct1 and to avoid the contrary as wrong2 that is1 each man has a conscience4 ,hence1 although man has the power to do wrong1 he has no right to do wrong2 but only a right to do that which is good4 ,such1 and such only1 is the true subjective right of self-control4 ,it is not a right to do as we may please1 unless we shall please to do that which1 in itself1 is right2 that is1 the good4 ,,ii4 ,his fall1 we have seen1 has had the effect to place him in such circumstances1 that the attributes of his lower nature1 his appetites1 propensities1 and passions1 often have such ascendency as motives of action1 that he is always liable to do wrong4 ,many reasons1 priori1 could be given for this4 ,the mind is first brought into contact with the outward world through the bodily senses4 ,they come first into play2 and hence the natural sensibilities are first developed4 ,the will1 in the form of spontaneous volition1 is accustomed1 from earliest life1 to act from these as a motive1 for the reason that there is no other from which it can act4 ,the pure intelligence1 the percipient of the good1 and the corresponding feelings of obligation1 unfold themselves slowly2 and long before it may be said that the mind is matured1 the will is accustomed to make the natural sensibilities the motive of spontaneous volition4 ,now the will is1 like all other faculties of the mind1 subject to the great law of habit2 and if not checked1 restrained according to the true idea of government1 a habit of submission is formed1 which1 if not early dissolved1 becomes a confirmed habit4 ,the will1 instead of being the governing power of the mind1 becomes1 in truth1 the faculty governed4 ,it has lost the power of self-control4 ,it has become the slave of passion--confirmed in the habit of submission4 ,it is precisely at this point of mental degradation that ,paul declares of 8vessels of wrath10 those who have brought themselves into this state by their own act1 that 8they are fitted to destruction40 ,now1 in view of these facts and the principles already established1 what are the rights of man8 ,first4 ,in the state of infancy4 ,it has been proved that the subjective endowments of humanity1 and whatever is necessary to their existence and operation1 are the natural right of man4 ,that the undeveloped good is the endowment of this form of humanity will not be disputed3 hence whatever is necessary to its existence and operation1 is the natural right of infants4 ,but it is obvious that a governing power1 existing somewhere1 is indispensably necessary in the case of the child2 that is1 a power must exist sufficiently potent to control the spontaneous volitions of the will1 or1 in the circumstances of its position1 it will probably extinguish its own liberty1 by the law of habit4 ,government1 then1--absolute government1--is necessary to the existence and operation of the endowment of humanity in the state of infancy2 and therefore absolute government is the natural right of the infant4 ,hence all civil governments have exercised 7so far as the will and physical condition are concerned7 an absolute despotism over the child1 and have recognized the parent1 or some one appointed in the place of the parent1 as the agent of its functions in this respect4 ,not to accord to the infant this extreme form of control1 would be a practical denial of its natural rights4 ,therefore this extreme form of despotism1 so far from being a curse1 is the natural right of infants--the good to which they are entitled by nature4 ,and again1 the civil government accords to the child a progressive modification of this form of government under given circumstances4 ,it requires its agent to relax the stringency of this control1 and to extend a privilege of self-control1 in the ratio in which the pure intelligence and feelings of obligation or duty are practically developed4 ,for a child who had become1 to a certain extent1 a subject of duty1 and was disposed to fulfil this duty1 but was kept1 per force1 in the physical condition of infancy until he lost the use of his limbs1 would be considered as deprived of the right of self-control to that extent1 and thereby cruelly treated4 ,the agent in such a case would be severely punished1 and the child committed to other hands4 ,hence1 in the ratio in which the pure intelligence is unfolded1 and feelings of obligation arise1 or conscience is developed1 and becomes the practical rule of action1 the individual acquires the right of self-control1 and only in that ratio4 ,this right may ultimately reach to all things in themselves good--the civil government always holding the authority to punish departures from duty1 and thereby always abridging men of the moral power to do wrong1 7because it never could be their right to do wrong17 and always fortifying them in the right exercise of liberty of will1 by furnishing motives1 addressed to their intelligence and passions1 to observe the right and to avoid the wrong in the exercise of the volitive power4 ,therefore1 the natural right of man is the right to such absolute control by others1 in the earlier periods of his life1 as that his will may retain its self-acting power unimpaired1 as his mind is naturally unfolded by time and circumstances2 and to such modification of this absolute control in after life1 as may afford him due restraint under temptation to do wrong1 and proper encouragement1 at all times1 to do right4 ,second4 ,the right of man in a state of maturity4 #a4 ,the government should accord him all his natural rights1 and protect him in the exercise of the same4 ,that is1 the political government should coperate with the ,divine to preserve his will in its normal condition as a self-acting power1 and to guarantee to him the exercise of this power of self-action in all things good4 ,the man who is protected in the enjoyment of this inherent liberty of will1 is a free man in the strictest sense of the word4 ,the government over him may be concentrated in the hands of one man1 or it may be divided among an aristocracy1 more or less numerous1 or it may be what is called a democracy1 but this does not of itself affect the fact of his freedom4 ,if the government secure him in the enjoyment of these rights1 and of all which necessarily attaches to them1 he is essentially free4 ,the kind of government1 as a hereditary monarchy1 or a democratic republic1 does not1 of itself1 determine the actual freedom of its subjects4 ,history furnishes many examples of government in which the power of control was concentrated in the hands of but one1 or of a few individuals1 which afforded its subjects the highest amount of essential liberty4 ,to this day1 8the freedom of the ,british ,constitution0--as much as we justly prefer our own--is by no means an idle boast4 ,it is a great mistake to suppose that a government which deposits the sovereignty among the great mass of the people1 is the only free government4 ,we are constrained to acknowledge that it is better to be oppressed by one1 or by a few tyrants1 than by a multitude of tyrants4 ,it is not this or that kind of government that makes the subject essentially free4 ,but it is the fact that the controlling power1 whether wielded by one or by many1 secures each man in the enjoyment of his natural rights--affords him that system of appliances which develops and matures the self-acting power of his will--discourages all abuse of this power1 and fully protects him in the proper exercise of it in the pursuit of the essential good4 ,it is this that makes him free4 ,we prefer1 for those to whom it is applicable1 a democratic republic2 because it is a more secure government1 and less liable to an abuse of power2 not because it is necessarily a more free government than any other4 ,another form of government may secure equal freedom in every essential particular2 and this form may be as oppressive as any other2 and whenever it is so1 the condition of the down-trodden minority is far more hopeless than is that of the oppressed majority under some other form of government4 ,still1 in certain conditions of the people1 it is a much more secure form of government4 ,the sovereigns of a state should always be socially equal1 and1 at the same time1 honest as well as intelligent4 ,such rulers will not be oppressors4 ,if the sovereigns of a democracy are intelligent1 for the reason that but few participate directly and personally in the administration of government and the spoils of office1 they have but few inducements to corruption1 and are more likely to be honest4 ,the mass of the people1 though often wrong in opinion1 are always right in sentiment--they mean to do right1 and they desire to do right4 ,if they do err in a given case1 they may usually be set right1 for they have no motive to stay wrong4 ,hence1 we think that when the condition of intelligence is fulfilled in the case of those occupying a social footing1 we may expect a wiser and purer government2 whilst the extent to which they may participate in the affairs of government1 giving it a firmer hold upon their affections1 cannot fail to make it a more secure government4 ,it is widely different in the case of a government concentrated in the hands of a few4 ,the sovereigns are at the same time the administrators of law4 ,they share not only the honors of sovereignty1 but also the immediate profits of sovereignty--the spoils of office4 ,temptations to abuse power are always present and active4 ,hence we find that such governments are more frequently oppressive4 ,withal1 even in cases in which they are not1 7for they need not be17 for the reason that the mass of the people do not immediately participate in the affairs of government1 they are not as devoted to its interests1 and hence the government cannot be as secure4 ,for these reasons1 a democratic republic is called by way of eminence a free government2 but1 evidently1 not because it is the only form which secures freedom to its subjects4 ,any of these forms are legitimate when they are so adapted to the condition of the people as to secure to them the highest amount of freedom of which that condition will admit4 #b4 ,the government should secure to him all his acquired rights1 or the rights which he acquires by the proper use of his essential rights4 ,of these1 we notice1 #a4 ,his rights of social equality with those with whom he holds common interests1 pleasures1 benefits1 happiness1 and duties4 ,these rights usually vary with the condition of different individuals1 or different classes of individuals4 ,it will not be maintained that an infant or idiot1 and a man of rude intellect and vulgar habits1 have interests and duties common to each other1 and common to persons in a different condition1 in any such sense as would entitle them all to social equality4 ,both their mental and physical condition would be a bar to any such equality4 ,so in the case of the sexes1 difference in physical condition is a bar1 except in the marriage state4 ,so also certain races of men are by their physical condition barred from social equality1 in many respects1 with those of other races4 ,those duties required by one condition in order to attain the essential good are very different from those of another condition which are necessary to attain the same object4 ,but the privilege of social equality with all in a similar condition1 which results from the discharge of the duties of that condition1 is the right of every one4 ,some will require positive law to secure them2 as in the marriage relation1 the social as well as other rights of the parties must be secured by law2 whilst others will be better secured by leaving them to be regulated by the conventional usages of society--only another form of government4 ,but there is an obvious difference in the social rights of men which government is bound to respect1 unless it would arrest the progress of civilization2 because it is an inequality founded in that difference of condition1 against which no government can provide1 nor was it intended that it should provide4 ,we notice1 #b4 ,that government should secure to him all those political rights to which he is entitled by making a proper use of his essential rights4 ,we need not specify all the political rights which may be regarded acquired rights4 ,it is sufficient to consider this topic in regard to the question of sovereignty4 ,we say1 that all the members of a given society1 having a common interest in that society1 are entitled to share the sovereignty of its government on certain conditions1 and on no other conditions4 ,we take the ground that mere humanity1 in itself considered1 does not entitle any one to the rights of political sovereignty4 ,if this were so1 we should be bound to place females1 together with minors of both sexes1 and the inmates of ,state prisons1 among the sovereigns of society4 ,they are all perfect specimens of humanity4 ,of the first it may be said1 they are often equal in intellect with the other sex1 and in other respects are generally superior specimens of humanity4 ,these all have an interest in society common to all other members of it1 and yet it is admitted that they should not be numbered among the sovereigns of the land4 ,what is it1 then1 that entitles a man to the right of political sovereignty8 ,first--,he should have reached that point in mental development in which he will have a capacity1 in common with others1 to understand and appreciate the leading principles of government and their applications4 ,second--,he should have reached that period in life in which there is usually a corresponding development of the moral sense--the feeling of obligation to do right--which affords a reasonable guaranty for the faithful application of his knowledge in discharging the duties of sovereignty4 ,third--,he should be in that state of social equality which gives him a common interest1 a common happiness1 and common duties as a citizen1 with other sovereigns1 which will also afford a necessary guaranty for the faithful performance of his duties4 ,and1 ,fourth--,he should be in that physical condition1 also1 which is necessary to the duties of so responsible a position1 under all ordinary circumstances4 ,if one or more of these conditions exclude a whole sex1 together with all minors1 idiots1 felons1 and foreigners1 they at the same time limit it to a definite class of males1 and bar all others from any title to it4 ,no sensible man would admit that the power of sovereign control inherent in government could1 with safety to the only legitimate object of government1 the happiness of the subjects1 be deposited with any other class of men4 ,but those who fulfil these conditions have a right to rule4 ,they have acquired it by the performance of those duties which have elevated them to the condition of being qualified for sovereignty4 ,it should not be withheld4 ,if those in a society qualified for sovereignty be numerous1 the government should take the popular form--a democratic republic4 ,but if those qualified to rule are a limited portion of the whole society1 some other form of government is more appropriate4 ,but our subject leads us to notice3 ,third4 ,the rights of man in the savage or uncivilized state4 ,no savage community was ever known to rise unaided to a state of civilization2 and every example of savage society furnishes evidence that it is a state into which they have fallen by the tendencies of depraved nature4 ,they are instances in which the government originally enjoyed--both human and ,divine--has failed to preserve to the individual that liberty of will in the pursuit of the good which government is designed to secure4 ,the pure intelligence is not sufficiently developed to constitute an enlightened conscience4 ,dwelling apart from civilized society1 the absence of all the artificial wants of civilization is highly favorable to many of the natural virtues--such as hospitality to strangers1 truth1 fidelity1 and generosity to their friends2 but the undeveloped state of the pure reason leaves the moral sense in a state of so much immaturity1 as to characterize them as unfaithful1 cruel1 and revengeful to their enemies4 ,these are characteristics which1 in their condition of physical maturity1 make them terrible to their neighbors4 ,now the question is1 ,what are the rights of such a people8 ,it is useless to discuss this question so far as it relates to mere savage government2 for in this view it is a question of no interest4 ,but the question1 ,what rights can they claim of a civilized people8 is the one with which we have to deal4 ,they certainly have a natural right to protection under given circumstances1 and freedom from oppression under all circumstances4 ,if a civilized people1 holding a balance of power in virtue of superior intelligence1 have an undisputed right to protect themselves from the cruelty and infidelity of neighboring savages1 still it will be admitted that oppression in any proper sense of the term would be an invasion of their natural rights4 ,they have a right to be left in the enjoyment of the highest amount of freedom which their mental state will allow them to use legitimately4 ,and more than this1 their natural rights claim for them reasonable exertions to elevate their moral condition4 ,hence the noble efforts now being made by the ,christian people of this country to evangelize the savages on our border1 and the no less commendable efforts of the ,united ,states government to favor this design1 by an annual appropriation from the national treasury4 ,all this is only according them their rights4 ,but do these rights entitle them to claim social equality with a civilized people8 ,that which it is the right of another to claim of me1 it is my duty to grant4 ,is it then my duty to grant social equality to any or to every wandering savage that may chance to pass my dwelling8 ,should ,i not only extend to him the rights of hospitality due to a wandering savage--give him food and shelter in given circumstances1 and treat him kindly in all respects--but extend to him true social equality1 such as it is my duty to do to other men in certain states of civilization6 ,no man--himself not a savage--would dare affirm this6 ,the savage has no right to claim it4 ,the reason is obvious on the principles discussed4 ,certain social rights arise only on certain conditions of moral development1 and the fulfilment of the duties which attach to that state4 ,the savage has not reached this condition2 hence has not fulfilled its duties1 and is not entitled to the right of social equality which attaches to that state4 ,for a sensible man to affirm that he has this right in virtue of his mere humanity1 would be simply ridiculous4 ,and this being so1 it follows1 a fortiori1 that it is much less our duty to allow him an equal participation in the sovereignty of the ,state--allow him a control in the affairs of government--share the authority to regulate our relations1 domestic and foreign2 and even to participate in governing our families4 ,the man who should gravely propose in ,congress to annex the savage tribes of our border1 as sovereign ,states of this ,union1 would1 by all right-minded men1 be regarded as insane4 ,no one of the managers of looms1 spindles1 and other machinery1 among the agrarian portion of our northern community1 with all their boasted knowledge of the natural rights of man1 and their readiness to accord equal rights to all men1 and to protect them in asserting those rights1 have1 as yet1 made up their minds to go thus far--although we may be at a loss to account for it that they so far falsify their principles as not to do so4 ,now1 as it is not our duty to do this in behalf of a neighboring race of uncivilized people1 for the reason that they have no right to it1 how does the question stand in regard to a numerous class of such persons1 spread through a definite section of our country8 ,does this change of position and contact with civilization confer on them higher rights than it has already been admitted belong to them in a separate state in virtue of their humanity8 ,is it our duty to accord to them equality of political rights8 and for the reason that they are diffused through the mass of society8 ,can this position be maintained8 ,on the contrary1 the change of position1 and the service which in that position they render to the cause of civilization1 which is assumed to acquire for them a right that does not belong to their class of persons in a separate position1 so far from affording a vindication of this doctrine1 furnishes a still stronger reason against it4 ,they are not only uncivilized1 but are now in a position to exert an evil influence1 which in a separate state they could not do1 although they might dwell upon our border4 ,in a separate state1 the artificial wants of civilized life are unknown to them4 ,the great sources of temptation to do wrong by invading the rights of neighbors1 is not supplied to them by their position4 ,but when in immediate contact with civilization1 a great many of these artificial wants are learned by them1 and felt to be objects of desire4 ,these desires1 by a fixed law of the human mind1 must be a constant source of temptation--they clamor for gratification4 ,if the indulgence should not be restrained1 either by a system of laws which reached the case1 or by the motives which a state of civilization supplies1 they would inevitably result in a disregard of the rights of property1 and a general depravation of morals4 ,they are without the latter1 for they are uncivilized4 ,hence the demands of their position must be met by laws appropriate to an uncivilized people4 ,the laws appropriate to a state of civilization1 coperating as they do with the motives supplied by that state1 are not more than equal to the task of restraining the passions of civilized men4 ,to rely upon them in the case of uncivilized men would be the grossest folly4 ,hence if it were not our duty to share our political rights with such a people1 dwelling upon our border1 in a separate state1 for a much stronger reason it is not our duty to do this for those dwelling in our midst4 ,if it is not our duty to do it1 it cannot be their right to claim it2 for rights and duties are always reciprocal4 ,but1 on the contrary1 for the same general reasons by which it becomes the duty of a civilized state to place all its minors under the despotism of parental control1 as before defined1 it is the duty of the state to place an uncivilized race which may chance to dwell within its borders1 under a similar form of government4 ,this despotism need not be oppressive in the one case any more than in the other4 ,it is the proud boast of all our native citizens that they have always lived under a free government2 and yet they were brought up to the age of twenty-one under a pure despotism4 ,but this does not deprive them of their right to boast4 ,true1 the government conferred almost absolute control upon the parent1 or guardian1 or master of the apprentice6 ,these might have oppressed them4 ,but the government1 which stood ready to vindicate their rights1 did not do it4 ,the government1 in what it did1 only accorded them their natural rights1 as we have seen--provided to confer on them the highest amount of freedom of which their condition would admit4 ,it was to them essentially a free government1 though in one of the forms of despotism4 ,so in that form of despotism appropriate to a race of uncivilized people dwelling in the midst of a civilized people1 if adapted to their condition1 or securing to them 7as in the case of minors7 their natural rights1 it is1 for them1 and to them1 a free government4 ,so far from being a curse1 as many of our philosophers teach1 it is a blessing1 which their essential rights entitle them to claim4 ,any other form of government would be1 in their case1 as well as in that of minors1 a practical denial of their rights2 because it would result in the annihilation of their essential rights2 that is1 the enslavement of their wills to the basest passions of fallen nature4 ,hence1 we find that government1 both human and ,divine1 is a special necessity of man's fallen condition1 and coeval with the history of the race3 that its legitimate object is to preserve him from that annihilation of his essential liberty of will which would inevitably follow if there were no government1 and to secure him in the enjoyment of the highest amount of this liberty which his condition will allow3 that to do this1 various forms of civil government are admissible2 and that the one best adapted to the condition of the people is the one that should be applied1 and is the only strictly free government for the people to whom it is appropriate4 ,a democracy applied to minors or savages1 in the midst of a civilized people1 would be the most grinding of all oppressions4 ,we have seen that the means appropriate to government are suitable penalties addressed to our passions of hope and fear3 that the only right which a man has to exercise his inherent liberty--that is1 the only right he has of self-control--is the authority to do that which1 in itself1 is right--not a right to do wrong3 that the exclusive authority of government is to restrain man from doing wrong1 and to protect and encourage him in doing right--restrain his power to do wrong1 not his power to do right--this it seeks to strengthen4 ,we have seen that the rights of man in a state of minority--and the same of uncivilized men dwelling in a community of the civilized--are to the benefits of an absolute form of government2 any other would be only a system of ruinous oppression to them3 that at his maturity as a civilized man1 he should be protected in the exercise of all the rights which naturally belong to a state of maturity1 and also the enjoyment of all those rights which he has acquired by availing himself of the privileges afforded by his condition4 ,of his acquired rights1 we see that on certain conditions he is entitled to social equality2 and that on certain further conditions1 he is entitled to the right of political sovereignty4 ,now1 we ask1 in what sense can it be said that legitimate government is a concession of some rights1 in order to secure others8 ,certainly1 in no good sense1 seeing it only limits his power to do wrong1 by laying him under suitable disabilities1 and that it does this in order to secure both the power and the privilege of doing right4 ,but by falsely assuming that government is a concession of rights1 and that the government in which every citizen does not make a voluntary concession of the rights exercised by government is a cruel oppression1 men fall upon conclusions which1 when carried out1 7and principles will tend to work out their results17 lead to agrarianism3 that is1 the destruction of all rights1 by the annihilation of all civilization4 ,and again we ask1 ,how does it follow that the domestic slavery of the negro in ,america is an abridgment of his inalienable rights8 ,certainly not from the fact that he is placed under an absolute form of control1 for we have seen that1 in certain conditions of humanity1 that is the only form of government that will secure any freedom at all3 as in the case of all minors1 and the case of an uncivilized race that may chance to be diffused among the mass of a civilized people4 ,if1 then1 his government be an oppression at all1 it is because his state of civilization1 and the relative circumstances of his condition1 have acquired for him the rights of social equality and the rights of political sovereignty4 ,these are questions of fact that will be considered in their proper place4 ,,lecture ,,vi4 ,,the ,,abstract ,,principle ,,of ,,slavery ,,discussed ,,on ,,scripture ,,grounds1 ,,and ,,misrepresentations ,,of ,,the ,,principle ,,examined4 ,the true subjective right of self-control defined according to the ,scriptures--,the abstract principle of slavery sanctioned by the ,scriptures--,the ,roman government--,dr4 ,wayland's ,scripture argument examined and refuted--,the positions of ,dr4 ,channing and ,prof4 ,whewell examined and refuted4 ,the inquiry1 if the institution of domestic slavery existing amongst us agrees in its details with the teachings of the ,holy ,scriptures1 is reserved for a future lecture4 ,we now inquire how far it agrees with the ,holy ,scriptures in its great fundamental principles8--the abstract principles which1 thus far1 have been shown to be right4 ,we1 of course1 acknowledge the full authority of the ,scriptures4 ,although not a formal philosophical treatise1 the ,bible embodies no other than the profoundest principles both of mental and moral science2 and all its teachings are in accordance with them4 8,to the law10 then1 8and to the testimony40 ,do they sanction the principles ,i have sought to establish8 ,do they accord to man any other subjective right of self-control than simply the right to do that which in itself is right--that is1 good8 ,true1 they assume that he has the power to do wrong1 but at the same time they deny to him all right to do wrong4 ,all those scriptures which forbid his doing wrong1 and enjoin it upon him to do right1 under severe penalties for disobedience1 are in proof4 ,they are too numerous and familiar to require that ,i quote them4 ,they all assume that he has power to do either right or wrong1 but only a right to do that which is right4 ,whoever1 then1 sets up a right to do a thing1 and can give no better reason for it than that he has power to do it in virtue of his humanity1 and that therefore others should not interpose obstacles in the way of his doing it1 on peril of abridging him of a natural right1 assumes far more than the ,scriptures allow him2 nay1 he assumes that which is forbidden him in ,holy ,scripture1 no less than in reason and common sense2 and if allowed to exercise such lawless power1 under the plea of natural right1 he could not fail to put an end to all law1 and to precipitate society into a state of anarchy4 ,therefore1 the government which places minors1 aliens1 and citizens1 who at the same time allow themselves to be subjects of a foreign prince1 together with uncivilized persons1 in circumstances in which they cannot1 or are not likely1 to injure their neighbors1 or to injure society1 does not1 for that reason1 deprive them of a natural right1 unless it could be shown that they have a natural right to do the very thing which the ,scriptures declare they have no right to do1 that is1 to injure their neighbors6 ,it further follows1 that the right to do an act which involves accountability1 is the right to do that which1 in itself1 is right2 or1 in other words1 the only natural right of self-control is the right to do that which is good4 ,hence1 those who claim for any class of society a right to political sovereignty1 should be prepared to show that the essential good requires that such privilege be accorded them1 or they fail to establish their right1 for the reason that no right can ever be justly acquired which does not coincide with the natural right to do good4 ,again1 we have shown that the abstract principle of slavery is control by the will of another1 with its correlatives3 that this is an essential element of all government2 for a government which did not exercise the right to control men1 even against their wills1 under given circumstances1 would be no government at all4 ,do these views accord with the teachings of the ,holy ,scriptures8 ,that control is an essential idea of government1 is an intuitive perception1 and needs no proof4 ,the question then resolves itself into this3 ,do the ,scriptures sanction government8 ,that the ,bible itself is only a system of government1 will not be disputed4 ,it forbids and commands1 and requires all men to conform their volitions to its requirements1 as to that which is in itself good4 ,moreover1 it sanctions civil government in the most express terms3 8,let every soul be subject unto the higher powers4 ,for there is no power but of ,god3 the powers that be are ordained of ,god4 ,whosoever1 therefore1 resisteth the power10 that is1 the authority of government1 8resisteth the ordinance of ,god2 and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation10 etc4 7,rom4 xiii4 #a-g4 ,see ,a4 ,clarke's notes47 ,this was said to the ,roman ,christians1 and was an injunction to obey ,caesar's government4 ,in that government1 it is well known1 the slavery element greatly predominated3 but little room was left for the exercise of self-control2 political sovereignty being denied to the people4 ,in declaring government1 even in this extreme form of controlling the wills of men1 to be his appointment1 ,god establishes the principle1 as in itself right4 ,dr4 ,wayland1 however1 7see article1 ,modes in which ,personal ,liberty may be violated17 affirms1 8that the gospel is diametrically opposed to the principle of slavery40 ,the moral precepts of the ,bible1 which he assumes to be diametrically opposed to the principle of slavery1 are1 7as quoted by himself17 8,thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself2 and all things whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you1 do ye even so unto them40 ,he says that1 8were this precept obeyed1 it is manifest that slavery could not in fact exist for a single instant4 ,the principle of the precept is absolutely subversive of the principle of slavery40 ,that the gospel should1 nevertheless1 acknowledge slaveholders 7for neither the ,jewish nor the ,roman law required any citizen to hold slaves7 as 8believers10 and 8worthy of all honor10 and require of the ,christian slaves held by them to acknowledge them as brethren1 that is1 good men1 and accord them all honor1 is evidently a troublesome question to the ,doctor4 ,there is no room for surprise4 ,the second scripture quoted1 it is allowed1 interprets the first4 ,in what sense then are we to understand the duty inculcated in the second8 ,there are only two senses in which the form of the expression will allow us to evolve any significance whatever4 ,the first is1 ,do unto another whatsoever you would have him to do unto you1 if you were in his situation2 and the second is1 ,do unto another whatsoever you would have a right to require another to do unto you1 if you were in his circumstances4 ,now if we could suppose that the ,saviour intended his language to be understood in the first sense1 it will not perhaps be disputed that it is our duty to abolish domestic slavery1 for we should1 no doubt1 desire to be released1 if we were in a state of domestic slavery4 ,but1 unfortunately for the argument1 this interpretation would not stop at the abolition of domestic slavery in the case of the ,african4 ,it would reach to the domestic slavery of the child also4 ,there is scarcely a wayward lad in ,christendom who could not justly claim release from parental restraint on the same principle6 ,nay1 more1 the criminal at the bar of civil justice1 the inmates of ,state prisons1 and the poor man in his hovel1 would all claim release6 ,and as that which is duty in others1 in such cases1 is a right in them1 not to grant them release would certainly be a denial of their just rights6 ,is this the sense in which ,dr4 ,wayland would have us understand the ,saviour of mankind8 ,certain it is1 that this is the only sense in which his words can be understood so as to involve the necessary abolition of slavery6 ,we cheerfully acquit ,dr4 ,w4 from the purpose to teach any such agrarian folly4 ,still1 we can see no good reason why one so eminent1 as a ,christian and a scholar1 should permit even an early prejudice as to a practical question1 about which he allows that he is uninformed1 to betray him into such views of a plain principle as logically involve him in the grossest absurdities4 ,that the second sense given is the proper one in which to understand the ,saviour's doctrine can admit of no dispute4 ,what we should have a right to claim1 if we were in the circumstances of a slave1 is precisely that which we are to accord to such slave1 according to the precept of the ,saviour4 ,if we should have a right to claim political sovereignty1 in those circumstances1 we are bound to allow them such sovereignty1 that is1 release them from slavery4 ,this directly involves the question1 ,whether they are fitted for that self-government which is involved in such sovereignty8 ,that they are not so in virtue of their humanity merely1 we have proved2 and whether they are so or not1 by acquirement1 is a practical question which ,dr4 ,wayland allows that he is not competent to decide4 ,this question will be met in another place4 ,it is sufficient here to state1 that the scripture so confidently relied on as repudiating the principle of slavery1 is found not to reach the question of the principle at all1 and1 therefore1 is wholly misapplied4 ,the patriarchal form of government1 which existed before the theocracy of the ,jews1 constituted the patriarch 7he being the head of the family7 the owner of slaves4 ,abraham1 ,lot1 and others1 held them in large numbers4 ,these men enjoyed the unqualified approbation of ,jehovah1 and in their character of slaveholders1 no less than in many other respects4 ,according to ,dr4 ,w41 they enjoyed the ,divine approbation in the practice of iniquity2 for he says1 the ,bible condemns both the principle and the practice of slavery6 ,it is evident that the ,jews brought slaves with them from ,egypt2 for the terms of the ,decalogue not only imply that they were familiar with domestic slavery1 but also that it was1 at that time1 an existing practice among them4 ,but more than this1 the ,decalogue is strictly the constitution which ,jehovah himself gave to the ,jewish nation4 ,now to assume that he provided in this constitution to protect in all time to come 7for it is allowed to embody immutable principles7 a relation which was1 in itself1 an iniquity1 is more than a mere absurdity--it is profanity4 ,and it is certain that the tenth article of this constitution provides to protect the right of property in slaves3 8,thou shall not covet thy neighbor's ,,man-,,servant1 nor his ,,maid-,,servant1 nor any thing that is thy neighbor's40 ,the ,saviour has recognized this law1 as it was originally designed to be1 of universal obligation and force3 8,think not that ,i am come to destroy the law or the prophets3 ,i am not come to destroy1 but to fulfil40 ,matt4 v4 #ag4 ,in accordance with this fundamental law of the nation1 ,god proceeded to provide in their civil institutions for the operation of a regular system of domestic slavery4 ,under these institutions1 a ,hebrew might lose his liberty and become a domestic slave1 in six different ways4 7,see ,a4 ,clarke1 on ,ex4 xxi47 #a4 ,in extreme poverty1 he might sell his liberty4 ,lev4 xxv4 #ci3 8,if thy brother be waxed poor and be sold unto thee40 #b4 ,a father might sell his child4 ,ex4 xxi4 #g3 8,if a man sell his daughter to be a maid-servant40 #c4 ,insolvent debtors became the slaves of their creditors4 #b ,kings iv4 #a3 8,my husband is dead1 and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondsmen40 ,also1 ,matt4 xviii4 #be4 #d4 ,a thief1 if he had not money to pay the fine laid on him by the law1 was to be sold for his profit whom he had robbed4 ,ex4 xxii4 #c3 8,if he have nothing1 then he shall be sold for the theft40 #e4 ,a ,hebrew was liable to be taken in war1 and sold for a slave4 #b ,chron4 xii4 #h4 #f4 ,a ,hebrew slave who had been ransomed from a ,gentile by a ,hebrew1 might be sold by him who ransomed him to one of his own nation4 ,all who became slaves under this system were emancipated in the seventh year1 except those who should refuse to accept liberty4 ,ex4 xxi4 #b-f4 ,they were emancipated in the year of jubilee4 ,but then1 the law further provided for domestic slaves in perpetuity4 8,both thy bondmen and thy bondmaids which thou shalt have1 shall be of the heathen that are round about you3 of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids4 ,moreover1 of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you1 of them shall ye buy1 and of their families that are with you1 which they begat in your land2 and they shall be your possession2 and ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you1 to inherit them for a possession3 they shall be your bondmen for ever2 but over your brethren1 the children of ,israel1 ye shall not rule over one another with rigor40 ,lev4 xxv4 #dd-df4 ,the attempts which are sometimes made to prove that 1 of the ,septuagint1 and servus1 of the ,vulgate version1 translated indifferently servant or slave1 means only a hired servant1 need only to be mentioned to be refuted4 ,that these terms defined an actual state of slavery among the ,greeks and ,romans1 no one acquainted with the facts will deny4 ,but whatever might be their original meaning1 they are to be understood1 as ,bible terms1 in the sense of the original ,hebrew1 which they are employed to express4 ,now1 nothing is more certain than this1 that the ,hebrew ,bible 7and the same is true of the ,english translation7 speaks of servants1 hired servants1 and bond servants4 ,the term servant is the generic form1 and evidently means1 a person who is controlled by the will of another3 hired servant is one who serves in that way by contract for a definite period2 whilst bond servant is one who has either contracted to do so through his whole life1 or who1 by the usages of war1 or by inheritance1 or by purchase from another1 was so bound to service--7such as ,paul calls a 8servant under the yoke40 #b ,tim4 vi4 #a47 ,these different relations are distinctly marked by the use of these terms in the ,bible1 and especially the meaning of ,,bond ,,servant1 in distinction from a ,,hired ,,servant3 8,if thy brother that dwelleth by thee be waxen poor1 and be sold unto thee1 thou shall not compel him to serve as a ,,bond ,,servant1 but as a ,,hired ,,servant1 and as a sojourner1 shall he be40 ,lev4 ,,xxv4 #ci1 #dj4 ,thus we find that the ,jewish constitution provided to protect the right of property in servants or slaves in the generic sense3 that is1 whether in the one form or the other2 and that ,he who gave them their civil institutions1 also provided under their constitution for the organization of a regular system of domestic slavery1 in two distinct forms3 the one1 the enslavement1 in the true generic sense1 of ,hebrews in given circumstances1 for a definite period2 and the other1 the enslavement1 in the same sense1 of the neighboring heathen1 in perpetuity4 ,such was the legal origin of domestic slavery among the ,jews4 ,during all the calamities that have befallen that people1 this constitution and these laws have known neither repeal nor modification4 ,at no period of their history were they without domestic slaves2 and when the ,saviour dwelt among them1 the whole land was filled with such slaves4 ,no ,state in this ,union can with more propriety be regarded a slaveholding community1 than was that of the ,jewish people in the days of the ,saviour4 ,in every congregation which he addressed1 bond slaves may have mingled4 ,the hospitalities of every family of which he partook1 were probably ministered to him1 more or less1 by domestic slaves4 ,and in all this time1 and under all these circumstances1 not a word is known to have escaped him1 either in public or in private1 declaring the relation of master and slave to be sinful6 ,but1 on the contrary1 ,paul's denunciation--#a ,tim4 vi4 #c--of the teachers of abolition doctrines1 that they 8consent not to wholesome words1 even the words of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ10 is sufficient reason to believe that he was always understood to approve of the relation1 and to condemn in express terms all attempts to abolish it as a duty of the religion which he taught4 ,and certain it is1 that this relation is made the subject of some of his most eloquent allusions1 and the basis of some of his most instructive parables3 8,one is your ,master1 even ,christ10 ,matt4 xxiii4 #aj3 8,good ,master1 what shall ,i do80 ,mark x4 #ag3 8,no man can serve two masters10 ,matt4 vi4 #bd--;are specimens of the former2 whilst the parable1 ,matt4 xiii4 #bd-bh1 8,and the servants said1 ,wilt thou that we go and gather them up80--of the vineyard1 ,matt4 xxi42 of the talents1 ,matt4 xxv42 and others of a similar nature1 are striking examples of the latter4 ,and yet1 young gentlemen1 the author of your text says1 the doctrines of the ,bible1 and especially the teachings of the ,saviour1 are 8diametrically opposed to both the principle and the practice of domestic slavery40 ,if this be true1 it is really passing strange that ,jehovah himself should provide1 in the organic law of the ,jewish commonwealth1 for the working of a system of domestic slavery1 and1 by a series of laws drawn up under this constitution1 set such a system in actual operation2 and that the ,saviour of mankind should also give1 according to every legitimate interpretation that can be put1 either upon his language or his conduct1 his unqualified approbation to that which was so flatly opposed to all his doctrines6 ,it is saying but little of all this to affirm that it is grossly absurd6 ,it can appeal to no doctrine that we are aware of for its defence1 unless it be the kindred absurdity that the will of ,god is not the rule of right1 in this sense1 that it always conforms to that which1 in itself1 is right1 i4 e41 good2 but that it is the rule of right in this other sense1 that it is absolutely1 in itself1 the only rule of right2 and that1 in the case under consideration1 domestic slavery was right for the ,jews1 because ,god so willed it1 but the same thing in principle1 and under similar circumstances1 would be wrong for any other people1 because in regard to them ,god had willed differently3 thus assigning to ,deity the power to make the wrong the right1 and the right the wrong6 ,we regret to know that this absurd view of the ,divine volitions has found its way beyond the pages of ,dr4 ,paley4 ,it is countenanced by some writers of eminent distinction in theology4 ,but to give it a definite application in any case1 is all that is required for its entire refutation4 ,we rely with confidence on the conclusion that what ,god thus provided for in the ,jewish constitution1 was right in principle in itself1 and that1 under the circumstances of the ,jewish people1 it was right in practice4 ,among the strange1 if not wholly unaccountable1 misconceptions1 if not gross misrepresentations1 of the fundamental ideas of domestic slavery1 we may place those of ,dr4 ,channing and ,prof4 ,whewell4 ,the latter1 in his 8,elements of ,morality10 states that 8slavery converts a person into a thing--a subject merely passive1 without any of the recognized attributes of human nature40 8,a slave10 he further says1 8in the eye of the law which stamps him with that character1 is not acknowledged as a man4 ,he is reduced to the level of a brute20 that is1 as he explains it1 8he is divested of his moral nature40 ,dr4 ,channing1 the great apostle of ,unitarianism in ,america1 says1 8,the very idea of a slave is that he belongs to another3 that he is bound to live and labor for another2 to be another's instrument1 that is1 in all things1 just as a threshing-machine1 or another beast of burden2 and to make another's will his habitual law1 however adverse to his own40 ,he adds1 in another place1 8,we have thus established the reality and sacredness of human rights2 and that slavery is an infraction of these1 is too plain to need any labored proof4 ,slavery violates not one1 but all2 violates them not incidentally1 but necessarily1 systematically1 from its very nature40 ,these1 together with your text1 young gentlemen1 are leading authorities on this subject4 ,following these1 we should adopt the belief that the principle of slavery in question is1 as they express it1 8an absorption of the humanity of one man into the will of another20 or1 in other words1 that 8slavery contemplates him1 not as a responsible1 but a mere sentient being--not as a man1 but a brute40 ,if this be so1 the wonder is not1 as they affirm1 that the civilized world is so indignant at its outrageous wrongs1 but that 8it has been so slow in detecting its gross and palpable enormities3 that mankind1 for so many ages1 acquiesced in a system as monstrously unnatural as would be a general effort to walk upon the head or to think with the feet60 ,we need have no hesitation in flatly denying the truth of this description1 and pronouncing it a caricature4 ,for if this be a faithful description1 we can safely affirm that no instance of slavery ever existed under the authority of law in any nation known to history4 ,in the first place1 the state of things so rhetorically described is a palpable impossibility4 ,the constitution of the human mind is in flat contradiction to the idea of the absorption of the will1 the conscience1 and the understanding of one man into the personality of another6 ,this is a state of things which the human mind cannot even conceive to be possible1 but does intuitively perceive to be utterly impossible4 ,in the next place1 we affirm that the idea of personal rights and personal responsibility pervades the whole system4 ,both the ,divine and human laws which recognize the system assume the personality and responsibility of the slave4 ,even under the ,roman and ,grecian codes--which recognized far more stringent forms of slavery than that of the ,african in this country1 at any period of its history--this view of the system will find no support4 ,paul and ,peter1 who wrote with special allusion to slaves under these laws1 so far from regarding this personality as lost and swallowed up in the humanity of the master1 expressly assumed their personality and responsibility4 ,for whilst they recognize him as a servant1 they treat him as a man3 they declare him possessed1 though a slave1 of certain rights1 which it was injustice in the master to disregard1 and under obligation to certain duties1 as a slave1 which it would be sinful in him to neglect2 and1 moreover1 that it was the office of that religion whose functions they filled1 to protect these rights and duties with its most solemn sanctions4 ,hence they enjoin upon masters the moral obligation of rendering to their bondmen 8that which is just and equal10 and upon servants to 8be subject to their masters with all fear1 not only to the good and gentle1 but also to the froward4 ,for this is thankworthy1 if a man1 for conscience toward ,god1 endure grief1 suffering wrongfully40 ,was this treating them as beings whose wills were absorbed in the humanity of the master1 who therefore was the only accountable person for all their conduct6 ,nothing could be more alien from truth1 and significant of falsehood6 ,no3 obedience is never applied1 except as a figurative term1 and especially by the apostles1 to any but rational and accountable beings4 ,and with such inspired requisitions before us--8obedience from the one1 and justice from the other0--it is grossly absurd to affirm that the relation of master and slave regards the slave as a brute1 and not as an accountable man4 8,the blind passivity of a corpse1 or the mechanical obedience of a tool10 which ,channing and ,whewell regard as constituting the essential idea of slavery1 seems never to have entered the minds of the apostles4 ,they considered slavery as a social and political economy1 in which relations involving reciprocal rights and duties subsisted1 between moral1 intelligent1 and responsible beings1 between whom1 as between men in other relations1 religion held the scales of justice4 ,the right of property in man1 as man1 is nowhere taught in ,scripture1 although it distinctly recognizes the relation of master and slave4 ,the right which the master has in the slave1 according to the ,scriptures1 is1 not to the man1 but to so much of his time and labor as is consistent with his rights of humanity4 ,the master who disregards these claims1 denies his slave that which is 8just and equal40 ,the duty which the slave owes1 is the service which1 in conformity with these rights1 the master exacts4 ,a failure in either party is a breach of ,scripture4 ,the only difference between free and slave labor is1 that the one is rendered in consequence of a contract1 and the other in consequence of a command4 ,each is service rendered according to the will of another2 and each may1 or may not1 be according to the consent of the party rendering service4 ,the former is often as involuntary1 in point of fact1 as the latter4 ,hirelings assent to it1 in most cases1 as a necessity of their condition4 ,they do not consent to it--they are far from choosing it4 ,a few persons reach that high attainment of a pure ,christianity1 in which they learn in every state in which they are placed1 in the providence of ,god1 8therewith to be content0--they choose it4 ,but in the general1 hired service is1 in point of fact1 as involuntary as slave labor4 ,a right1 therefore1 to the time and labor of another to a definite extent1 by no means involves the right to his humanity4 ,such right is a mere fiction1 to which even the imagination can give no significance or consistency4 8,it is the miserable cant of those who would storm by prejudice what they cannot demolish by argument40 ,thus1 young gentlemen1 that the abstract principle of the institution of slavery1 and the principles of natural rights1 coincide1 and that both have the unqualified approbation of ,holy ,scripture1 cannot be successfully controverted4 ,natural rights and the principle of slavery do not conflict4 ,no man has a natural right to do wrong4 ,that wherein the principle of slavery is in itself right1 is that1 when carried out in the form of civil government1 it furnishes an instance in which the subjects of government who are liable to injure society by doing wrong1 are placed under such disabilities1 or in such circumstances1 in which they cannot or are not likely to do this wrong1 but to do that which they have a natural right to do1 that is1 do good4 ,in all cases in which this principle enters into the government in such ratio or modification as to secure these ends1 it coincides with natural rights1 and insures to the subject the highest amount of freedom of which his moral condition will admit2 it is to him essentially a free government1 although1 in adapting itself to his moral condition1 it may assume an extreme form of despotism4 ,whether the ,southern ,states of this ,union have wisely adapted this principle to the moral condition of the ,african population residing within their borders1 and thereby secured to them an essentially free government1 remains to be considered4 ,,lecture ,,vii4 ,,the ,,institution ,,of ,,domestic ,,slavery4 ,the question stated--,the conduct of masters a separate question--,the institution defined--,the position of the abolitionists and that of the ,southern people--,the presumption is in favor of the latter--,those who claim freedom for the blacks of this country failed to secure it to those on whom they professed to confer it--,the doctrine by which they seek to vindicate the claim set up for them1 together with the fact of history assumed to be true1 is false4 ,having proved that the abstract principle of the institution of domestic slavery is a legitimate principle1 both in itself1 and in this1 that it coincides with the great fundamental principle of right1 and does not necessarily conflict with the right1 and is therefore in itself good1 and not evil2 the next inquiry that arises is this3 8,is the institution of domestic slavery1 existing among us1 and involving this principle1 justified by the circumstances of the case1 and therefore right80--according to the doctrine evolved in the second lecture1 namely1 that the principle of an action1 being itself right1 the action is right1 provided other and coincident principles justify the action1 or1 as we usually say1 provided the circumstances require it4 ,let it be observed1 that the conduct of individual slaveholders1 in the exercise of any discretion conferred on them by the nature of their relation as masters1 is still a separate question1 and not here to be taken into the discussion4 ,we inquire as to the propriety of the institution3 ,is it demanded at all by the circumstances of the case8 ,this is eminently a practical question1 and is the only one which involves the morality of the institution itself1 now that the abstract principle is shown to be legitimate4 ,domestic slavery is one of the subordinate forms of civil government4 ,it may be defined an imperium in imperio--a government within a government3 one in which the subject of the inferior government is under the control of a master1 up to a certain limit defined by the superior government1 and beyond which both the master and the slave are alike subject to control by the superior government4 ,the question now arises1 ,is this a suitable government for the negro race in ,america8 ,without doubt1 this question is to be settled on the same general principles by which we should settle a similar question in regard to the suitableness of any other form of government for any other people4 ,for example1 the same principles which determine the fitness of a military despotism1 a constitutional monarchy1 or a democratic republic1 to any particular community of white persons1 will determine the suitableness of this form of government to the ,african race in this country4 ,they are all different forms of control1 belonging to the same genus--government2 and pervaded by the same generic elements--the principles of slavery and liberty combined in different ratios1 in order to secure the greatest amount of happiness to those communities to which they are fitly applied4 ,the claims of the ,african might be separately examined in regard to each of these forms of government2 but this course is not demanded by the interests of this discussion4 ,nor need we stop to inquire1 how the ,africans came into this country3 whether lawfully or unlawfully--whether by their own act1 or the act of another4 ,these are in truth side issues1 and do not necessarily attach to this discussion4 ,they will be treated as incidental to the main question2 for although it were allowed that they are here unlawfully1 and that it is our duty to remove them1 yet it is still true that they are here1 and cannot be immediately removed1 and must therefore be subjected1 as human beings1 to some one of the known forms of civil government4 ,what form of government shall this be8 ,according to principles well established1 and admitted on all sides1 it should be such a form of government as1 from its adaptation to their intellectual1 moral1 relative1 and physical condition1 is best calculated to promote their happiness and the happiness of those with whom they are necessarily associated4 ,but what form of government is it which will most probably accomplish this object8 ,the anti-slavery party1 as well as the abolition faction1 claim for the ,africans a democratic republic3 that is1 that they should have equal political privileges with the whites1 and only be subject with them to the same modified form of slavery6 ,on the contrary1 we of the ,south maintain that1 from their present state of mental imbecility1 moral degradation1 and physical inferiority1 they should be placed under that more decided form of control called domestic slavery4 ,who is right8 ,in discussing this question1 we take the ground1 first1 that1 in advance of all direct argument1 we are entitled to the full benefit of the presumption in argument--the burden of proof lies upon those who dispute our position2 and1 secondly1 that we are right in fact--that the circumstances of the case demand this form of government on behalf of the race1 as their right1 their blessing2 because this form of government1 duly and properly administered1 as it may be1 and ought to be1 is calculated to afford them the highest1 if not the only amount of political freedom and happiness to which their humanity is at present adapted1 and especially in view of their existing relations to a higher form of civilization1 in the case of those among whom they dwell4 #a4 ,we are presumptively right4 ,the onus lies wholly upon those who oppose our position4 ,in taking this ground1 we readily waive the presumption founded upon the mere fact that domestic slavery is an existing institution1 and is entitled to stand as good1 until the contrary is made to appear4 ,we go back of this4 ,we throw ourselves upon original ground4 ,we say1 that if this were now an original question in the country1 the presumption would be1 that this was the appropriate form of government for the ,african race in this country4 ,as an original case1 it would be an undisputed fact that the race was in an uncivilized state4 ,we have demonstrated1 in a former lecture1 that an uncivilized people is not adapted to a state of political freedom4 ,to such a people dwelling in the midst of a civilized people1 it could not be a right1 because it would not be a good1 but an evil1 a curse4 ,there is no reason to assume that to place them in this condition would elevate them at once to such fitness as would make it a blessing1 but there is every reason to presume that the reverse would follow an elevation to political freedom4 ,if any think otherwise1 the burden of proof lies upon him4 ,this presumption is greatly strengthened by the fact that they who claim political freedom for the ,africans now in the country1 have signally failed to secure it for those upon whom they have professed to confer it4 ,essential freedom is inseparably interlaced with social equality4 ,without the latter1 the former cannot possibly exist4 ,the ,northern ,states have long since conferred the forms of civil freedom upon the ,african portion of their population1 but to the present hour they have denied them social equality4 ,herein1 they extinguish all the lights and comforts of essential freedom4 ,they settle upon them a suffocative anhelation1 which is truly the most oppressive form of slavery4 ,the social inequality of the races1 it is well known1 exists in a much more modified form at the ,south than at the ,north4 ,that those who have made1 as we allow1 an honest effort to confer essential freedom upon them1 have signally failed1 greatly strengthens the presumption that we are right in believing that the end they proposed was impracticable1 and that we need not be so unwise as to imitate their folly4 ,but this presumption is still further strengthened by the fact that the basis argument upon which the abolitionists usually rest the claims of the ,african1 is entirely sophistical4 ,it is this3 ,slave property was originally acquired by robbery and violence1 and therefore can never become lawful property4 ,hence we should confer upon them political freedom1 regardless of whatever consequences may follow2 seeing that an act of robbery can never extinguish the original right of the person robbed1 or confer original title upon the robber4 ,the doctrine assumed in this argument is1 that possessions unjustly acquired originally1 can never become legal possessions2 or that a state of things originally resulting from wrong1 can never1 by lapse of time1 or the force of any circumstances1 become right4 ,the fact assumed as the basis of this doctrine in its application to the ,african is1 that they were stolen while in a state of freedom1 and reduced to a state of slavery4 ,but we deny both the doctrine and the hypothetical assumption on which it is based4 #a4 ,if the doctrine be true1 it will follow that all wrong is without any remedy1 except in the few cases in which things may be restored to their original state4 ,this would be a deplorable state of things indeed4 ,it would work special disaster to our ,northern brethren4 ,for1 first1 if this doctrine be true1 they own scarcely one foot of honest land2 nor is there any in the whole country1 save the original purchase of ,william ,penn1 and a few other unappreciable portions of territory4 ,the ,indians were the original and rightful owners of this whole country1 according to the theory of rights which forms the basis of this doctrine4 ,from the most of their possessions they were forcibly ejected at the peril of life as well as liberty2 and from the remainder they were driven by a policy which in civilized life would be held and treated as knavery4 ,these lands1 according to this doctrine1 should in all honesty be restored to their rightful owners1 or to those who inherit them under their title1 or the present holders are robbers4 ,second4 ,the ,africans1 it is said1 were stolen6 ,if so1 those who received them in this country can only be regarded as the receivers of stolen property--no better1 if not worse1 than the original thieves4 ,but on this hypothesis1 ,who stole them8 and who received this stolen property1 knowing it to be so stolen8 ,these questions admit of but one answer3 ,the forefathers of the present generation of ,new ,england population6 ,from their ports1 vessels were fitted out1 and employed in this system of 8man-stealing40 ,they became the receivers of this stolen property4 ,those who were not demanded by their own agricultural pursuits1 were sold in ,southern markets4 ,as the climate and soil of the ,south were better suited to such labor1 the larger portion of all this stolen property was accumulated in the ,south4 ,the product of the lands of ,new ,england1 and the product of these sales of stolen ,africans1 have been1 from time to time1 invested in commercial and manufacturing pursuits4 ,these constitute the chief sources of the great wealth of the ,new ,england ,states1 to the present day2 and these1 it is well known1 are mainly supported by the products of slave labor at the ,south4 ,this being so1 the great wealth of the ,northern ,states can be regarded only as so much dishonest gain6 ,really1 it is time they were looking to the duty of restitution6 ,but the disaster of this doctrine does not exhaust itself with our ,northern brethren4 ,the ,norman ,conquest of ,great ,britain is that by which all the land-titles of ,england are held to the present day4 ,all these titles are held under the rights acquired by this conquest4 ,now it is well known that the ,norman ,conquest was the most lawless piece of injustice and butchery1 the record of which ever disgraced the pages of human history6 ,upon the basis of the doctrine in question1 it is equally certain that there is scarcely an honest shilling in all ,england6 ,nor is this all3 the present titles of all ,europe1 ,asia1 and ,northern ,africa1 are traceable1 more or less remotely1 to a source equally cruel and unjust6 ,thus there is an end pretty much to all honesty1 as to the possessions of the civilized world6 ,surely1 the absurdity of this conclusion is sufficient to invalidate the soundness of the doctrine from which it arises4 ,now we are far from affirming that wrong--which is the negative of right--can ever become1 by circumstances or any thing else1 otherwise than it is1 that is1 wrong1 namely1 not right4 ,but the state or thing which1 under one set of circumstances1 is wrong1 may1 under other circumstances1 become right4 ,it is not the wrong in itself which1 in such a case1 changes to right2 but1 by a change of circumstances1 the wrong no longer inheres1 but the right inheres in that which formerly involved the wrong2 and therefore the state or thing which was before wrong1 now becomes right4 ,hence1 although it be admitted that the land-titles of the civilized world were originally founded in wrong1 and therefore were unjust titles1 it may not follow that those who now hold them1 do so by an unjust title1 because the original title was unjust4 ,the facts may be thus stated in regard to the most of them4 ,the titles were originally acquired by wrong2 in many instances1 cruel wrong6 ,the authors of these wrongs were usually the heads of government1 who1 in their circumstances1 were beyond control4 ,they did the wrong4 ,the ultimate results of their doings1 by the lapse of time with its perpetual changes1 upset all the existing relations of society1 merged the descendants of the actors and sufferers in these wrongs into the mass of society1 beyond the power of just discrimination1 and introduced an altogether new state of things4 ,under these circumstances1 the original wrong was ultimately placed beyond all remedy4 ,the restoration of the lands to the original and lawful owners became an impossibility4 ,to attempt such a work could only be followed by the grossest injustice to all the parties concerned4 ,in this state of things1 the question of title--,who shall own these lands8 becomes an original question4 ,and in this state of the case1 the simple fact of present possession--there being no one to claim antecedent possession--according to the fundamental belief of all mankind1 confers moral title1 and should therefore be made legal4 ,hence the title is just1 because the idea of the right in itself--that which is good--now inheres in the man who holds property under such circumstances4 ,the argument authorizes this prescriptive principle in political science3 ,that when the original wrong cannot be remedied1 without inflicting greater injury1 ,,on ,,all ,,the ,,parties ,,concerned1 than to permit the existing state of things to remain1 in this state of the case1 the existing state of things is in itself ,,right1 and should be permitted to remain4 ,upon the basis of this principle--without which1 we have no scruple to say1 society could nowhere harmonize for a single hour--we have no difficulty in vindicating the honesty of the descendants of the ,puritans1 or the land-titles of the civilized world1 or the thousand other titles which are equally involved by the absurd doctrine under consideration4 ,nor do we find any difficulty in allowing them a just title to all the proceeds of the ,african traffic1 even though it should be conceded that their forefathers were1 as they characterize them1 a set of mere men-stealers6 ,having invalidated this doctrine as a piece of gross sophistry1 we remark3 #b4 ,that we also deny the hypothesis upon the basis of which this false doctrine has been made to apply to the ,africans of this country2 that is1 we deny that ,african slavery in this country had its origin or was founded in cruelty and robbery4 ,there is no reason to doubt the statements of history1 that many slave-ships originally 7as perhaps is still the case to some extent7 acquired their cargoes1 some by robbery and violence1 and some by purchase4 ,the sufferings of what is called the 8middle passage0 are1 no doubt1 correctly stated in history4 ,we have no motive to controvert these statements1 nor indeed to inquire into their authenticity4 ,we are not even the apologists of any of the actors in these scenes1 much less their defenders4 ,there may have been cruel wrongs1 and under circumstances of even greater aggravation than those recorded in history4 ,be it so6 ,the actors have long since gone to their account1 and we may safely leave them to ,him who judgeth righteously4 ,the conduct of these agents1 whether cruel or kind1 is not an element in this discussion4 ,our inquiry goes to the foundation of this matter--the true producing cause for the introduction of the ,african into this country1 and his position as a slave4 ,what was this8 ,it will not be maintained that these agents1 whether humane or not1 can in any proper sense be said to be the cause or foundation of ,african slavery in this country4 ,with much greater propriety it may be said that the artisans of ,boston were the founders and builders of the city4 ,they were necessary agents4 ,they might have done their part well4 ,they might have done it dishonestly1 cruelly4 ,neither hypothesis will entitle them to rank as the true and proper founders and builders of the city4 ,so neither are the men in question to be regarded as the founders and builders of ,african slavery in ,america4 ,whether they did their part as they should have done1 or should not have done2 or whether they did the work at all1 or not1 is the mere logical accident of a cause1 which lay back of all they did1 and of all they might have done1 whether good or bad4 ,this cause is evolved by the inquiry1 ,why did they bring them into the country at all8 ,if some potent cause had not been at work1 would they or any others have brought them into the country8 ,certainly not4 ,this cause1 then1 whatever it was1 is without doubt the true foundation1 the immediate cause1 of ,african slavery in ,america4 ,what1 then1 was this cause8 ,but one answer can be given to this inquiry4 ,on it there can be no division of opinion4 ,it was the state of public opinion in ,great ,britain1 and the state of public opinion in her colonies in this country at the time4 ,this state of public opinion demanded their introduction and employment as slaves1 and hence they were introduced and so employed4 ,whatever demerit or merit1 then1 was in the origin and maturity of this state of things1 is traceable directly to public opinion1 and attaches directly as a virtue or a crime1 as the case may be1 to those who controlled public opinion1 through the long period of its inception1 formation1 and maturity1 and to them alone4 ,this being the true origin and foundation of the system1 if it had its foundation in robbery and violence1 it was because public opinion1 through that long period1 was so eminently corrupt as to set itself1 deliberately and of full purpose1 to work to perpetrate robbery and violence1 without any redeeming virtue2 for such crimes admit of none4 ,was this so8 ,can we be prepared to believe it8 ,in default of all history at this point to detail the origin and progress of public opinion on this subject1 we are left to form our judgment from our knowledge of the men whom we know to have participated more largely than any others in directing public opinion in their day1 and to the history of the times in which they lived4 ,in the seventeenth century1 ,african slaves were first introduced into this country1 and the practice was continued1 under the sanction of law1 until the years #aggh and #ahjh1 inclusive4 ,at an early period1 public opinion was matured on this subject both in ,england and in the colonies1 and we see that for a long period it sustained the practice of introducing slaves directly from ,africa into this country4 ,now1 we affirm that the position postulated in regard to this case is among the most palpable absurdities that can be conceived4 ,the character of the men who controlled public opinion in that day1 and the patriotic and ,christian age in which they lived1 utterly disprove the gross assumption that they yielded themselves up to falsify the truth and the conscience that was in them1 and become a mere corporation of landpirates and freebooters6 ,if our ignorance of the history of those times should disqualify us to account for the existence of this state of public opinion on any strictly rational grounds1 common sense would forbid that we assign for it so unreasonable a cause as this2 whilst the least that charity could suggest would be1 that we place it among those things for which we were unable to account4 ,from the time they were first introduced into the colonies1 about #afbj1 to the time the system may be considered as permanently established1 makes a period of some hundred and fifty years4 ,among the eminent personages who appeared in ,great ,britain during this period1 and did not fail to impress their genius and moral character upon the age in which they lived1 we may mention1 ,james ,i41 ,cromwell1 and ,william ,,iii41 ,burnet1 ,tillotson1 ,barrow1 ,south1 with ,bunyan and ,milton2 and also ,newton and ,locke4 ,in the colonies1 during this time1 there lived ,cotton ,mather1 ,brainerd1 ,eliot1 and ,roger ,williams2 ,winthrop1 ,sir ,h4 ,vane1 and ,samuel ,adams1 with ,henry1 ,washington1 and ,franklin4 ,these great men1 and some of them eminently good men1 stood connected with a numerous class of highly influential men1 though inferior in position1 and all together may be regarded as embodying and controlling public opinion in their day4 ,some of them were preminently distinguished for their patriotic devotion to the rights of humanity4 ,many others were men of wide views on all subjects1 and of broad and expansive feelings of benevolence1 and indeed of the soundest piety4 ,add to all this1 many of them are to this day without a peer in intellectual distinctions1 if indeed the same may not be said of their attainments in literature and science4 ,the age of ,barrow1 and of ,locke1 and ,newton1 in philosophy1 and of ,washington and ,franklin1 in patriotism1 public benevolence1 common sense1 and general learning1 still stands on the pages of history without a rival4 ,but these men1 and their numerous compeers and co-laborers1 were no better than a hoard of mountain robbers6 ,they coolly coincided with each other1 without formal concert or convention1 but by the common attraction of their natural affinity for power and plunder1 to murder1 rob1 and enslave thousands of their innocent and defenceless fellow-creatures--the helpless victims of public cupidity6 ,such is the shameless position strangely postulated in regard to these men and their times6 ,we scruple not to affirm that this is more than a stupid gratuity6 ,it is a gross calumny upon humanity itself1 of which the authors should be profoundly ashamed6 ,the advantages enjoyed in this day1 by the great success which has attended the art of printing--an art for which we are indebted to the genius of a former age--would no doubt afford us a satisfactory history of the rise and progress of public opinion on such a subject1 if it were to occur in this age4 ,the state of the art at that period1 the proscription of the press1 and especially the new and unsettled condition of the colonies1 furnishes good cause for the deficiency4 ,we may not1 therefore1 account for public opinion as satisfactorily now1 as might have been done at that time4 ,still we have abundant materials for a charitable construction of the conduct of our forefathers--both here and in ,england4 ,the savage1 and indeed the brutal condition of the larger portion of ,africa1 had long since been a matter of history4 ,all well-informed men were familiar with the facts of ,african history4 ,they were not only ,pagans1 but ,pagans of the most stupid and enslaved kind--without the knowledge of ,god1 or the rudest forms of civilization4 ,the population was divided into tribes1 each governed by an ignorant petty king1 who ruled his equally ,pagan subjects as absolute slaves4 ,in the place of the knowledge and worship of the true ,god1 which was found to exist among the savages of ,america1 the ,african worships the devil--the evil spirit1 and that by the most humiliating and debasing rites of superstition4 ,his superstitions furnished frequent occasions for wars4 ,these wars were highly sanguinary--often exterminating1 as all wars amongst an ignorant and highly superstitious people have always been4 ,to spare the life of an enemy in war1 make him a prisoner1 guard him as such1 or make him labor as a slave for his support1 is an advance of civilization4 ,to continue to put the enemy to death to the end of the war1 is the necessary condition of a state of war in uncivilized life4 ,such was the known condition of all the ,african population south of ,egypt and the ,states of ,barbary4 ,did not their condition appeal1 as it still does1 to the benevolence of the civilized world8 ,but what could they do8 ,send ,christian missionaries8 ,no4 ,we1 in this country1 have succeeded1 to some extent at least1 in civilizing the savage tribes upon our border6 ,but the ,indians were not1 like the ,africans1 idolatrous ,pagans4 ,be this as it may1 the competency of missionary enterprise to civilize and christianize ,pagans1 was1 as it still is to any very material extent1 an untried experiment4 ,the opinion then obtained1 and to this hour it is not wholly invalidated1 that to reduce ,pagans to a state of labor was1 among other agencies1 a necessary condition of their civilization4 ,what then could ,christians do in that age for ,african civilization8 ,they could not introduce them as laborers in ,england1 or on the continent of ,europe4 ,such a step would have denied bread to the multitudes who already filled the menial offices of society4 ,it was impracticable to do this1 and inhuman to attempt it4 ,thus for long ages had degraded and enslaved ,africa 8stretched forth0 her imploring hands1 appealing to the benevolence of the world for relief4 ,but the wisest and best men of the times saw no means of relief1 and attempted none4 ,in this state of ,african history1 colonial settlements were ultimately effected on the coast of ,north ,america4 ,at an early period an experiment was made by a ,dutch ,manhattan1 to introduce ,african labor into the colonies4 ,here a wide field was open for their labor4 ,it was greatly demanded4 ,to labor here denied bread to no other laboring poor1 as would have been the case in ,england4 ,the idea was caught at in both hemispheres1 as a 8,god-send0 for the ,african--for the colonies1 and a common civilization4 ,no one dreamed of robbery1 injustice1 or wrong to any one6 ,all considered it a wide door which a kind ,providence had opened1 and which piety itself bade them enter6 ,no man who was worthy of the age authorized any one to fit out a ship1 from the port of ,boston or elsewhere1 go to the coast of ,africa1 steal a cargo of natives1 murder all who stood in the way of his schemes1 tumble them into the hold of their ship1 without regard to health or comfort1 and make their way with their piratical cargo to ,boston and other markets1 and turn them into money6 ,those who did this--as many no doubt did--acted on their own responsibility1 and have long since given their dreadful account to ,god6 ,but the men who were worthy of the age1 and who would be worthy of any age1 did authorize1 by a common public opinion1 the practice of going to ,africa1 and negotiating a purchase with those who had long held and treated them as slaves1 and especially those who by the usages of barbarous war were condemned to death4 ,they considered that thus to arrest the practice of putting prisoners to death was humane1 and worthy of a ,christian people2 that to introduce them into civilized society1 teach them the habits of civilized life1 the principles and experience of ,christianity1 and ultimately perhaps to send them back to regenerate their fatherland1 was an achievement worthy of the highest attainments of piety6 ,hence they had no scruple to purchase them when brought to the country4 ,the most eminently patriotic and benevolent of the colonists purchased them4 ,the most pious members of churches1 and distinguished ,christian ministers1 did the same4 ,the immortal ,whitefield did not scruple to sustain his pious foundation in ,georgia by a large income1 for the times1 from slave property4 ,were they correct in these views8 ,we appeal to facts4 ,multitudes were brought to the country who had otherwise perished in barbarous warfare1 or been murdered as captives1 and the others would have remained in a state of ,pagan ignorance1 superstition1 and slavery4 ,by coming into the country1 they have been greatly improved in their mental1 moral1 and physical condition4 ,i do not stay to trouble you with statistical details4 ,but my investigations warrant a statement1 which you can test at your leisure2 it is this3 the number of ,africans who have died in the communion of the ,methodist and ,baptist churches of ,america to the present time--and who1 therefore1 we may assume1 were christianized by their residence in this country--exceeds the whole number of all the heathen who have been christianized by the labors of all the ,protestant denominations of ,christendom since the days of ,luther4 ,hence1 we conclude1 that whatever were the cruelties of individuals engaged in the original slave trade1 7for which they were responsible17 and whatever may have been the abuses of the system since1 by individual slave owners1 the system itself was originally founded in a profound view of the principles of political science1 so far as regards this country1 and of political economy1 and the claims of ,christian benevolence1 so far as it regards the ,africans themselves4 ,the resources of this vast country have been rapidly developed4 ,it is already the asylum of the oppressed1 and the home of the poor1 of all lands4 ,slave labor has had no small share in all this4 ,the regeneration of the continent of ,africa has already commenced1 and the ultimate result is looked to with increasing confidence4 ,thus we have invalidated the doctrine1 and also the hypothesis1 which form the basis on which the abolitionists rest their argument against the justice and policy of the ,south4 ,that their position is not tenable is no direct proof that ours is right2 but it does afford a presumption that we are right4 ,this presumption we claim1 for the several reasons given4 ,the direct argument in vindication of the system of domestic slavery1 upon its own merits1 is reserved for the next lecture4 ,,lecture ,,viii4 ,,domestic ,,slavery1 ,,as ,a ,,system ,,of ,,government ,,for ,,the ,,africans ,,in ,,america1 ,,examined ,,and ,,defended ,,on ,,the ,,ground ,,of ,,its ,,adaptation ,,to ,,the ,,present ,,condition ,,of ,,the ,,race4 ,there should be a separate and subordinate government for our ,african population--,objection answered--,africans are not competent to that measure of self-government which entitles a man to political sovereignty--,they were not prepared for freedom when first brought into the country1 hence they were placed under the domestic form of government--,the humanity of this policy--,in the opinion of ,southern people they are still unprepared--,the fanaticism and rashness of some1 and the inexcusable wickedness of others1 who oppose the ,south4 ,it having been proved that both the doctrine and the assumption of fact by ,northern fanatics1 in regard to the claim of the ,african to a republican form of government1 are false1 and that the presumption is in favor of the position of the ,south1 that domestic slavery is the appropriate form of government for them1 we are now left free to pursue our inquiry1 without offset from these vagaries1 into the merits of this system1 and its appropriateness to the ,african race in this country4 ,the ,african is now here4 ,whether right or wrong originally1 is not the question before us4 ,he is here4 ,what form of government is best suited to him1 and those with whom he is necessarily associated8 ,and1 ,i4 ,let it be observed1 that they are a distinct race of people1 separated by strongly marked lines of moral and physical condition from those amongst whom they reside4 ,this difference is so strongly marked that there can be no spontaneous amalgamation by intermarriage1 and consequently no reciprocity of social rights and privileges between the races4 ,their history in the whole country shows this to be the case4 ,they must therefore continue to exist as a separate race4 ,to this state of things the government over them should be adapted1 unless we would violate a material condition of the problem to be solved4 ,for if the law should not provide for this state of the case1 the conventional usages of the superior race amongst whom they dwell will certainly do so4 ,this is in proof from the example of all those ,states which have failed to provide for the ,african as a separate and distinct race2 for the usages of society always supply the deficiency4 ,this omission on the part of the law is evidently to the injury of the ,african4 ,the history of the race in the ,northern ,states will show this4 ,essential liberty is founded in1 and is inseparable from1 certain social rights and privileges4 ,but in these respects1 the ,african is a far more proscribed and degraded race in the ,northern than in the ,southern ,states4 ,a government1 then1 should be provided for the ,african1 as a distinct and separate race1 existing in the bosom of another and superior race4 ,of course this will be an imperium in imperio4 ,and as they are confessedly the inferior race1 who can never enjoy essential liberty or reciprocity of social condition with the whites1 the government adapted to them must be inferior and subordinate to that of the whites amongst whom they dwell4 ,it must be subordinate2 for1 in the nature of things1 it must be an independent or a subordinate one4 ,but two independent civil governments cannot coxist1 and control distinct races dwelling together in the same community4 ,it follows that it must be subordinate4 ,as subordinate1 it must either assume some form of military government1 or it must conform to the patriarchal species of government--a kind of family government--that is1 the domestic form for which we contend4 ,and as between a subordinate military or patriarchal form of government1 both as regards the expense and the comfort1 there can be no controversy1 we may consider the claims of the patriarchal form1 or the system of domestic slavery1 as established in this case4 ,but it may be supposed that the experiment in the ,northern ,states invalidates the position1 that this1 being a distinct race of people1 must be controlled by a separate and subordinate form of government4 ,these ,states have a portion of this race1 and it is said they find no difficulty to result from having placed them on a political footing with other citizens4 ,but this is a mere assumption4 ,it is not borne out by the facts of history4 ,as before stated1 the conventional usages of society have denied them the social rights and privileges of free citizens6 ,they have proscribed them as an inferior and degraded race4 ,the usage which forbids intermarriage is at once a bar to all social equality4 ,the road to offices of trust1 honor1 and profit1 is closed against them--nay1 even the means of subsistence beyond a scanty supply of the necessaries of life4 ,these facts are undeniable4 ,now1 to talk of liberty when we effectually deny to a people all that essentially constitutes it1 is idle in the extreme4 ,it is a mere paper liberty6--liberty to submit to the crushing usages of society6--liberty to perish1 in many instances1 and that without sympathy from the ,state4 ,in these respects the condition of the race is unquestionably better in the ,southern ,states4 ,if they must be a degraded race in the ,north as well as in the ,south1 ,i hesitate not to affirm that our domestic system affords them a much better security for a competent and comfortable living4 ,it makes better provision for them in old age and in youth1 in sickness and in health1 than is secured to them by their so-called liberty in the ,northern ,states4 ,of course1 poor families 7in the literal sense7 in the ,south do not own slaves4 ,they are usually held by those who at least enjoy the necessaries of life4 ,now1 the progress of civilization has established the custom in all such families of sharing with their slaves the necessaries1 and1 not unfrequently1 many of the comforts of life4 ,the exceptions only make the rule general4 ,again1 the ,southern system1 by making the ,african a part of the family circle1 brings him into more immediate contact with the habits of civilized life1 and cultivates a high degree of sympathy between him and his owners4 ,hence1 the well-known attachment of slaves to the families in which they were brought up2 and their utter repugnance to being hired to a ,northern family1 whatever may be their reputation for piety4 ,they are without practical sympathy for them4 ,they often subject them to a degree of hard labor to which they are not accustomed4 ,many humane men in the ,south decline hiring their servants to such persons4 ,there are evils1 it is true1 inseparable from the presence of the race in this country1 under any circumstances4 ,by conferring on them a mere paper liberty1 the ,northern ,states have adroitly freed themselves of a portion of these evils2 but then they have evidently accumulated them upon the ,african4 ,the policy is marked by no sympathy for the blacks4 ,there is much more of selfishness than of benevolence in the working of the system4 ,we conclude that our position is true1 that the ,africans1 being a separate and distinct race of people1 who cannot spontaneously amalgamate with the whites1 should be placed under a separate and subordinate form of government1 if we consult either their welfare or our own4 ,the examples referred to1 as proof of the contrary1 are strongly confirmatory of the position4 ,but to claim for the ,african political equality with the whites is subject to still stronger objections4 ,we may further appeal to facts in support of our proposition4 ,,ii4 ,they are not1 in point of intellectual and moral development1 in the condition for freedom3 that is1 they are not fitted for that measure of self-government which is necessary to political sovereignty4 ,it cannot1 therefore1 be justly claimed for them4 ,they have no right to it4 ,it would not be to them an essential good1 but an essential evil1 a curse4 ,to confer it on them1 either by an act of direct or gradual emancipation1 would be eminently productive of injury to the whole country1 and utterly ruinous to them4 ,this proposition is capable of division4 ,we will discuss the points in the order in which they stand4 ,first4 ,they are not1 in point of intellectual and moral development1 fitted for that measure of self-government which is necessary to political sovereignty4 ,we have said they are an inferior race4 ,that they are so in the original structure of their minds ,i pretend not to affirm--nay1 ,i do not believe it4 ,i believe in the unity of the races--that ,god 8hath made of one blood all nations of men40 ,acts xvii4 #bf4 ,but that the race in this country are inferior1 in the general development of their intellectual and moral faculties1 ,i am free to affirm4 ,this ,i attribute to the crushing influence of the ages of barbarous and pagan life to which their forefathers in ,africa were subjected4 ,for1 as1 in the progress of civilization1 each succeeding generation of civilized persons occupies a higher intellectual and moral platform1 so1 in the descending scale of barbarism1 each succeeding generation of barbarians occupies a lower platform of intellectual and moral development4 ,hence1 we can account for the exceedingly barbarous condition of the race when first brought into this country4 ,it also follows1 that a race of men whose intellects have been long stultified by ages of barbarism1 cannot1 by any contact with the principles and usages of civilized life1 be speedily thrown up to an elevated platform4 ,this also accounts1 in a good degree1 for the slow progress which the race has made in civilization1 since their introduction into the country4 ,to recur now to the fact1 which cannot be controverted1 that they were brought into this country in a state of extreme barbarism and ,pagan ignorance3 in the first place1 were they then in a condition which fitted them for political sovereignty1 and equality of social rights and privileges with the whites8 ,if they were not for the latter1 it is very plain that they were not for the former4 ,it is quite certain that they were not prepared for either4 ,if they were1 why did not the ,puritans of ,new ,england allow them this sovereignty and equality8 ,by their consent and active coperation1 they were brought into the country4 ,shall we revilingly say1 with some of their ungrateful descendants1 that the good sense and love of liberty which had so lately driven them from their fatherland1 to find an asylum here from the galling yoke of ,british oppression1 had been so entirely absorbed in the passion for gain1 as to cause them to be deaf to the claims of justice and humanity in behalf of the ,african6 ,shame on their graceless accusers6 ,no3 their good sense forbade that a race of barbarous ,pagans1 who could not be absorbed by intermarriage1 but who must continue to exist amongst them as a separate and inferior race1 should be placed on a common platform with free citizens6 ,their humanity1 no less than their good sense1 induced them to adopt the plan of domestic government1 or slavery1 sanctioned by the usages of all civilized nations in similar circumstances4 ,if1 for any cause1 a horde of barbarians should be introduced into ,new ,england in the present day1 in numbers too great to be absorbed without injury1 and in a physical condition making it improper to permit their absorption by intermarriage with themselves1 as in the case of the ,africans1 does any man in his senses pretend to believe that those ,states would confer on them either social equality or political freedom8 ,they would certainly consider it due to themselves1 no less than to the barbarians1 to place them under a subordinate government of some kind4 ,well1 this is precisely what their forefathers did in the case of the ,pagan ,africans2 and what the ,southern colonies did when the ,new ,engenders brought them ,south4 ,thus the origin of domestic slavery1 as a political institution1 in the country1 shows that it was founded in the humanity of our forefathers1 no less than in their good sense4 ,hence the second position stated3 ,political equality cannot be justly claimed for them4 ,they have no right to it4 ,to them it would not be an essential good1 but an essential evil--a curse4 ,on the basis of the doctrine of rights discussed in a preceding lecture1 this proposition follows as a conclusion from the fact here established in regard to the ,africans of this country4 ,but it may be said that the barbarous character of the race has greatly improved since their first introduction into this country4 ,this is true--eminently so4 ,and standing1 as this fact evidently does1 connected with the civilization and redemption of a whole continent of barbarians1 upon whom the crushing sceptre of ,pagan ignorance has lain for unnumbered ages1 it fully vindicates both the wisdom and benevolence of the providence of ,god1 which permitted their introduction in such vast numbers into civilized life1 as affording the only means of accomplishing his humane design4 ,but the question of practical interest at this point is1 ,have they been so far raised in the scale of intellectual and moral elevation as to acquire for them the right in question8 ,this point can be settled only by an appeal to facts4 ,i hesitate not to allow1 that if they are1 it may be justly claimed for them1 because they are in that moral condition which justly entitles them to it4 ,it is also admitted that if at the same time1 they are in a condition to be absorbed by a spontaneous amalgamation1 they are entitled to it here2 and much more so than a certain other class1 who are flocking into the country1 and to whom the right is accorded without scruple6 ,this latter1 however1 is certainly not the case1 as the facts before alluded to do clearly show4 ,if1 then1 they be entitled to political freedom1 they should be removed to another territory4 ,africa is the rightful home of the ,africans4 ,thither they must go1 if they should ever be fitted for self-government4 ,providence has wisely forecast this result1 and is rapidly building up a free government on the coast of ,africa1 as their future home1 and the centre of civilization and ,christianity to that long-benighted continent4 ,but what of the question--,are they indeed fitted for political sovereignty8 ,that many of the free colored population1 and some among the slaves1 may be so1 ,i think is more than probably true4 ,of the former ,i would say1 that it is a duty they owe themselves no less than the country to accept the offer of the ,colonization ,society1 and remove to their native land4 ,for1 although it be allowed that they are in the moral condition of freedom1 it is obvious that they never can be essentially free1 in the bosom of a people with whom they can never amalgamate by marriage4 ,and in regard to the latter1 ,i have to say that such of their owners as give that play to their benevolent feelings which their circumstances admit1 and1 as far as they can do so with propriety1 facilitate their removal to ,africa by consent1 entitle themselves to high commendation1 and it is usually awarded them with great unanimity by ,southern people4 ,but that the same admissions can be made in regard to the masses of this population in the country1 ,i utterly deny4 ,on the contrary1 ,i affirm that duty to ourselves and humanity to them alike forbid that civil liberty be conferred on them in ,africa1 or elsewhere1 and least of all in this country4 ,the assumption of ,northern agitators1 that the ,southern people are not competent judges in this matter1 because they are too much interested in their bondage1 is as untrue in fact as it is offensive to our good sense and morals4 ,no doubt there are many in the ,south capable of any form of wickedness2 nor need it be denied that we are as liable to be misled in our judgments as other people4 ,but it is equally true1 that the good sense and integrity of the great mass of our population is a full counterbalance to the acknowledged cupidity of the few4 ,and for a set of ,northern agitators1 who never resided at the ,south1 and who know but little or nothing of the ,african character1 to affect to understand it better than the intelligent communities of the ,south1 is perhaps the coolest piece of impertinent self-conceit to be found on record6 ,the intelligent and honest portion of the country will scarcely fail to allow that the judgment of the ,southern people as to the character and capabilities of the ,african is entitled to the highest confidence1 and may be regarded as an authoritative settlement of this question4 ,what1 then1 is the concurrent opinion of the ,southern people8 ,i think myself well and fully informed on this point4 ,i hazard nothing in asserting1 that it is the general and well-nigh the universal opinion of the intelligent and pious portion of our entire population1 that our ,african subjects1 taken as a whole1 are not fitted for any form of political freedom of which we can conceive2 that they are not in a condition to use it to their own advantage1 or the peace of the communities in which they reside2 and that to confer it upon them1 in these circumstances1 would in all probability lead to the extirpation of the race1 as the only means of protecting civilization from the insufferable evils of so direct a contact with an unrestrained barbarism4 ,it is also an opinion equally sanctioned1 that if they were prepared for political freedom1 it would be scarcely less disastrous to confer it upon them in this country4 ,the reason is obvious4 ,as they cannot spontaneously amalgamate with the whites1 they could not1 in the nature of things1 enjoy freedom in their midst4 ,hence1 if the masses should ever reach that point1 in the progress of civilization1 at which it might be proper to confer on them the rights of political freedom1 another location would have to be sought for them4 ,the ,southern people 7using the term in the sense specified7 constitute a large portion of the whole ,union4 ,they have progressed as far in civilization1 and1 in many respects1 much farther than any people in the whole country4 ,a very large portion of them are confessedly pious1 as well as intelligent4 ,taken as a whole1 they are as eminently entitled to be regarded a religious people as any other people on the face of the globe4 ,now1 that such a people1 so obviously entitled to the highest consideration throughout the civilized world1 should1 in their circumstances of proximity to the ,african race1 and long-continued personal acquaintance with their habits and character1 their capabilities and their liabilities1 be of the settled and almost undisputed opinion that they are not competent to self-government2 and that1 in their present circumstances1 both the law of reciprocity and the law of benevolence to the ,african forbid that the rights of political freedom be accorded to them1 does appear to me to afford the most conclusive settlement of this question of fact that the subject is capable of receiving4 ,for1 although a question of fact1 it is capable of no more conclusive settlement than an enlightened public opinion can afford2 and who are so well situated to form an opinion as the free and intelligent communities of the ,south8 and who can be more honest in its expression8 ,as we cannot suppose the agitators of the country on this subject to be ignorant of the fact that such is the opinion of the ,southern people1 and as we cannot allow that they are incapable of appreciating the weight of this testimony1 we reach the conclusion that they are the victims of a fanaticism resulting from a mistaken religious opinion and feeling1 which hurries them madly forward1 as regardless of the extent to which they implicate their own good sense as they are of the extent to which they are aspersing the reputation of their fellow-citizens1 or the degree to which they are actually putting to hazard the lives of the very people for whom they piously persuade themselves they are laboring4 ,those whose conduct does not admit of this apology are generally men who occupy the arena of political agitation4 ,their object1 evidently1 is to accumulate political power in the so-called free ,states1 and to promote the ends of personal ambition4 ,the fanatical excitement of the country may be turned to the account of these objects4 ,hence1 they labor with a zeal worthy of a better cause4 ,we of the ,south regard the agitators in ,congress1 for the most part1 to be of this class4 ,we consider them highly culpable1 if1 indeed1 they be not actually criminal4 ,for we cannot suppose them to be ignorant of the facts and reasonings here adduced4 ,and besides these1 there are other facts of great and conclusive authority in the settlement of this question1 which we cannot suppose have escaped the attention of men occupying their high stations4 ,i propose to notice some of them in the next lecture4 ,,lecture ,,ix4 ,,the ,,necessity ,,for ,,the ,,institution ,,of ,,domestic ,,slavery ,,exemplified ,,by ,,facts4 ,the attempts made at domestic colonization--,the result of the experiment in the case of our free colored population--,the colonization experiment on the coast of ,africa--,the example of the ,canaanitish nations--,summary of the argument on the general point1 and inferences4 8,that the ,africans are not1 in point of intellectual and moral development1 fitted for that measure of self-government which is necessary to political sovereignty3 that political equality cannot be justly claimed for them--they have no right to it3 that to them it could not be an essential good1 but an essential evil1 a curse2 and that to confer it on them1 by an act of direct or gradual emancipation1 would be eminently productive of injury to the whole country1 and utterly ruinous to them40 ,this is the general proposition still under consideration4 ,we have already discussed to some extent the first two points4 ,i reserve the subject of emancipation for future lectures4 ,i now proceed to exemplify the truth of the positions discussed on this general proposition1 and thereby show the actual necessity that we sustain1 in the present circumstances of the race1 the system of domestic slavery4 ,and1 ,first4 ,we adduce the fact of domestic colonization4 ,this has been frequently attempted in the ,southern ,states1 and has as often failed for the want of success4 ,eminently humane1 though mistaken men1 have tried this experiment with their slaves4 ,some have tried it on a small scale3 standing only as their nominal owners1 and giving them the control of their time and labor1 and the use of necessary lands for cultivation4 ,others have tried the same plan on a more extended scale of operations4 ,but if there is a single successful experiment now in operation in the ,southern country1 ,i am not aware of it4 ,in every instance the owners have been compelled to resume the control of their slaves1 to prevent them from becoming a tax on the community1 and a nuisance in the neighborhood4 ,second4 ,the result of the experiment in the case of the free colored population1 is equally in proof that the race1 taken collectively1 is not fitted for self-government4 ,humane individuals have1 from time to time1 freed their slaves4 ,in this way a large number has been accumulated4 ,there is not a county in any one of the older ,states in which there are not many1 and in some a large number4 ,in this experiment we have a full test of what the ,african is in the enjoyment of civil liberty1 or of his capacity for self-government1 at least in the midst of a people with whom he cannot amalgamate4 ,the result is daily before our eyes1 and may be known and read of all men4 ,after a few honorable exceptions1 the multitude are by no means as well fed or clothed1 and otherwise provided for1 as the slaves in their vicinity4 ,they make but little provision against the inclemency of winter1 and in sickness are often the objects of public charity4 ,a disposition to live by petty depredations upon society1 instead of by honest industry1 and a general depravation of morals1 are characteristic of the caste4 ,their retrograde tendency is so obvious1 that no doubt is entertained among men of reflection that1 but for the props and checks thrown around them by the laws and usages of civilization1 they would soon relapse into the savage state4 ,these facts are so obvious as long since to have engaged the attention of our domestics4 ,among them1 the term 8free nigger0 is one of deepest reproach4 ,those who respect themselves1 it is well known1 form no matrimonial alliance with them1 from sheer contempt of their degradation4 ,i have frequently met1 in my travels1 with old men1 in independent circumstances1 who by the doctrines of the pulpit1 enforced by the personal influence of a favorite minister in private life1 were induced1 in early life1 to free their slaves1 who now confess1 with the result of their mistaken piety before their eyes1 that they conferred no boon upon them1 but rather inflicted an injury both upon them and upon society4 ,they console themselves with the reflection that they intended all for the best4 ,this picture is not surcharged4 ,you will do me the justice to remember that no dark picture can be drawn without dipping the pencil in dark colors4 ,i have an interest in a slave1 who is no doubt in the moral condition of freedom1 as before defined4 ,i have assured this man that he ought to go to ,liberia1 in ,africa1 and have insisted on his consenting to go4 ,but still ,i am so deeply convinced of the truth and importance of the facts here stated in regard to our free colored population1 that a sense of duty to him and to the community forbid that he be placed among the number4 ,but it may be supposed that a popular feeling of selfish hostility serves to crush a people who would otherwise rise at once in the scale of civilization4 ,but this is not so4 ,i repeat1 with confidence1 this is not so4 ,the honorable exceptions1 to which allusion has already been made1 are universally respected4 8,john0 7to use a general title7 8is as honest a man1 and has as much self-respect1 as any man in the neighborhood10 is a meed of praise which is readily accorded to free blacks1 by all intelligent citizens1 and with peculiar satisfaction1 whenever it can be done4 ,such men of course enjoy the confidence and respect of their white neighbors in a high degree4 ,but1 ,i repeat1 that examples of this kind are rare among our free colored population4 ,no6 an original cause of this general degradation is found in the fact stated1 that is1 that they are not prepared for self-government1 and therefore can derive but little1 if any1 benefit from its political and social advantages4 ,the crushing weight of ages of barbarism still presses heavily upon the intellect of the ,african1 and in his present circumstances1 to say the least1 he is too feeble to rise4 ,it is the accident of his position that he is free1 and not the law of his intellectual and moral nature that makes him so4 ,he is a slave in fact2 and without the restraints of the domestic system1 the tendencies of his barbarous nature are left1 in a good degree1 to take their downward way4 ,in many counties within our knowledge containing a large population of free colored persons1 ,i am satisfied that nothing but the humanity developed by a high state of civilization1 prevents the adoption of a summary process1 by which the nuisance would be abated4 ,but if the objection ,i am combating be modified and restricted to the influence of that usage which denies them social freedom1 ,i will agree that it has weight4 ,it certainly retards the progress of those who are rising to the moral condition of freedom3 hangs like an incubus upon those who have already risen to that state1 and effectually shuts the door of enjoyment against them4 ,this is no doubt true4 ,but why are they denied social freedom8 ,the answer is1 ,because they cannot amalgamate by a spontaneous intermarriage with the whites4 ,but this is a disability under which ,god1 by the nature of their physical constitution1 has placed them1 and which the progress of civilization itself forbids the whites to disregard4 ,therefore it is obvious that they never can be free in a community of whites4 ,because1 as there is no essential freedom1 but that which is inseparable from social as well as political freedom1 and as there can be no social freedom1 but that which coincides with the law of amalgamation by intermarriage2 and as ,divine ,providence has closed the door against this1 it follows that the ,african never can be free in the midst of a community of whites4 ,but still1 that this is not the primary and essential cause of the extreme degradation of those ,africans upon whom the experiment of freedom has been tried in this country and found to be a failure1 and that it is originally traceable to the fact that they are not1 intellectually and morally1 prepared for self-government1 is still more clearly deducible from a ,third consideration--the colonization experiment on the coast of ,africa4 ,the colony of ,liberia has already taken its place among the nations of the earth as a free and independent government4 ,no colony has ever prospered as that has done4 ,as a rising nation1 it shares the sympathy of the civilized world4 ,it is destined to become the asylum of the ,africans of ,america1 and the centre of civilization to the long-benighted continent of ,africa4 ,thither all eyes are turned as the oasis of hope in her desert history4 ,but let us briefly trace the progress of this hopeful colony4 ,how has it arisen to its present position8 ,it has been built up from the free colored population of this country--colonized by their own consent4 ,herein ,divine ,providence has wisely discriminated the proper subjects for this great enterprise4 ,his own established order of things has effected a judicious discrimination of the proper persons for this work4 ,the sacrifices to be made were great4 ,the climate was inhospitable4 ,extreme hazard of life1 in all cases1 was to be encountered in the process of acclimation4 ,a ,pagan and savage population were to be encountered and subdued4 ,every thing gave undoubted indications1 that if ever the tree of ,african liberty should be made to flourish upon that ,pagan coast1 its roots must be watered by the blood of many patriot martyrs4 ,in these circumstances1 it is obvious that there would be no volunteers in this work but men of the right stamp4 ,those only whose intellects furnished the flint and steel from which the spark of liberty could be struck1 and upon the altar of whose hearts the fires of freedom could be kindled1 to light their pathway to that far-off and inhospitable land1 would embark in this great work4 ,those who were in the condition of freedom--whose hearts throbbed with the pulsations of liberty--were the first to embark in the cause of ,african civilization4 ,for several years the work went on--slowly1 but surely4 ,many fell in the conflict4 ,still the work went on6 ,the spirit which animated the patriot colonists is eloquently expressed in the dying words of the immortal ,cox3 8,let a thousand missionaries fall1 ere ,africa be given up60 ,thus far the work went on in the order of ,divine ,providence4 ,the voluntary principle was discriminating4 ,those who were in the moral condition of freedom gladly embraced the opportunity4 ,those who were below that condition were deaf to the call4 ,but this divinely sanctioned process was quite too slow for the fiery zeal of emancipationists4 ,the door of ,providence did not open fast enough6 ,encouraged by past successes1 they attempted to hasten the work4 ,forgetful of the original and avowed objects of the ,society--the colonization of the free people of color1 with their own consent--the friends of colonization began to preach manumission to the owners of slaves4 ,many hearkened to the call as a ,macedonian appeal to their feelings of benevolence4 ,the slaves upon large plantations were emancipated1 and funds placed at the disposal of the ,society1 to remove and settle them as free citizens in the new colony4 ,they were sent off in considerable numbers1 for several years4 ,the result was disastrous4 ,it threatened speedily to reduce the whole colony to a savage state4 ,they were not in the moral condition of freedom--they were not prepared for that degree or form of self-government4 ,they could not be absorbed by the body politic1 without imparting their character to the body4 ,the full measure of their golden dreams was simply liberty to do nothing4 ,we need only glance at the results4 ,mr4 ,ashman1 at that time ,governor of the colony1 remonstrated1 in official communications1 with the ,colonization ,society in this country3 the officers generally1 and other eminent citizens1 also remonstrated in private letters to their friends--all begging to be spared the calamities that awaited them from so great an influx of population1 evidently unprepared for freedom1 and praying that they might be strengthened1 as heretofore1 by a judicious selection of persons in some degree1 at least1 qualified for civil liberty6 ,if the colonization experiment has proved the capacity of the ,african1 under suitable developments1 for self-government1 7which1 in our view1 it has very satisfactorily done17 it has proved1 with equal clearness1 that without those developments he is wholly unfit for it2 and that the masses of the race are1 as yet1 undeveloped1 and consequently unfit for political sovereignty4 ,these facts are open to the observation of all men4 ,they strongly rebuke the restless agitators of the country4 ,they clearly confirm our position that the ,africans in ,america are not1 as yet1 in the moral condition for freedom4 ,i have proved in a former lecture that political sovereignty is not a natural but an acquired right4 ,the facts here adduced demonstratively prove that they have not yet acquired this right1 and that therefore it cannot be justly claimed for them4 ,but more than this--they afford the strongest presumption 7and further than the presumption in its favor1 ,i do not design to notice this topic at this time7 that the emancipation of the slaves1 in their present moral condition1 confers no benefit upon them1 but is calculated to inflict a deep injury both upon them and upon society4 ,it is a general1 and indeed an almost universal opinion in the ,south1 that any thing like a system of emancipation1 whether direct or gradual1 by which the number of free colored persons should be materially increased in the ,southern ,states1 would inevitably be followed by their indiscriminate massacre1 as the only means of abating an insufferable nuisance1 unless the citizens were to forsake the soil in favor of a barbarous horde4 ,such an opinion1 7,i may repeat17 so generally entertained by so large a community of enlightened and virtuous citizens1 who are in immediate proximity with the race1 and acquainted with their character from early life1 taken in connection with the historical facts here enumerated1 affording to any mind so clear a proof of the correctness of their opinion1 should be admitted as an authoritative settlement of the position ,i have taken on this branch of the subject4 ,hence1 we may conclude that the law of reciprocity and the law of benevolence require that the ,africans be continued under an inferior and subordinate government4 ,the question again recurs1 ,what form of government shall this be8 ,of course1 it must be a modification of a military despotism1 or a modification of the patriarchal form of government4 ,i am free to say that ,i can conceive of none so appropriate as that adopted by civilization1 for the purpose of controlling a barbarous or semi-barbarous race 7and especially such as could not amalgamate7 dwelling in the midst of a civilized community3 that is1 the system of domestic government now in operation in the ,southern ,states4 ,if any shall devise another1 it will1 at least1 have the merit of novelty to commend it to public attention4 ,the correctness of the doctrine here assumed1 that domestic slavery is the appropriate form of government for a people in the circumstances of the ,africans in ,america1 is very strikingly exemplified by the history of the remnant of ,canaanites1 who still dwelt in the land after its subjugation and settlement by the ancient ,israelites4 ,an inquiry into the ,divine policy in regard to these heathen will fully vindicate this position4 ,the civil code of a nation is admitted to be the best index of the habits and morals of the people4 ,this remark1 however1 cannot always be taken without modification4 ,we shall greatly underrate the civilization of the ,israelites1 who first settled the land of ,canaan1 if we judge them alone by their civil code4 ,smiting and cursing father and mother1 brutal assaults upon pregnant married women1 digging pits to destroy neighbors' cattle1 7,ex4 xxi417 seduction1 adultery1 dealing with familiar spirits and witchcraft1 and various wickedness which delicacy forbids to repeat1 7see ,lev4 xviii417 unnatural marriages1 such as with mothers1 sisters1 children1 and grandchildren1 7,lev4 xviii417 are all practices which are mentioned in a manner that shows they were common in that day4 ,if we judge the morals of the ,israelites by the statutes here referred to1 we shall certainly conclude that they had not the slightest claim to the character of a civilized people2 but it is equally certain that such judgment would be wide of the truth4 ,for although in many respects the national morals and standard of public opinion and feeling were in a feeble condition1 as seen in their obvious proclivity to idolatry1 still those laws are far from being characteristic of the morals of the nation4 ,the ,divine record does not leave us to conjecture the cause for these laws4 ,it is written1 ,lev4 xviii41 8,defile not ye yourselves in any of these2 for in all these the nations are defiled which ,i cast out before you4 ,for all these abominations have the men of the land done1 which were before you1 and the land is defiled20 and1 8,ye shall not walk in the manners of the nations which ,i cast out before you2 for they committed all these things1 and therefore ,i abhorred them40 ,we can be at no loss to see that the remnant of heathen who survived the slaughter1 and still dwelt in the land which the ,israelites settled1 were in such power1 and accustomed to such opinions and habits of bestiality1 as to render the progress of civilization1 in unrestrained contact with them1 at least a problem1 if not an absolute impossibility4 ,equality of political and social condition with the ,jews would have made short work of civilization in that age4 ,hence we find that bold lines of demarcation were drawn between the ,jews and those depraved 8strangers40 ,both political and social equality were forbidden4 ,the ,jews were authorized 7,lev4 xxv47 to make 8bond-men and bond-maids0 in perpetuity 7unlike the slavery of their brethren1 which was for a definite period7 of the 8heathen that were round about them1 and of the children of the strangers that sojourned among them2 of them they should buy and of their families that were with them1 which they begat in the land0--8they should take them as an inheritance for their children1 and they should be their bond-men for ever40 ,the theory of certain pseudo-philanthropists of the present day1 would have led them to prate loudly in behalf of equality1 and the duty and practicability of speedily elevating this people in the scale of civilization4 ,but ,he who was too wise to err and too good to do wrong1 knew better1 and ordered differently4 ,barbarism--long-continued barbarism--cannot be speedily elevated by any contact with the forms of civilization4 ,he who denied them political sovereignty1 7except on certain conditions1 which clearly indicated such an appreciation of the privilege as properly entitled them to the right17 at the same time provided that they be denied social equality1 and reduced to a state of absolute slavery--they were made bond-slaves in perpetuity4 ,herein they were placed under the ban of social as well as political proscription--a position in which they could do the least possible mischief to the progress of civilization1 but would contribute greatly to its advancement1 and thereby promote their own improvement much beyond any thing they could have attained in their original heathen state4 ,the ,africans when first brought into this country were not a whit better in morals1 and were greatly inferior in intellect to the ancient inhabitants of ,canaan4 ,and1 although it be admitted that they have improved1 the facts given clearly prove that they are still incompetent to self-government4 ,they are1 therefore1 no more entitled to the right of political sovereignty than the ,canaanites were4 ,but more than this1 the ,canaanites did not materially differ from the ,jews in their physical condition4 ,there were no physical reasons against amalgamation4 ,intermarriage1 it is true1 was forbidden1 but it was for reasons growing out of their heathen state alone4 ,whilst that state should last1 the common interests of each in civilization forbade such social equality2 but this cause out of the way1 the ,canaanites could be absorbed and lost in the stream of posterity4 ,but not so with the ,african1 as we have shown4 ,he is destined to exist as a separate people4 ,we do not say he shall not1 but he cannot to any material extent amalgamate with the ,caucasian race4 ,if1 therefore1 it was proper for the ,jews to make slaves of the ,canaanites1 for a much stronger reason it is now right for us to retain the ,african in a similar state1 and until such time as ,providence shall--if ever--open the door for his return to his fatherland4 ,on the general question1 ,is the system of domestic government existing amongst us1 and involving the abstract principle of slavery1 justified by the circumstances of the case1 and therefore right8 we reach an affirmative conclusion1 for the reasons3 ,i4 ,that the ,africans are a distinct race of people1 who cannot amalgamate to any material extent with the whites1 and who1 therefore1 must continue to exist as a separate class4 ,,ii4 ,that they are1 as a class1 decidedly inferior to the whites in point of intellectual and moral development1 so much so as to be incompetent to self-government4 ,although they have shared largely in the progress of civilization1 they have not reached this point4 ,the proof is3 #a4 ,such is the almost universal opinion of the most intelligent and pious communities throughout the whole ,southern country1 who certainly are well acquainted with their character and capabilities1 and therefore fully competent to judge in their case4 #b4 ,the experiments at domestic colonization which have been made in this country prove it4 #c4 ,the experiments in the case of the free colored population spread through the country are equally in proof4 #d4 ,the colonization experiment on the coast of ,africa is still more conclusive4 ,,iii4 ,that domestic slavery is the appropriate form of government for a people in such circumstances1 is fully exemplified by the ,divine procedure in the case of the heathen subdued by the ancient ,israelites4 ,we infer3 #a4 ,that they have no right to social equality or to political sovereignty--that to accord them either1 in their present moral condition1 would be a curse instead of a blessing4 ,it would in all probability lead to the extermination of the race1 and inflict a deep injury both upon the moral and physical condition of the whole country4 #b4 ,that every consideration of humanity and prudence requires that1 until a better form of subordinate government shall be devised1 they must be continued under the system of domestic slavery now in operation4 ,,lecture ,x4 ,,emancipation ,,doctrines ,,discussed4 ,gradual emancipation1 the popular plan--,it would operate to collect the slaves into a few ,states1 cut them off from contact with civilization1 and reduce them to barbarism--,it would make an opening for ,northern farmers and their menials to come into those ,states from which they retired--,the modifications which the system of slavery has undergone within late years--,a comparison of the menials of the free and of the slave ,states1 and the only plan of emancipation admissible--,the gospel the only remedy for the evils of slavery--,paul's philosophy and practice1 #a ,tim4 vi4 #a-e4 ,immediate emancipation is the scheme of the abolitionists proper1 whilst gradual emancipation is the favorite plan of the anti-slavery party4 ,the ground we should take is this1 that no plan of emancipation1 either immediate or gradual1 is adapted to the present moral condition and relative circumstances of our ,african population4 ,nothing of the kind could at this time be attended with good1 but only with evil4 ,i limit this discussion to the subject of gradual emancipation1 because the reasons by which we invalidate this doctrine will1 a fortiori1 disprove the doctrine of immediate emancipation4 ,it is said that a system of gradual emancipation succeeded well in the ,northern ,states1 and that it would succeed equally well in the ,southern4 ,but ,i deny the assumption in each case4 ,there never was a large slave population in the ,northern ,states1 owing to the unsuitableness of the climate4 ,the question arises1 ,how did this system operate with the few they had8 ,it is well known that the owners anticipated the time appointed for the law of emancipation to go into operation1 and sold their slaves in the ,south6 ,this law only operated to transfer the slaves1 for the most part1 to a climate and soil more congenial to their constitution and habits4 ,the operation of the scheme1 therefore1 resulted only in the emancipation of a few of the whole number1 7see ,lecture ,i41 page #bb27 and these few1 as has been proved1 have1 by the social1 and1 we may add1 in many instances1 by the municipal regulations of the ,states within which they reside1 been essentially injured by the change instead of benefited4 ,hence the scheme did not succeed well in the ,northern ,states4 ,and can it be assumed that it would succeed better in the ,southern ,states8 ,on the contrary1 the result would be much more fatal in the ,southern1 for the reason that we have a much larger ,african slave population than existed in the ,northern ,states at the time their emancipation laws were adopted4 ,now1 suppose 7what1 however1 can scarcely1 if at all1 be allowed a supposable case7 that all the ,southern ,states should simultaneously pass laws1 providing for the gradual emancipation of the slaves1 and hence1 ultimately1 effect their emancipation1 as provided for by law1 for the reason that there would be no market open for the sale of them1 as was the case when the scheme was attempted at the ,north3 even in such a state of things1 you cannot fail to perceive that the propriety of such a measure turns entirely upon the truth or error of a position already discussed4 ,if my position be correct1 7and it is evidently established by the facts adduced in the preceding lecture17 that their mental imbecility and moral degradation is such that1 whilst it remains a fact that for physical and uncontrollable causes they cannot amalgamate1 any material addition to our present number of free colored population would result in their extermination1 humanity1 leaving all other reasons out of the account1 would forbid the measure6 ,nor can ,i persuade myself that there is an emancipationist1 however fanatical1 this side the strange delirium of a deliberately wicked purpose to do wrong1 who would not 8pause upon the brink of this ,rubicon10 when assured that the ,southern people generally believed that extermination would1 in all probability1 be the result of his priceless experiment4 ,but it is extremely idle to suppose that all the ,southern ,states would simultaneously pass such a law2 nor does the scheme assume that they would do so4 ,no3 the plan advocated is1 that the ,district of ,columbia1 and the ,states of ,delaware and ,maryland1 should first emancipate their slaves2 then ,virginia1 then ,kentucky1 then ,missouri1 and so on1 until the work should be consummated by a gradual process1 requiring several years in each ,state4 ,let us now inquire what this plan promises4 ,if the owners of slaves in the ,states which first in order passed such a law1 did not anticipate the time of its taking effect1 7as in the case before referred to17 and sell them in the ,states where no such law had1 as yet1 been passed1 the result would be1 as already stated1 an accumulation of free colored population1 with its inevitable consequences4 ,but this would certainly not be the general operation of such a law4 ,for if cupidity should not prompt a different course1 the owners1 foreseeing the results of such an accumulation of free colored population1 both to the whites and the blacks1 would anticipate the law1 in by far the greater number of instances1 and sell their slaves in the ,states in which no such law had been passed4 ,still1 many1 no doubt1 would not take this course3 a want of forecast1 and most generally a mistaken notion of humanity1 would prevent its adoption4 ,in this way1 we cannot hesitate to believe that the accumulation of free colored population would be so great as to induce their extermination at no distant day4 ,this calamity could be averted only by a sale of the slaves into some other ,state in anticipation of the law providing for their manumission4 ,now1 whatever of mere selfishness there may be in the proposed measure1 nothing is more certain than that it is entirely destitute of all humanity for the slave1 and of all just regard to his progress in civilization1 and his more speedy elevation to moral fitness for freedom4 ,for by the time this work had progressed through the ,district of ,columbia1 the ,states of ,delaware1 ,maryland1 ,virginia1 ,kentucky1 ,missouri1 and1 it might be1 ,north ,carolina and ,tennessee1 the far greater part of the numerous slave population of the whole country would be accumulated in the remaining ,states of the ,south and ,south-west4 ,this would be the inevitable result4 ,for the free-soilers1 it seems1 are determined1 if the effect of agitation can accomplish it at the ballot-box1 that there shall be a cordon of free ,states1 formed by the newly acquired territory of ,new ,mexico and ,california2 and in this case there would be no further outlet for the retiring slave4 ,let us now inquire what would be the effect of the accumulation of the race within the limits of a few ,states3 ,at present1 that element of slavery which is properly called domestic1 confers incalculable advantages on the slave4 ,by this feature of the system1 as it now operates1 the slaves are distributed in small numbers in different families4 ,there they are brought1 every one of them1 into more or less of immediate contact with a high state of civilization4 ,many of them pass the early part of their lives in the dwelling-houses1 and around the tables and firesides of their owners1 and in the midst of all the company visiting the house4 ,others are engaged in field and mechanical pursuits1 requiring frequent intercourse with the whites4 ,their ,sabbaths are often spent 7and it is daily becoming more and more so7 in the midst of our worshipping assemblies4 ,in all these ways1 to go no farther1 they enjoy the means of improvement1 and are making daily progress in civilization4 ,this1 without doubt1 is the plan indicated by ,providence1 as affording the most natural means of accomplishing their ultimate fitness for a more desirable form of civil liberty4 ,that it cannot be said of any material portion of them that they have thrown off the incubus of preceding ages of barbarism1 may be true2 yet it is equally true that their progress in civilization1 and that in an increasing ratio1 is perfectly obvious to any man whose age and acquaintance with the race would entitle his opinion to credit4 ,any old man amongst us is prepared to speak of the great improvement of slaves within thirty or forty years past4 ,the domestic element of the system has accomplished this improvement1 and will certainly in process of time greatly elevate the race above what it now is2 and they are now a very different people from their forefathers who first came into this country4 ,i have no hesitation in believing that it is the grand design of ,providence that they shall be thus fitted 7the far greater portion of them7 for position in ,africa as the source of civilization to that long-benighted continent4 ,now1 to take from the present system its domestic element1 or1 what is virtually the same thing1 to place it under such disabilities as to prevent its benevolent results1 would arrest the progress of ,african civilization1 and put off his moral elevation for ages to come4 ,and this is precisely the effect which the accumulation of all the slaves of the whole country within the limits of a few ,states must have4 ,the domestic element of the system would be effectually crippled1 if not entirely destroyed4 ,a large number of slaves would be congregated on single plantations4 ,the whole territory would be in the possession of but a few wealthy planters4 ,they would chiefly reside in the cities and more healthy districts of the country4 ,their plantations would be under the control of stewards4 ,the steward and his family 7usually small7 would constitute the whole white population on a plantation1 numbering1 as would often be the case1 several hundred slaves2 and the same state of things would exist1 to a greater or less extent1 through large districts of country4 ,this would be a condition of the race essentially different from that in which they are placed by the present system2 and we cannot fail to perceive that they would be well-nigh cut off from all contact with civilization4 ,instead of continuing to rise in the scale of civilization1 as they will do under the present system1 they would begin at once to relapse into the barbarism of their original pagan state4 ,this result would be inevitable--only so far as their downward progress might be arrested by the occasional voice of the self-sacrificing missionary1 calling to the altars of ,christian worship6 ,would this be humane8 ,rather1 would it not be brutal8 ,yet such would be the result of the scheme of 8gradual emancipation60 ,there is1 however1 another result of this pseudo-philanthropy that ,i need not omit to mention3 the removal of the slaves from the ,states named1 and the extermination of the remaining free colored population1 should they be found to exist 7as it is most likely they would7 in numbers so great as to constitute a nuisance requiring summary abatement1 would make a fine opening for the enterprising farmers of the ,northern ,states to come in and possess these fertile hills and valleys1 abounding in wealth and blessed with a most salubrious climate4 ,it would also afford a fine outlet for their own menial population1 which threatens so many and serious results to them--the papal vice and ignorance from ,ireland and the continent of ,europe1 which is now flooding the free ,states4 ,how far these lofty considerations may constitute items in the catalogue of motives which prompt the political agitators of the country to press the subject of ,african emancipation1 ,i pretend not to say6 ,one thing1 however1 ,i may say in behalf of the ,southern people1 and that is1 that as they have no idea of perpetrating these cruel wrongs upon the unfortunate race which ,providence has thrown amongst them1 so they expect to have no use for those depraved and perishing menials4 ,they prefer the slaves1 in any view of the subject4 ,we may conclude1 then1 that the position established is not weakened in any degree by considerations of either direct or gradual emancipation4 ,no3 the emancipation and removal to ,africa of those1 and those only1 whose moral and social condition entitles them to a higher form of political freedom1 as the voluntary act of the individual owner1 is the only natural and safe method of emancipation4 ,it affords the only hope of ,africa1 and of the ,african in ,america4 ,the proposition discussed1 and1 ,i think1 clearly established1 relates to the essential propriety and the fitness of the system of domestic slavery as an institution4 ,whether this institution is capable of improvement1 and1 if so1 what improvements are demanded by the progress of civilization1 are questions quite independent of any thing yet discussed4 ,these topics may engage our attention at a future period in these lectures4 ,i would only remark1 in this place1 that the system has undergone great modifications since its adoption4 ,laws and usages that were1 no doubt1 eminently adapted to the extremely barbarous character of the race1 when first brought into the country1 have long since become obsolete1 and the same may be said of many subsequent regulations4 ,even the stringent measures adopted on the rise of abolition excitement in late years1 have had but a brief authority4 ,the progress of civilization is the same in its results in this case as in that of any other people4 ,as a state of barbarism yields to the light of civilization1 men are more and more disposed to do right1 and the laws and usages which were before necessary to compel them to do right1 are thereby superseded1 and soon grow into disuse4 ,hence1 many of our ,northern citizens who form their opinions 7as many do7 of the practical character of this institution at the present day from the historical account of the laws and usages of a former period1 regardless of the fact that they have become1 for the most part1 obsolete1 entertain a very incorrect opinion4 ,the institution at this day is a very different affair1 practically1 from what they suppose it to be1 judging1 as they do1 from the laws and usages appropriate to a more barbarous condition of the race4 ,i have no hesitation in affirming that in by far the greater number of instances1 the condition of ,southern families1 embracing domestic slaves1 is much better 7that is1 both whites and blacks7 than that of the larger number of ,northern families1 with hired domestics1 on large farms4 ,the labor is much less severe1 and the discipline much less strict4 ,the ,northern family has more frequently to appeal to the authority of civil law1 and to the right of dismissing unfaithful servants1 than the ,southern has to appeal to domestic discipline4 ,and still further1 the ,southern domestic is practically1 in all respects save one1 quite as much upon a social footing with the white members of the family as the ,northern domestic is with the family in which he is employed1 whilst the sympathy existing between these different castes in the ,southern family is much greater than that which exists in the ,northern4 ,i acknowledge but one difference in regard to practical social equality between the domestics of these families4 ,the white domestic1 from the fact that he belongs to the same race1 is capable1 by industry and enterprise1 of rising to an entire social footing with his employer1 whilst the ,african domestic cannot do so4 ,although the civil law should confer on him the right to do so1 the paramount usages of civilized life1 founded upon his physical condition1 would forbid it4 ,this advantage1 we admit1 is above all price2 but having its foundation in the wise and inscrutable providence of ,god1 it is without remedy by any means which we can adopt2 and1 indeed1 why should we wish even to alter a condition of things founded in physical nature by ,him 8who is too wise to err and too good to do wrong10 simply because to our limited view of the ,divine economy it presents points of friction which1 viewing them from another stand-point1 we should desire to avoid6 ,but aside from this advantage1 ,i feel free to affirm1 that in every neighborhood which is brought permanently under the influence of the apostolic precepts enjoining the relative duties of master and slave1 the practical working of the system secures to the ,african a higher degree of essential happiness than is found to exist with the whites who fill the menial offices of society in the free ,states4 ,no white man can be satisfied with the position of a menial in society4 ,perpetually chafed by the chains which fetter all his attempts to rise in the scale of social equality1 he is the subject of a constant and painful irritation4 ,every failure in an enterprise which promised to elevate him to social equality with those around him1 is a new cause of heart-burning and jealousy of all about him1 and often an overwhelming source of temptation1 not only to distrust the providence of ,god1 but to employ the political franchise to unsettle the foundations of society1 by levelling down the whole to a common platform4 ,hence the agrarian doctrines which find embodiment in various social organizations in the free ,states4 ,nothing but that religion which both teaches the duty and imparts the moral power to 8be careful for nothing1 but in every thing to give thanks10 and in every condition in which ,divine ,providence places us1 8therewith to be content10 can reconcile a white menial to his condition in such a country as ours4 ,the government itself can only be secure in a republic so long as a pure ,christianity 7for that only can do it7 operates to elevate the social condition of those laboring classes who would otherwise be menials1 or reconcile them to a station to which the accident of birth1 miscarriage in business1 or inferiority in intellect1 inevitably consigns them in the competition of business life2 or so long as pure religion shall so operate as to leave the balance of political power with those who are either so elevated or so reconciled to an inferior condition4 ,but little1 if any thing1 of all this1 so far as it relates to our colored menials1 is to be found at the ,south4 ,always conscious of their intellectual inferiority 7,i speak of the masses7 from constant contact with the superior moral power of the whites1 and equally conscious that their physical condition is an impassable bar to all social equality by marriage1 they not only do not aspire to it in their feelings1 but1 in all cases in which they are treated as the ,scriptures require masters to treat their servants1 they learn to be contented with their lot1 and1 looking to their owners as their lawful and safe protectors1 become affectionately attached to the whole family1 and1 dismissing all care1 are the most cheerful and1 indeed1 merry class of people we have amongst us4 ,a slave who did not think more of himself1 and feel himself to be better off1 in all respects1 than the state which agreed with his idea of what he calls 8poor white folks0 and 8free niggers10 really would not be worth having as a house servant in any ,christian family of my acquaintance4 ,indeed1 in freedom from care1 and all the elements of a mere temporal happiness1 the slaves of an enlightened and well-ordered family are often in a much more desirable situation than the heads of the family1 who are occupied with the duty of caring for all and of providing for all4 ,for the master of such a family to plod his weary way to daily labor on his farm1 with a care-worn countenance1 which traces itself in his slow and measured step1 whilst the loud laugh of his merry hearted slaves is echoing around him1 is no uncommon thing in the ,south4 ,as to the corroding cares which weigh down the spirits and often bring on premature old age1 the condition of heads of families do not perhaps materially differ in any part of our country4 ,but1 ,i repeat1 the difference is very great between the menials of families in the free and in the slave ,states1 and this difference is greatly in favor of the slaves of the ,south4 ,the one--especially in the cities--is often oppressed by a grinding poverty1 and an active discontent which is as corroding to the heart as it is dangerous to the state2 whilst the other is a stranger1 for the most part1 to real want--is free from painful cares1 contented and cheerful in his condition--adding daily to the progress of civilization and the permanency of the government4 ,the emancipation and removal to ,africa of those whose progress in civilization has so far developed their minds as to constitute them exceptions to this remark1 for the reason that they are by their moral condition fitted for a higher form of civil freedom1 may be allowed as the voluntary act of the owner4 ,but all other schemes of emancipation1 whether immediate or gradual1 are totally inadmissible4 ,for if successful1 for the reason that they cannot share social equality with the whites1 they sink in the scale of civilization1 and become a nuisance in the community requiring abatement2 and if the scheme should prove a failure1 the result of the effort can only be1 as we have seen1 to accumulate large bodies of slaves within small districts of country1 cut them off from a more direct contact with civilization1 and arrest their progress in improvement4 ,no3 emancipation in the popular sense offers no relief to any of the evils1 real or imaginary1 of ,african slavery in ,america2 but rather aggravates all that now exist1 and threatens to multiply them a thousand-fold4 ,if any in the whole country be moved with sympathy for the race--as many think themselves to be--let them diffuse the charities of a pure gospel through the whole extent of our country4 ,no field was ever more 8white to the harvest10 and none perhaps in which laborers could be employed to greater advantage in the cause of humanity4 ,they will promote a charity which shall save the country from discord and civil war4 ,they will give efficiency to those precepts of the ,scriptures which enjoin the duties of masters and slaves4 ,by doing this they will lighten the task of masters1 and1 at the same time1 interest them more deeply in all that concerns the welfare of the slave4 ,they will greatly improve the physical comfort of the slaves1 and1 what is of far greater importance1 they will develop their moral natures1 and therein add to their present cheerful and contented state1 the enjoyment of that religion which1 as it fits them for the higher walks of life on earth1 at the same time fits them for the rest of heaven4 ,in a word1 they will effect all that the most devoted friend of the slave can reasonably desire4 ,for in this state of advanced progress1 whatever modification of the system or change in either the condition or location of the race may be demanded by sound principles1 will be readily adopted1 and as peaceably effected4 ,thus the long-disputed problem of emancipation will be found to solve itself4 ,but instead of this active and efficient service in the cause of humanity1 to stand aloof and pronounce silly and sluggish invectives--for such they really are--against the ,south1 for not following the example of certain ,northern ,states in manumitting their slaves1--which1 by the way1 we have shown they never did to any material extent1--is calculated only to produce an irritation which must result in the most incurable prejudices4 ,these invectives are often founded upon certain abstract principles of political philosophy which are usually misunderstood1 and still more frequently misapplied to the ,south4 ,such men1 together with the nature and results of their labors1 are graphically described by the ,apostle ,paul1 as 8proud1 knowing nothing1 but doting about questions and strifes of words1 whereof cometh envy1 strife1 railings1 evil-surmisings1 perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds1 and destitute of the truth1 supposing that gain is godliness40 ,the whole paragraph from which this quotation is made--#a ,tim4 vi4 #a-e--;is commended to particular attention4 ,and ,i submit1 that if the apostle understood the subject of domestic slavery1 either as a philosophical or a practical question1 the class of men now engaged in agitating our country on the subject do not6 ,,lecture ,,xi4 ,,teaching ,,the ,,slaves ,,to ,,read ,,and ,,write4 ,superiors frequently neglect inferiors--,the policy of the ,south vindicated by necessity--,the results that would follow an attempt to establish a system for instructing the blacks in letters1 and those which would follow the establishment of such a system--,the domestic element of the system of slavery in the ,southern ,states affords the means for their improvement adapted to their condition and the circumstances of the country3 it affords the natural1 the safe1 and the effectual means of the intellectual and moral elevation of the race--,the prospects of the ,africans in this country1 and their final removal to ,africa--,the country never will be entirely rid of them--,the ,southern policy wise and humane4 ,one point remains to be considered to complete a full and candid view of the institution of domestic slavery4 ,it is erroneously said that 8we keep the ,african in a state of barbarism1 and then plead that barbarism in vindication of our policy40 ,every thing is liable to abuse4 ,i know that there are instances in the ,south of great neglect of the slaves1 both of their moral and physical condition4 ,the same may be said of individuals at the ,north4 ,superiors often neglect their inferiors1 and that1 in many instances1 to a very culpable degree4 ,i know no efficient remedy for this1 but that which the diffusion of a pure ,christianity is calculated to afford4 ,if any complain of these neglects in a captious spirit1 we have nothing to hope from them4 ,but from those who claim to be sincere1 we have a right to expect an active and hearty cooperation in diffusing ,christianity1 as the only thing calculated to afford a remedy4 ,but it is said that a feature of the system1 as established by law1 necessarily produces this result3 that is1 the law which excludes the ,african from the benefits of school instruction4 ,the term necessarily is in this instance certainly misapplied4 ,the barbarism in question is not the result of this law1 necessarily1 or otherwise4 ,it existed originally4 ,it still exists1 and to a great extent1 though greatly modified2 and in the present circumstances of the race1 an authorized system of school instruction would cause it to continue to exist1 and perhaps in a much greater degree than it now does1 and for a longer time than it promises to do under the present system4 ,if this be so1 it is the semi-barbarism that creates the necessity for the law1 and not the law that makes the barbarism the necessary result4 ,an unwieldy mass of semi-barbarism dwelling in the midst of a civilized community1 with whom they cannot amalgamate by intermarriage1 will1 at all times1 require a peculiar system of appliances for their improvement1 so as to make it consistent with the common welfare4 ,the principle of slavery must1 of course1 be kept in vigorous operation1 and the means of improvement be wisely adapted to the state of the pupil4 ,otherwise1 there may not only be a very improvident expenditure of means1 but the most disastrous results4 ,the horn-book might be a valuable agent in the hands of a child1 but the instruments and agents in a chemical laboratory might prove its ruin4 ,should the time ever arrive 7which in the opinion of some will be the case1 at some distant day7 when the progress of ,african civilization will justify it2 and when an asylum in ,africa is provided for them--together with the means of their removal in large numbers--,i have no doubt that a system of popular education would not only be indicated as proper1 but afford one of the most brilliant fields for the display of public and of individual benevolence1 that has ever yet presented itself in behalf of that degraded race4 ,but what ,i have to say of this hypothesis is1 that if it ever should1 the generations--both ,north and ,south--that may then live1 ,i have no doubt1 will have both sagacity enough to perceive it1 and benevolence enough to improve it to the mutual advantage of themselves and the ,african race4 ,but it is very evident that neither of these conditions has been fulfilled as yet4 ,in this state of things1 it cannot be supposed that the ,southern people are prepared for any enterprise of the kind4 ,i cannot imagine that any public movement1 having for its object the instruction of the blacks in reading and writing1 could be made without involving the most disastrous results4 ,let us suppose that a majority in our legislative councils were in favor of such a measure1 and were actually to tax the people to support a system of primary education for the blacks3 any man would certainly be excessively stupid who would not allow that a minority would1 at all times1 7in the present state of public experience17 exist1 who deemed the law sufficiently oppressive to justify repudiation and physical resistance4 ,if this object were sought to be accomplished by individual enterprise1 the results could scarcely be less embarrassing4 ,this will readily appear2 for it would have to be effected either in the common schools of the country1 or by the establishment of separate schools for the ,africans4 ,but ,i am not aware that the former is allowed to any material extent even in the free ,states1 where certainly1 if the scheme were practicable1 the free blacks might be educated in the same schools with the whites4 ,the usage of civilization1 which denies them a social footing in so many other respects1 must1 of course1 so far deny them this privilege as to render the scheme mainly ineffectual in the accomplishment of good1 or the usage is singularly inconsistent with itself4 ,and can it be supposed that such a scheme would operate better in the ,south1 where the reasons against it are a thousand-fold stronger1 growing out of the large number of the ,african population8 ,certainly nothing could be more utopian than an enterprise of this kind4 ,public opinion would scarcely be sufficiently divided to justify even the wildest schemer in making a serious attempt to effect it4 ,the latter plan might perhaps be attempted1 but1 on account of the evils it would involve1 it would still be subject to impassable objections4 ,slaves1 though not owned by the poor1 are held for the most part by farmers and planters whose pecuniary circumstances are what is called moderate4 ,there are exceptions4 ,occasionally1 they are held by men of wealth2 but in the older ,states particularly1 7and of these ,i speak from personal knowledge17 the great mass of those who own them cannot be said1 in any popular sense of the term1 to be rich4 ,now1 the habits of half-labor1 as any ,northern man would regard them1 in which the slaves are usually indulged1 would put it quite out of the power of most of slave-owners to afford the necessary support for such schools1 however favorable they might be to the scheme4 ,withal1 there is but little if any room to doubt that a great many1 both among the rich as well as the poor1 would oppose the measure1 for what appeared to them reasons of sound policy4 ,this would leave the scheme to be supported entirely by the few rich men1 whose benevolence might lead them to overlook the strong popular objections against it4 ,it requires no particular sagacity to foresee the practical mischiefs which would attend the efforts of a few rich men who might attempt to override the popular feeling on a subject of this kind4 ,public opinion would put it down6 ,this would be the end of it in one direction1 but not in another4 ,the whole movement would be attended1 from first to last1 with an irritation of the public mind in the highest degree unfavorable1 and1 indeed1 dangerous to the peace and prosperity of the commonwealth4 ,all irritations of the public mind in regard to the blacks1 it is well known1 result injuriously to them1 generally abridging them of their civil privileges and social comforts4 ,in this instance1 viewing the subject as a practical question1 ,i cannot see that it would be attended with a single redeeming virtue1 so far as the blacks are concerned4 ,but to place it in the most favorable light1 let us suppose that1 by some means1 one or the other of these plans had actually gone into operation--which1 by the way1 can scarcely be conceived to be possible in the present state of society--and had already made a decided impression upon the public mind of the ,africans4 ,even in this case it would still be liable to strong and impassable objections4 ,it would be educating them in advance of their circumstances and prospects4 ,in their circumstances1 it would be even more objectionable than it could be to take the time and labor of a white youth1 which 7we will also suppose7 were required for the immediate support of himself and of those depending upon his labor1 and educate him for the learned pursuits of a ,newton or a ,macaulay1 whilst at the same time1 for causes beyond his control1 he was doomed for the remainder of his days to work in the mines of ,cornwall or ,chesterfield1 by the light of ,sir ,humphrey ,davy's lamp6 ,no one of the important objects of so high an education is accessible to him4 ,the least part of the objection to such a course as this is1 that it would be a useless expenditure of time and labor4 ,but the reason is much stronger in the case of the ,african4 ,the civil offices are all closed against him4 ,no one of the learned professions is open to him4 ,the law of caste which forbids his amalgamation bars him out from every thing of the kind4 ,he is doomed to occupy1 so long as he remains in the midst of a white community1 the position of an inferior4 ,god himself has so ordered it4 ,the bold line of distinction he has drawn between the races1 is fully declarative of his will4 ,he only can reverse the decree1 8,the ,ethiopian cannot change his skin10 any more than 8the leopard can change his spots40 ,in this state of facts1 would not the public mind--whose decisions must be authoritative in the settlement of such a question--very naturally inquire for the good that it was thought might result from so material a change in the circumstances of the institution8 ,and is it not obvious that no answer could be given that would insure satisfaction8 ,no power of eloquence with which it is competent to enforce the claims of education1 could possibly move the public mind from the sober conviction that the advantages and privileges of education1 so necessary to a state of civil liberty1 and so appropriate in other respects to that state1 could not1 with any degree of propriety1 be demanded in behalf of a necessary condition of slavery6 ,thus far1 the principles of political economy1 alone considered1 would1 in the public estimation1 fully settle this question4 ,but this is not all4 ,the question has much graver aspects than money can possibly give it4 ,the effect of generally enlisting the ,african mind in literary pursuits and inquiries1 is too obvious either to be overlooked or slightly regarded4 ,a state of popular disquietude must inevitably result1 and this1 too1 at a time when the door of ,providence remains effectually closed against his release from slavery and his removal to ,africa4 ,this disquietude could not fail to lead to many fanatical and fruitless attempts to effect a change in the political condition of the race4 ,such a state of popular solicitude among the blacks would of course be followed by much greater solicitude and even irritation on the part of the whites4 ,so potent a cause would certainly precipitate its appropriate results4 ,the oppressive and1 in some respects1 the savage laws by which ancient ,sparta1 ,greece1 and ,rome governed their slaves--some of whom were highly educated men--would of necessity be reenacted in this country4 ,our present mild form of slavery would be substituted by a form of oppression unknown to the history of this country1 even in the most barbarous condition of the ,african race4 ,and thus would end the chapter of abolition benevolence in behalf of the ,african race in the ,united ,states4 ,in view of these considerations1 the policy of the ,south on this subject1 allow me to affirm1 is founded no less in benevolence to the ,african and the peace of the commonwealth1 than in the soundest principles of political economy4 ,it relies upon the domestic element of the system of slavery1 as the natural1 the only safe1 and ultimately the effectual means of the intellectual and moral elevation of the ,african--so far as any means can be effectual in the accomplishment of that object4 #a4 ,it is the natural way--that is1 the way adapted to their condition as an inferior and naturally distinct race1 who1 both on account of the physical facts which constitute them a distinct race1 and the low state of civilization 7if it may be called civilization at all7 which they have yet been able to attain1 should not be admitted to a social footing by intermarriage with the superior race4 ,in a former lecture1 it was demonstrated that an uncivilized race1 dwelling in the midst of a civilized community1 had no right to social equality1 and1 for a still stronger reason1 no right to political sovereignty in such a community4 ,it was also shown that their natural rights entitled them to protection1 and reasonable provision for their improvement1 and1 as in the case of minors1 to such 8authoritative control0 as is best calculated to preserve their power of self-action--their power of volition--from that enslavement to the baser passions of depraved nature1 which is destructive of all true liberty1 and the most degraded and ruinous form of slavery--subjection to the devil2 in comparison with which1 a physical subjection to a fellow-man1 in civilized life1 with a power1 defined by law1 only to control his time and labor to a reasonable extent1 is a paradise4 ,these--we of the ,south say--are their natural rights--the good to which they are entitled in virtue of their humanity4 ,now as these rights are in their nature relative1 they imply the duty on the part of the civilized race amongst whom1 in the providence of ,god1 they dwell1 to afford them both the protection and control in question4 ,their ,,duty1 in these respects1 is clearly reciprocal with the rights of the ,africans4 ,they can no more omit these duties to the blacks with impunity1 than they can do so to the minors and imbeciles of their own race4 ,now what form of control will more naturally or appropriately fulfil the conditions of this problem8 ,they are to exercise the sovereign control3 all political freedom is denied the blacks by their condition4 ,they have no right to it4 ,it is not1 to them1 the essential good4 ,their rights lie1 as in the case of imbeciles of any other race1 in being governed1 not in governing themselves1 in those matters which constitute the objects of civil government4 ,to exercise this sovereign control of the blacks1 and at the same time afford them the protection and improvement which are appropriate to a necessary condition of slavery1 or state of subjection to such sovereign control1 is the solemn duty of the superior race4 ,the position here advocated is1 that the domestic element of the present system in operation amongst us1 affords a more perfect guaranty that all the conditions of this problem will be fulfilled1 than could be effected by any other system1 or by the proposed modification of the present system4 ,the element in question constitutes for them an invaluable school of instruction--a school in which both the mental and moral nature is developed4 ,a school for the formal instruction of the blacks in letters1 we have seen would operate only to defeat the end proposed by its establishment4 ,to govern and protect them1 and at the same time make them useful to themselves and to society1 by a system of military police1 could find but few if any advocates1 even among the visionary4 ,but what more natural than to accomplish all these objects1 by a system which distributes them in small numbers through the different families of civilized life8 ,here they are brought into immediate connection with much that is calculated to develop the mind1 cultivate the moral sense1 and train the will to the habit of obedience to its high behests4 ,the law confers upon the head of the family the same right to direct and appropriate the time and labor of the blacks1 that he enjoys in the case of his children--and no more4 ,the period of time to which this authority extends1 differs in the one case from that of the other2 but this is the only difference known to the law4 ,great abuses of this authority sometimes occur in the case of the blacks2 but the same is occasionally true of parental authority in all parts of the civilized world4 ,the former may furnish a fit theme for the perverted genius of ,mrs4 ,harriet ,stowe4 ,the fruit of such a genius may have a poetry--of its kind2 but it can lay claim to neither philosophy nor common sense4 ,the same force of logic which is hurled against the authority of the master1 rakes the authority of the parent in the line of its fire1 with an effect no less destructive4 ,both are equally necessary2 both are equally protected by law2 and both are open to great abuses4 ,the poetry which invests these abuses with the show of argument against the authority of the master may cater to the corrupt taste of both the 8great vulgar0 and the 8little vulgar20 but it is the same cormorant appetite which is fed1 that leads the mere 8readers and cipherers0 of the land to turn aside from those valuable productions so appropriate to their real wants1 and delight themselves in tragic stories of murder1 arson1 and rape1 from the perusal of which they rise with passions inflamed to crusade against the morals of society4 ,christianity sternly rebukes the abuses complained of2 and equally condemns that perversion of genius which employs those abuses to corrupt the public taste and the public morals4 ,as far as ,christianity prevails1 the civil law which requires humanity in the exercise of domestic authority1 no less in the case of the slave than in the case of the child or the apprentice1 is sanctioned1 and1 in cases demanding it1 is duly enforced by public opinion and sentiment4 ,in all communities in which ,christianity is the presiding influence1 ,african slavery must1 therefore1 be a mild form of domestic servitude4 ,it even contributes in a measure to a knowledge of letters4 ,many servants are raised by their associations with civilized life to a desire to read the word of ,god4 ,the domestic relation often supplies them with the means of gratifying this desire4 ,many pious slaves read the word of ,god as a part of their family worship2 and instances are not wanting of those of whom it may be said1 they 8are mighty in the ,scriptures40 ,such are the tendencies and capabilities of domestic slavery as a system recognized by law2 and apart from those abuses which all good men deplore--no less in the case of the slave than in the case of the child and the apprentice1 who are no further protected from inhumanity by the provisions of law than is the slave4 ,hence this system is the natural way of protecting1 improving1 and governing the ,african for the mutual benefit of society4 ,it is evidently indicated by ,providence4 ,no other can be appropriate to a mass of population who can never be politically free in our midst1 for the reason that1 in the order of ,divine ,providence1 they never can amalgamate with us4 ,but it is1 #b4 ,the only safe way4 ,it is slow1 it is true1 but it is for that reason only the more safe4 ,its effects are1 for the most part1 without observation4 ,hence1 it produces no irritation of the public mind4 ,it develops the law of sympathy on both sides in the ratio in which it unfolds the intellectual and moral nature of the subordinate race4 ,it raises no visionary and fanatical hopes in the one1 nor excites any morbid fears in the other4 ,i say1 its results march forward without observation4 ,a revenue tariff1 for example1 affords a full support to the government by a virtual tax upon the pockets of the people2 and it does this at a time when they would not for a moment consent to pay that tax1 if it were made a direct tax1 to be collected by the authority of an exciseman4 ,so1 without observation1 the domestic element of slavery is accomplishing its results1 with equal safety4 ,or1 more in point1 perhaps1 it is like the 8kingdom of heaven10 which 8comes without observation40 ,the 8kingdom of heaven10 in the form of principles1 diffuses itself through the mass of society1 and ultimately works1 as a legitimate result1 the boldest political revolutions4 ,but by diffusing itself quietly1 or 8without observation10 it prepares the public mind for its changes in the exact ratio in which it effects them2 and thus accomplishes that1 by the popular will1 the attempt to do which in another way would have razed the foundations of civil society1 and closed the history of civilization for ages to come4 ,so1 this divine agent--for such ,i must consider it--is working constant changes4 ,it is daily modifying the features of the system1 and so developing the moral character of the ,african1 as to throw him up1 by successive steps1 higher and still higher on the scale of civilization4 ,but this it does so quietly1 because naturally1 that it actually works a specific result on the masters1 and accomplishes its objects by the consent of their wills and their own active coperation4 ,all this1 we see1 is effected with entire safety4 ,even in those instances--and they are numerous--in which the working of the domestic element of the system results in teaching the ,african to read1 we are not aware that it involves1 or even threatens1 society1 with any of those evils which it is so obvious a more formal system of school instruction would precipitate4 ,slaves who are below a certain point in civilization1 cannot be induced1 by any of the influences employed by young masters and mistresses1 7and they are often specific17 to deal with the task of learning to read4 ,only those who are so far raised in the scale of civilization as to have awakened in them a hallowed desire to learn more of the will of ,god1 and their duty as ,christians1 ever avail themselves of the opportunities afforded them by their domestic relations1 and learn to read4 ,these devote a portion of their spare hours to reading the ,bible2 and a pious ,african1 who reads his ,bible1 is always known and appreciated as a better servant1 as well as a better man4 ,he enjoys the respect and confidence of his owner1 and is highly appreciated by all the family4 ,i have often known the prayer of such a slave to be more relied on in times of domestic affliction than that of any minister whose services could be commanded4 ,but1 more than this1 the results which have been brought to view are not only effected with safety1 but also with a high degree of satisfaction to the owners4 ,everywhere families may be met with1 who will call your attention with hallowed satisfaction to what they have done for the improvement or comfort of their slaves4 ,but it will be found that this very good is just such that if you had attempted to effect it by other means than the quiet influences of the domestic element of this system1 you would1 by a universal law of our nature--self-preservation--have converted each of those families into a kind of ,roman amphitheatre1 and made the unhappy slaves the chief victims of your rashness4 ,hence1 it is not without the gravest reasons that the intelligence of the ,south rebukes the fanatical spirit of abolitionists1 with the most solemn assurances that they know not the things whereof they speak1 when they urge upon the ,southern people the duty of schooling and emancipating their slaves4 #c4 ,but ,i also affirm that the feature of the system under consideration will ultimately effect the moral elevation of the ,african1 so far as any means can be effectual in the accomplishment of this object1 whilst he remains in the bosom of a community with which he cannot be admitted to a social footing4 ,so unobserved is the influence of this element1 that ,i find but few1 even among intelligent and practical men1 who1 before their attention is particularly called to the subject1 are aware of what it has already effected4 ,but in numerous public addresses in the ,states of ,virginia and ,north ,carolina1 ,i have appealed to the oldest and most observant men in large assemblies1 and in no instance have ,i met with a single individual who did not concur in my statement that the present race of ,africans were very materially improved1 both in their moral and physical condition1 above what they were some twenty or forty years ago1 and that the change has been much greater with the slaves than with the free colored population4 ,now1 it is obvious that this improvement will continue to go on1 and in an increasing ratio4 ,on the same principle that labor applied to capital is productive in an increasing ratio1 the means in operation for the improvement of the ,african will greatly accelerate his progress4 ,hence1 some future period will present a generation of ,africans highly improved above what they are now4 ,consequently1 there will arrive1 at some distant day1 a period at which this people will have reached that point of moral progress at which they will be capable of appreciating1 and1 in a suitable physical condition1 adapting them to social equality1 will be prepared to occupy and wisely improve1 the privileges of civil liberty4 ,it is on this principle that the laws of all civilized ,states confer the privilege of political freedom on the descendants of their free citizens4 ,at the age of twenty-one they are made politically free4 ,the law assumes1 what is found generally to be true1 that previously to this period they are incapable of using this privilege to the advantage of themselves and of the community2 but that1 at this age1 their capacities are sufficiently developed to make a proper use of this privilege2 and as neither their physical condition nor any accidents of their position operate as a bar to their social equality with other free citizens1 it is conferred on them4 ,by analogy1 therefore1 we may infer1 that when the ,african in ,america shall have reached a similar moral state1 and when his physical condition and the accidents of his position shall fit him for social equality with other free citizens1 a similar right of political freedom will inure to him4 ,it will be to him the right--that is1 the good--which ought to be allowed him4 ,to withhold it would be despotism4 ,now1 the former condition of this problem1 his moral state in this country at some future day may fulfil2 but that the latter can never be fulfilled in this country is obvious from the facts and reasonings already adduced4 ,but when in future time his state shall fulfil the first condition1 it is a grave question which we may safely anticipate1 whether it will not be the duty of the superior race amongst whom the ,africans now dwell1 to remove them to a land where they can enjoy social equality4 ,we hazard nothing in deciding this question in the affirmative4 ,rights and duties are reciprocal4 ,then whatever it shall be the right of the ,african to claim of their superiors1 it will be their duty to confer4 ,that they would be entitled to removal in large numbers1 will appear--#a4 ,they will have contributed largely to develop the resources of the country1 as the price of their civilization4 #b4 ,it would be to them the good1 without which their civilization could but partially avail them4 ,hence1 it would be the duty of their superiors to remove them in such numbers as their means of doing so might allow4 ,but more than this1 it would be a duty which they owed themselves1 even if they were under no obligations to the inferior race4 ,for when a numerous population in our midst1 though confessedly inferior1 shall arise to the moral condition defined1 the difficulties attending their longer continuance in a state of slavery1 domestic or otherwise1 will be far too great to justify the experiment4 ,hence ,i have long thought that there was usually a very unnecessary expenditure of sympathy on behalf of certain enslaved nations of ,europe1 as well as the ,african of this country4 ,a nation1 the masses of whom have arisen to the moral condition of freedom1 will assert their political rights2 and they will usually do it on practicable grounds4 ,it is only at this point that they challenge public sympathy4 ,for the mind was never before sufficiently free to make their situation an oppressive one1 assuming that their rulers do not abuse their power4 ,before this period1 their rights lay in being governed--not in governing4 ,political freedom would be as dangerous intrusted to them1 as a razor would be in the hands of a child1 and should1 for the same general reasons1 be withheld from them4 ,but withheld by whom8 asks the philosophy of ,dr4 ,wayland4 ,i answer1 ,by those who have the intelligence to do it4 ,both the principle of benevolence and the law of reciprocity require this2 and that intelligence which imposes this duty1 can never fail to supply the means for the restraint of brute force4 ,of the truth of this general position no people appear to be more sensible than the aristocracy of ,europe4 ,de ,tocqueville clearly asserts this on their behalf1 when he states that the object of his tour through the ,united ,states arose from the necessity of becoming acquainted with the spirit and character of democracy1 that a proper direction might be given to it in ,europe4 ,to direct it wisely might be done2 but to crush it was utterly impossible4 ,now if this author be correct in supposing that the spirit of democracy is truly awake among the masses of ,european population1 and that consequently they are asserting their right to freedom--not from the abuse of legitimate power1 which calls for reform merely1 but from the power itself1 which their improved moral and social condition has rendered no longer appropriate1 and which1 therefore1 they now sensibly feel to be an oppression1 calling for revolution--they are following the indications of nature1 and there is no power in those nations that can shut the door of ,providence against them4 ,an obedient child will cheerfully submit to the reasonable though stringent despotism exercised over him by his parent1 and even look back upon it in after life with the highest pleasure4 ,nevertheless1 on reaching his maturity1 he will refuse to submit to it any longer1 and even feel an attempt to force it upon him as an oppression too intolerable to be borne4 ,so1 by parity of reasoning1 will the masses of these nations demand an entire abolition of the existing modes of government1 and claim such as are adapted to their state of maturity4 ,but1 on the other hand1 if the movements in question are the work of only a few master-spirits who have mistaken the actual condition of the masses1 who have not yet risen to the moral condition of freedom1 they will be found to be fighting against ,god4 ,the door of his providence is closed against them4 ,there are no means in the compass of their power by which they can force an entrance through this door4 ,they may shed oceans of blood1 but it shall not avail4 ,so1 in the former case1 the aristocracy may exhaust alike their treasures and their diplomatic resources1 but it can only be to fill the land with desolation and mourning4 ,the enlightened popular mind and will must prevail4 8,verily10 a premature resistance in either case 8has its reward0--great suffering1 and a vast accumulation of guilt1 but not success4 ,these principles are not without their application to the ,africans in this country4 ,should the remote period arrive when the state of the ,africans fulfils the first condition of the problem laid down1 they will certainly feel their political condition in this country to be an oppressive one1 and1 if necessary1 assert their right to remove4 ,i say1 assert their right to remove2 for in the mental condition assumed1 they would have far too much good sense to do what many less qualified to judge than they would then be have done--ask for political equality amongst a people with whom they could never be on a footing of social equality4 ,i am equally satisfied that they would be under no necessity to ask this4 ,the intelligence and virtue1 no less than the interest1 of that age1 will forestall such a necessity1 by the measures which justice and humanity will dictate as proper to meet the circumstances of the case4 ,for my own part1 ,i have no doubt that1 under that wise superintending ,providence which has so signally marked the progress of ,african civilization1 by introducing so large a portion of the race into this country1 that distant day1 when it arrives1 will provide for itself4 ,anxious solicitude on the part of the present age is not demanded4 ,neither the intelligence nor the benevolence of that remote age will be unequal to the task of providing for the necessities of its times4 ,already1 indeed1 8coming events cast their shadows before40 ,the elements have been long combining1 both to usher in and to dispose of those events4 ,the domestic element of slavery is1 as we have seen1 quietly and effectually doing its work4 ,god is raising up a vast government on the coast of ,africa1 which promises to reach a respectable station among the civilized nations of the earth--in moral and physical resources4 ,in the progress of events1 there is no ground to doubt that the abolition spirit1 abroad in so large a portion of our country1 will have had its day1 and run its course through all the usual stages and phases of fanaticism1 and1 giving place to a sounder philanthropy and a purer benevolence1 those who now advocate it will be prepared to unite with the philosophy of the ,south1 and availing themselves of the vast resources of this great country1 and of those of the new government in ,africa1 will transport large numbers to a community in which their social equality will enable them to enjoy the freedom for which they were fitted in this country4 ,many of those who remain will1 no doubt1 amalgamate with the whites1 however it may be in violation of the laws of civilization4 ,those barriers which free-soilism is now erecting on our ,southern border1 will ultimately yield to a sounder policy1 and many of our slaves will find their way to the remote ,south1 where the state of civilization will admit of a more general amalgamation1 and be lost in the ,mexican races2 whilst the remainder--perhaps a large number--will continue in the ,united ,states1 but in a highly improved condition1 and under a form of civil government which will not be felt by them as a political oppression1 and continue to bless the country4 ,i have no idea that the race will ever become extinct in this country1 or cease to exist under a subordinate government of some kind4 ,i would not claim entire accuracy for these views of the distant future2 but of their general accuracy ,i have no doubt4 ,future history will1 doubtless1 challenge the gratitude of the ,christian world for that wonderful providence by which the residence of the ,african in this country was made as the sojourn of ,joseph in ,egypt4 ,as ,god sent him before his brethren 8to preserve life10 so it will be found that he permitted the introduction of the pagan ,african into this country1 that he might be raised by contact with civilization1 redeemed by the genius of the gospel1 and returned to bless his kindred and his country4 ,thus all ,africa shall1 sooner or later1 share the blessings of civilization and religion4 ,i am not able to see any thing that can or will embarrass the progress of this great work1 but the spirit of a premature abolition4 ,the doctrines of emancipation and school instruction may keep up an irritated state of the public mind1 that must act as a serious check to the civilizing tendencies of the domestic element of the system2 for the long-continued agitation of these questions may excite fanatical aspirants to attempt to pass limits which ,god has declared to be impassable--that is1 to procure political freedom for a people who are not prepared for it1 and that in the midst of another people with whom they can never generally amalgamate4 ,all attempts of this sort1 it is well known1 are extremely hurtful to the progress of the ,african in civilization4 ,every consideration1 therefore1 of policy and of humanity forbids that these doctrines should receive the slightest encouragement from an enlightened people4 ,the race is not prepared for the operation of either of these schemes4 ,no better evidence need be required by those not personally acquainted with the character of the ,africans1 than the fact that they have never once attempted to assert a right to political freedom4 ,the fact that1 nowhere throughout the ,southern ,states1 can it be said of even a respectable minority of the race1 that they have given the slightest indication of such a disposition1 is proof that they have not yet risen to that mental state1 and hence are not entitled to the political privileges which are appropriate to it4 ,it is vain to point to the few attempts at local insurrection which have occurred4 ,the highest conception which the masses have ever yet formed of political freedom is simply liberty to do nothing4 ,to win this cherished object of barbarism--not of civilization--a bare handful1 on a few occasions1 have concocted plans as hopeless as the spirit in which they were conceived was barbarian1 and as visionary as the dreams of ,miller that he could make an intelligent ,christian people believe his vagaries2 or the leaders of the ,mormon folly and wickedness1 that they could impose their grossly stupid imposture upon the civilized world4 ,in view1 therefore1 of these facts and reasonings1 we conclude that the ,southern people are not obnoxious to the charge of keeping the ,africans in a state of barbarism1 by their policy1 either on the subject of emancipation or of school instruction2 but that they are following the indications of ,divine ,providence1 and serving the cause of humanity in the civilization of the ,african in ,america1 and the redemption of his fatherland4 ,,lecture ,,xii4 ,,the ,,conservative ,,influence ,,of ,,the ,,african ,,population ,,of ,,the ,,south4 ,preliminary remarks--,american party--,the present and prospective condition of our country--,the large number of voters in the free-soil ,states who will be under a foreign influence1 political and religious1 inducing them to discard the ,bible and the right of private judgment--,the freedom of the ,southern ,states from this anti-,christian and anti-republican influence--,the presence of the ,african race in the ,southern ,states secures them this advantage--,the unpatriotic policy of free-soilism ,we have seen that nowhere throughout the ,south have the masses of our ,african population given evidence of the first intelligent conception of political freedom4 ,as to insurrections1 we are freer from their disturbing influences than are the communities of many of the ,northern ,states from the progress of a no less dangerous influence--the agrarian spirit which pervades a somewhat similar portion of society4 ,we of the ,south fear them less2 and we have less cause to fear them4 ,on this score they make a useless expenditure of sympathy on our behalf4 ,it may be demonstrated that1 without a singular interposition of ,divine ,providence1 the ,south 7using the term1 as ,i generally do1 for all those ,states which maintain the system of domestic slavery7 will1 ere long1 be called upon to protect the liberties of the ,north from the progress of agrarianism1 whilst there is not the remotest probability that these will ever be called on to protect the ,south from the insurrectionary movements of their blacks4 ,i repeat--no6 no people in the whole country who fill the menial offices of society are more contented than our blacks1 or as much so4 ,there are none who less feel their condition to be oppressive1 or who have as little cause to feel it so4 ,in discussing the proposition enunciated1 it is proper to premise1 that if ,i should be found to agree to any extent with the 8,american party10 whose 8councils0 are now attracting so much attention1 as to the accumulation of a dangerous influence in the country1 ,i find the chief remedy 7whatever may or may not be true of those proposed by this party7 in a providential arrangement which seems not so much to have engaged public attention4 ,i propose to submit a brief sketch of the present and prospective condition of our country4 ,we live in a country of vast geographical extent4 ,a large portion of it is uninhabited4 ,it is1 however1 rapidly filling up4 ,immigrants from every section of the civilized world are rapidly arriving in our eastern cities1 and spreading to remote sections of our republic3 men of every conceivable variety of taste1 disposition1 and opinion1 both in politics and in religion4 ,the fertility and abundance of our soil1 and the variety of our staple articles of produce1 have attracted universal activity and enterprise4 ,to compare the civilized world to one vast city1 our republic seems destined to become the great market or business-street of it4 ,here1 all is bustle and activity4 ,nowhere on the face of the globe is so much energy of character displayed4 ,no attentive observer can fail to perceive the tendency of all this to call off the mind from those moral and intellectual pursuits that so eminently fit men for the sober duties of life and the felicities of heaven4 ,the public mind is already kept in a state of most unnatural excitement1 stimulated in the highest degree to the pursuits of wealth and political distinction1 to the almost entire neglect of every other interest4 ,this is daily becoming the supreme attraction1 to which the popular impulse yields as readily as the unfortunate ship obeys the resistless circles of the maelstrom4 ,thus far1 it is true1 we have succeeded to 8lay that broad foundation of modern society which promises the noble superstructure of rational liberty4 ,but regarding the tendencies of this restless people1 looking at the growth of our own improvidence1 and at the copious additions which overstocked and perishing ,europe is daily sending us1 in multiplied forms of ignorance and superstition1 insomuch that in many respects in our ,northern ,states our republican fabric is fast changing and passing away before our very eyes1 who can exult in the certainty of success6 ,who will not despair1 except so far as he may be sanguine that a tone and energy of moral effort is put forth1 equal to that which achieved our national liberties6 ,for if this be not done1 in a day we may go down into hopeless bondage6 ,the physical battle of our liberties has been fought and won1 and we are fast rushing up to unparalleled eminence2 but from this dizzy height1 if we be not sustained by some conservative power1 we shall go down in a moment to the degradation of slavery4 ,for let it be remembered that whilst liberty may be achieved by the sword1 it cannot be maintained by the sword4 ,enlightened principles and moral excellence alone can maintain the liberty that force achieves40 ,i say nothing of that large class of foreign population whose education and pecuniary resources enable them to come among us from a choice of our institutions1 and the other means of happiness which this great country affords4 ,i bid them all welcome4 ,they add alike to the permanency and strength of our institutions4 ,nor do ,i say any thing against that unfortunate multitude which accompanies these1 whose ignorance and vice compel them1 reluctantly or not1 to seek their bread in our fruitful country4 ,so far as we may be able to receive them1 ,i rejoice that we have a home for them4 ,but it is obvious that our safety can be found only in our ability to absorb them into our political body1 and impart our character to them2 and in those providential arrangements which shall sustain us through the protracted process4 ,without these1 there is no ground to hope for success4 ,for what power is that which 7in the language of another7 8has been fitly styled the #8terror of ,europe'--the power that has sent earthquake after earthquake1 rolling under the deep foundations of governments1 till they have rocked to their basis1 and tottered to their fall8 ,it is the order1 or rather the mass of vicious ignorance and poverty which has there accumulated for ages40 ,this maniac power must continue to work its extended desolations in ,europe1 except so far as it may be enervated by expanding on the wilderness of ,north ,america4 ,it is fortunate for ,europe that this enfeebling process is rapidly going forward2 but it is most unfortunate for us that we are destined soon to concentrate a power which ,europe is so happily expanding4 ,we are destined1 ere long1 to become a great manufacturing1 as well as commercial and agricultural people4 ,our condition is soon to condense millions into cities and manufacturing districts1 where1 as in ,europe1 from the class of population flowing in upon us1 a distinct class of menial poverty will be formed1 8imbecile of mind1 and inapt but for one employment40#f #f ,some years ago1 a pamphlet fell into my hands1 written by some one whose name1 if ,i ever knew it1 ,i have forgotten4 ,i think it likely that this language1 or much of it1 is to be credited to that pamphlet4 ,nor is this all4 ,it lays no claim to prophetic honor to venture the prediction1 that the youth of our country who shall survive the next half century1 will witness that which many will not believe1 8though a man declare it unto them40 ,but reasoning from the past1 or from well-established principles of political economy1 it is morally certain that our present population of twenty-three millions will then have swelled to near one hundred millions4 8,agriculture1 commerce1 and manufactures will have expanded their resources and powers of production to an inconceivable extent4 ,the various portions of our country will be linked together by railroads1 canals10 telegraphic wires1 and by some other--,god knows what6--as yet undiscovered means of connection4 ,already1 the cities of our ,atlantic coast converse freely1 by means of 8lightning post-boys10 with their next-door neighbors--the cities of the great ,mississippi valley6 8,flourishing cities are now lifting their spires in the hitherto pathless wilds of ,iowa1 ,oregon10 and ,california1 and will soon be in telegraphic connection with those of the ,east4 ,who can doubt that in less than ten years the prediction of an eminent son of ,virginia1 ,j4 ,e4 ,heath1 ,esq41 will be verified3 8,american steamships from the cities of our ,western coast shall strike off in the path of the setting sun1 and following that burning luminary where he dips his glowing axle in the waters of the ,pacific1 return in the short space of thirty or forty days1 laden with the commerce and population of ,china1 and the isles of the remotest ,west60#g #g ,literary ,messenger4 ,can any man doubt the political and commercial changes that will then follow throughout the civilized world8 ,but who can estimate the extent of these changes8 ,who can tell the result upon the political and moral destiny of this great country8 ,who can tell the end of that commercial revolution by which a large portion of the tea trade of ,china1 now in the hands of that greatest of all monopolies--the ,british ,east ,india ,company1 contributing largely to the support of the ,british government--shall be transferred to ,american bottoms1 and flow into this country through our cities on the ,pacific coast6 ,already the walls of pagan ,china have bowed to the thunder of ,british cannon1 and the deep foundations of her ancient government are destined at no distant day to yield alike to ,american enterprise and ,american liberty4 ,thousands of her perishing population--indeed1 already they come6--shall1 ere long1 flow in from the ,west1 and meet the vast tide of papal superstition and vice that has been long setting in from ,europe on the east4 ,i am free to own that ,i contemplate this period with profound amazement6 ,i know not the extent of the vision that confounds me4 ,and when ,i turn my eyes to the canvas of ,divine inspiration1 and decipher its unerring pencillings1 ,i cannot doubt that the strange elements that even now are so rapidly combining1 and that are soon to concentrate the maddened powers of pagan ignorance1 and papal superstition and vice1 in the heart of this republic1 are1 ere long1 to make my native land the great theatre of those eventful battles--the conflicts of truth and error in both politics and religion--so graphically described in the apocalyptic vision of ,john4 ,and as ,i believe in the truth of the prophecy1 and confide in the promise of ,heaven1 ,i cannot doubt the result4 ,but mark you1 8the peril of our condition--the peril of that state of things on which our children may be but just entering60 ,this conflict is to be the more or less fierce1 the more or less disastrous to those who shall immediately sustain its calamities1 as they shall be the more or less prepared for it4 ,and what are the great agencies that shall prepare us for a successful conflict8 ,what is it that shall give comparative mildness to this great moral and perhaps physical conflict that awaits our children1 or the want of which shall arm it with all the terrors of a barbarous warfare8 ,but one answer can be given to these questions4 ,the general education of the sovereigns of the land1 and the conservative influence of our institutions1 or perdition1 is the alternative4 ,upon the importance of the great educational movement of the country1 ,i need not remark just now2 nor need we notice in this connection the conservative influence of our free institutions1 or rather the tendency of the great principle of liberty1 7as embodied in our civil and religious institutions17 which1 with all true ,americans1 is a kind of instinctive belief1 to diffuse itself through the mass of society4 ,the two together may justly be regarded as forming a bulwark of ,american liberty1 upon which the intelligent mind of the country may repose with great confidence4 ,but still1 history scarcely leaves us room to doubt that a politico-religious priesthood1 firmly established in the superstitious devotions of a strong minority even of menials1 who at the same time are political sovereigns1 presents fearful odds in the strife of principles with the 8man of sin40 ,nor need we be surprised at this4 ,a large mass of our population--however they may constitute but a minority of the whole population--have been educated from their cradles in the firm belief that it is a sin1 involving the damnation of the soul1 to read ,god's word1 or to exercise private judgment upon any matters which such a priesthood may choose to affirm are taught therein1 and who are equally established in a superstitious opinion and feeling of devotion and submission1 not only to its right to decide all such matters1 but also its authority to punish with the highest spiritual torments all who shall heretically disregard its decisions4 ,this power has proved itself an overmatch for the genius of liberty in the states of ,europe4 ,thrones and kingdoms have fallen before it4 ,to this day the despots of ,europe hold their sceptres in virtue of a league with it4 ,louis ,napoleon exercises despotic sway over a large portion of as free a people in their opinions and sentiments on all subjects without the range of priestly dictation and dogmatism as can be found on the globe4 ,but how does he do it8 ,he crushed the measures of liberty in ,italy1 and restored the ,pope to his throne4 ,and why8 ,not only because a republic in ,italy would be a dangerous neighbor1 but also because he needed the authority of the priesthood to enforce the politico-religious dogmas upon which alone his despotic throne could repose with safety6 ,thus a large community who are among the most enlightened and devoted friends of liberty1 are ruled by a grinding despotism2 and this is only an instance in which the genius of liberty is crushed and trodden under foot by the 8man of sin40 ,education and the genius of liberty have done much in ,europe1 and are daily struggling against fearful odds2 and may do much more in this country to modify and restrain this power1 but they are impotent to its destruction4 ,it is1 in itself1 so entirely contradictory of all liberty1 and at the same time so full of vitality1 that ,god in mercy has only relieved the despair of the world by the assurance that he would destroy it4 ,thus ,paul says3 8,the man of sin1 who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called ,god1 or that is worshipped2 so that he1 as ,god1 sitteth in the temple of ,god1 showing himself that he is ,god--,,whom ,,the ,,lord ,,shall ,,consume ,,with ,,the ,,spirit ,,of ,,his ,,mouth1 ,,and ,,shall ,,destroy ,,with ,,the ,,brightness ,,of ,,his ,,coming40 #b ,thess4 ii4 #a-ab4 ,the world has no hope of relief from the oppression of this nightmare of superstition1 but that which is found in this promise of ,god1 that the word of his truth shall overthrow and utterly destroy this monster power1 which for so many ages has been the terror and the scourge of the civilized world4 ,the ,bible--the word of ,god--freely circulated1 read1 and expounded1 and freely judged of by all who read or hear1 according to the dictates of their own judgments and consciences--this is the religion of ,protestants6 in exact antagonism to the teachings of the 8man of sin40 ,the triumph of the ,bible is the overthrow of his power4 ,now1 the ,bible is not only being circulated1 and its truths enforced from the pulpit1 but a great many arrangements of ,divine ,providence are in constant operation1 not only to secure the prevalence of ,bible truths in our land1 but also to place these truths in such circumstances as shall secure the permanent establishment of civil and religious liberty4 ,of these arrangements of ,divine ,providence1 we may select as germane to the general subject of discussion1 the conservative influence of the system of domestic slavery4 ,that providence of ,god1 by which so large a number of the ,states of this ,union have been supplied with a population who cannot be absorbed by the body politic1 but must exist among us1 and for so long a time1 in a distinct and menial position1 provided the means of safety to the whole ,union in the coming conflict which is already awakening the fears of the country4 ,if we do not greatly mistake the signs of the times1 it is to these ,states that all eyes and all hopes will be turned as the great bulwarks of ,american liberty4 ,the ,african race in these ,states will give them this advantage of position4 ,review the facts of the case4 ,as to that class of population coming into the country with that liberty of choice which intelligence and pecuniary means afford them1 the whole land is before them1 and few are more welcome than they1 whatever may be their errors in religion4 ,but relatively1 they make but a small portion of the whole number4 ,the great mass of this coming population necessarily seek the menial offices of society as the only means of living4 ,this evil is already sorely felt in some portions of our country2 and as our unoccupied lands shall be filled up by ,western as well as ,eastern immigration1 this will be still more generally and deeply felt4 ,for all these are absorbed by the body politic1 and form a part of the sovereignty of the country4 ,but what portion of our country is it which now suffers1 and is chiefly threatened in future with this heavy calamity8 ,not the ,south6 ,this is evident4 ,our menial offices are already occupied by a race which cannot be absorbed1 and who therefore can never form a part of the sovereignty of the country4 ,hence1 there is no room for the menials of either ,europe or ,china4 ,the door of ,providence is closed against their admission4 ,the foreign population which finds its way into the ,south are1 for the most part1 a valued and welcome class of society4 ,no3 it is in the midst of the ,northern ,states1 and those new ,states which repudiate the ,african race1 that these shoals of vice1 superstition1 and ignorance--these hordes of modern ,canaanites--are gathering1 8thick as the frogs and flies of ,egypt40 ,upon these ,states1 and not upon the ,south1 this great and increasing calamity is to display its strength4 ,are they destined to control the primary schools to a great extent1 from which they exclude the ,bible1 and educate a large mass of the population to abandon the inherent right of private judgment on all matters which the priesthood may please to define--whether correctly or not--as matters of religion3 that is1 to abandon those rights of conscience which are guaranteed to every citizen by the constitution of our country8 ,already1 many of these schools are thus controlled1 and a large portion of the citizens are thus being educated in the city and ,state of ,new ,york1 and other places6 ,but nothing of this sort can exist to any extent in the ,southern ,states4 ,so far as popular education is promoted in these ,states1 it must be strictly ,protestant education--,protestant1 at least1 in its main feature3 that is1 every citizen brought up among us grows up in the educated belief that1 whatever aid he may seek or derive from a gospel ministry1 he is still individually and personally responsible to ,god and his country1 for his opinions and his practices1 both as to politics and religion4 ,he should1 therefore1 read1 reflect1 and judge for himself4 ,no 8man of sin10 in the shape of pope1 bishop1 priest1 minister1 or preacher of the gospel1 or with any other title1 has authority to 8oppose and exalt himself above all that is called ,god1 or that is worshipped10 by dispensing either political or religious beliefs2 8so that he1 as ,god1 sitteth in the temple of ,god1 showing himself that he is ,god30 enforcing his right to control the consciences of men1 by severe spiritual and temporal penalties--reaching even to 8anathema maranatha60 ,no material portion of ,southern sovereigns can ever grow up in such an utter abandonment of all liberty1 whilst the ,african race shall fill the menial offices of society4 ,all this1 however1 and perhaps much more1 is reserved for those ,states which repudiate this race4 ,and still further1 ,is all this calculated to corrupt the purity of elections1 as it has done in many sections of ,new ,england and the ,state of ,new ,york1 and eminently so in the cities of ,new ,york and ,cincinnati8--and is this evil also destined to reach the national ,legislature1 either directly1 as the result of numerical strength1 or indirectly1 as the action of a powerful minority1 holding the balance of power between contending political parties1 and1 in either case1 sooner or later1 seriously threatening if not precipitating evils upon the whole country1 of which the oppressions of many of the ,states of ,europe now furnish us the mournful examples6 ,but no such influence can ever reach1 to any material extent1 the ballot-boxes of the ,south4 ,with an educated sovereignty1 we have only to consummate our triumph over intemperance1 and our elections are at once fair exponents of the will of an enlightened people4 ,our people may err in opinion1 but1 always right in sentiment1 and with no motive to stay wrong1 they may1 in due time1 be put right in opinion also4 ,the ,southern ,states may be labored by the tempests that shall break upon them from other sources1 but not from this1 which its history in ,europe shows to be the most terrible calamity that ever scourged humanity4 ,with their ships well trimmed and their sails well set1 and both worked and governed by an educated sovereignty1 it is morally impossible that they should founder in the open sea of free discussion4 ,these ,states1 therefore1 will remain1 and shall ever remain1 through all this fierce conflict1 free to settle the great quarrel of the country between light and darkness1 between religion and a vile superstition6 ,upon these ,states will devolve the duty of holding the balance of power between these great contending forces1 and of preserving the ark of ,american liberty in the politico-religious storms that are to sweep over the land1 and shake the foundations of our confederacy4 ,in view of all the facts1 we are at no loss to account for the agrarian doctrines and organizations which are already so common in the ,northern ,states1 and which are essentially so entirely subversive of all true liberty4 ,nor are we at a loss to account for the fact that the ,southern ,states have always1 to the present time1 stood forth as the authors and uniform expounders of the soundest democratic principles of republican freedom4 ,they owe it1 and will for ages to come continue to owe it1 not so much to any superior devotion to sound principles above that of their intelligent and unbiased brethren of other ,states1 but to the fact that only a small portion of their menial population are1 or ever can be1 sovereigns4 ,the great mass of their menials belong to a distinct and inferior race1 who never can be absorbed1 and who1 therefore1 are not and never can become sovereigns of the land4 ,the conservative influence1 therefore1 of the ,african race in the ,southern ,states1 ,i set down as a fixed fact1 for which1 in the prospective condition of the country1 we have abundant cause to be devoutly thankful to ,almighty ,god4 ,in view1 therefore1 of the condition of the ,africans themselves1 as well as the calamities which overhang the country1 how idly do they talk who would expel the ,africans from these ,states6 ,how madly do they reason who1 by a cordon of free-soil ,states1 on the ,west and ,south1 would shut up the ,southern ,states--as if1 with bolts and bars1 they would cage a savage beast6 ,false philosophers6 ,enemies alike to justice and humanity6 ,worse than ,nadab and ,abihu1 in the republic of ,moses6 ,kindred to ,ahithophel and ,judas1 and1 in later days1 to ,benedict ,arnold6 ,the day will come--passing events cast their long 8shadows before0--when history will record the civilization of all ,africa1 and the final solution of the problem1 and the permanent establishment of ,american liberty4 ,a sound philosophy will be at no loss to trace both one and the other to the agency1 and that in no small degree1 of that wonderful scheme of ,divine ,providence1 by which so large a number of ,africans were introduced into so many of the ,states of ,north ,america4 ,ay6 and long before that day1 the ,north will learn to do justice to their brethren of the ,south4 ,when the fight shall wax warm1 and the 8battle-cry0 shall be heard throughout all their coasts1 then will it be seen and acknowledged that the ,southern ,states--always great in the counsels of the nation--are always1 and everywhere1 the true friends and invincible supporters of ,protestant freedom1 or the rights of conscience2 and then shall they do justice to these ,states as the chief bulwarks of ,american liberty1 and equal honor to that wonderful providence which has so signally marked their history1 for good to the whole country1 as well as to the continent of ,africa4 ,,lecture ,,xiii4 ,,the ,,duty ,,of ,,masters ,,to ,,slaves4 8,masters1 give unto your servants 7 slaves7 that which is just and equal1 knowing that ye also have a ,master in heaven40--,col4 iv4 #a4 ,the duty of masters and the rights of slaves reciprocal4 #a4 ,the duty of masters to their slaves considered as 8their money0--in regard to working1 resting1 feeding1 clothing1 housing1 and the employment of persons over them2 also to the sick and the aged4 #b4 ,their duty to their slaves considered as social beings4 ,punishments and the social principle discussed4 #c4 ,their duty to their slaves considered as religious beings4 ,public instruction on the ,sabbath1 and at other times1 and the opportunity of attending4 ,the employment of preachers1 and the religious instruction of children4 ,it has been shown in previous lectures that the principle of slavery accords fully with the doctrine of abstract rights1 civil and social2 and that a system of domestic slavery in the ,united ,states is demanded by the circumstances of the ,african population in the country4 ,but it by no means follows that the conduct of all masters1 in the exercise of their functions as masters1 is proper1 any more than that the conduct of all parents1 or the owners of apprentices1 is such as it should be4 ,the opinion is entertained that the domestic government of children does not more than approximate propriety as a general thing2 and that the government of apprentices and of ,african slaves falls far short of what is proper4 ,in this lecture it is proposed to deal with the relations of masters to slaves1 that is1 the duties they owe them4 ,the doctrine that the system of domestic slavery assumes that the slave is a 8mere machine--a chattel10 has been fully exploded4 ,the ,bible particularly regards the slave an accountable being4 ,it requires him to yield a willing obedience to his master1 and teaches him that such service is accepted of the ,lord as service done unto himself1 ,ephesians vi4 #e-h2 and in the #ith verse1 the master is required to 8do the same things unto them1 forbearing threatening3 knowing that your ,master also is in heaven40 ,and again1 7,colossians iv4 #a17 8,masters1 give unto your servants that which is just and equal40 ,hence1 in the strictest sense1 religion holds the scales of justice between masters and slaves4 ,each one is held to a strict accountability for the faithful performance of his duty1 the one to the other--8for there is no respect of persons with ,god40 ,it behooves us1 then1 who are masters1 or who expect to become masters1 to inquire into the duties of this relation4 ,the master who does not inform himself on this subject1 and endeavor conscientiously to do his duty1 is strangely wanting in important elements of ,christian character1 and1 indeed1 even in some of those attributes which enter materially into the character of a good citizen4 ,a most fanatical spirit is abroad in the land on the subject of domestic slavery4 ,the inhumanity of masters at the ,south is greatly exaggerated4 7,instances in which the institution of slavery is abused no doubt contribute to this excitement47 ,even those who are deficient in the duties they owe their domestics and apprentices--quite as much so as is common at the ,south with the masters of ,african slaves--lend a willing ear to political demagogues and fanatical party-leaders in their denunciations of the ,south4 ,want of sympathy for hired servants1 and instances in which they are overreached and oppressed beyond the means of legal redress1 are as common in certain quarters as are the cases of inhumanity to the slaves at the ,south4 ,but this does not help the matter4 ,evils of this kind are to be deplored whether they occur at the ,north or the ,south4 ,the injunction of the apostle reaches every case of the kind--8,masters1 give unto your servants that which is just and equal3 knowing that ye also have a ,master in heaven40 ,but what may the apostle mean by this precept8 ,the view before taken of the right will justify a departure from the usual line of thought on this subject4 ,to give any one that which is just is to confer upon him that which is his right4 ,to give that which is just and equal1 is a form of expression that may limit the term 8just0 to its legal sense1 that is1 confer on him all the rights guaranteed to him by law4 ,there is a special necessity for this command in any state of society4 ,for whatever advantages the law might confer on the slave1 his subordinate relation1 and the superior position and authority of the master1 will of necessity place it in his power to defeat the provisions of the law in favor of the slave4 ,but the command goes farther than this3 ,give unto your servants that which is equal1 equitable1 that is1 justice in a moral sense1 or that which is right--good in itself4 ,whatever provision the law might make for the benefit of the slave1 as a slave1 might be secured to him by his master1 and yet many of his natural and acquired rights might be overlooked1 and the claims of ,christian charity annulled4 ,to fulfil the command1 however1 we must give the slave equity1 as well as legal justice3 we must do unto the slave what we would have the slave to do unto us1 on a change of relations4 ,it is needless to repeat the discussion of this topic in a former lecture4 ,suffice it to say1 that the master is not required to give to his slave 7any more than the parent is required to give to his child7 whatever he might wish1 but whatever justice and equity claim for him1 that is1 whatever is right or good in itself2 or1 if you please1 accord to him all his natural and acquired rights1 as a slave4 ,for this is precisely that1 and no more1 to which the master would be entitled on a change of relations4 ,we now meet the question--,what are the rights of the slave8 ,the duties of the master are reciprocal of these4 ,those who believe1 with ,channing1 that the relation they sustain as masters assumes that their slaves have no rights1 we may consider are beyond the reach of reason4 ,if the master owes any duties to his slave1 it is because the rights of the slave entitle him to the benefit of the faithful performance of these duties on the part of his master4 ,no point is more fully settled in ,scripture than this3 masters are held to a strict accountability to ,god for the faithful performance of certain duties to their slaves4 ,the ,bible puts it beyond all dispute that 8the master stands to his bond-servant1 one bought with his money or born in his house1 in a relation widely different from that which he sustains to the hired servant1 or the stranger within his gates1 or the neighbor without them40 ,and as he may be a good neighbor1 and yet at fault as a husband and father1 so he may be a good husband1 a good father1 and yet a bad master4 ,the duties which the master owes the slave are as binding on the conscience as those which the slave owes the master4 ,to neglect either involves the party so neglecting in sin4 ,indeed1 the duties of the master are as binding as those of any relation in life4 ,on many accounts1 they are peculiarly solemn4 ,they are duties owed to inferiors1 and inferiors in a helpless condition4 ,they appeal to the magnanimity of the master4 ,he who disregards this appeal1 not only violates duty1 but betrays a want of magnanimity1 bordering upon that meanness of spirit which delights to oppress an inferior1 whilst it cowers before an equal4 ,a brave man is always magnanimous1 and a magnanimous man will rarely fail to respect the rights of the helpless4 ,guardianship1 as well as authority1 enters as an element into the idea of master4 ,masters are not only rulers1 but protectors4 ,if the servant is defrauded of his own1 if his wants are not regarded and his grievances redressed1 or he is otherwise oppressed1 to whom can he complain8 ,true1 his miseries are not voiceless4 ,his cries 8enter into the ears of the ,lord of sabaoth40 ,but his only earthly appeal lies to his master4 ,he has permitted or done this thing1 and it is laid upon the conscience of the slave to submit1 8not answering again40 ,his master is his only earthly protector4 ,his guaranty that his master will protect him1 is that he too has a 8,master in heaven10 who is no respecter of persons1 and that to him belongeth vengeance4 ,according to principles established in the fourth and fifth lectures1 the ,africans of this country1 in common with minors1 imbeciles1 and uncivilized persons1 have a right to be governed and protected1 and to such means of physical comfort and moral improvement as are necessary and compatible with their providential condition4 ,that which it is their right to have as slaves1 it is the duty of masters to secure to them4 ,superior positions devolve higher and more important duties4 ,the master who ignores these claims1 and affects to be offended with any who may assert them on behalf of the slave1 will do well to consider that the 8cries of those who have reaped down their fields10 that is1 the claims of those who have labored for them1 and have no earthly friend to vindicate their rights1 are heard by ,him who has said1 8,vengeance is mine3 ,i will repay1 saith the ,lord40 ,but ,christian masters1 or even men of religious sentiments1 who always respect the claims of the poor1 find pleasure in attending to the wants of the helpless1 and to none more than those of their own slaves4 ,humanity1 the claims of religion1 and the pecuniary interest of the master1 all unite to enforce the claims of the slave4 ,the physical and the moral man are so nicely blended1 and the duties we owe the one run so naturally into those we owe the other1 that it is difficult to make a well-defined classification1 especially in the case of either slaves or children4 ,the following will be found sufficiently accurate for all practical purposes3 ,i4 ,the duties of masters to their slaves1 considered as 8their money30 such as relate to judicious labor1 and reasonable time for rest1 habitations1 clothing1 food1 arrangements for sickness1 their own time1 and stewards or overseers4 ,,ii4 ,the duties of masters to slaves1 considered as social beings3 such as relate to moral treatment1 punishments1 matrimonial alliances1 family connections1 and duties relating to women1 children1 and the aged4 ,,iii4 ,the duties of masters to slaves1 considered as religious beings3 such as relate to the domestic and public instruction of their slaves in the principles and duties of religion4 ,i4 ,,the ,,duties ,,of ,,masters ,,to ,,their ,,slaves1 ,,considered ,,as 8,,their ,,money30 8for he is his money10 ,ex4 xxi4 #ba4 #a4 ,slaves should be subjected to reasonable labor4 ,instances are to be found in which ignorance with a natural tendency to idleness1 or vast wealth1 joined with a kind of sentimental religion1 which exhausts itself in a morbid sympathy for the poor1 leads to a disregard of that great law of nature under which slaves should be subjected to labor4 ,many are indulged in idleness4 ,idleness is a crime in any one4 ,even those whose wealth and social position in society enable them to indulge in idleness without incurring the ordinary penalties1 inflict a great evil upon society thereby4 ,and for those who can only be occupied in the menial offices of society to be indulged in idleness is to create a nuisance4 ,there are families in the ,southern country whose slaves can only be regarded as nuisances4 ,sometimes the ignorance1 but more frequently the dissipated habits of the master1 lead to this4 ,again1 in some cases1 widows with large fortunes in slaves furnish examples of the same4 ,they are not generally in circumstances to manage a farm1 without the aid of an intelligent and judicious steward4 ,but a morbid sympathy1 joined1 perhaps1 with parsimony1 prevents the employment of such a one4 ,the consequence is1 the slaves are indulged in great idleness4 ,families are sometimes broken up from these causes1 and the slaves sold under the hammer4 ,the separation of family ties1 which under given circumstances is a cause for so much regret1 is often to be traced to these sources4 ,but long before this result1 the slaves are considered and felt to be a nuisance in the neighborhood4 ,many intelligent and humane neighbors1 who deplore the dissolution of the family and the separations consequent upon it1 are bound to admit that these disasters after all are the least of evils4 ,hence1 slaves should be subjected to physical labor4 8,if any man will not work1 neither shall he eat0--so ,god has said1 and the master who disregards it either for himself or his slaves shall come to poverty2 and this shall be the least part of the evil4 ,but slaves should be subjected only to reasonable labor4 ,there is an excess of physical exertion which the constitution cannot bear4 ,the laws of nature cannot be violated with impunity4 ,sooner or later the effects will follow4 ,excessive labor will result in a peculiar liability to disease1 in premature old age1 or in death4 ,for the reckless industry of a few years1 all this pecuniary loss and great moral evil follows4 ,he who transcends the limits which ,god has fixed to human labor1 pays the forfeit of health1 if not of life4 8,to coax or bribe one's slave to go beyond this limit is wretched economy3 to force him to do it is cruelty40 ,the state of the weather is an important element in determining the amount of labor that may be reasonably required4 ,the extremes of heat and cold1 or inclement weather1 rain or snow1 should always be regarded4 ,african slaves can do but little1 comparatively1 in very inclement weather4 ,a reasonable master will regard the extremes of heat and cold1 and especially the latter4 ,suitable tools or implements of labor constitute another important item in determining the amount of labor that may be reasonably demanded4 ,it was cruel in ,pharaoh to lay upon the ,israelites the 8same tale of brick10 without supplying them with the usual 8quantity of straw40 ,ex4 v4 #g1 #h4 ,it is equally unjust to require an ordinary day's work of your slaves1 if you fail to supply them with the tools necessary to perform it4 ,a dull iron or an ill-shaped helve will require a much greater outlay of physical strength to accomplish a certain result4 ,there is certainly an evil in ,southern society at this point4 ,many persons are negligent of the kind and quality of their farming implements4 ,their slaves do a reasonable amount of labor1 still the farm does not prosper4 ,a slave is occasionally sold to meet expenses4 ,humane persons struggle with what they call misfortunes4 ,those who are less careful of the claims of humanity make unreasonable exactions of their laborers4 ,they are sufficiently near to certain neighbors to see that their lands are well cultivated1 their fencing is good1 their stock is in good condition1 their houses neat and comfortable for both man and beast1 and their farms wear the appearance of thrift2 but they are not sufficiently intimate to know that it is the intelligence or good common sense that presides over these farms1 and not the extra amount of labor exacted of the slaves1 that makes the difference4 ,the slaves on these prosperous farms1 although they are made to observe great constancy and system in their labor1 are not subjected to the same amount of hard labor as are those of many less thrifty farmers4 ,the achievements of science in labor-saving machinery are very great4 ,man is greatly aided in his labors by natural agents4 ,they accommodate his work to his physical structure1 relieve his posture1 and lessen his fatigue4 ,with sharp instruments1 and those of the best kind1 labor is no longer such a drudgery4 ,indeed1 labor is lightened by a thousand simple and cheap arts4 ,science enables us to accomplish with one man the labor of two or more men in almost every pursuit of life4 ,it is a great practical mistake to suppose that this is only true of manufacturing establishments4 ,it is equally so in the improved methods of farming and the improved implements by which the labor of the farm is accomplished4 ,farmers of enlightened views give their laborers the benefit of the newest and best improvements in their line4 ,to attempt to rival the productions of such farmers1 by exacting extra labor of the hands1 is great injustice4 ,for he who has the same work to do as another1 with only half his means of doing it1 has twice his work to do4 8,the ease of the patent spring10 and the 8speed of the locomotive10 are not more important to the comfort of the traveller and his economy of time1 which is money1 in accomplishing his journey1 than are the improved methods and instruments of farming to the ease1 the economy1 and the success of the farmer4 8,but slaves are careless1 wasteful1 and destructive40 ,so they are1 and so perhaps would you be4 ,there is but little difference between slaves and any others who labor for us in menial offices4 ,all such operatives require a presiding mind to effect a proper division of labor1 and have its eye in every place and on every thing4 ,without this1 it is idle to prate about the wastefulness of slaves4 ,if the master is himself too idle or improvident for this1 he is culpable3 if he has no capacity for it1 he is fit to labor under the direction of another--that is1 he is fit to be a slave2 but he is not qualified to direct the labor of others--that is1 he is not fit to be a master4 ,slaves should be allowed reasonable time for rest4 ,all animal nature requires the refreshment derived from sleep4 ,the muscular and nervous system of man requires not less than seven hours in twenty-four to repair the wastes of a day of active labor4 ,this is a general rule4 ,some do with less3 a few require more4 ,but in every case there is a limit beyond which we cannot habitually go1 without the sacrifice of health or life4 ,the constitutions of some laboring men can bear a great loss of sleep2 but it is on the same principle that a few constitutions can1 for a long time1 resist the effects of the daily use of alcohol4 ,but still dram-drinking will tell1 and so will the loss of sleep4 ,we unyoke the ox1 we stable the horse1 and the whole night is devoted to their repose4 ,but this is often not the case with the weary slave1 who toiled with them through the day4 ,he is convenient to demands1 and a great many extra jobs may be found for him before he reposes4 ,i say 8reposes10 for sleep is not all that is required for rest4 ,there is a time of leisure1 a waking repose1 which is as necessary as sleep4 ,no reasonable man denies himself the benefit of this4 ,the slave is entitled to the early part of the night for this4 ,no one has a right to require him to take all his rest with his eyes shut1 and his senses locked up in sleep4 ,there is the refreshment of mind resulting from repose from ordinary pursuits1 and occupation with things which may please the humor or minister to innocent gratification1 by which1 to a certain degree1 the exhausted system is restored as much as by sleep4 ,indeed1 without this1 8balmy sleep0 is not a 8sweet restorer40 ,the man who works hard the six days of the week1 does not require to sleep all ,sunday in order to restore his wasted system4 ,there is a transition of mental pursuits from business to devotion1 and there is to a virtuous mind the hallowed cheerfulness of that holy day1 which contributes to restore the system1 no less than cessation from labor1 and sleep4 ,the slave1 like his master1 is entitled to the night4 ,what if he do employ a reasonable part of it to turn a penny1 and in arranging for his personal comfort8 ,it gives repose to his mind3 it ministers to his cheerfulness3 along with sleep it renvigorates his whole system1 and makes him a more valuable as well as a more happy servant4 ,who1 then1 shall deny him the boon8 ,surely not the economist1 who calls him his 8money10 and who1 by any other course1 would be reducing the value of 8his money0 below par6 ,in ,virginia--and we are not at liberty to think it is materially different in other ,southern ,states--slaves are generally indulged with time for repose at their day meals1 and with the whole night from early nightfall4 ,a clear evidence of the economy of this system is afforded by the striking contrast which in some cases is to be found on plantations between slaves thus treated1 and masters of a certain description4 ,the slaves are fat1 sleek1 cheerful1 and long-lived3 spending their leisure time in cheerful conversation1 in singing1 or in those little personal offices which give elasticity to mind and body4 ,but not so with some masters4 ,they sleep as much--that is1 lie down as much--as their slaves2 but their sleep is disturbed by an incoherent tracing of the anxious thoughts of the troubled day4 ,they are not refreshed4 ,both mind and body are worn down by excessive friction4 ,they hasten to premature old age2 and the weary wheels of life stand still long before the appointed time4 ,some masters are personally very industrious and enterprising3 they work side by side with their slaves4 ,it is their boast that they require no more of their slaves than they do themselves4 ,yea1 they do more than they1 having the direction and care of all4 ,surely1 say they1 my slaves have no right to complain4 ,but this reasoning is not always fair4 ,it may be that the master overtasks himself4 ,this does not give the right to overtask his slaves4 ,withal1 he brings to his task a physical system stimulated to a high degree by those mental activities which push him forward to enterprise great things4 ,he labors to exhaustion1 and enjoys his rest only the more for having done so4 ,not so with the slave who works by his side4 ,when he yields to over-fatigue1 his thoughts administer no cordial to his weary limbs4 ,it is well if he have not intelligence enough to make them a source of still further prostration4 ,again1 the man-servant and the maid-servant1 as well as the beast1 are entitled to the rest of the ,sabbath4 ,more than this1 we are commanded to 8remember the ,sabbath-day to keep it holy40 ,the head of the family should not only do this himself1 but see that all his household observe the ,sabbath4 ,it is not enough that the children and servants be left free to keep the ,sabbath4 ,the head of the family should see that all the arrangements necessary to promote the due observance of the ,sabbath are properly made1 so that1 whilst he requires the observance of the ,sabbath1 all the domestic arrangements invite to its observance4 ,there are certain individuals about many families whose offices are so difficult to be dispensed with1 because they are so necessary to self-indulgence1 that they are often deprived of the rest of the ,sabbath4 ,of this class there are two humble but very important personages1 which it is neither beneath the subject nor the occasion to notice1 namely1 the cook and the carriage-driver4 ,to the carriage-driver of some families1 all days are alike 8days of rest40 ,he is the most idle personage about the premises4 ,it is well if a farm-hand be not presently sold to support his idleness4 ,but the carriage-driver of another family is himself also a farm-hand4 ,with him the case may be widely different4 ,he may toil on the farm six days in the week1 and spend the day of rest in burnishing harness1 and with carriage and horses4 ,if he drive to church1 the care of his horses is at least a pretext for neglecting the sermon2 and if he drive to spend the day with a neighbor1 it is not a day of rest1 and may not be a day of enjoyment4 ,in either case1 there is but little companionship1 but few church privileges1 and still less opportunity for rest4 ,it may be no better with the cook1 and is often not so well4 ,indeed1 the ,sabbath is seldom a day of rest with the cook4 ,it is oftener a day of much closer confinement4 ,stewing1 roasting1 baking1 and broiling the greater part of the day on ,sabbath1 afford but little time for the repose for which the fourth commandment provides4 ,these are evils in the land4 ,it lies on right-minded men to correct them4 ,at the least1 they can correct their own practices1 and in doing this they will do much to reform the habits of society4 #b4 ,slaves should be furnished with suitable habitations4 ,we are considering slaves as property1 and the duty of masters as economists4 ,on the principle of good economy1 slaves are entitled to habitations sufficiently airy and cool in summer1 close and warm in winter4 ,and as it costs no more1 why may not their houses be located with due regard to their health1 their convenience1 and comfort8 ,let them then be grouped together on the gentle slope of a hill1 and1 as lime is cheap1 let them all be neatly whitewashed4 ,who could object to a little garden spot attached to each8 ,and why may there not be nice rows of shade trees1 and neat grass-plots upon which the children can sport1 and where the men and women can sit and enjoy a delightful ,sabbath evening8 ,economy will not object to this4 ,the miserable smoky hovels in low damp situations1 black and disagreeable to the sight1 in which1 in some instances1 they are huddled together1 cannot be too severely condemned on the principles of economy1 no less than on those of good morals4 ,for if the inhabitants of such buildings are not filthy1 degraded1 and thievish to an extent that materially depreciates their value1 it can only be because they are extraordinary examples of moral purity4 #c4 ,slaves should be comfortably clothed4 ,all those families whose self-respect leads them to regard their position in society1 supply their slaves with comfortable clothing1 and pay particular attention to the neatness as well as the comfort of those kept about the house4 ,it would indicate a very low state of civilization1 if these things should be generally neglected4 ,the improvements in the manufacture of cotton1 wool1 and leather have been so great that nothing short of these could be tolerated in decent society4 ,our slaves are no doubt generally better fed1 clothed1 and housed than are the menials in most of the nations of ,europe4 ,still1 there are instances of neglect1 which should be noticed4 ,those who pay but little attention to their habitations1 generally neglect their clothing4 ,feet are to be found unshod when frost is on the ground2 the head uncovered in all weathers2 and the body far from being suitably protected4 ,the color and tropical habitudes of our slaves render them peculiarly liable to suffer from cold4 ,health as well as comfort requires them to be warmly clad in cold weather4 8,a shivering servant is a shame to any master40 ,it is economy to sell a slave occasionally rather than let all suffer for the want of clothing4 ,but they should also be supplied with suitable beds and bedding4 ,the expense is really so trifling1 and the economy so great1 that masters entitled to respect cannot be excused for the neglect of this duty ,shucks are plentiful on all farms1 and cotton is abundant on many1 and can be easily had at cheap rates on those on which it is not raised4 ,these articles make excellent mattresses1 and the latter makes most excellent comforts4 ,those rainy days on which slaves should not be allowed to work out1 should be employed in providing these articles4 ,health and life are often thus preserved4 ,to allow slaves to labor in filth and rags through the week1 and lie about or stroll about on the ,sabbath in their unwashed rags1 should be severely censured4 ,it does not help the matter a great deal to throw them a thin blanket occasionally1 with liberty to take repose wherever they can find it4 ,such masters pay more in doctors' bills than it would cost to make their slaves as comfortable as those of their more prudent neighbors4 ,it is a shame to them4 ,we cannot give them any more credit for practical sense than for good morals4 #d4 ,slaves should be well fed4 ,the quality1 the quantity of food1 and reasonable time to eat it and refresh themselves1 are the ideas which enter into this duty4 ,a sufficient quantity of good substantial food1 well prepared1 should be furnished4 ,meat should form a fair proportion of the diet of a laboring ,african4 ,the ,irish1 it is true1 eat but little meat1 and do well1--that is1 such as do not perish1--but the ,african constitution in this climate requires meat1 and they must have it if they do full labor4 ,their food should be well prepared4 ,to secure this1 it should be prepared by a cook1 and eaten at a common table4 ,to put laboring farm-hands off with an allowance of meat and meal1 to prepare it or seek its preparation as they may1 is too obviously wrong to require argument4 ,the force of habit is exceedingly stubborn in the ,african4 ,to eat a piece of meat exhausted of its nutriment by being crisped on the coals1 is very much to the taste of those accustomed to it3 they will yield with great reluctance4 ,but still1 this plan should give place to the better preparation of the public table4 ,an excellent habit of the slaves is to eat slowly4 ,usually something like two hours in the long days is allowed them to eat and refresh themselves at noon4 ,it is not too much to allow4 ,an hour's repose after a meat dinner should be allowed to all laborers in the heat of summer4 ,again1 they are entitled to such variety as the season affords4 ,the early roasting ear1 the ripe fruit1 the melons1 the potatoes1 the fat stock1 all enter of right in due season and limited proportions into their bill of fare4 ,better do all this than pay doctors' bills1 or tempt them to steal4 ,nor do ,i fall out with the custom of some of our better families1 to supply their tables with a portion of all the delicacies of the 8great house10 on particular occasions4 ,some may think this too much for slaves6 ,but the attachment of ,southern slaves to the families in which they were born and brought up is proverbial4 ,and let ,northern fanatics believe and prate what they will1 it is still true that the practical workings of the system generally1 on the basis of the duties here inculcated1 is in a good degree the cause of this attachment4 ,every right-minded master contemplates the physique of his servants with emotions of pride and pleasure4 ,their looks reflect his character4 ,a gang of half-starved1 meanly-clad1 overworked slaves1 with no heart to laugh or sing1 and even without that attachment for their owners which the ox and the ass have for theirs1 is a disgusting spectacle1 and as revolting to every feeling of humanity as it is in violation of every principle of economy4 #e4 ,provision should be made for slaves in times of sickness4 ,each of the topics discussed derives much of its importance from its connection with this4 ,reasonable labor1 time for repose and sleep1 habitations1 clothing1 and food1 are each and all of them provisions against the occurrence of sickness4 ,still1 the topic deserves a more special notice4 ,all families should have such domestic provisions as anticipate sickness by suitable arrangements for it when it comes--such as comfortable apartments and the ordinary conveniences for nursing4 ,all families and manufactories employing a sufficient number of slaves to require it1 should have a hospital3 that is1 a house so situated as to location and internal arrangements as to be a convenient and comfortable place for the sick1 and equally convenient to those who may have to nurse the sick1 or to overlook those who do4 ,the economy of such an arrangement on large farms commends itself to approbation4 ,so far from encouraging a well-known disposition among slaves of a certain character to lie by for trifling causes1 it will contribute very much to discourage such habits4 ,if slaves are permitted to lounge about their own houses when sick1 they may often elude observation1 and spend their time in idleness1 when they should be at work2 and in cases of actual sickness1 they are liable to suffer for want of attention4 ,on the hospital plan1 the case will be very different with each of these4 ,if all who are sick have to go to the hospital1 and take physic1 the former will not be so likely to feign sickness1 and the really sick will be better attended to4 #f4 ,what is usually called their own time should be strictly allowed them4 ,besides ,christmas1 there are frequent holiday occasions through the year1 and still oftener a ,saturday afternoon at particular seasons1 which usage has secured to them as their own time4 ,this time is usually employed by the more provident in cultivating a garden1 in mending their clothes1 cleansing about their houses1 or in various ways earning a few dollars with which to purchase little articles of fancy or comfort in the way of furniture or dress1 such as masters do not usually furnish4 ,some masters obviate the necessity for a portion of this1 by cultivating a part of the crop1 and dividing the proceeds of its sale among them for their exclusive benefit4 ,none but a tyrant1 who is always a bad economist1 will disregard their claims to what is known as their own time4 ,any other man who should attempt it1 would soon be taught to feel that the force of public opinion1 even among slaves1 well sustained as it is on these points1 is a matter not to be despised4 ,the claims of slaves and the rights of the public coincide4 ,plantation slaves who may be no less than a body of ragamuffins1 carrying on petty depredations upon the rights of property in the neighborhood1 are a serious nuisance4 ,public opinion will not tolerate it4 ,the economy of such a master is as bad as his injustice to his neighbors is oppressive4 #g4 ,stewards or overseers4 ,the duty which the master owes his slaves in the selection of a person to be over them is often embarrassing1 and at all times important4 ,that which a farmer has time and ability to do for himself1 he should not employ an agent to do for him4 ,he has more interest in it than any one else1 and will observe more fidelity in its performance4 ,no economist will employ a steward to manage his farm if he can prudently supply his place by his own personal attentions4 ,some employ them that they may with less loss indulge in idleness3 others1 because they distrust their own experience in farming2 and others again1 because more important duties put it out of their power to give the necessary personal attention to their farms4 ,but whether from the one cause or the other1 the master owes certain duties to his slave as well as to himself in selecting an individual to take his place over them4 ,economically considered1 the rights of the slave and the interests of the master coincide4 ,many overlook this4 ,an industrious but heartless business man may be found to act as steward1 who1 with an interest in the crop1 will stir late and early1 and drive hard all the day2 but the great laws which regulate the reciprocal operations of labor1 sleep1 and repose will be strangely disregarded by such a man4 ,he may succeed in a crop for a year1 perhaps for a series of years2 but the value of the personal property as well as of the lands will be annually depreciating4 ,there is no economy in employing an agent of this class4 ,a plantation is an empire within itself4 ,if the territory be large1 and the subjects numerous1 the mind that presides1 whether as master or steward1 must be competent to direct a proper division of labor1 and to govern on the principles of justice and equity4 ,in such an empire1 talents of a peculiar kind are required4 ,it is only the income from such estates that will justify the employment of the best talents1 for these will always command high prices4 ,masters with less income cannot command the best talents4 ,but1 in either case1 due regard should be paid to the moral character of the man put over slaves4 ,the authority committed to him is necessarily extensive4 ,though industrious1 he need not be cruel4 ,he should be fully capable of sympathizing with the semi-barbarous subjects of his empire4 ,industry1 good moral habits1 and common sense1 are essential qualities in an overseer4 ,to be wanting in any of these1 constitutes an entire disqualification for the office4 ,to be himself immoral1 and to contribute to corrupt the morals of those under him1 involves the master who employs him in the guilt of sin1 as well as depreciates the value of his property4 ,when a man of industry1 common sense1 and virtue is found1 pains should be taken to attach him to the estate4 ,if he be a single man1 he should be encouraged to marry4 ,his situation should be made as permanent as possible4 ,the man of common sense1 who well understands that nothing but industry1 carefulness or prudence1 and virtue1 will secure his situation1 will1 one year with another1 make as good crops as it would be reasonable to expect4 ,more than a fair crop1 like all other unfair operations1 implies unfairness somewhere4 ,if it be in the voiceless woes of the slave1 the master is sadly the loser in the end4 ,he who retains his steward with a view to extra crops by such means1 may be likened to a barbarian king in ,africa1 but does not deserve to be ranked among masters in civilized life4 ,all masters1 ,i should think1 owe it to themselves and to their slaves to give a great deal of personal attention to their farms4#h #h ,i take this occasion to call your attention to a little volume on the 8,duties of ,masters to ,servants10 three premium essays1 by the ,rev4 ,messrs4 ,h4 ,n4 ,mc,tyeire1 ,c4 ,f4 ,sturgis1 and ,a4 ,t4 ,holmes1 published by the ,southern ,baptist ,publication ,society1 ,charleston1 ,s4 ,c41 to which ,i acknowledge myself indebted for several suggestions on this topic4 ,read the book4 ,,ii4 ,,the ,,duties ,,of ,,masters ,,to ,,slaves1 ,,as ,,social ,,beings4 ,they are entitled to the restraints1 the protection1 and the encouragement1 which a prudent administration of a system of good laws is calculated to afford4 ,a part of this is secured to them by the civil government2 but a large part is left to the discretion and fidelity of the master4 ,the civil government assumes that the pecuniary interest of the master and the duty which he owes his slaves coincide so perfectly1 that the performance of certain duties may with propriety be left to him4 ,he is the patriarch of his whole house4 ,his family is his empire1 subordinate1 it is true1 to the civil government1 but still an empire4 ,he commands the time and labor of his children and his slaves--the one for a definite period in life1 the other for an indefinite period4 ,he gives law to the one and to the other4 ,so long as he does not violate the constitution and laws of the political commonwealth of which he is himself a subject1 his authority is absolute4 ,all the rights of his children and his servants appeal to him4 ,he is responsible to the civil government not to violate its provisions1 and he is responsible to ,god for the faithful performance of his duties to his children and his servants2 for the sin of omitting to do his duty to his children or servants could rarely be reached by the civil authority4 ,the duty of the master to his slaves as social beings is to give them laws within the limits prescribed by the civil government1 and to govern them according to the principles of justice and equity4 ,as his empire is constantly under his eye1 or the eye of his immediate agent1 it is not necessary that he have recourse to a code of laws definitely drawn up and formally announced4 ,as the teacher in his room1 and the mother in her nursery1 may have their rules1 and have them obeyed without these formalities1 so may the master4 ,but these rules should not relate merely to the economical use of the slave's time and labor1 but should be adapted to his character as a social being4 ,hence1 it is not proposed to give a code of laws for the plantation1 but to discuss certain principles which should influence the conduct of the master in the government of his domestic empire4 #a4 ,in regard to punishments4 ,neither the magistrate1 the parent1 nor the master1 should bear the sword in vain4 ,disobedience1 which1 in all wise governments1 is wickedness1 must be restrained1 and in extreme cases by severe punishments4 ,it would be great weakness to forbear4 ,but one law1 however1 should govern in the infliction of punishments4 ,they should be inflicted for the purpose of correction1 or as 8a terror to evil-doers1 and a praise to them that do well10 and not to gratify passion or resentment4 ,punishments inflicted from motives of resentment merely1 and often repeated1 tend directly to cow the spirit1 stultify the intellect1 destroy self-respect1 and greatly weaken the power of arbitrary volition4 ,such a man approximates the nature of a brute1 and is1 in fact1 scarcely of the value of a common horse4 ,he is a human being1 but in circumstances in which he has few motives of action above those which influence a brute--namely1 the indulgence of his animal nature1 restrained only by the fear of present punishment4 ,he is not as serviceable as a brute1 and is far more dangerous than a brute4 ,a slave to whose sense of what is right and proper to be done nothing can be trusted1 and from whom nothing can be gotten but that which is extorted from his fears1 is of no value unless it be to a master of the same genus--that is1 like himself1 a brute4 ,the prodigality as well as wickedness of this course requires no comment4 ,there is a more excellent way of maintaining authority1 and it lies upon the conscience of every master no less than upon his purse to observe it as a duty3 it is to punish for the purpose of correction only--not to destroy1 but to save4 ,punishments can only be salutary as a means of moral discipline in the measure in which they produce shame and mortification4 ,but one who has no self-respect can have no shame4 ,the effect of punishment in such a case is lost only so far as it may help to brutalize him4 ,a desire to secure the favor and preserve the confidence of those upon whom we are dependent is the highest guaranty for faithfulness4 ,but he only who respects himself will value the respect and confidence of others4 ,and it is difficult for any man to retain his self-respect when he knows that no one respects him4 ,it is not impossible to be done2 but only men of great moral firmness and conscious integrity succeed in doing it4 ,we have no right to expect it from slaves4 ,they universally concede the superior intelligence of the whites4 ,and for one of these1 accustomed from early childhood to hear himself disparaged in company1 and degraded by harsh epithets for his stupidity and disobedience by those whom he thinks to be superior in every thing1 to grow up with the necessary self-respect1 is not to be expected4 ,it would be singular1 indeed1 even if one who had been better brought up should be able to retain his self-respect under this kind of treatment4 ,and without self-respect1 punishment can have no moral effect4 ,why then should we thus sin against ,god8 ,how much better to regard the counsel of ,paul3 8,and ye masters1 do the same things unto them1 forbearing threatening3 knowing that your ,master also is in heaven40 ,ephesians vi4 #i4 ,he hath enjoined upon servants to serve their 8masters in singleness of heart as unto ,christ10 8with good will doing service as to the ,lord1 and not to men40 ,masters are then commanded to 8do the same things unto them1 forbearing threatening20 that is1 carefully avoiding all those hasty1 unjust1 and petulant censures1 which display themselves in idle threatenings1 or scoldings1 do your duty to your servants as an act of duty to ,god2 or1 with a view to his approbation1 govern them according to the principles of justice1 equity1 and kindness--remembering that your ,master is in heaven1 from whose forbearance you may have need of more than you now extend to your servants4 8,i desire to be kind to my servants2 but they are often so perverse1 they will not allow me to make their situation as comfortable as ,i would40 ,we sometimes meet with these remarks4 ,there is often a great deal of reason for them4 ,our slaves have many faults4 ,they are ignorant1 careless1 slothful1 and sometimes perverse4 ,these things are at all times vexatious1 and sometimes a great temptation to sin4 ,but then it should not be forgotten that our children sometimes give us more trouble1 and furnish stronger temptations to sin1 than our slaves could possibly do4 ,having all the perverseness of the slave1 their superior intelligence may make them much more potent for evil4 ,but still they are our children4 ,the wisest and best parents will have to be blind to a great many faults1 and ultimately bear in silence with a great deal which cannot be concealed4 ,the parent that does his best1 and commits results to ,god1 will find in the end that things turn out a great deal better than his fears dictated they would do4 ,so our slaves are ours still4 ,they are ,god's poor1 committed to us4 ,we must control and protect them for their profit1 as well as work them for our mutual profit4 ,they have great faults4 ,still1 they are our heritage both for good and for evil4 ,we may not dissolve the relation between us and them1 any more than that between us and our children4 ,we dare not turn them loose in the savage wilds of ,africa1 any more than we dare allow them to be hunted down as wild beasts by the advances of a superior race1 with whom they cannot be permitted to amalgamate4 ,to govern as well as work them1 is1 then1 a moral necessity4 ,we cannot fulfil our duty without perhaps a great deal of trouble in given cases4 ,at all times we must be blind to many faults1 and bear with some others which cannot be concealed4 ,there is no release from this war4 ,penalties1 severe penalties must be inflicted occasionally4 ,every steady government will sometimes have to wield authority with a strong hand4 ,this is a source of trouble to all1 and often of great pain to good people4 ,still1 there are views to be taken of the condition of the ,african which go far to relieve the whole subject of its difficulties4 ,many of those faults which are sources of so much annoyance are to be traced to ignorance and a want of self-respect1 and these are oftentimes their infirmities4 ,they are by nature slow to learn1 and hence their ignorance2 and few perhaps have taken pains to cultivate in them much self-respect4 ,do not these facts plead in their behalf8 ,again1 what master who desires to do justly can be wholly indifferent to their good qualities8 ,for a more docile and kind-hearted race of people are not to be found than the ,africans of the ,southern ,states4 ,readiness to forgive1 gratitude in their rude notions of it1 hospitality to strangers1 and affection for friends1 are characteristics of the race4 ,cases of ingratitude and resentment are the exceptions1 not the rule4 ,confide1 then1 in your slaves1 as far as these qualities will allow you to do it4 ,they will not disappoint your confidence1 as seriously1 at least1 as many others with the same opportunities would probably do it4 ,give attention to their comfort in little things4 ,this will not cost you much1 and will show your care for them4 ,pay due respect to their feelings and their reputation4 ,this may cost you no more than a pleasant look or a kind word4 ,never be backward under proper circumstances to trust them in any thing in which it is proper to trust persons in a menial position4 ,this course will not be without its effect4 ,confidence will beget confidence4 ,for one to be respected by others1 goes far to beget respect in one's self4 ,with a reasonable degree of self-respect in the slave1 and confidence in the kindness and justice of his master1 his discipline cannot fail to be salutary4 ,he may punish in cases of disobedience with great firmness1 and to a merited extent1 and it will not fail to produce shame and mortification4 ,his authority will be 8a terror to evil-doers1 and a praise to them that do well40 ,the public opinion of his little commonwealth will fully sustain his administration4 ,the counsels of age1 the cutting jokes of early manhood1 and the merry laugh of the young1 will all unite to teach the offender a valuable lesson4 ,he who governs a plantation of slaves without the aid of a certain measure of public opinion1 is a loser in the end4 ,some masters affect to despise this4 ,brute force may sustain them2 but the public opinion even of so humble a commonwealth as a plantation of slaves is not to be despised4 ,the sensible and humane master1 who would obey the apostolic precept1 and maintain a sound and judicious discipline among his slaves1 will obey what is equally implied in another injunction1 and entitle himself to the respect and confidence of his subjects4 ,tyrants who have operated upon wider and nobler fields have affected to despise public opinion1 and lost their crowns4 ,the petty tyrants of whom we treat cannot fail to lose the respect of their neighbors4 ,it is impossible to respect a man whose policy infests the neighborhood with a band of freebooters1 and this policy will rarely fail to reduce such a man to poverty also4 #b4 ,in regard to the social principle4 ,they are social beings4 ,there are among them those great impulses of our nature1 general love for society1 and attachment to the sexes1 out of which arise the affection of husband and wife1 the love of parents to children1 and children to parents1 and all the various modifications of affection1 resulting from collateral and more distant relationships4 ,besides these1 there is the feeling of friendship between individuals of similar habits and corresponding pursuits4 ,all these social principles are common to our ,african population4 ,any evidence to the contrary is only a proof of a low state of civilization4 ,now1 it is an easy matter for some minds to overlook the fact that they are social and not mere sentient beings4 ,but all the elements of simple society are to be found among them4 ,they associate together as other races4 ,it is not peculiar to them to wish to be together and to find pleasure in each other's society4 ,they obey the common law of humanity4 ,these elements of the social nature give rise to various relations and duties among themselves4 ,they do not operate mechanically1 but morally4 ,hence their society is subject to all the mutations1 the conflict of rights and the violation of duties1 of any other simple society1 under like restrictions4 ,as in any other society1 these relations must be understood and made to operate within certain limits4 ,these rights must be guarded and protected by the observance of certain duties enforced by certain penalties4 ,otherwise they may herd together1 as in the wilds of ,africa2 but they cannot dwell together as rational beings4 ,for the impulses of nature are not fulfilled when they are permitted merely to herd together4 ,at this point1 the master owes an important duty to his slaves4 ,its observance will greatly promote their progress in civilization1 and enhance the value of his property4 ,he is their civil lawgiver1 and the judge in all the grave controversies which arise among them4 ,he should not be derelict in duty4 ,he should not think it beneath him to arrest their broils by authority1 and settle their controversies by a kind of judicial decision4 ,a sensible man will not content himself by saying3 8,there were no bones broken3 no one was killed or crippled10 or1 8,a fine child is born40 ,these are not the only things which concern his interest or his duty4 ,it is not doing as he would be done by4 ,the civil government which protects him would not be worth a tithe of the taxes1 if it concerned itself no further to protect his rights of property and his happiness4 ,his decisions1 therefore1 should regulate the relations of this society1 should protect such rights of property as he allows among them1 and enforce the observance of such contracts as he allows them to negotiate either among their own fellow-servants or those of another plantation4 ,at the same time that he sees that they keep themselves within the position which they hold in the great community of whites1 in which they are subordinate members1 he should see that they are not overborne and oppressed by their superiors4 ,the first and most important of all the social relations is the marriage relation4 ,the civil government has not thought it wise to interfere with this4 ,it leaves this to the control of the master4 ,his interest and his duty afford a high guaranty that he will consult the interests of his slaves in this matter4 ,he should encourage the young to marry4 ,he should not only positively forbid the herding together in indiscriminate intercourse1 but he should promote marriage by all suitable arrangements and influences4 ,it is an important interest and duty with him to have his slaves suitably married and at home4 ,he should not scruple to buy and to sell to effect proper marriages among the slaves of his own plantation4 ,and when this cannot be done1 he should permit his slaves to intermarry with those of a neighboring plantation4 ,there should be in all cases separate apartments for families1 and separate houses as soon as they can be provided4 ,from causes which need not be enumerated1 they are peculiarly addicted to licentious indulgences1 and particularly disposed to violate the marriage-bed4 ,no master is at liberty to neglect or overlook these immoralities4 ,he should not allow any to marry without understanding the obligations of the relation1 and he should enforce1 as far as his discipline can reach the case1 the obligations of the marriage-bed4 ,the custom of leaving one wife and taking another1 should be positively prohibited4 ,those masters whose policy actually makes this custom in a good degree necessary1 cannot be too severely censured4 ,if slaves were mere chattels1 as abolitionists affirm they are1 there might be an apology for this4 ,but as it is1 there is no apology for it4 ,the custom of separating man and wife is the remnant of a barbarous age3 any gentleman should be ashamed of it4 ,the civilization of the age may not be expected to countenance it4 ,those who think to maintain the institution of slavery under so palpable a violation of the laws of morality1 may expect to meet the unqualified censure of the civilized world4 ,no3 the marriage relation must be maintained4 ,to be maintained1 it must be respected4 ,indiscriminate intercourse should be restrained4 ,those masters whose policy renders this custom in a good degree necessary should revise their system1 and they must revise their system unless they would continue to outrage the moral sense of their fellow-citizens4 ,for myself1 ,i do not feel at liberty--and ,i speak as a citizen--to treat the marriage relation among slaves other than as a most sacred relation4 ,those marriages which are maintained in good faith1 no master should feel himself at liberty to violate4 ,nothing but conjugal infidelity or some capital offence which subjects the party offending to imprisonment for life1 to banishment1 or to death1 can dissolve the marriage obligation4 8,those whom ,god hath joined together1 let not man put asunder40 ,i have said that the ,africans are a kind and docile race of people2 but still it is true of them1 as of all other barbarous people1 that they have but little conception of moral influence as an element of government4 ,fear is the motive to which in all cases they appeal--and with the best intentions4 ,they have but little idea of any thing else4 ,whatever authority1 therefore1 is placed in their hands is likely to be exercised with great harshness1 perhaps with cruelty4 ,many masters avail themselves of the services of an intelligent servant1 and make him 8head-man10 instead of incurring the expense of an overseer4 ,in many cases the plan succeeds remarkably well4 ,but in most cases of the kind1 the master owes an important duty to his other slaves3 it is to overlook the exercise of the delegated authority1 and restrain the tendency to excessive severity4 ,there are other points at which this tendency is liable to display itself4 ,the husband is likely to exhibit it in the authority exercised over the wife1 and both the husband and the wife in the authority exercised over the children4 ,the husband is often found to beat and otherwise maltreat the wife4 ,in fits of passion1 some of them are extremely cruel4 ,the children are brought up in the same way4 ,they are often subjected to cruel treatment4 ,impatience1 fretfulness1 and stunning blows1 make up the system of cabin-discipline4 ,the child is often stultified in early life1 and1 without self-respect1 grows up a stupid1 slovenly1 and insufferable eye-servant4 ,thus1 that which made the young slave a source of so much annoyance in the kitchen1 the chamber1 and the dining-room1 began in the discipline of the cabin1 and with those who themselves were good servants1 and who1 for the most part1 intended to do their duty in their humble way to their children4 ,now1 there are many families of great moral worth among us who entirely neglect the discipline of the cabin4 ,they take no account of the young negro1 nor do they inquire into the treatment of wives4 ,this is a fault--a great fault4 ,it presses with great force upon the interests of the master1 as well as upon the domestic happiness of the ,african family and the moral character of the rising generation4 ,the duty of the master is urgent4 ,he should restrain the exercise of cruelty to wives4 ,he should do the same in behalf of the children4 ,both his example and his precepts should unite to introduce a sounder system of discipline4 ,a well-trained slave1 who respects himself1 is far more valuable in any view than a stupid eye-servant4 ,the master who will not condescend to pay some attention to the discipline of the cabin must content himself with the latter4 ,the sick and the aged should be suitably cared for4 ,it is not enough that provision be made for these3 the master owes them a duty in the kind of provision which he makes for them4 ,the regular nurse can serve them with a little medicine1 a cup of water1 and help them to the couch of straw1 or support their heads in death2 but they are social beings3 their claims reach far beyond these things1 and the duty of the master is imperative4 ,it certainly should not come short of the service rendered by the good ,samaritan4 ,he who can free his conscience short of this1 is low enough in the scale of civilization to change places with many slaves of our acquaintance4 ,humanity claims something for the sick and aged on the score of comfort as well as necessity4 ,why may they not be frequently ministered unto by their friends8 ,do we think that the laws of friendship and consanguinity do not operate among them8 ,if so1 we are mistaken2 for they are social beings1 as we are4 ,why1 then1 deny them this boon1 when it can be afforded them1 as it often can1 at so small a cost8 ,i do not scruple to say that there are many circumstances in which any humane man would allow the husband and the child to quit even the harvest-field to minister as occasion might demand to the sick wife and mother1 and to soothe her sorrows in a dying-hour4 ,and the aged father6 ,shall no child or grandchild support his tottering limbs to his couch1 and lay him down to die in peace8 ,shall all these delicate services1 if performed at all1 be left to stranger hands8 ,shall those who never knew mother1 who never cared for grandfather1 or who were never reckoned among their friends1 be left to perform these last services8 ,there may be masters whose business or whose want of thought may lead them to be inattentive to the social sorrows of the sick and the aged2 but they should remember that 8they also have a ,master in heaven40 ,would they have ,him to be as inattentive to their sorrows in sickness and in age8 ,let them beware 8lest the same measure they mete be measured to them again60 ,,iii4 ,,the ,,duties ,,of ,,masters ,,to ,,slaves ,,as ,,religious ,,beings4 ,there are no duties which we owe our slaves as 8our money10 or as social beings1 which do not derive additional weight and importance from the fact that they are religious beings1 and that1 as such1 we owe them all these duties1 and still higher and more solemn duties4 8,but ,i am not a ,christian1 and therefore am not concerned in the discussion of this topic40 ,but ,i am not aware that to omit to profess to be an honest man1 or to neglect to strive to be an honest man1 absolves one from the obligation to be honest3 so neither will a failure to profess ,christianity free any one from the duty of being a ,christian4 ,both you and your slaves are religious beings2 and if you are not a ,christian1 you ought to be1 and ,god will hold you to account for all the duties of a ,christian life1 whether in this world you acknowledge the obligation or not4 ,your slaves are entitled to the rights which belong to religious beings in their circumstances2 and it is your duty to treat them as such2 nor is there a single master who will not be held to a strict account for the faithful performance of these duties to his slaves4 ,the religious sentiment is strong in the ,african4 ,both his mind and his heart respond readily to the fear of ,god1 the love of virtue1 and the hope of heaven4 ,but they are religious beings in a low state of civilization4 ,their intellects are usually dull4 ,they are subject to wild1 extravagant1 and superstitious opinions1 and consequently to strong and violent religious emotions4 ,they do not1 as some suppose1 have stronger feelings naturally than others4 ,they do not differ in this respect from barbarians of any other race of people2 but they have a low grade of mental development4 ,their wills1 therefore1 are not supplied with those motives which would enable them to hold their attention to views of truth such as produce a more chastened1 substantial1 and elevated tone of ,christian feeling4 ,for the want of enlightened views1 the religious sentiment displays itself in superstitious conceits1 which usually lead to wild and sometimes frantic feelings4 ,we need not dwell upon the evils of this state of things4 ,they are too obvious1 in their influence upon the blacks1 and oftentimes through them upon the nursery of white children1 to require discussion4 ,that which demands attention is this3 it is a duty which the master owes his slave to pursue that course in the government of his domestic empire which shall contribute to correct these evils1 and to fit his slaves for their destiny in the spirit-world1 where the distinction of master and slave will no longer exist4 ,aside1 then1 from other and less important objects in that ,divine economy which introduced the ,african into this country1 ,god has thereby committed to you these ignorant1 these suffering poor4 ,he requires you to care for their souls as well as their bodies4 ,the latter of these duties you may fulfil for your own interests merely4 ,but each one of them you ought faithfully to perform1 both for ,god's sake and for the common interests of yourselves and your slaves4 8,and ye masters1 do the same things unto them30 that is1 as the context shows1 serve their interests faithfully1 and that for the sake of ,christ1 as they are required to serve your commands faithfully1 and that for the sake of ,christ4 ,but how may you do this8 ,you should provide for them the means of public religious instruction4 ,the owner of a large plantation of slaves should charge himself with the expense of a minister of the gospel for his slaves4 ,smaller plantations should unite to employ the services of a minister4 ,the owners of still smaller plantations in thinly settled communities of whites1 should see that the usual supply of ministerial service for the neighborhood is sufficient to meet the demands of their slaves4 ,those who employ a minister1 or those who unite with others to employ one to devote himself to the religious instruction of their slaves1 should see that he is a man of blameless life1 of sound1 practical ,christian experience1 simple in his language1 familiar in his manners1 and fervent in spirit4 ,he should devote himself to teach the children the oral catechism1 to visit the sick1 to bury the dead1 and preach the gospel regularly on the ,sabbath4 ,on all occasions of public worship on the ,sabbath1 both old and young should be required to be present1 and in their best clothes4 ,masters should occasionally attend all these meetings4 ,our missions on plantations are fine examples of the system here recommended4 ,the ,sabbath--the ,christian ,sabbath--is the great civilizer of men4 ,the clean skin1 the ,sunday suit1 the companionship of friends1 all unite with the sound instruction of the pulpit1 and the warm-hearted reception of the truth1 to raise man in the scale of being1 to make him a better servant1 and a better citizen--an heir1 together with the master1 of the inheritance of the saints in light4 ,those more densely populated white communities which are well supplied with the ,christian ministry should afford ample accommodations to the colored population to hear the word of life1 and share the blessings of the holy ,sabbath4 ,masters should see to this4 ,they have not done their duty when they subscribe to build a church in the neighborhood1 and pay a trifle to the preacher4 ,their slaves should also be provided for4 ,if they will not go to heaven themselves1 their slaves can go there1 and many of them desire to go there4 ,their masters unjustly withhold the means4 ,in many instances1 suitable provision is not made4 ,the houses are small4 ,the slaves are crowded out4 ,they hear but little2 at least1 they are not instructed4 ,a still greater defect of this system in ,virginia is1 the slaves are but poorly supplied with pastoral labor out of the pulpit4 ,the sick are seldom visited4 ,the dead are only buried in crowds4 ,there is great room1 then1 for improvement4 ,why may not the masters of a neighborhood engage the services of their minister to have a regular appointment for an afternoon on the plantation of some one1 for the benefit of the slaves of the neighborhood1 and to visit their sick8 ,i know many masters who are always ready to subscribe liberally to their minister if he would engage in this service4 ,why should he not do it8 ,perhaps some do4 ,i should rejoice to see this system more generally adopted1 and by our circuit preachers especially4 ,they would accomplish great good4 ,i doubt if a better remedy for the wants of the ,african population in such communities can be found4 ,but not only to help supply this deficiency1 but also on the score of its own intrinsic value1 each family should contribute their personal attention to supply the religious wants of their slaves4 ,the ,sabbath should be a day of rest1 of companionship1 and of religious instruction and enjoyment in every family4 ,from no part of these should the slaves be excluded or overlooked in the domestic arrangements4 ,that slaves appear in their clean ,sunday-clothes1 is the first duty4 ,they should all know that they are expected to be at church4 ,for the invalids and the aged1 the means of conveyance should be provided4 ,the old man1 the old woman who nursed your parents1 and who have descended to you as the heir-looms of an ancient house2 or1 it may be1 who began life with you1 have nursed your children1 and helped to build up your house and your fortune--shall they be forgotten in the feebleness of their age8 ,do they still stand to service1 and help to make their bread2 and when the merry crowd hies away 8to the ,sabbath-meeting10 shall the weight of their years make them turn to their seat1 because they shrink from the journey of a few miles on foot8 ,this should not be4 ,we should provide for the old and the infirm to ride to meeting4 ,i wonder some masters do not fear that an ungrateful son will one day feed them in their old age in a private room and from a trencher1 instead of at the family table and around the domestic hearthstone6 ,to the credit of our system1 the old family servants are generally honored4 ,white and black do reverence to their age and their position4 ,this is right4 ,but why should the master think it beneath him to call the young together on a ,sabbath afternoon1 and invite the attendance of all the slaves1 and instruct them orally in the truths and lessons of our holy religion3 ,what ,god is3 what the ,saviour is3 what man is3 what is to become of us when we die2 and how we may be saved4 ,the simple forms of these truths as laid down in our ,catechism may by any one be made interesting to children and instructive to all4 ,the children should be taught by being made to repeat after us and respond all together4 ,their attention will be aroused1 and they will readily catch the idea of a great many truths that may lead them to fear ,god and desire to do right4 ,withal1 it will make them feel that you care for them4 ,they will think more of themselves4 ,they will rise in the scale of social being4 ,they will be less trouble to you4 ,they will be more happy in themselves1 and ultimately share with you the joys of heaven4 ,much of all that is here enjoined1 any gentleman may do and ought to do1 though he may not be a ,christian4 ,he will himself be profited by the exercise it will give his mind on spiritual subjects4 ,i should not omit to notice1 that in speaking of the duty of the master1 ,i use the term generically--,i embrace the mistress4 ,all the duties enjoined require the cordial coperation of the mistress4 ,much of it1 if done at all1 must be done by her4 ,she oftener has a heart to do it4 ,she can do it1 and1 with a little encouragement1 will do it1 when other persons perhaps cannot or will not4 ,if1 then1 the master will not be the high-priest as well as the lawgiver of his house1 let him1 at least1 devolve a portion of the care for the religious interest of the slaves upon his wife1 and especially that which relates to the instruction of the young4 ,she1 also1 can often employ her own children to aid in this service4 ,it will both interest and instruct them4 ,so far as my observation goes1 ,i am satisfied that the ,southern family in which a proper discipline is maintained1 and domestic religion1 in that wide sense which embraces both blacks and whites1 is duly cultivated1 for good order1 for peace and quiet1 for general morality and general prosperity1 in all that concerns the comfort and happiness of a family1 stands unrivalled in the history of the country4 ,,the ,,end4 99 99 99 99 99 ,publications of the ,m4 ,e4 ,,church1 ,,south4 ,,the ,,home ,,circle2 a ,monthly ,periodical1 devoted to ,religion and ,literature4 ,rev4 ,l4 ,d4 ,huston1 ,editor4 ,super-royal octavo1 #dh pp41 each number embellished with one or more engravings4 ,,the ,,christian ,,advocate1 a ,religious ,family ,paper1 published weekly4 ,rev4 ,j4 ,b4 ,mc,ferrin1 ,d4 ,d41 ,editor4 ,price #a4ej1 invariably in advance4 ,,the ,,sunday-,,school ,,visitor2 a ,monthly ,illustrated ,journal1 designed for ,sabbath-schools4 ,rev4 ,l4 ,d4 ,huston1 ,editor4 ,price of single copies1 #be cents per year2 from #e to #bj copies to one address1 #bc cents2 from #bj to #ej copies1 #bj cents2 #ej to #ajj copies1 #ah cents2 #ajj copies and over1 #ae cents4 ,,bereaved ,,parents ,,consoled4 ,by the ,rev4 ,john ,thornton4 ,carefully revised1 with an ,introduction and ,selection of ,lyrics for the ,bereaved1 by ,thos4 ,o4 ,summers4 #ahmo1 full gilt1 #ej cents2 gilt backs1 #dj cents4 #bdmo1 muslin1 #cj cents4 ,this is a perfect gem4 ,it will be highly prized in the house of mourning4 ,the grounds of consolation here adduced are admirably adapted to sustain the stricken spirit2 and the 8,songs0 are just such as the ,christian may sing to profit 8in the night0 of bereavement and sorrow4 ,,methodist ,,pamphlets ,,for ,,the ,,people4 ,series ,i4 ,on ,church ,economy4 #ab pamphlets1 #be cents4 ,,ii4 ,on ,doctrinal ,points4 #ab pamphlets1 #be cents4 ,,iii4 ,on ,romanism4 #bd pamphlets1 #cj cents4 ,,iv4 ,on ,temperance4 #ab pamphlets1 #ae cents4 ,,summers ,,on ,,holiness4 ,price1 neatly bound in muslin1 #bb cents1 with the usual discount to wholesale dealers4 8,ability1 perspicuity1 precision1 characterize his performance4 ,his method and proofs are eminently striking4 99 99 99 ,the work is valuable as a doctrinal treatise1 and is a seasonable addition to ,methodist theological literature4 ,we commend it to the ,church1 to all whose views are unsettled on the subject1 and especially to those who differ with us concerning it40--,southern ,methodist ,quarterly4 ,,baptism3 ,a ,treatise on the ,nature1 ,perpetuity1 ,subjects1 ,administrator1 ,mode1 and ,use of the ,initiating ,ordinance of the ,christian ,church4 ,with an ,appendix1 containing ,strictures on ,dr4 ,howell's 8,evils of ,infant ,baptism10 ,plates illustrating the ,primitive ,mode of ,baptism1 c4 ,by ,thomas ,o4 ,summers4 #abmo1 pp4 #beb4 ,this book is got up in handsome style1 and sold at #fe cents retail1 with the usual discount to wholesale purchasers4 ,competent judges--among them the bishops and editors of the ,church--have spoken of this work in unqualified terms of approval4 ,several thousand copies were sold very soon after its first issue4 ,dr4 ,m',clintock1 ,ed4 ,meth4 ,quar4 ,review1 says3 8,this volume differs from ordinary books on the subject1 in treating at some length of the #8,administrator of ,baptism1' and of the #8,use of ,baptism1'--points rarely noticed1 or1 if at all1 very inadequately discussed1 in the current treatises4 ,it differs from them also1 and very happily1 in the clearness of its arrangement1 in the aptness with which the joints of the discussion fit each other1 and in the discrimination with which important points are brought out strongly1 while minor ones are comparatively thrown into abeyance4 ,in an appendix ,dr4 ,summers reviews ,howell's #8,evils of ,infant ,baptism1' with keen discrimination and with some severity4 ,we cordially commend this little volume as one of the best summaries of ,christian doctrine on the subject of baptism that has come under our notice40 ,,wesley',s ,,sermons1 with copious ,indexes1 carefully prepared by ,thomas ,o4 ,summers4 ,this is an elegant #abmo edition in four volumes1 got up expressly for the convenience of ministers1 ,sunday-schools1 and family libraries4 ,price #b4ge--cj per cent4 discount to ,sunday-schools and wholesale purchasers4--,they are also put up in four packages1 as ,tracts--price #a4be4 ,,songs ,,of ,,zion4 ,a ,supplement to the ,hymn ,book of the ,m4 ,e4 ,church1 ,south4 ,edited by ,t4 ,o4 ,summers4 ,price #bf cents4 ,this work1 so loudly called for1 has been received with great favor3 the ,press of the ,church pronounces it just the thing that was in demand4 ,it should everywhere accompany the ,hymn ,book4 ,,the ,,greek ,,and ,,eastern ,,churches3 their ,history1 ,faith1 and ,worship4 #ahmo1 pp4 #agi4 ,price #cj cents4 ,we have never met with so much reliable information on the ,oriental churches1 in so short a compass1 as is found in this neat volume4 ,,seasons1 ,,months1 ,,and ,,days4 ,by ,thos4 ,o4 ,summers4 #ahmo1 pp4 #aaj4 ,price #be cents4 ,the design of this book is to make the reader acquainted with the origin and import of the names by which the seasons1 months1 and days are designated1 including some of the historical1 mythological1 and poetical relations of the subject1 and suggesting such moral reflections as may lead the contemplative mind through nature up to nature's ,god4 ,the embellishments are beautiful and illustrative4 ,,dialogues ,,on ,,popery4 ,by ,jacob ,stanley4 #ahmo1 pp4 #bfd4 ,price #ce cents4 ,a carefully revised and beautifully printed edition of an excellent book3 it has had an extensive circulation on both sides of the ,atlantic4 ,,the ,,hebrew ,,missionary2 ,essays ,exegetical and ,practical1 on the ,book of ,jonah4 ,by the ,rev4 ,joseph ,cross1 ,d4 ,d4 #ahmo1 pp4 #bdb4 ,price #dj cents4 ,this book is a valuable contribution to our ,church literature--it exhibits great research1 and abounds in eloquent passages and valuable reflections4 ,the engravings and maps illustrative of ,nineveh1 as brought to light by ,layard and others1 add great interest to the work4 ,,progress3 ,,considered ,,with ,,particular ,,reference ,,to ,,the ,m4 ,e4 ,,church1 ,,south4 ,by the ,rev4 ,w4 ,j4 ,sasnett1 of ,emory ,college1 pp4 #cbj4 ,price #hj cents4 ,this is an elegantly printed #abmo volume1 containing #cbj pages4 ,the ,advocates speak of it as a book of no common interest4 ,the ,home ,circle says3 8,the work is an earnest plea and practical plan for progress in the ,methodist ,church2 yet1 with all our love of the old landmarks and prima facie opposition to any interference with them1 we have not met with a sentiment or suggestion that we cannot endorse4 ,we therefore express the earnest hope that the book may find immediate access to the entire ,church4 ,the sooner we all get our minds fully settled upon the matters of which it treats1 the better3 and its pages will greatly contribute to such settlement40 ,,an ,,apology ,,for ,,the ,,bible4 ,in a ,series of ,letters addressed to ,thomas ,paine1 ,author of the 8,age of ,reason40 ,by ,bishop ,watson4 #ahmo1 pp4 #bbh4 ,price #cj cents4 ,a new and elegantly printed edition of this great ,christian classic4 ,a ,,refutation ,,cf ,,the ,,theological ,,works ,,of ,,thomas ,,paine1 not noticed by ,bishop ,watson in his 8,apology for the ,bible40 ,by ,thos4 ,o4 ,summers4 #ahmo1 pp4 #hd4 ,price #be cents4 ,the ,memphis ,christian ,advocate speaks of this work as 8seasonable0--in view of the revival of infidelity of the ,thomas ,paine type--and says1 8,the argument is terse and concise1 but satisfactory40 ,the author aimed at saying a great deal in a few words4 ,the 8,refutation0 is beautifully gotten up4 ,the 8,apology0 and 8,refutation0 are also bound together1 price #de cents4 ,,strictures ,,on ,,church ,,government4 ,by the ,rev4 ,r4 ,abbey ,price #e cents4 ,this essay has a special bearing on the government of the ,baptist ,church4 ,,hymns ,,for ,,schools ,,and ,,families1 specially designed for the ,children cf the ,church4 ,edited by ,thos4 ,o4 ,summers4 ,net price to ,sunday-schools3 boards1 #aj cents2 roan1 #ba cents4 ,retail1 #cj cents2 roan gilt1 #ej cents2 morocco1 #ge cents4 ,the fine ones are gems4 ,the book consists of #chd pages1 and contains #fjj ,hymns4 8,as its title indicates1 it is a collection especially designed for the children of the ,church1 and it has been compiled with the ability1 research1 and taste which characterize the labors of the accomplished editor in the department of hymnology4 ,we are not saying too much for it1 when we affirm that it leaves nothing to be desiderated hereafter in this line40--,southern ,christian ,advocate4 ,,the ,,sunday-,,school ,,teacher2 or1 the ,catechetical ,office4 ,by ,thos4 ,o4 ,summers4 #ahmo1 pp4 #add4 ,price #cj cents4 ,this work discusses the most interesting questions connected with the ,catechetical ,system--the ,teacher's ,qualifications1 ,difficulties1 and ,encouragements4 ,it exhibits the obligations of pastors and teachers to the children of the ,church1 and shows how they may be discharged4 ,,old ,,michael ,,and ,,young ,,maurice2 or1 ,country ,scenes in ,england4 #ahmo1 pp4 #agh4 ,price #cj cents4 ,a truthful1 fascinating1 and instructive volume4 ,,talks1 ,,pleasant ,,and ,,profitable4 ,by ,thos4 ,o4 ,summers #ahmo1 pp4 #adf4 ,price #cj cents4 ,the topics of these dialogues are ,orphans1 ,may-,day1 ,birds1 ,temperance1 ,peter and the ,tribute-money1 ,retribution1 ,recognition of ,friends in ,heaven4 ,the style is adapted to the minds of intelligent youth ,the engravings are handsome4 ,,the ,,world ,,of ,,waters4 ,by ,fanny ,osborne4 ,with ,illustrations ,two vols4 #ahmo1 pp4 #ahf1 #bbd4 ,price #fj cents4 ,a couple of fascinating and instructive volumes4 ,the tales and narratives beguile1 like sailors' yarns1 the voyage over the world of waters4 ,the descriptions and anecdotes blend the charm of romance with the credibility of truth4 ,,scripture ,,views ,,of ,,the ,,heavenly ,,world4 ,by ,j4 ,edmondson1 ,a4,m4 #ahmo1 pp4 #bdi4 ,price #ce cents4 ,a neat edition of a book which takes rank with ,baxter's ,saints' ,rest--to which great work it is in some respects superior4 ,,trial ,,of ,,the ,,witnesses ,,of ,,the ,,resurrection ,,of ,,christ4 ,by ,bishop ,sherlock4 ,with an ,introduction by ,thos4 ,o ,summers #ahmo1 pp4 #acg4 ,price #cj cents4 ,this masterly work is got up in convenient form and beautiful style4 ,the ,introduction contains a brief biography of the illustrious author4