,,slavery ,,ordained ,,of ,,god ,by ,rev4 ,fred4 ,a4 ,ross1 ,d4,d4 ,the powers that be are ordained of ,god4 ,romans xiii4 #a4 ,,to ,the ,men ,,north ,,and ,,south1 ,,who ,,honor ,,the ,,word ,,of ,,god ,,and ,,love ,,their ,,country4 ,preface4 ,the book ,i give to the public1 is not made up of isolated articles4 ,it is one harmonious demonstration--that slavery is part of the government ordained in certain conditions of fallen mankind4 ,i present the subject in the form of speeches1 actually delivered1 and letters written just as published4 ,i adopt this method to make a readable book4 ,i give it to the ,north and ,south--to maintain harmony among ,christians1 and to secure the integrity of the union of this great people4 ,this harmony and union can be preserved only by the view presented in this volume1--i4e4 that slavery is of ,god1 and to continue for the good of the slave1 the good of the master1 the good of the whole ,american family1 until another and better destiny may be unfolded4 ,the one great idea1 which ,i submit to ,north and ,south1 is expressed in the speech1 first in order1 delivered in the ,general ,assembly of the ,presbyterian ,church1 ,buffalo1 ,may #bg1 #ahec4 ,i therein say3-- ,let us then1 ,north and ,south1 bring our minds to comprehend two ideas1 and submit to their irresistible power4 ,let the ,northern philanthropist learn from the ,bible that the relation of master and slave is not sin per se4 ,let him learn that ,god says nowhere it is sin4 ,let him learn that sin is the transgression of the law2 and where there is no law there is no sin1 and that the ,golden ,rule may exist in the relations of slavery4 ,let him learn that slavery is simply an evil in certain circumstances4 ,let him learn that equality is only the highest form of social life2 that subjection to authority1 even slavery1 may1 in given conditions1 be for a time better than freedom to the slave of any complexion4 ,let him learn that slavery1 like all evils1 has its corresponding and greater good2 that the ,southern slave1 though degraded compared with his master1 is elevated and ennobled compared with his brethren in ,africa4 ,let the ,northern man learn these things1 and be wise to cultivate the spirit that will harmonize with his brethren of the ,south1 who are lovers of liberty as truly as himself3 ,and let the ,southern ,christian--nay1 the ,southern man of every grade--comprehend that ,god never intended the relation of master and slave to be perpetual4 ,let him give up the theory of ,voltaire1 that the negro is of a different species4 ,let him yield the semi-infidelity of ,agassiz1 that ,god created different races of the same species--in swarms1 like bees--for ,asia1 ,europe1 ,america1 ,africa1 and the islands of the sea4 ,let him believe that slavery1 although not a sin1 is a degraded condition1--the evil1 the curse on the ,south1--yet having blessings in its time to the ,south and to the ,union4 ,let him know that slavery is to pass away in the fulness of ,providence4 ,let the ,south believe this1 and prepare to obey the hand that moves their destiny4 ,all which comes after1 in the speech delivered in ,new ,york1 #ahef1 and in the letters1 is just the expansion of this one controlling thought1 which must be understood1 believed1 and acted out ,north and ,south4 ,the ,author4 ,written in ,cleveland1 ,ohio1 ,may #bh1 #aheg4 ,contents4 ,speech ,before the ,general ,assembly at ,buffalo ,speech ,before the ,general ,assembly at ,new ,york ,letter to ,rev4 ,a4 ,blackburn ,what ,is the ,foundation of ,moral ,obligation8 ,letters to ,rev4 ,a4 ,barnes3-- ,i4--,results of the slavery agitation--,declaration of ,independence-- ,the way men are made infidels--,testimonies of ,general ,assemblies ,,ii4--,government over man a divine institute ,,iii4--,man-stealing ,,iv4--,the ,golden ,rule ,speech ,delivered at ,buffalo1 ,before the ,general ,assembly of the ,presbyterian ,church4 ,to understand the following speech1 the reader will be pleased to learn--if he don't know already--that the ,general ,assembly of the ,presbyterian ,church1 before its division in #ahch1 and since1--both ,old ,school and ,new ,school1--has been1 for forty years and more1 bearing testimony1 after a fashion1 against the system of slavery2 that is to say1 affirming1 in one breath1 that slave-holding is a blot on our holy religion1 c4 c42 and then1 in the next utterance1 making all sorts of apologies and justifications for the slave-holder4 ,thus3 this august body has been in the habit of telling the ,southern master 7especially in the ,detroit resolutions of #ahej7 that he is a sinner1 hardly meet to be called a ,christian2 but1 nevertheless1 if he will only sin from unavoidable necessity1 imposed by the laws of the ,states1--if he will only sin under the obligations of guardianship1--if he will only sin from the demands of humanity1--why1 then1 forsooth1 he may be a slave-holder as long as he has a mind to4 ,yea1 he may hold one slave1 one hundred or one thousand slaves1 and till the day of judgment4 ,happening to be in attendance1 as a member of the body1 in ,buffalo1 ,may1 #ahec1 when1 as usual1 the system of slavery was touched1 in a series of questions sent down to the church courts below1 ,i made the following remarks1 in good-natured ridicule of such preposterous and stultifying testimony2 and1 as an argument1 opening the views ,i have since reproduced in the second speech of this volume1 delivered in the ,general ,assembly which convened in ,new ,york1 ,may1 #ahef1 and also in the letters following3-- ,,buffalo1 ,,friday1 ,may #bg1 #ahec4 ,the order of the day was reached at a quarter before eleven1 and the report read again1--viz43 #a4 ,that this body shall reaffirm the doctrine of the second resolution adopted by the ,general ,assembly1 convened in ,detroit1 in #ahej1 and1 #b4 ,that with an express disavowal of any intention to be impertinently inquisitorial1 and for the sole purpose of arriving at the truth1 so as to correct misapprehensions and allay all causeless irritation1 a committee be appointed of one from each of the synods of ,kentucky1 ,tennessee1 ,missouri1 and ,virginia1 who shall be requested to report to the next ,general ,assembly on the following points3--#a4 ,the number of slave-holders in connection with the churches1 and the number of slaves held by them4 #b4 ,the extent to which slaves are held from an unavoidable necessity imposed by the laws of the ,states1 the obligations of guardianship1 and the demands of humanity4 #c4 ,whether the ,southern churches regard the sacredness of the marriage relation as it exists among the slaves2 whether baptism is duly administered to the children of the slaves professing ,christianity1 and in general1 to what extent and in what manner provision is made for the religious well-being of the slave1 c4 c4 ,dr4 ,ross moved to amend the report by substituting the following1--with an express disavowal of being impertinently inquisitorial3--that a committee of one from each of the ,northern synods of ---- be appointed1 who shall be requested to report to the next ,general ,assembly1-- #a4 ,the number of ,northern church-members concerned1 directly or indirectly1 in building and fitting out ships for the ,african slave-trade1 and the slave-trade between the ,states4 #b4 ,the number of ,northern church-members who traffic with slave-holders1 and are seeking to make money by selling them negro-clothing1 handcuffs1 and cowhides4 #c4 ,the number of ,northern church-members who have sent orders to ,new ,orleans1 and other ,southern cities1 to have slaves sold1 to pay debts owing them from the ,south4 ,see ,uncle ,tom's ,cabin4 #d4 ,the number of ,northern church-members who buy the cotton1 sugar1 rice1 tobacco1 oranges1 pine-apples1 figs1 ginger1 cocoa1 melons1 and a thousand other things1 raised by slave-labor4 #e4 ,the number of ,northern church-members who have intermarried with slave-holders1 and have thus become slave-owners themselves1 or enjoy the wealth made by the blood of the slave1--especially if there be any ,northern ministers of the gospel in such a predicament4 #f4 ,the number of ,northern church-members who are the descendants of the men who kidnapped negroes in ,africa and brought them to ,virginia and ,new ,england in former years4 #g4 ,the aggregate and individual wealth of members thus descended1 and what action is best to compel them to disgorge this blood-stained gold1 or to compel them to give dollar for dollar in equalizing the loss of the ,south by emancipation4 #h4 ,the number of ,northern church-members1 ministers especially1 who have advocated murder in resistance to the laws of the land4 #i4 ,the number of ,northern church-members who own stock in under-ground railroads1 running off fugitive slaves1 and in ,sabbath-breaking railroads and canals4 #aj4 ,that a special commission be sent up ,red ,river1 to ascertain whether ,legree1 who whipped ,uncle ,tom to death1 7and who was a ,northern gentleman17 be not still in connection with some ,northern church in good and regular standing4 #aa4 ,the number of ,northern church-members who attend meetings of ,spiritual ,rappers1--or ,bloomers1--or ,women's-,rights ,conventions4 #ab4 ,the number of ,northern church-members who are cruel husbands4 #ac4 ,the number of ,northern church-members who are hen-pecked husbands4 ,as it is always difficult to know the temper of speaker and audience from a printed report1 it is due alike to ,dr4 ,r41 to the whole ,assembly1 and the galleries1 to say1 that he1 in reading these resolutions1 and throughout his speech1 evinced great good-humour and kindness of feeling1 which was equally manifested by the ,assembly and spectators1 repeatedly1 while he was on the floor4 ,dr4 ,ross then proceeded3--,mr4 ,moderator1 ,i move this amendment in the best spirit4 ,i desire to imitate the committee in their refinement and delicacy of distinction4 ,i disavow all intention to be impertinently inquisitorial4 ,i intend to be inquisitorial1 as the committee say they are1--but not impertinently so4 ,no1 sir2 not at all2 not at all4 7,laughter47 ,well1 sir1 we of the ,south1 who desire the removal of the evil of slavery1 and believe it will pass away in the developments of ,providence1 are grieved when we read your graphic1 shuddering pictures of the middle passage1--the slave-ship1 piling up her canvas1 as the shot pours after her from ,english or ,american guns1--see her again and again hurrying hogshead after hogshead1 filled with living slaves1 into the deep1 and1 thus lightened1 escape4 ,sir1 what horror to believe that clipper-ship was built by the hands of ,northern1 noisy ,abolition church-members6 ,yes1 ,i know some in ,new ,york and ,boston1 said one in the crowd4 ,again1 sir1 when we walk along your ,broadways1 and see1 as we do1 the soft hands of your church-members sending off to the ,south1 not only clothing for the slave1 but manacles and whips1 manufactured expressly for him1--what must we think of your consistency of character8 ,true1 true4 ,and what must we think of your self-righteousness1 when we know your church-members order the sale of slaves1--yes1 slaves such as ,st4 ,clair's1--and under circumstances involving all the separations and all the loathsome things you so mournfully deplore8 ,your ,mrs4 ,stowe says so1 and it is so1 without her testimony4 ,i have read that splendid1 bad book4 ,splendid in its genius1 over which ,i have wept1 and laughed1 and got mad1 7here some one said1 ,all at the same time87 yes--all at the same time4 ,bad in its theology1 bad in its morality1 bad in its temporary evil influence here in the ,north1 in ,england1 and on the continent of ,europe2 bad1 because her isolated cruelties will be taken 7whether so meant by her or not7 as the general condition of ,southern life1--while her ,shelbys1 and ,st4 ,clairs1 and ,evas1 will be looked upon as angel-visitors1 lingering for a moment in that earthly hell4 ,the impression made by the book is a falsehood4 ,sir1 why do your ,northern church-members and philanthropists buy ,southern products at all8 ,you know you are purchasing cotton1 rice1 sugar1 sprinkled with blood1 literally1 you say1 from the lash of the driver6 ,why do you buy8 ,what's the difference between my filching this blood-stained cotton from the outraged negro1 and your standing by1 taking it from me8 ,what's the difference8 ,you1 yourselves1 say1 in your abstractions1 there is no difference2 and yet you daily stain your hands in this horrid traffic4 ,you hate the traitor1 but you love the treason4 ,your ladies1 too1--oh1 how they shun the slave-owner at a distance1 in the abstract6 ,but alas1 when they see him in the concrete1--when they see the slave-owner himself1 standing before them1--not the brutal driver1 but the splendid gentleman1 with his unmistakable grace of carriage and ease of manners1--why1 lo1 behold the lady says1 ,oh1 fie on your slavery6--what a wretch you are6 ,but1 indeed1 sir1 ,i love your sugar1--and truly1 truly1 sir1 wretch as you are1 ,i love you too4 ,your gentlemen talk just the same way when they behold our matchless women4 ,and well for us all it is1 that your good taste1 and hearts1 can thus appreciate our genius1 and accomplishments1 and fascinations1 and loveliness1 and sugar1 and cotton4 ,why1 sir1 ,i heard this morning1 from one pastor only1 of two or three of his members thus intermarried in the ,south4 ,may ,i thus give the mildest rebuke to your inconsistency of conduct8 7,much good-natured excitement47 ,sir1 may we know who are the descendants of the ,new ,england kidnappers8 ,what is their wealth8 ,why1 here you are1 all around me4 ,you1 gentlemen1 made the best of that bargain4 ,and you have kept every dollar of your money from the charity of emancipating the slave4 ,you have left us1 unaided1 to give millions4 ,will you now come to our help8 ,will you give dollar for dollar to equalize our loss8 ,here many voices cried out1 ,yes1 yes1 we will4 ,yes1 yes8 ,then pour out your millions4 ,good4 ,i may thank you personally4 ,my own emancipated slaves would to-day be worth greatly more than #bj1jjj4 ,will you give me back #aj1jjj8 ,good4 ,i need it now4 ,i recommend to you1 sirs1 to find out your advocates of murder1--your owners of stock in under-ground railroads1--your ,sabbath-breakers for money4 ,i particularly urge you to find ,legree1 who whipped ,uncle ,tom to death4 ,he is a ,northern gentleman1 although having a somewhat ,southern name4 ,now1 sir1 you know the ,assembly was embarrassed all yesterday by the inquiry how the ,northern churches may find their absent members1 and what to do with them4 ,here then1 sir1 is a chance for you4 ,send a committee up ,red ,river4 ,you may find ,legree to be a ,garrison1 ,phillips1 ,smith1 or runaway husband from some ,abby ,kelly4 ,here ,rev4 ,mr4 ,smith protested against ,legree being proved to be a ,smith4 ,great laughter4 ,footnote3 ,this gentleman was soon after made a ,d4,d41 and ,i think in part for that witticism4 ,i move that you bring him back to lecture on the cuteness there is in leaving a ,northern church1 going ,south1 changing his name1 buying slaves1 and calculating1 without guessing1 what the profit is of killing a negro with inhuman labor above the gain of treating him with kindness4 ,i have little to say of spirit-rappers1 women's-rights conventionists1 ,bloomers1 cruel husbands1 or hen-pecked4 ,but1 if we may believe your own serious as well as caricature writers1 you have things up here of which we down ,south know very little indeed4 ,sir1 we have no young ,bloomers1 with hat to one side1 cigar in mouth1 and cane tapping the boot1 striding up to a mincing young gentleman with long curls1 attenuated waist1 and soft velvet face1--the boy-lady to say1 ,may ,i see you home1 sir8 and the lady-boy to reply1 ,i thank ye--no2 pa will send the carriage4 ,sir1 we of the ,south don't understand your women's-rights conventions4 ,women have their wrongs4 ,the ,song of the ,shirt1--,charlotte ,elizabeth1--many1 many laws1--tell her wrongs4 ,but your convention ladies despise the ,bible4 ,yes1 sir2 and we of the ,south are afraid of them1 and for you4 ,when women despise the ,bible1 what next8 ,paris1--then the ,city of the ,great ,salt ,lake1--then ,sodom1 before and after the ,dead ,sea4 ,oh1 sir1 if slavery tends in any way to give the honour of chivalry to ,southern young gentlemen towards ladies1 and the exquisite delicacy and heavenly integrity and love to ,southern maid and matron1 it has then a glorious blessing with its curse4 ,sir1 your inquisitorial committee1 and the ,north so far as represented by them1 7a small fraction1 ,i know17 have1 ,i take it1 caught a ,tartar this time4 ,boys say with us1 and everywhere1 ,i reckon1 ,you worry my dog1 and ,i'll worry your cat4 ,sir1 it is just simply a fixed fact3 the ,south will not submit to these questions4 ,no1 not for an instant4 ,we will not permit you to approach us at all4 ,if we are morbidly sensitive1 you have made us so4 ,but you are directly and grossly violating the ,constitution of the ,presbyterian ,church4 ,the book forbids you to put such questions2 the book forbids you to begin discipline2 the book forbids your sending this committee to help common fame bear testimony against us2 the book guards the honour of our humblest member1 minister1 church1 presbytery1 against all this impertinently-inquisitorial action4 ,have you a prosecutor1 with his definite charge and witnesses8 ,have you ,common ,fame1 with her specified charges and witnesses8 ,have you a request from the ,south that you send a committee to inquire into slanders8 ,no4 ,then hands off4 ,as gentlemen you may ask us these questions1--we will answer you4 ,but1 ecclesiastically1 you cannot speak in this matter4 ,you have no power to move as you propose4 ,i beg leave to say1 just here1 that ,tennessee ,footnote3 ,at that time ,i resided in ,tennessee4 will be more calm under this movement than any other slave-region4 ,tennessee has been ever high above the storm1 ,north and ,south1--especially we of the mountains4 ,tennessee6--there she is1--look at her1--binding this ,union together like a great1 long1 broad1 deep stone1--more splendid than all in the temple of ,baalbec or ,solomon4 ,tennessee6--there she is1 in her calm valour4 ,i will not lower her by calling her unconquerable1 for she has never been assailed2 but ,i call her ever-victorious4 ,king's ,mountain1--her pioneer battles3--,talladega1 ,emucfau1 ,horse-shoe1 ,new ,orleans1 ,san ,jacinto1 ,monterey1 the ,valley of ,mexico4 ,jackson represented her well in his chivalry from ,south ,carolina1--his fiery courage from ,virginia and ,kentucky1--all tempered by ,scotch-,irish ,presbyterian prudence from ,tennessee4 ,we1 in his spirit1 have looked on this storm for years untroubled4 ,yes1 ,jackson's old bones rattled in their grave when that infamous disunion convention met in ,nashville1 and its members turned pale and fled aghast4 ,yes1 ,tennessee1 in her mighty million1 feels secure2 and1 in her perfect preparation to discuss this question1 politically1 ecclesiastically1 morally1 metaphysically1 or physically1 with the extreme ,north or ,south1 she is willing and able to persuade others to be calm4 ,in this connection1 ,i wish to say1 for the ,south to the ,north1 and to the world1 that we have no fears from our slave-population4 ,there might be a momentary insurrection and bloodshed2 but destruction to the black man would be inevitable4 ,the ,greeks and ,romans controlled immense masses of white slaves1--many of them as intelligent as their lords4 ,schoolmasters1 fabulists1 and poets were slaves4 ,athens1 with her thirty thousand freemen1 governed half a million of bondmen4 ,single ,roman patricians owned thirty thousand4 ,if1 then1 the phalanx and the legion mastered such slaves for ages1 when battle was physical force of man to man1 how certain it is that infantry1 cavalry1 and artillery could hold in bondage millions of ,africans for a thousand years6 ,but1 dear brethren1 our ,southern philanthropists do not seek to have this unending bondage2 ,oh1 no1 no4 ,and ,i earnestly entreat you to stand still and see the salvation of the ,lord4 ,assume a masterly inactivity1 and you will behold all you desire and pray for1--you will see ,america liberated from the curse of slavery4 ,the great question of the world is1 ,,what ,,is ,,to ,,be ,,the ,,future ,,of ,,the ,,american ,,slave8--,,what ,,is ,,to ,,be ,,the ,,future ,,of ,,the ,,american ,,master8 ,the following extract from the ,charleston ,mercury gives my view of the subject with great and condensed particularity3-- ,married1 ,thursday1 #bfth inst41 the ,hon4 ,cushing ,kewang1 ,secretary of ,state of the ,united ,states1 to ,laura1 daughter of ,paul ,coligny1 ,vice-,president of the ,united ,states1 and one of our noblest ,huguenot families4 ,we learn that this distinguished gentleman1 with his bride1 will visit his father1 the ,emperor of ,china1 at his summer palace1 in ,tartary1 north of ,pekin1 and return to the ,vice-,president's ,tea ,pavilion1 on ,cooper ,river1 ere the meeting of ,congress4 ,the editor of the ,mercury goes on to say3 ,this marriage in high life is only one of many which have signalized that immense emigration from ,christianized ,china during the last seventy-five years1 whereby ,charleston has a population of #a1bej1jjj1 and the ,state of ,south ,carolina over #e1jjj1jjj1--;an emigration which has wonderfully harmonized with the great exodus of the negro race to ,africa4 ,some gentleman here requested to know of ,dr4 ,ross the date of the ,charleston ,mercury recording this marriage4 ,the doctor replied1 ,the date is #bgth ,may1 #aiec1 exactly one hundred years from this day4 ,great laughter4 ,sir1 this is a dream2 but it is not all a dream4 ,no1 ,i verily believe you have there the ,gordian knot of slavery untied2 you have there the solution of the problem2 you have there the curtain up1 and the last scene in the last act of the great drama of ,ham4 ,i am satisfied with the tendencies of things4 ,i stand on the mountain-peak above the clouds4 ,i see1 far beyond the storm1 the calm sea and blue sky2 ,i see the ,canaan of the ,african4 ,i like to stand there on the ,nebo of his exodus1 and look across1 not the ,jordan1 but the ,atlantic4 ,i see the ,african crossing as certainly as if ,i gazed upon the ocean divided by a great wind1 and piled up in walls of green glittering glass on either hand1 the dry ground1 the marching host1 and the pillar of cloud and of fire4 ,i look over upon the ,niger1 black with death to the white man1 instinct with life to the children of ,ham4 ,there is the black man's home4 ,oh1 how strange that you of the ,north see not how you degrade him when you keep him here6 ,you will not let him vote2 you will not let him rise to honors or social equality2 you will not let him hold a pew in your churches4 ,send him away1 then2 tell him1 begone4 ,be urgent1 like the ,egyptians3 send him out of this land4 ,there1 in his fatherland1 he will exhibit his own type of ,christianity4 ,he is1 of all races1 the most gentle and kind4 ,the man1 the most submissive2 the woman1 the most affectionate4 ,what other slaves would love their masters better than themselves8--rock them and fan them in their cradles8 caress them--how tenderly6--boys and girls8 honor them1 grown up1 as superior beings8 and1 in thousands of illustrious instances1 be willing to give life1 and1 in fact1 die1 to serve or save them8 ,verily1 verily1 this emancipated race may reveal the most amiable form of spiritual life1 and the jewel may glitter on the ,ethiop's brow in meaning more sublime than all in the poet's imagery4 ,brethren1 let them go2 and1 when they are gone1--ay1 before they go away1--rear a monument2 let it grow in greatness1 if not on your highest mountain1 in your hearts1--in lasting memory of the ,south1--in memory of your wrong to the ,south1--in memory of the self-denial of the ,south1 and her philanthropy in training the slave to be free1 enlightened1 and ,christian4 ,can all this be8 ,can this double emigration civilize ,africa and more than re-people the ,south8 ,yes2 and ,i regard the difficulties presented here1 in ,congress1 or the country1 as little worth4 ,god intends both emigrations4 ,and1 without miracle1 he will accomplish both4 ,difficulties6 ,there are no difficulties4 ,half a million emigrate to our shores1 from ,ireland1 and all ,europe1 every year4 ,and you gravely talk of difficulties in the negro's way to ,africa6 ,verily1 ,god will unfold their destiny as fast1 and as fully1 as he sees best for the highest good of the slave1 the highest good of the master1 and the glory of ,christ in ,africa4 ,and1 sir1 there are forty thousand ,chinese in ,california4 ,and in ,cuba1 this day1 ,american gentlemen are cultivating sugar1 with ,chinese hired labor1 more profitably than the ,spaniards and their slaves4 ,oh6 there is ,china--half the population of the globe--just fronting us across that peaceful sea1--her poor1 living on rats and a pittance of red rice1--her rich1 hoarding millions in senseless idolatry1 or indulging in the luxuries of birds'-nests and roasted ice4 ,massed together1 they must migrate4 ,where can they go8 ,they must come to our shores4 ,they must come1 even did ,god forbid them4 ,but he will hasten their coming4 ,they can live in the extremest ,south4 ,it is their latitude1--their side of the ocean4 ,they can cultivate cotton1 rice1 sugar1 tea1 and the silkworm4 ,their skill1 their manipulation1 is unrivalled4 ,their commonest gong you can neither make nor explain4 ,they are a law-abiding people1 without castes1 accustomed to rise by merit to highest distinctions1 and capable of the noblest training1 when their idolatry1 which is waxing old as a garment1 shall be folded up as a vesture and changed for that whose years shall not fail4 ,the ,english ambassador assures us that the ,chinese negotiator of the late treaty was a splendid gentleman1 and a diplomatist to move in any court of ,europe4 ,shem1 then1 can mingle with ,japheth in ,america4 ,the ,chinese must come4 ,god will bring them4 ,he will fulfil ,benton's noble thought4 ,the railroad must complete the voyage of ,columbus4 ,the statue of the ,genoese1 on some peak of the ,rocky ,mountains1 high above the flying cars1 must point to the ,west1 saying1 ,there is the ,east6 ,there is ,india and ,cathay4 ,let us1 then1 ,north and ,south1 bring our minds to comprehend two ideas1 and submit to their irresistible power4 ,let the ,northern philanthropist learn from the ,bible that the relation of master and slave is not sin per se4 ,let him learn that ,god nowhere says it is sin4 ,let him learn that sin is the transgression of the law2 and where there is no law1 there is no sin2 and that the golden rule may exist in the relations of slavery4 ,let him learn that slavery is simply an evil in certain circumstances4 ,let him learn that equality is only the highest form of social life2 that subjection to authority1 even slavery1 may1 in given conditions1 be for a time better than freedom to the slave1 of any complexion4 ,let him learn that slavery1 like all evils1 has its corresponding and greater good2 that the ,southern slave1 though degraded compared with his master1 is elevated and ennobled compared with his brethren in ,africa4 ,let the ,northern man learn these things1 and be wise to cultivate the spirit that will harmonize with his brethren of the ,south1 who are lovers of liberty as truly as himself4 ,and let the ,southern ,christian--nay1 the ,southern man of every grade--comprehend that ,god never intended the relation of master and slave to be perpetual4 ,let him give up the theory of ,voltaire1 that the negro is of a different species4 ,let him yield the semi-infidelity of ,agassiz1 that ,god created different races of the same species--in swarms1 like bees--for ,asia1 ,europe1 ,america1 ,africa1 and the islands of the sea4 ,let him believe that slavery1 although not a sin1 is a degraded condition1--the evil1 the curse on the ,south1--yet having blessings in its time to the ,south and to the ,union4 ,let him know that slavery is to pass away1 in the fulness of ,providence4 ,let the ,south believe this1 and prepare to obey the hand that moves their destiny4 ,ham will be ever lower than ,shem2 ,shem will be ever lower than ,japheth4 ,all will rise in the ,christian grandeur to be revealed4 ,ham will be lower than ,shem1 because he was sent to ,central ,africa4 ,man south of the ,equator--in ,asia1 ,australia1 ,oceanica1 ,america1 especially ,africa--is inferior to his ,northern brother4 ,the blessing was upon ,shem in his magnificent ,asia4 ,the greater blessing was upon ,japheth in his man-developing ,europe4 ,both blessings will be combined1 in ,america1 north of the ,zone1 in commingled light and life4 ,i see it all in the first symbolical altar of ,noah on that mound at the base of ,ararat4 ,the father of all living men bows before the incense of sacrifice1 streaming up and mingling with the rays of the rising sun4 ,his noble family1 and all flesh saved1 are grouped round about him4 ,there is ,ham1 at the foot of the green hillock1 standing1 in his antediluvian1 rakish recklessness1 near the long-necked giraffe1 type of his ,africa1--his magnificent wife1 seated on the grass1 her little feet nestling in the tame lion's mane1 her long black hair flowing over crimson drapery and covered with gems from mines before the flood4 ,higher up is ,shem1 leaning his arm over that mouse-colored horse1--his ,arab steed4 ,his wife1 in pure white linen1 feeds the elephant1 and plays with his lithe proboscis1--the mother of ,terah1 ,abraham1 ,isaac1 ,jacob1 ,joseph1 ,david1 and ,christ4 ,and yet she looks up1 and bows in mild humility1 to her of ,japheth1 seated amid plumed birds1 in robes like the sky4 ,her noble lord1 meanwhile1 high above all1 stands1 with folded arms1 following that eagle which wheels up towards ,ararat1 displaying his breast glittering with stars and stripes of scarlet and silver1--radiant heraldry1 traced by the hand of ,god4 ,now he purifies his eye in the sun1 and now he spreads his broad wings in symbolic flight to the ,west1 until lost to the prophetic eye of ,japheth1 under the bow of splendors set that day in the cloud4 ,god's covenant with man1--oh1 may the bow of covenant between us be here to-day1 that the waters of this flood shall never again threaten our beloved land6 ,speech ,delivered in the ,general ,assembly ,new ,york1 #ahef4 ,the circumstances1 under which this speech was delivered1 are sufficiently shown in the statement below4 ,it was not a hasty production4 ,after being spoken1 it was prepared for the ,journal of ,commerce1 with the greatest care ,i could give to it3 most of it was written again and again4 ,unlike ,pascal1 who said1 as to his longest and inferior sixteenth letter1 that he had not had time to make it shorter1 ,i had time2 and ,i did condense in that one speech the matured reflections of my whole life4 ,i am calmly satisfied ,i am right4 ,i am sure ,god has said1 and does say1 ,well done4 ,the speech brings to view a wide range of thought1 all belonging to the subject of slavery1 of immense importance4 ,as introductory1--there is the question of the abolition agitation the last thirty years2 then1 what is right and wrong1 and the foundation of moral obligation2 then1 the definition of sin2 next1 the origin of human government1 and the relations1 in which ,god has placed men under his rule of subjection2 finally1 the word of ,god is brought to sustain all the positions taken4 ,the challenge to argue the question of slavery from the ,bible was thrown down on the floor of the ,assembly1 as stated4 ,presently ,i took up the gauntlet1 and made this argument4 ,the challenger never claimed his glove1 then nor since2 nor has anybody1 so far as ,i know1 attempted to refute this speech4 ,nothing has come to my ears 7save as to two points1 to be noticed hereafter7 but reckless1 bold denial of ,god's truth1 infidel affirmation without attempt at proof1 and denunciations of myself4 ,dr4 ,wisner having said that he would argue the question on the ,bible at a following time1 ,dr4 ,ross rose1 when he took his seat1 and1 taking his position on the platform near the ,moderator's chair1 said1-- ,i accept the challenge given by ,dr4 ,wisner1 to argue the question of slavery from the ,scriptures4 ,dr4 ,wisner4--,does the brother propose to go into it here8 ,dr4 ,ross4--,yes1 sir4 ,dr4 ,wisner4--,well1 ,i did not propose to go into it here4 ,dr4 ,ross4--,you gave the challenge1 and ,i accept it4 ,dr4 ,wisner4--,i said ,i would argue it at a proper time2 but it is no matter4 ,go ahead4 ,dr4 ,beman hoped the discussion would be ruled out4 ,he did not think it a legitimate subject to go into1--,moses and the prophets1 ,christ and his apostles1 and all intermediate authorities1 on the subject of what the ,general ,assembly of the ,presbyterian ,church in ,america had done4 ,judge ,jessup considered the question had been opened by this report of the majority3 after which ,dr4 ,beman withdrew his objection1 and ,dr4 ,ross proceeded4 ,i am not a slave-holder4 ,nay1 ,i have shown some self-denial in that matter4 ,i emancipated slaves whose money-value would now be #dj1jjj4 ,in the providence of ,god1 my riches have entirely passed from me4 ,i do not mean that1 like the widow1 ,i gave all the living ,i had4 ,my estate was then greater than that slave-property4 ,i merely wish to show ,i have no selfish motive in giving1 as ,i shall1 the true ,southern defence of slavery4 7,applause47 ,i speak from ,huntsville1 ,alabama1 my present home4 ,that gem of the ,south1 that beautiful city where the mountain softens into the vale1--where the water gushes1 a great fountain1 from the rock1--where around that living stream there are streets of roses1 and houses of intelligence and gracefulness and gentlest hospitality1--and1 withal1 where so high honor is ever given to the ministers of ,god4 ,speaking then from that region where ,cotton is king1 ,i affirm1 contrary as my opinion is to that most common in the ,south1 that the slavery agitation has accomplished and will do great good4 ,i said so1 to ministerial and political friends1 twenty-five years ago4 ,i have always favored the agitation1--just as ,i have always countenanced discussion upon all subjects4 ,i felt that the slavery question needed examination4 ,i believed it was not understood in its relations to the ,bible and human liberty4 ,sir1 the light is spreading ,north and ,south4 ',tis said1 ,i know1 this agitation has increased the severity of slavery4 ,true1 but for a moment only1 in the days of the years of the life of this noble problem4 ,farmers tell us that deep ploughing in poor ground will1 for a year or two1 give you a worse crop than before you went so deep2 but that that deep ploughing will turn up the under-soil1 and sun and air and rain will give you harvests increasingly rich4 ,so1 this moral soil1 ,north and ,south1 was unproductive4 ,it needed deep ploughing4 ,for a time the harvest was worse4 ,now it is becoming more and more abundant4 ,the political controversy1 however fierce and threatening1 is only for power4 ,but the moral agitation is for the harmony of the ,northern and ,southern mind1 in the right interpretations of ,scripture on this great subject1 and1 of course1 for the ultimate union of the hearts of all sensible people1 to fulfil ,god's intention1--to bless the white man and the black man in ,america4 ,i am sure of this4 ,i take a wide view of the progress of the destiny of this vast empire4 ,i see ,god in ,america4 ,i see him in the ,north and in the ,south4 ,i see him more honored in the ,south to-day than he was twenty-five years ago2 and that that higher regard is due1 mainly1 to the agitation of the slavery question4 ,do you ask how8 ,why1 sir1 this is the how4 ,twenty-five years ago the religious mind of the ,south was leavened by wrong ,northern training1 on the great point of the right and wrong of slavery4 ,meanwhile1 powerful intellects in the ,south1 following the mere light of a healthy good sense1 guided by the common grace of ,god1 reached the very truth of this great matter1--namely1 that the relation of the master and slave is not sin2 and that1 notwithstanding its admitted evils1 it is a connection between the highest and the lowest races of man1 revealing influences which may be1 and will be1 most benevolent for the ultimate good of the master and the slave1--conservative on the ,union1 by preserving the ,south from all forms of ,northern fanaticism1 and thereby being a great balance-wheel in the working of the tremendous machinery of our experiment of self-government4 ,this seen result of slavery was found to be in absolute harmony with the word of ,god4 ,these men1 then1 of highest grade of thought1 who had turned in scorn from ,northern notions1 now see1 in the ,bible1 that these notions are false and silly4 ,they now read the ,bible1 never examined before1 with growing respect4 ,god is honored1 and his glory will be more and more in their salvation4 ,these are some of the moral consummations of this agitation in the ,south4 ,the development has been twofold in the ,north4 ,on the one hand1 some anti-slavery men have left the light of the ,bible1 and wandered into the darkness until they have reached the blackness of the darkness of infidelity4 ,other some are following hard after1 and are throwing the ,bible into the furnace1--are melting it into iron1 and forging it1 and welding it1 and twisting it1 and grooving it into the shape and significance and goodness and gospel of ,sharpe's rifles4 ,sir1 are you not afraid that some of your once best men will soon have no better ,bible than that8 ,but1 on the other hand1 many of your brightest minds are looking intensely at the subject1 in the same light in which it is studied by the highest ,southern reason4 ,ay1 sir1 mother-,england1 old fogy as she is1 begins to open her eyes4 ,what1 then1 is our gain8 ,sir1 ,uncle ,tom's ,cabin1 in many of its conceptions1 could not have been written twenty-five years ago4 ,that book of genius1--over which ,i and hundreds in the world have freely wept1--true in all its facts1 false in all its impressions1--yea1 as false in the prejudice it creates to ,southern social life as if ,webster1 the murderer of ,parkman1 may be believed to be a personification of the elite of honor in ,cambridge1 ,boston1 and ,new ,england4 ,nevertheless1 ,uncle ,tom's ,cabin could not have been written twenty-five years ago4 ,dr4 ,nehemiah ,adams's ,south-,side ,view could not have been written twenty-five years ago4 ,nor ,dr4 ,nathan ,lord's ,letter of ,inquiry4 ,nor ,miss ,murray's book4 ,nor ,cotton is ,king4 ,nor ,bledsoe's ,liberty and ,slavery4 ,these books1 written in the midst of this agitation1 are all of high1 some the highest1 reach of talent and noblest piety2 all give1 with increasing confidence1 the present ,southern ,bible reading on ,slavery4 ,may the agitation1 then1 go on6 ,i know the ,new ,school ,presbyterian church has sustained some temporary injury4 ,but ,god is honored in his word4 ,the reaction1 when the first abolition-movement commenced1 has been succeeded by the sober second thought of the ,south4 ,the sun1 stayed1 is again travelling in the greatness of his strength1 and will shine brighter and brighter to the perfect day4 ,my only fear1 ,mr4 ,moderator1 is that1 as you ,northern people are so prone to go to extremes in your zeal and run every thing into the ground1 you may1 perhaps1 become too pro-slavery2 and that we may have to take measures against your coveting1 over much1 our daughters1 if not our wives1 our men-servants1 our maid-servants1 our houses1 and our lands4 7,laughter47 ,sir1 ,i come now to the ,bible argument4 ,i begin at the beginning of eternity6 7,laughter47 ,,what is ,,right ,,and ,,wrong8 ,that's the question of questions4 ,two theories have obtained in the world4 ,the one is1 that right and wrong are eternal facts2 that they exist per se in the nature of things2 that they are ultimate truths above ,god2 that he must study1 and does study1 to know them1 as really as man4 ,and that he comprehends them more clearly than man1 only because he is a better student than man4 ,now1 sir1 this theory is atheism4 ,for if right and wrong are like mathematical truths--fixed facts--then ,i may find them out1 as ,i find out mathematical truths1 without instruction from ,god4 ,i do not ask ,god to tell me that one and one make two4 ,i do not ask him to reveal to me the demonstrations of ,euclid4 ,i thank him for the mind to perceive4 ,but ,i perceive mathematical relations without his telling me1 because they exist independent of his will4 ,if1 then1 moral truths1 if right and wrong1 if rectitude and sin1 are1 in like manner1 fixed1 eternal facts1--if they are out from and above ,god1 like mathematical entities1--then ,i may find them for myself4 ,i may condescend1 perhaps1 to regard the ,bible as a hornbook1 in which ,god1 an older student than ,i1 tells me how to begin to learn what he had to study2 or ,i may decline to be taught1 through the ,bible1 how to learn right and wrong4 ,i may think the ,bible was good enough1 may be1 for the ,israelite in ,egypt and in ,canaan2 good enough for the ,christian in ,jerusalem and ,antioch and ,rome1 but not good enough1 even as a hornbook1 for me1--the man of the nineteenth century1--the man of ,boston1 ,new ,york1 and ,brooklyn6 ,oh1 no4 ,i may think ,i need it not at all4 ,what next8 ,why1 sir1 if ,i may think ,i need not ,god to teach me moral truth1 ,i may think ,i need him not to teach me any thing4 ,what next8 ,the irresistible conclusion is1 ,i may think ,i can live without ,god2 that ,jehovah is a myth1--a name2 ,i may bid him stand aside1 or die4 ,oh1 sir1 ,i will be the fool to say there is no ,god4 ,this is the result of the notion that right and wrong exist in the nature of things4 ,the other theory is1 that right and wrong are results brought into being1 mere contingencies1 means to good1 made to exist solely by the will of ,god1 expressed through his word2 or1 when his will is not thus known1 he shows it in the human reason by which he rules the natural heart4 ,this is so2 because ,god1 in making all things1 saw that in the relations he would constitute between himself and intelligent creatures1 and among themselves1 ,,natural ,,good ,,and ,,evil would come to pass4 ,in his benevolent wisdom1 he then willed ,,law1 to control this natural good and evil4 ,and he thereby made conformity to that law to be right1 and non-conformity to be wrong4 ,why8 ,simply because he saw it to be good1 and made it to be right2 not because he saw it to be right1 but because he made it to be right4 ,hence1 the ten specific commandments of the one moral law of love are just ten rules which ,god made to regulate the natural good and evil which he knew would be in the ten relations1 which he himself constituted between himself and man1 and between man and his neighbor4 ,the ,bible settles the question3--sin is the transgression of the law1 and where there is no law there is no sin4 ,i must-advance one step further4 ,what is sin1 as a mental state8 ,is it some quality--some concentrated essence--some elementary moral particle in the nature of things--something black1 or red1 like crimson1 in the constitution of the soul1 or the soul and body as amalgamated8 ,no4 ,is it self-love8 ,no4 ,is it selfishness8 ,no4 ,what is it8 ,just exactly1 self-will4 ,just that4 ,i1 the creature1 ,,will not submit to thy ,,will1 ,god1 the ,creator4 ,it is the ,i ,,am1 created1 who dares to defy and dishonor the ,i ,,am1 not created1--the ,lord ,god1 the ,almighty1 ,holy1 ,eternal4 ,that ,,is ,,sin1 per se4 ,and that is all of it1--so help me ,god6 ,your child there--,john--says to his father1 ,i ,,will not to submit to your will4 ,why not1 ,john8 ,and he answers and says1 ,because ,i ,,will not4 ,there1 sir1 ,john has revealed all of sin1 on earth or in hell4 ,satan has never said--can never say--more4 ,i1 ,satan1 ,,will ,,not1 because ,i ,,will not to submit to thee1 ,god2 ,,my ,,will1 not thine1 shall be4 ,this beautiful theory is the ray of light which leads us from night1 and twilight1 and fog1 and mist1 and mystification1 on this subject1 to clear day4 ,i will illustrate it by the law which has controlled and now regulates the most delicate of all the relations of life1--viz43 that of the intercourse between the sexes4 ,i take this1 because it presents the strongest apparent objections to my argument4 ,cain and ,abel married their sisters4 ,was it wrong in the nature of things8 ,here ,dr4 ,wisner spoke out1 and said1 ,certainly4 ,i deny it4 ,what an absurdity1 to suppose that ,god could not provide for the propagation of the human race from one pair1 without requiring them to sin6 ,adam's sons and daughters must have married1 had they remained in innocence4 ,they must then have sinned in ,eden1 from the very necessity of the command upon the race3--,be fruitful1 and multiply1 and replenish the earth4 7,gen4 i4 #bh74 ,what pure nonsense6 ,there1 sir6--that1 my one question1 ,dr4 ,wisner's reply1 and my rejoinder1 bring out1 perfectly1 the two theories of right and wrong4 ,sir1 ,abraham married his half-sister4 ,and there is not a word forbidding such marriage1 until ,god gave the law 7,lev4 xviii47 prohibiting marriage in certain degrees of consanguinity4 ,that law made1 then1 such marriage sin4 ,but ,god gave no such law in the family of ,adam2 because he made1 himself1 the marriage of brother and sister the way1 and the only way1 for the increase of the human race4 ,he commanded them thus to marry4 ,they would have sinned had they not thus married2 for they would have transgressed his law4 ,such marriage was not even a natural evil1 in the then family of man4 ,but when1 in the increase of numbers1 it became a natural evil1 physical and social1 ,god placed man on a higher platform for the development of civilization1 morals1 and religion1 and then made the law regulating marriages in the particulars of blood4 ,but he still left polygamy untouched4 ,here ,dr4 ,wisner again asked if ,dr4 ,r4 regarded the ,bible as sustaining the polygamy of the ,old ,testament4 ,dr4 ,r4--,yes1 sir2 yes1 sir2 yes1 sir4 ,let the reporters mark that question1 and my answer4 7,laughter47 ,my principle vindicates ,god from unintelligible abstractions4 ,i fearlessly tell what the ,bible says4 ,in its strength1 ,i am not afraid of earth or hell4 ,i fear only ,god4 ,god made no law against polygamy1 in the beginning4 ,therefore it was no sin for a man to have more wives than one4 ,god sanctioned it1 and made laws in regard to it4 ,abraham had more wives than one2 ,jacob had1 ,david had1 ,solomon had4 ,god told ,david1 by the mouth of ,nathan1 when he upbraided him with his ingratitude for the blessings he had given him1 and said1 ,and ,i gave thee thy master's house1 and thy master's wives into thy bosom4 7#b ,sam4 xvii4 #h47 ,god1 in the gospel1 places man on another platform1 for the revelation of a nobler social and spiritual life4 ,he now forbids polygamy4 ,polygamy now is sin--not because it is in itself sin4 ,no2 but because ,god forbids it1--to restrain the natural and social evil1 and to bring out a higher humanity4 ,and see1 sir1 how gently in the gospel the transition from the lower to the higher table-land of our progress upward is made4 ,christ and his apostles do not declare polygamy to be sin4 ,the new law is so wisely given that nothing existing is rudely disturbed4 ,the minister of ,god1 unmarried1 must have only one wife at the same time4 ,this law1 silently and gradually1 by inevitable and fair inference of its meaning1 and from the example of the apostles1 passed over the ,christian world4 ,god1 in the gospel1 places us in this higher and holier ground and air of love4 ,we sin1 then1 if we marry the sister1 and other near of kin2 and we sin if we marry1 at the same time1 more wives than one1 not because there is sin in the thing itself1 whatever of natural evil there might be1 but because in so doing we transgress ,god's law1 given to secure and advance the good of man4 ,i might comment in the same way on every one of the ten commandments1 but ,i pass on4 ,the subject of slavery1 in this view of right and wrong1 is seen in the very light of heaven4 ,and you1 ,mr4 ,moderator1 know that1 if the view ,i have presented be true1 ,i have got you4 7,great laughter47 ,the ,moderator said1 very pleasantly--,yes--if--but it is a long if4 7,continued laughter47 ,dr4 ,r4 touched the ,moderator on the shoulder1 and said1 ,yes1 if--it is a long if2 for it is this3--if there is a ,god1 he is not ,jupiter1 bowing to the ,fates1 but ,god1 the sovereign over the universe he has created1 in which he makes right1 by making law to be known and obeyed by angels and men1 in their varied conditions4 ,he gave ,adam that command1--sublime in its simplicity1 and intended to vindicate the principle ,i am affirming1--that there is no right and wrong in the nature of things4 ,there was no right or wrong1 per se1 in eating or willing to eat of that tree of the knowledge of good and evil4 ,but ,god made the law1--,thou shall not eat of that tree4 ,as if he had said1--,i seek to test the submission of your will1 freely1 to my will4 ,and1 that your test may be perfect1 ,i will let your temptation be nothing more than your natural desire for that fruit4 ,adam sinned4 ,what was the sin8 ,adam said1 in heart1 ,,my ,,will1 not thine1 ,,shall ,,be4 ,that was the sin1--the simple transgression of ,god's law1 when there was neither sin nor evil in the thing which ,god forbade to be done4 ,man fell and was cursed4 ,the law of the control of the superior over the inferior is now to begin1 and is to go on in the depraved conditions of the fallen and cursed race4 ,and1 ,,first1 ,god said to the woman1 ,thy desire shall be to thy husband1 and he shall rule over thee4 ,there1 in that law1 is the beginning of government ordained of ,god4 ,there is the beginning of the rule of the superior over the inferior1 bound to obey4 ,there1 in the family of ,adam1 is the germ of the rule in the tribe1--the state4 ,adam1 in his right1 from ,god1 to rule over his wife and his children1 had all the authority afterwards expanded in the patriarch and the king4 ,this simple1 beautiful fact1 there1 on the first leaf of the ,bible1 solves the problem1 whence and how has man right to rule over man4 ,in that great fact ,god gives his denial to the idea that government over man is the result of a social compact1 in which each individual man living in a state of natural liberty1 yielded some of that liberty to secure the greater good of government4 ,such a thing never was2 such a thing never could have been4 ,government was ordained and established before the first child was born3--,,he ,,shall ,,rule ,,over ,,thee4 ,cain and ,abel were born in a state as perfect as the empire of ,britain or the rule of these ,united ,states4 ,all that ,blackstone1 and ,paley1 and ,hobbs1 or anybody else1 says about the social compact1 is flatly and fully denied and upset by the ,bible1 history1 and common sense4 ,let any ,new ,york lawyer--or even a ,philadelphia lawyer--deny this if he dares4 ,life1 liberty1 and the pursuit of happiness never were the inalienable right of the individual man4 ,his self-control1 in all these particulars1 from the beginning1 was subordinate to the good of the family1--the empire4 ,the command to ,noah was1--,whoso sheddeth man's blood1 by man shall his blood be shed4 7,gen4 ix4 #f47 ,this command to shed blood was1 and is1 in perfect harmony with the law1--,thou shalt not kill4 ,there is nothing right or wrong in the taking of life1 per se1 or in itself considered4 ,it may or it may not be a natural good or evil4 ,as a general fact1 the taking of life is a natural evil4 ,hence1 ,thou shalt not kill is the general rule1 to preserve the good there is in life4 ,to take life under the forbidden conditions is sin1 simply because ,god forbids it under those conditions4 ,the sin is not in taking life1 but in transgressing ,god's law4 ,but sometimes the taking of life will secure a greater good4 ,god1 then1 commands that life be taken4 ,not to take life1 under the commanded conditions1 is sin1--solely because ,god then commands it4 ,this power over life1 for the good of the one great family of man1 ,god delegated to ,noah1 and through him to the tribe1 the clan1 the kingdom1 the empire1 the democracy1 the republic1 as they may be governed by chief1 king1 emperor1 parliament1 or congress4 ,had ,ham killed ,shem1 ,noah would have commanded ,japheth to slay him4 ,so much for the origin of the power over life3 now for the power over liberty4 ,the right to take life included the right over liberty4 ,but ,god intended the rule of the superior over the inferior1 in relations of service1 should exemplify human depravity1 his curse and his overruling blessing4 ,the rule and the subordination which is essential to the existence of the family1 ,god made commensurate with mankind2 for mankind is only the congeries of families4 ,when ,ham1 in his antediluvian recklessness1 laughed at his father1 ,god took occasion to give to the world the rule of the superior over the inferior4 ,he cursed him4 ,he cursed him because he left him unblessed4 ,the withholding of the father's blessing1 in the ,bible1 was curse4 ,hence ,abraham prayed ,god1 when ,isaac was blessed1 that ,ishmael might not be passed by4 ,hence ,esau prayed his father1 when ,jacob was blessed1 that he might not be left untouched by his holy hands4 ,ham was cursed to render service1 forever1 to ,shem and ,japheth4 ,the special curse on ,canaan made the general curse on ,ham conspicuous1 historic1 and explanatory1 simply because his descendants were to be brought under the control of ,god's peculiar people4 ,shem was blessed to rule over ,ham4 ,japheth was blessed to rule over both4 ,god sent ,ham to ,africa1 ,shem to ,asia1 ,japheth to ,europe4 ,mr4 ,moderator1 you have read ,guyot's ,earth and ,man4 ,that admirable book is a commentary upon this part of ,genesis4 ,it is the philosophy of geography4 ,and it is the philosophy of the rule of the higher races over the inferior1 written on the very face of the earth4 ,he tells you why the continents are shaped as they are shaped2 why the mountains stand where they stand2 why the rivers run where they run2 why the currents of the sea and the air flow as they flow4 ,and he tells you that the earth south of the ,equator makes the inferior man4 ,that the oceanic climate makes the inferior man in the ,pacific ,islands4 ,that ,south ,america makes the inferior man4 ,that the solid1 unindented ,southern ,africa makes the inferior man4 ,that the huge1 heavy1 massive1 magnificent ,asia makes the huge1 heavy1 massive1 magnificent man4 ,that ,europe1 indented by the sea on every side1 with its varied scenery1 and climate1 and ,northern influences1 makes the varied intellect1 the versatile power and life and action1 of the master-man of the world4 ,and it is so4 ,africa1 with here and there an exception1 has never produced men to compare with the men of ,asia4 ,for six thousand years1 save the unintelligible stones of ,egypt1 she has had no history4 ,asia has had her great men and her name4 ,but ,europe has ever shown1 and now1 her nobler men and higher destiny4 ,japheth has now come to ,north ,america1 to give us his past greatness and his transcendent glory4 7,applause47 ,and1 sir1 ,i thank ,god our mountains stand where they stand2 and that our rivers run where they run4 ,thank ,god they run not across longitudes1 but across latitudes1 from north to south4 ,if they crossed longitudes1 we might fear for the ,union4 ,but ,i hail the ,union1--made by ,god1 strong as the strength of our hills1 and ever to live and expand1--like the flow and swell of the current of our streams4 7,applause47 ,these two theories of ,right and ,wrong1--these two ideas of human liberty1--the right1 in the nature of things1 or the right as made by ,god1--the liberty of the individual man1 of ,atheism1 of ,red ,republicanism1 of the devil1--or the liberty of man1 in the family1 in the ,state1 the liberty from ,god1--these two theories now make the conflict of the world4 ,this anti-slavery battle is only part of the great struggle3 ,god will be victorious1--and we1 in his might4 ,i now come to particular illustrations of the world-wide law that service shall be rendered by the inferior to the superior4 ,the relations in which such service obtains are very many4 ,some of them are these3--husband and wife2 parent and child2 teacher and scholar2 commander and soldier1--sailor2 master and apprentice2 master and hireling2 master and slave4 ,now1 sir1 all these relations are ordained of ,god4 ,they are all directly commanded1 or they are the irresistible law of his providence1 in conditions which must come up in the progress of depraved nature4 ,the relations themselves are all good in certain conditions4 ,and there may be no more of evil in the lowest than in the highest4 ,and there may be in the lowest1 as really as in the highest1 the fulfilment of the commandment to love thy neighbor as thyself1 and of doing unto him whatsoever thou wouldst have him to do unto thee4 ,why1 sir1 the wife everywhere1 except where ,christianity has given her elevation1 is the slave4 ,and1 sir1 ,i say1 without fear of saying too strongly1 that for every sigh1 every groan1 every tear1 every agony of stripe or death1 which has gone up to ,god from the relation of master and slave1 there have been more sighs1 more groans1 more tears1 and more agony in the rule of the husband over the wife4 ,sir1 ,i have admitted1 and do again admit1 without qualification1 that every fact in ,uncle ,tom's ,cabin has occurred in the ,south4 ,but1 in reply1 ,i say deliberately1 what one of your first men told me1 that he who will make the horrid examination will discover in ,new ,york ,city1 in any number of years past1 more cruelty from husband to wife1 parent to child1 than in all the ,south from master to slave in the same time4 ,i dare the investigation4 ,and you may extend it further1 if you choose1--to all the results of honor and purity4 ,i fear nothing on this subject4 ,i stand on rock1--the ,bible1--and therefore1 just before ,i bring the ,bible1 to which all ,i have said is introductory1 ,i will run a parallel between the relation of master and slave and that of husband and wife4 ,i will say nothing of the grinding oppression of capital upon labor1 in the power of the master over the hireling--the crushed peasant--the chain-harnessed coal-pit woman1 a thousand feet under ground1 working in darkness1 her child toiling by her side1 and another child not born2 ,i will say nothing of the press-gang which fills the navy of ,britain--the conscription which makes the army of ,france--the terrible floggings--the awful court-martial--the quick sentence--the lightning-shot--the chain1 and ball1 and every-day lash--the punishment of the soldier1 sailor1 slave1 who had run away4 ,i pass all this by3 ,i will run the parallel between the slave and wife4 ,do you say1 ,the slave is held to involuntary service8 ,so is the wife4 ,her relation to her husband1 in the immense majority of cases1 is made for her1 and not by her4 ,and when she makes it for herself1 how often1 and how soon1 does it become involuntary6 ,how often1 and how soon1 would she throw off the yoke if she could6 ,o ye wives1 ,i know how superior you are to your husbands in many respects1--not only in personal attraction1 7although in that particular1 comparison is out of place17 in grace1 in refined thought1 in passive fortitude1 in enduring love1 and in a heart to be filled with the spirit of heaven4 ,oh1 ,i know all this4 ,nay1 ,i know you may surpass him in his own sphere of boasted prudence and worldly wisdom about dollars and cents4 ,nevertheless1 he has authority1 from ,god1 to rule over you4 ,you are under service to him4 ,you are bound to obey him in all things4 ,your service is very1 very1 very often involuntary from the first1 and1 if voluntary at first1 becomes hopeless necessity afterwards4 ,i know ,god has laid upon the husband to love you as ,christ loved the church1 and in that sublime obligation has placed you in the light and under the shadow of a love infinitely higher1 and purer1 and holier than all talked about in the romances of chivalry4 ,but the husband may not so love you4 ,he may rule you with the rod of iron4 ,what can you do8 ,be divorced8 ,god forbids it1 save for crime4 ,will you say that you are free1--that you will go where you please1 do as you please8 ,why1 ye dear wives1 your husbands may forbid4 ,and listen1 you cannot leave ,new ,york1 nor your palaces1 any more than your shanties4 ,no2 you cannot leave your parlor1 nor your bedchamber1 nor your couch1 if your husband commands you to stay there6 ,what can you do8 ,will you run away1 with your stick and your bundle8 ,he can advertise you66 ,what can you do8 ,you can1 and ,i fear some of you do1 wish him1 from the bottom of your hearts1 at the bottom of the ,hudson4 ,or1 in your self-will1 you will do just as you please4 7,great laughter47 ,a word on the subject of divorce4 ,one of your standing denunciations on the ,south is the terrible laxity of the marriage vow among the slaves4 ,well1 sir1 what does your ,boston ,dr4 ,nehemiah ,adams say8 ,he says1 after giving eighty1 sixty1 and the like number of applications for divorce1 and nearly all granted at individual quarterly courts in ,new ,england1--he says he is not sure but that the marriage relation is as enduring among the slaves in the ,south as it is among white people in ,new ,england4 ,i only give what ,dr4 ,adams says4 ,i would fain vindicate the marriage relation from this rebuke4 ,but one thing ,i will say3 you seldom hear of a divorce in ,virginia or ,south ,carolina4 ,but to proceed3-- ,do you say the slave is sold and bought8 ,so is the wife the world over4 ,everywhere1 always1 and now as the general fact1 however done away or modified by ,christianity4 ,the savage buys her4 ,the barbarian buys her4 ,the ,turk buys her4 ,the ,jew buys her4 ,the ,christian buys her1--,greek1 ,armenian1 ,nestorian1 ,roman ,catholic1 ,protestant4 ,the ,portuguese1 the ,spaniard1 the ,italian1 the ,german1 the ,russian1 the ,frenchman1 the ,englishman1 the ,new ,england man1 the ,new ,yorker1--especially the upper ten1--buy the wife--in many1 very many cases4 ,she is seldom bought in the ,south1 and never among the slaves themselves2 for they always marry for love4 7,continued laughter47 ,sir1 ,i say the wife is bought in the highest circles1 too often1 as really as the slave is bought4 ,oh1 she is not sold and purchased in the public market4 ,but come1 sir1 with me1 and let us take the privilege of spirits out of the body to glide into that gilded saloon1 or into that richly comfortable family room1 of cabinets1 and pictures1 and statuary3 see the parties1 there1 to sell and buy that human body and soul1 and make her a chattel6 ,see how they sit1 and bend towards each other1 in earnest colloquy1 on sofa of rosewood and satin1--,turkey carpet 7how befitting67 under feet1 sunlight over head1 softened through stained windows3 or it is night1 and the gas is turned nearly off1 and the burners gleam like stars through the shadow from which the whisper is heard1 in which that old ugly brute1 with gray goatee--how fragrant6--bids one1 two1 five1 ten hundred thousand dollars1 and she is knocked off to him1--that beautiful young girl asleep up there1 amid flowers1 and innocent that she is sold and bought4 ,sir1 that young girl would as soon permit a baboon to embrace her1 as that old1 ignorant1 gross1 disgusting wretch to approach her4 ,ah1 has she not been sold and bought for money8 ,but--,but what8 ,but1 you say1 she freely1 and without parental authority1 accepted him4 ,then she sold herself for money1 and was guilty of that which is nothing better than legal prostitution4 ,i know what ,i say2 you know what ,i say4 ,up there in the gallery you know3 you nod to one another4 ,ah6 you know the parties4 ,yes1 you say3 ,all true1 true1 true4 7,laughter47 ,now1 ,mr4 ,moderator1 ,i will clinch all ,i have said by nails sure1 and fastened from the word of ,god4 ,there is ,king ,james's ,english ,bible1 with its magnificent dedication4 ,i bring the ,english acknowledged translation4 ,and just one word more to push gently aside--for ,i am a kind man to those poor1 deluded anti-slavery people--their last argument4 ,it is that this ,english ,bible1 in those parts which treat of slavery1 don't give the ideas which are found in the original ,hebrew and ,greek4 ,alas for the common people6--alas for this good old translation6 ,are its days numbered8 ,no1 sir2 no1 sir4 ,the ,unitarian1 the ,universalist1 the ,arminian1 the ,baptist1 when pressed by this translation1 have tried to find shelter for their false isms by making or asking for a new rendering4 ,and now the anti-slavery men are driving hard at the same thing4 7,laughter47 ,sir1 shall we permit our people everywhere to have their confidence in this noble translation undermined and destroyed by the isms and whims of every or any man in our pulpits8 ,i affirm1 whatever be our perfect liberty of examination into ,god's meaning in all the light of the original languages1 that there is a respect due to this received version1 and that great caution should be used1 lest we teach the people to doubt its true rendering from the original word of ,god4 ,i protest1 sir1 against having a ,doctor-of-,divinity priest1 ,hebrew or ,greek1 to tell the people what ,god has spoken on the subject of slavery or any other subject4 7,laughter47 ,i would as soon have a ,latin priest1--,i would as soon have ,archbishop ,hughes1--,i would as soon go to ,rome as to ,jerusalem or ,athens1--,i would as soon have the ,pope at once in his fallible infallibility1--as ten or twenty1 little or big1 anti-slavery ,doctor-of-,divinity priests1 each claiming to give his infallible rendering1 however differing from his peer4 7,laughter47 ,i never yet produced this ,bible1 in its plain unanswerable authority1 for the relation of master and slave1 but the anti-slavery man ran away into the fog of his ,hebrew or ,greek1 7laughter17 or he jabbered the nonsense that ,god permitted the sin of slaveholding among the ,jews1 but that he don't do it now6 ,sir1 ,god sanctioned slavery then1 and sanctions it now4 ,he made it right1 they know1 then and now4 ,having thus taken the last puff of wind out of the sails of the anti-slavery phantom ship1 turn to the twenty-first chapter of ,exodus1 vs4 #b-e4 ,god1 in these verses1 gave the ,israelites his command how they should buy and hold the ,hebrew servant1--how1 under certain conditions1 he went free1--how1 under other circumstances1 he might be held to service forever1 with his wife and her children4 ,there it is4 ,don't run into the ,hebrew4 7,laughter47 ,but what have we here8--vs4 #g-aa3--;,and if a man sell his daughter to be a maid-servant1 she shall not go out as the men-servants do4 ,if she please not her master1 who hath betrothed her to himself1 then shall he let her be redeemed3 to sell her unto a strange nation he shall have no power1 seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her4 ,and if he hath betrothed her unto his son1 he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters4 ,if he take him another wife1 her food1 her raiment1 and her duty of marriage shall he not diminish4 ,and if he do not these three unto her1 then shall she go out free without money4 ,now1 sir1 the wit of man can't dodge that passage1 unless he runs away into the ,hebrew4 7,great laughter47 ,for what does ,god say8 ,why1 this3--that an ,israelite might sell his own daughter1 not only into servitude1 but into polygamy1--that the buyer might1 if he pleased1 give her to his son for a wife1 or take her to himself4 ,if he took her to himself1 and she did not please him1 he should not sell her unto a strange nation1 but should allow her to be redeemed by her family4 ,but1 if he took him another wife before he allowed the first one to be redeemed1 he should continue to give the first one food1 her raiment1 and her duty of marriage2 that is to say1 her right to his bed4 ,if he did not do these three things1 she should go out free2 i4e4 cease to be his slave1 without his receiving any money for her4 ,there1 sir1 ,god sanctioned the ,israelite father in selling his daughter1 and the ,israelite man to buy her1 into slavery and into polygamy4 ,and it was then right1 because ,god made it right4 ,in verses #bj and #ba1 you have these words3--,and if a man smite his servant or his maid with a rod1 and he die under his hand1 he shall be surely punished2 notwithstanding1 if he continue a day or two1 he shall not be punished3 for he is his money4 ,what does this passage mean8 ,surely this3--if the master gave his slave a hasty blow with a rod1 and he died under his hand1 he should be punished4 ,but1 if the slave lived a day or two1 it would so extenuate the act of the master he should not be punished1 inasmuch as he would be in that case sufficiently punished in losing his money in his slave4 ,now1 sir1 ,i affirm that ,god was more lenient to the degraded ,hebrew master than ,southern laws are to the higher ,southern master in like cases4 ,but there you have what was the divine will4 ,find fault with ,god1 ye anti-slavery men1 if you dare4 ,in ,leviticus1 xxv4 #dd-df1 ,both thy bondmen and thy bondmaids1 which thou shalt have1 shall be of the heathen that are round about you2 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 beget in your land3 and they shall be your possession4 ,and ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you1 to inherit them for a possession2 they shall be your bondmen forever4 ,sir1 ,i do not see how ,god could tell us more plainly that he did command his people to buy slaves from the heathen round about them1 and from the stranger1 and of their families sojourning among them4 ,the passage has no other meaning4 ,did ,god merely permit sin8--did he merely tolerate a dreadful evil8 ,god does not say so anywhere4 ,he gives his people law to buy and hold slaves of the heathen forever1 on certain conditions1 and to buy and hold ,hebrew slaves in variously-modified particulars4 ,well1 how did the heathen1 then1 get slaves to sell8 ,did they capture them in war8--did they sell their own children8 ,wherever they got them1 they sold them2 and ,god's law gave his people the right to buy them4 ,god in the ,new ,testament made no law prohibiting the relation of master and slave4 ,but he made law regulating the relation under ,greek and ,roman slavery1 which was the most oppressive in the world4 ,god saw that these regulations would ultimately remove the evils in the ,greek and ,roman systems1 and do it away entirely from the fitness of things1 as there existing2 for ,greek and ,roman slaves1 for the most part1 were the equals in all respects of their masters4 sop was a slave2 ,terence was a slave4 ,the precepts in ,colossians iv4 #ah1 #bc1 #a ,tim4 vi4 #a-f1 and other places1 show1 unanswerably1 that ,god as really sanctioned the relation of master and slave as those of husband and wife1 and parent and child2 and that all the obligations of the moral law1 and ,christ's law of love1 might and must be as truly fulfilled in the one relation as in the other4 ,the fact that he has made the one set of relations permanent1 and the other more or less dependent on conditions of mankind1 or to pass away in the advancement of human progress1 does not touch the question4 ,he sanctioned it under the ,old ,testament and the ,new1 and ordains it now while he sees it best to continue it1 and he now1 as heretofore1 proclaims the duty of the master and the slave4 ,dr4 ,parker's admirable explanation of ,colossians1 and other ,new ,testament passages1 saves me the necessity of saying any thing more on the ,scripture argument4 ,one word on the ,detroit resolutions1 and ,i conclude4 ,those resolutions of the ,assembly of #ahej decide that slavery is sin1 unless the master holds his slave as a guardian1 or under the claims of humanity4 ,mr4 ,moderator1 ,i think we had on this floor1 yesterday1 proof conclusive that those resolutions mean any thing or nothing2 that they are a fine specimen of ,northern skill in platform-making2 that it put in a plank here1 to please this man1--a plank there1 to please that man1--a plank for the ,north1 a broad board for the ,south4 ,it is ,jackson's judicious tariff4 ,it is a gum-elastic conscience1 stretched now to a charity covering all the multitude of our ,southern sins1 contracted now1 giving us hardly a fig-leaf of righteousness4 ,it is a bowl of punch1-- ,a little sugar to make it sweet1 ,a little lemon to make it sour1 ,a little water to make it weak1 ,a little brandy to give it power4 7,laughter47 ,as a ,northern argument against us1 it is a mass of lead so heavy that it weighed down even the strong shoulders of ,judge ,jessup4 ,for1 sir1 when he closed his speech1 ,i asked him a single question ,i had made ready for him4 ,it was this3--,do you allow that ,mr4 ,aiken1 of ,south ,carolina1 may1 under the claims of humanity1 hold three thousand slaves1 or must he emancipate them8 ,the ,judge staggered1 and stammered1 and said1 ,no man could rightly hold so many4 ,i then asked1 ,how many may he hold1 in humanity8 ,the ,judge saw his fatal dilemma4 ,he recovered himself handsomely1 and fairly said1 ,mr4 ,aiken might hold three thousand slaves1 in harmony with the ,detroit action4 ,i replied1 ,then1 sir1 you have surrendered the whole question of ,southern slavery4 ,and1 sir1 the ,judge looked as if he felt he had surrendered it4 ,and every man in this house1 capable of understanding the force of that question1 felt it had shivered the whole anti-slavery argument1 on those resolutions1 to atoms4 ,why1 sir1 if a man can hold three slaves1 with a right heart and the approbation of ,god1 he may hold thirty1 three hundred1 three thousand1 or thirty thousand4 ,it is a mere question of heart1 and capacity to govern4 ,the ,emperor of ,russia holds sixty millions of slaves3 and is there a man in this house so much of a fool as to say that ,god regards the ,emperor of ,russia a sinner because he is the master of sixty millions of slaves8 ,sir1 that ,emperor has certainly a high and awful responsibility upon him4 ,but1 if he is good as he is great1 he is a god of benevolence on earth4 ,and so is every ,southern master4 ,his obligation is high1 and great1 and glorious4 ,it is the same obligation1 in kind1 he is under to his wife and children1 and in some respects immensely higher1 by reason of the number and the tremendous interests involved for time and eternity in connection with this great country1 ,africa1 and the world4 ,yes1 sir1 ,i know1 whether ,southern masters fully know it or not1 that they hold from ,god1 individually and collectively1 the highest and the noblest responsibility ever given by ,him to individual private men on all the face of the earth4 ,for ,god has intrusted to them to train millions of the most degraded in form and intellect1 but1 at the same time1 the most gentle1 the most amiable1 the most affectionate1 the most imitative1 the most susceptible of social and religious love1 of all the races of mankind1--to train them1 and to give them civilization1 and the light and the life of the gospel of ,jesus ,christ4 ,and ,i thank ,god he has given this great work to that type of the noble family of ,japheth best qualified to do it1--to the ,cavalier stock1--the gentleman and the lady of ,england and ,france1 born to command1 and softened and refined under our ,southern sky4 ,may they know and feel and fulfil their destiny6 ,oh1 may they know that they also have a ,master in heaven4 ,letter from ,dr4 ,ross4 ,i need only say1 in reference to this letter1 that my friends having questioned my position as to the good of the agitation1 ,i wrote the following letter to vindicate that point1 as given1 in the ,new ,york speech3-- ,,huntsville1 ,,ala41 ,july #ad1 #ahef4 ,brother ,blackburn3--,i affirmed1 in my ,new ,york speech1 that the ,slavery agitation has done1 and will accomplish1 good4 ,your very kind and courteous disagreement on that point ,i will make the occasion to say something more thereon1 without wishing you1 my dear friend1 to regard what ,i write as inviting any discussion4 ,i said that agitation has brought out1 and would reveal still more fully1 the ,bible1 in its relation to slavery and liberty1--also the infidelity which long has been1 and is now1 leavening with death the whole ,northern mind4 ,and that it would result in the triumph of the true ,southern interpretation of the ,bible2 to the honor of ,god1 and to the good of the master1 the slave1 the stability of the ,union1 and be a blessing to the world4 ,to accomplish this1 the sin per se doctrine will be utterly demolished4 ,that doctrine is the difficulty in every ,northern mind1 7where there is any difficulty about slavery17 whether they confess it or not4 ,yes1 the difficulty with every ,northern man is1 that the relation of master and slave is felt to be sin4 ,i know that to be the fact4 ,i have talked with all grades of ,northern men1 and come in contact with all varieties of ,northern mind on this subject4 ,and ,i know that the man who says and tries to believe1 and does1 partially in sober judgment1 believe1 that slavery is not sin1 yet1 in his feelings1 in his educated prejudices1 he feels that slavery is sin4 ,yes1 that is the difficulty1 and that is the whole of the difficulty1 between the ,north and the ,south1 so far as the question is one of the ,bible and morals4 ,now1 ,i again say1 that that sin per se doctrine will1 in this agitation1 be utterly demolished4 ,and when that is done1--when the ,north will know and feel fully1 perfectly1 that the relation of master and slave is not sin1 but sanctioned of ,god1--then1 and not till then1 the ,north and ,south can and will1 without anger1 consider the following questions3--,whether slavery1 as it exists in the ,united ,states1 all things considered1 be or be not a great good1 and the greatest good for a time1 notwithstanding its admitted evils8 ,again1 whether these evils can or cannot be modified and removed8 ,lastly1 whether slavery itself can or cannot pass away from this land and the world8 ,now1 sir1 the moment the sin question is settled1 then all is peace4 ,for these other questions belong entirely to another category of morals4 ,they belong entirely to the category of what is wise to realize good4 ,this agitation will bring this great result4 ,and therefore ,i affirm the agitation to be good4 ,there is another fact also1 the result1 in great measure1 of this agitation1 which in my view proves it to have been and to be of great good4 ,i mean the astonishing rise and present stability of the slave-power of the ,united ,states4 ,this fact1 when examined1 is undeniable4 ,and it is equally undeniable that it has been caused1 in great part1 by the slavery question in all its bearings4 ,it is a wonderful development made by ,god4 ,and ,i must believe he intends thereby either to destroy or bless this great ,union4 ,but1 as ,i believe he intends to bless1 therefore ,i am fortified in affirming the good there has been and is in this agitation4 ,let me bring out to view this astonishing fact4 #a4 ,twenty-five years ago1 and previously1 the whole slave-holding ,south and ,west had a strong tendency to emancipation1 in some form4 ,but the abolition movement then began1 and arrested that ,southern and ,western leaning to emancipation4 ,many people have said1 and do say1 that that arrest was and is a great evil4 ,i say it was and is a great good4 ,why8 ,answer3 ,it was and would now be premature4 ,had it been carried out1 it would have been and would now be evil1 immense1 inconceivable1--to master1 slave1 ,america1 ,africa1 and the world2 because neither master1 slave1 ,america1 ,africa1 the world1 were1 or are1 ready for emancipation4 ,god has a great deal to do before he is ready for emancipation4 ,he tells us so by this arrest put upon that tendency to emancipation years ago4 ,for ,he put it into the hearts of abolitionists to make the arrest4 ,and ,he stopped the ,southern movement all the more perfectly by permitting ,great ,britain to emancipate ,jamaica1 and letting that experiment prove1 as it has1 a perfect failure and a terrible warning4 ,,jamaica ,,is ,,destroyed4 ,and now1 whatever be done for its negroes must be done with the full admission that what has been attempted was in violation of the duty ,britain owed to those negroes4 ,but her failure in seeing and doing her duty1 ,god has given to us to teach us knowledge2 and1 through us1 to instruct the world in the demonstration of the problem of slavery4 #b4 ,god put it into the hearts of ,northern men--especially abolitionists--to give ,texas to the ,south4 ,texas1 a territory so vast that a bird1 as ,webster said1 can't fly over it in a week4 ,many in the ,south did not want ,texas4 ,but many longer-headed ones did want it4 ,and ,northern men voted and gave to the ,south exactly what these longer-headed ,southern statesmen wanted4 ,this1 ,i grant1 was ,northern anti-slavery fatuity1 utterly unaccountable but that ,god made them do it4 #c4 ,god put it into the hearts of ,northern men--especially abolitionists--to vote for ,polk1 ,dallas1 and ,texas4 ,this gave us the ,mexican ,war2 and that immense territory1 its spoil1--a territory which1 although it may not be favorable for slave-labor1 has increased1 and will1 in many ways1 extend the slave-power4 #d4 ,this leads me to say that ,god put it into the hearts of many ,northern men--especially abolitionists--to believe what ,great ,britain said1--namely1 that free trade would result in slave-emancipation4 ,but lo6 the slave-holder wanted free trade4 ,so ,northern abolitionists helped to destroy the tariff policy1 and thus to expand the demand for1 and the culture of1 cotton4 ,now1 see1 the gold of ,california has perpetuated free trade by enabling our merchants to meet the enormous demand for specie created by free trade4 ,so ,california helps the slave-power4 ,but the abolitionists gave us ,polk1 the ,mexican ,war1 and ,california4 #e4 ,god put it into the hearts of the ,north1 and especially abolitionists1 to stimulate the settlement of new free ,states1 and to be the ardent friends of an immense foreign emigration4 ,the result has been to send down to the ,south1 with railroad speed and certainty1 corn1 wheat1 flour1 meal1 bacon1 pork1 beef1 and every other imaginable form of food1 in quantity amazing1 and so cheap that the planter can spread wider and wider the culture of cotton4 #f4 ,god has1 by this growth of the ,northwest1 made the demand for cotton enormous in the ,north and ,northwest4 ,again1 he has made ,english and ,french experiments to procure cotton somewhere else than from the ,united ,states dead failures1--in the ,east ,indies1 ,egypt1 ,algeria1 ,brazil4 ,god has thus given to the ,southern planter an absolute monopoly4 ,a monopoly so great that he1 the ,southern planter1 sits now upon his throne of cotton and wields the commercial sceptre of the world4 ,yes1 it is the ,southern planter who says to-day to haughty ,england1 ,go to war1 if you dare2 dismiss ,dallas1 if you dare4 ,yes1 he who sits on the throne of the cotton-bag has triumphed at last over him who sits on the throne of the wool-sack4 ,england is prostrate at his feet1 as well as the abolitionists4 #g4 ,god has put it into the hearts of abolitionists to prevent half a million of free negroes from going to ,liberia2 and thereby the abolitionists have made them consumers of slave-products to the extension of the slave-power4 ,and1 by thus keeping them in ,america1 the abolitionists have so increased their degradation as to prove all the more the utter folly of emancipation in the ,united ,states4 #h4 ,god has permitted the anti-slavery men in the ,north1 in ,england1 in ,france1 and everywhere1 so to blind themselves in hypocrisy as to give the ,southern slave-holder his last perfect triumph over them2 for ,god tells the planter to say to the ,north1 to ,england1 to ,france1 to all who buy cotton1 ,ye men of ,boston1 ,new ,york1 ,london1 ,paris1--ye hypocrites1--ye brand me as a pirate1 a kidnapper1 a murderer1 a demon1 fit only for hell1 and yet ye buy my blood-stained cotton4 ,o ye hypocrites6--ye ,boston hypocrites6 why don't ye throw the cotton in the sea1 as your fathers did the tea8 ,ye ,boston hypocrites6 ye say1 if we had been in the days of our fathers1 we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the slave-trade6 ,wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves that ye are the children of them who1 in fact1 kidnapped and bought in blood1 and sold the slave in ,america6 for now1 ye hypocrites1 ye buy the blood-stained cotton in quantity so immense1 that ye have run up the price of slaves to be more than a thousand dollars1--the average of old and young6 ,o ye hypocrites6 ye denounce slavery2 then ye bid it live1 and not die1--in that ye buy sugar1 rice1 tobacco1 and1 above all1 cotton6 ,ye hypocrites6 ye abuse the devil1 and then fall down and worship him6--ye hypocrites1--ye ,new ,england hypocrites1--ye ,old ,england hypocrites1--ye ,french hypocrites1--ye ,uncle ,tom's ,cabin hypocrites1--ye ,beecher hypocrites1--ye ,rhode ,island ,consociation hypocrites6 ,oh1 your holy twaddle stinks in the nostrils of ,god1 and he commands me to lash you with my scorn1 and his scorn1 so long as ye gabble about the sin of slavery1 and then bow down to me1 and buy and spin cotton1 and thus work for me as truly as my slaves6 ,o ye fools and blind1 fill ye up the measure of your folly1 and blindness1 and shame6 ,and this ye are doing4 ,ye have1 like the ,french infidels1 made reason your goddess1 and are exalting her above the ,bible2 and1 in your unitarianism and neology and all modes of infidelity1 ye are rejecting and crucifying the ,son of ,god4 ,now1 my brother1 this controlling slave-power is a world-wide fact4 ,its statistics of bales count by millions2 its tonnage counts by hundreds of thousands2 its manufacture is reckoned by the workshops of ,america and ,europe2 its supporters are numbered by all who must thus be clothed in the world4 ,this tremendous power has been developed in great measure by the abolition agitation1 controlled by ,god4 ,i believe1 then1 as ,i have already said1 that ,god intends one of two things4 ,he either intends to destroy the ,united ,states by this slave-power1 or he intends to bless my country and the world by the unfoldings of his wisdom in this matter4 ,i believe he will bless the world in the working out of this slavery4 ,i rejoice1 then1 in the agitation which has so resulted1 and will so terminate1 to reveal the ,bible1 and bless mankind4 ,your affectionate friend1 ,f4,a4 ,ross4 ,,rev4 ,a4 ,,blackburn4 ,what ,is the ,foundation of ,moral ,obligation8 ,my position as to this all-important question1 in my ,new ,york speech1 was made subject of remark in the ,presbyterian ,herald1 ,louisville1 ,kentucky1 to which ,i replied at length in the ,presbyterian ,witness1 ,knoxville1 ,tennessee4 ,no rejoinder was ever made to that reply4 ,but1 recently1 an extract from the younger ,edwards was submitted to me4 ,to that ,i gave the following letter4 ,the subject is of the first and the last importance1 and bears directly1 as set forth in my ,new ,york speech1 on infidelity1 and1 of course1 the slavery question3-- ,mr4 ,editor3--,in your paper of ,tuesday1 #bdth ult41 there is an article1 under this head1 giving the argument of ,edwards 7the son7 against my views as to the foundation of moral obligation4 ,i thank the writer for his argument1 and his courteous manner of presenting it4 ,in my third letter to ,mr4 ,barnes1 ,i express my preparation to meet all comers on this question2 and ,i am pleased to see this comer4 ,if my views cannot be refuted by ,edwards1 ,i may wait long for an uglier customer4 ,a word1 introductory1 to your correspondent4 ,he says1 ,his ,dr4 ,ross's theory was advanced and argued against in a former age4 ,by this1 ,i understand him to express his belief that my theory has been rejected heretofore4 ,well4 ,it may1 nevertheless1 be the true theory4 ,the ,copernican astronomy was argued against in a former age and rejected2 yet it has prevailed4 ,newton's law of gravitation was argued against and rejected by a whole generation of philosophers on the continent of ,europe2 yet it has prevailed4 ,and now all school-boys and girls would call anybody a fool who should deny it4 ,steam1 in all its applications1 was argued against and rejected2 yet it has prevailed4 ,so the electric telegraph2 and1 to go back a little1 the theory of vaccination1--the circulation of the blood1--a thousand things2 yea1 ,edwards's 7the father7 theory of virtue1 although received by many1 has been argued against1 and by many rejected2 yet it will prevail4 ,yea1 his idea of the unity of the race in ,adam was and is argued against and rejected2 yet it will prevail4 ,i feel1 therefore1 no fear that my theory of moral obligation will not be acknowledged because it was argued against and rejected by many in a former age1 and may be now4 ,nay2 facts to prove it are accumulating1--facts which were not developed in ,edwards's day1--facts showing1 irresistibly1 that ,edwards's theory1 which is that most usually now held1 is what ,i say it is1--the rejection of revelation1 infidelity1 and atheism4 ,the evidence amounts to demonstration4 ,the question is in a nutshell2 it is this3--,shall man submit to the revealed will of ,god1 or to his own will8 ,that is the naked question when the fog of confused ideas and unmeaning words is lifted and dispersed4 ,my position1 expressed in the speech delivered in the ,general ,assembly1 ,new ,york1 ,may1 #ahef1 is this3--,god1 in making all things1 saw that1 in the relations he would constitute between himself and intelligent creatures1 and among themselves1 ,,natural ,,good ,,and ,,evil would come to pass4 ,in his benevolent wisdom1 he then willed ,,law to control this good and evil2 and he thereby made conformity to that law to be right1 and non-conformity to be wrong4 ,why8 ,simply because he saw it to be good1 and made it to be ,,right2 not because he saw it to be right1 but because he made it to be right4 ,your correspondent replies to this theory in the following words of ,edwards3--,some hold that the foundation of moral obligation is primarily in the will of ,god4 ,but the will of ,god is either benevolent or not4 ,if it be benevolent1 and on that account the foundation of moral obligation1 it is not the source of obligation merely because it is the will of ,god1 but because it is benevolent1 and is of a tendency to promote happiness2 and this places the foundation of obligation in a tendency to happiness1 and not primarily in the will of ,god4 ,but if the will of ,god1 and that which is the expression of it1 the divine law1 be allowed to be not benevolent1 and are foundation of obligation1 we are obliged to conform to them1 whatever they be1 however malevolent and opposite to holiness and goodness the requirements be4 ,but this1 ,i presume1 none will pretend4 ,very fairly and strongly put2 that's to say1 if ,i understand ,edwards1 he supposes1 if ,god was the devil and man what he is1 then man would not be under obligation to obey the devil's will6 ,that's it6 ,well1 ,i suppose so too2 and ,i reckon most ,christians would agree to that statement1 ,nay1 more3 ,i presume nobody ever taught that the mere naked will1 abstractly considered1 if it could be1 from the character of ,god1 was the ground of moral obligation8 ,nay1 ,i think nobody ever imagined that the notion of an infinite ,creator presupposes or includes the idea that he is a malevolent ,being6 ,i agree1 then1 with ,edwards1 that the ultimate ground of obligation is in the fact that ,god is benevolent1 or is a good ,god4 ,i said that in my speech quoted above4 ,i formally stated that ,god1 in his benevolent wisdom1 willed law to control the natural good and evil1 c4 ,what1 then1 is the point of disagreement between my view and ,edwards's8 ,it is in the different ways by which we ,,get ,,at the ,,fact of divine benevolence4 ,i hold that the ,,revealed ,,word tells us who ,god is and what he does1 and is1 therefore1 the ,,ultimate ,,ground ,,of ,,obligation4 ,but ,edwards holds that ,,human ,,reason must tell us who ,god is and what he does1 and ,,is1 therefore1 the ,,primary ,,ground ,,of ,,obedience4 ,that is my issue with ,edwards and others2 and it is as broad an issue as faith in revelation1 or the ,,rejection ,,of ,,it4 ,i do not charge that ,edwards did1 or that all who hold with him do1 deny the word of ,god2 but ,i do affirm that their argument does4 ,the matter is plain4 ,for what is revelation8 ,it is that ,god has appeared in person1 and told man in ,,word that he is ,,god2 and told him first in ,,word 7to be expanded in studying creation and providence7 that ,god is a ,spirit1 eternal1 infinite in power1 wisdom1 goodness1 holiness1--the ,creator1 ,preserver1 ,benefactor4 ,that ,,word1 moreover1 he proved by highest evidence--namely1 supernatural evidence--to be absolute1 perfect ,,truth as to all ,,fact affirmed of him and what he does4 ,,revelation1 as claimed in the ,bible1 was and is ,,that ,,thing4 ,man1 then1 having this revelation2 is under obligation ever to believe every jot and tittle of that ,,word4 ,he at first1 no doubt1 knew little of the meaning of some facts declared2 nay1 he may have comprehended nothing of the sense or scope of many facts affirmed4 ,nay1 he may now1 after thousands of years1 know most imperfectly the meaning of that ,,word4 ,but he was and he is1 notwithstanding1 to believe with absolute faith the ,,word1--that ,god is all he says he is1 and does all he says he does1--however that ,,word may go beyond his reason1 or surprise his feelings1 or alarm his conscience1 or command his will4 ,this statement of what revelation is1 settles the whole question as presented by ,edwards4 ,for ,,revelation1 as explained1 does ,,fix forever the foundation of man's moral obligation in the benevolence of ,god1 ,,primarily1 as it is expressed in the word of ,god4 ,,revelation does then1 in that sense1 ,,fix obligation in the ,,mere ,,will ,,of ,,god2 for1 the moment you attempt to establish the foundation somewhere else1 you have abandoned the ground of revelation4 ,you have left the ,,will ,,of ,,god in his word1 and you have made your rule of right to be the ,,will ,,of ,,man in the ,,self of the ,,heart4 ,the proof of what ,i here say is so plain1 even as the writing on the tables of ,habakkuk's vision1 that he may run that readeth it4 ,read1 then1 even as on the tables4 ,god says in his ,,word1 ,i am all-powerful1 all-wise1 the ,creator4 ,you may be1 says ,edwards1 but ,i want primary foundation for my faith2 and ,i can't take your word for it4 ,i must look first into nature to see if evidence of infinite power and wisdom is there1--to see if evidence of a ,creator is there1--and if thou art he6 ,again1 ,god says in his word1 ,i am benevolent1 and my will in my law is expression of that benevolence4 ,you may tell the truth1 ,edwards replies1 but ,i want primary ground for my belief1 and ,i must hold your word suspended until ,i examine into my reason1 my feelings1 my conscience1 my will1--to see if your ,,word harmonizes with my ,,heart1--to see if what you reveal tends to happiness ,,in ,,my ,,notion ,,of ,,happiness2 or tends to right ,,in ,,my ,,notion ,,of ,,right6 ,that's it4 ,that's the theory of ,edwards1 ,barnes1 and others4 ,and what is this but the attempt to know the divine attributes and character in some other way than through the divine ,,word8 ,and what is this but the denial of the divine ,,word1 except so far as it agrees with the knowledge of the attributes and character of ,god1 obtained in ,,that some other way8 ,and what is this but to make the word of ,god subordinate to the teaching of the ,,human ,,heart8 ,and what is this but to make the ,,will of ,god give place to the ,,will of man8 ,and what is this but the ,,rejection ,,of ,,revelation8 ,yet this is the result 7though not intended by him7 of the whole scheme of obligation1 maintained by ,edwards and by all who agree with him4 ,carry it out1 and what is the progress and the end of it8 ,this4 ,human reason--the human heart--will be supreme4 ,some1 ,i grant1 will hold to a revelation of some sort4 ,a thing more and more transcendental1--a thing more and more of fog and moonshine1--fog floating in ,german cellars from fumes of lager-beer1 and moonshine gleaming from the imaginations of the drinkers4 ,some1 like ,socrates and ,plato1 will have a ,god supreme1 personal1 glorious1 somewhat like the true2 and with him many inferior deities1--animating the stars1 the earth1 mountains1 valleys1 plains1 the sea1 rivers1 fountains1 the air1 trees1 flowers1 and all living things4 ,some will deny a personal ,god1 and conceive1 instead1 the intelligent mind of the universe1 without love4 ,some will contend for mere law1--of gravitation and attraction2 and some will suggest that all is the result of a fortuitous concourse of atoms6 ,here1 having passed through the shadows and the darkness1 we have reached the blackness of infidelity1--blank atheism4 ,no ,god--yea1 all the way the fools were saying in their hearts1 no ,god4 ,what now is man8 ,alas6 some1 the ,notts and ,gliddons1 tell us1 man was indeed created millions of ages ago1 the ,lord only knows when1 in swarms like bees to suit the zones of the earth1--while other some1 the believers in the vestiges of creation1 say man is the result of development1--from fire1 dust1 granite1 grass1 the creeping thing1 bird1 fish1 four-footed beast1 monkey4 ,yea1 and some of these last philosophers are even now going to ,africa to try to find men they have heard tell of1 who still have tails and are jumping and climbing somewhere in the regions around the undiscovered sources of the ,nile4 ,this is the progress and the result of the ,edwards theory2 because1 deny or hesitate about revelation1 and man cannot prove1 absolutely1 any of the things we are considering4 ,let us see if he can4 ,edwards writes1 ,on the supposition that the will or law of ,god is the primary foundation1 reason1 and standard of right and virtue1 every attempt to prove the moral perfection or attributes of ,god is absurd4 ,here1 then1 ,edwards believes1 that1 to reach the primary foundation of right and virtue1 he must not take ,god's word as to his perfection or attributes1 no matter how fully ,god may have proved his word3 no2 but he1 ,edwards1 he1 man1 must first prove them in some other way4 ,and1 of course1 he believes he can reach such primary foundation by such other proof4 ,well1 let us see how he goes about it4 ,i give him1 to try his hand1 the easiest attribute1--,,power4 ,i give him1 then1 all creation1 and providence besides1 as his black-board1 on which to work his demonstration4 ,i give him1 then1 the lifetime of ,methuselah1 in which to reach his conclusion of proof4--,well1 ,i will now suppose we have all lived and waited that long time3 what is his proof ,,of ,,infinite ,,power8 ,has he found the ,,exhibition of infinite power8 ,no4 ,he has found proof of ,,great ,,power2 but he has not reached the ,,display of infinite power4 ,what then is his faith in infinite power after such proof8 ,why1 just this3 he ,,infers only1 that ,,the ,,power1 which did the things he sees1 can go on1 and on1 and on1 to give greater1 and greater1 and greater manifestations of itself6 ,,very ,,good3 if so be1 we can have no better proof4 ,but that ,,proof is infinitely below ,,absolute ,,proof of infinite power4 ,and all manifestations of power to a finite creature1 even to the archangel ,michael1 during countless millions of ages1 never gives1 because it never can give to him1 ,,absolute ,,proof of infinite power4 ,but the word of ,,god gives the ,,proof ,,absolute1 and in a moment of time6 ,i ,,am ,,the ,,almighty6 ,the perfect proof is in ,,that ,,word ,,of ,,god4 ,i might set ,edwards to work to prove the infinite wisdom1 the infinite benevolence1 the infinite holiness--yea1 the ,,existence--of ,god4 ,and he1 finite man1 in any examination of creation or providence1 must fall infinitely below the ,,perfect ,,proof4 ,so then ,i tell ,edwards1 and all agreeing with him1 that it is absurd to attempt to prove the moral perfection and attributes of ,god1 if he thereby seeks to reach the ,,highest ,,evidence1 or if he thereby means to find the ,,primary ,,ground of moral obligation4 ,do ,i then teach that man should not seek the proof there is1 of the perfection and attributes of ,god1 in nature and providence8 ,no4 ,i hold that such proof unfolds the meaning of the ,,facts declared in the ,,word of ,god1 and is all-important1 as such expansion of meaning4 ,but ,i say1 by authority of the ,master1 that the highest proof1 the absolute proof1 the perfect proof1 of the ,,facts as to who ,god is1 and what he does1 and the ,,primary ,,obligation thereupon1 is in the ,,revealed ,,word4 ,,fred4 ,a4 ,,ross4 ,huntsville1 ,ala41 ,april #c1 #aheg4 ,n4,b4--,in notice of last ,witness's extract from ,erskine1 ,i remark that ,thomas ,erskine was1 and may yet be1 a lawyer of ,edinburgh4 ,he wrote three works3--one on the ,internal ,evidences1 the next on ,faith1 the last on the ,freeness of the ,gospel4 ,they are all written with great ability1 and contain much truth4 ,but all have in them fundamental untruths4 ,there is least in the ,evidences2 more in the essay on ,faith2 most in the tract on the ,freeness of the ,gospel1--which last has been utterly refuted1 and has passed away4 ,his ,faith is1 also1 not republished4 ,the ,evidences is good1 like good men1 notwithstanding the evil4 ,letters to ,rev4 ,a4 ,barnes4 ,introduction4 ,as part of the great slavery discussion1 ,rev4 ,a4 ,barnes1 of ,philadelphia1 published1 in ,october1 #ahef1 a pamphlet1 entitled1 ,the ,,church and ,,slavery4 ,in this tract he invites every man to utter his views on the subject4 ,and1 setting the example1 he speaks his own with the greatest freedom and honesty4 ,in the same freedom of speech1 ,i have considered his views unscriptural1 false1 fanatical1 and infidel4 ,therefore1 while ,i hold him in the highest respect1 esteem1 and affection1 as a divine and ,christian gentleman1 and cherish his past relations to me1 yet ,i have in these letters written to him1 and of him1 just as ,i would have done had he lived in ,france or ,germany1 a stranger to me1 and given to the world the refined scoff of the one1 or the muddy transcendentalism of the other4 ,my first letter is merely a glance at some things in his pamphlet1 in which ,i show wherein ,i agree and disagree with him1--i4e4 in our estimate of the results of the agitation2 in our views of the ,declaration of ,independence2 in our belief of the way men are made infidels2 and in our appreciation of the testimonies of past ,general ,assemblies4 ,the other letters ,i will notice in similar introductions4 ,these letters first appeared as original contributions to the ,christian ,observer1 published and edited by ,dr4 ,a4 ,converse1 ,philadelphia4 ,i take this occasion to express my regard for him1 and my sense of the ability with which he has long maintained the rights and interests of the ,presbyterian body1 to which we both belong2 and the wise and masterly way in which he has vindicated1 from the ,bible1 the truth on the slavery question4 ,to him1 too1 the public is indebted for the first exhibition of ,mr4 ,barnes's errors in his recent tract which has called forth my reply4 ,no4 ,i4 ,rev4 ,a4 ,barnes3-- ,dear ,sir3--,you have recently published a tract3--,the ,church and ,slavery4 ,the opinion of each individual1 you remark1 contributes to form public sentiment1 as the labor of the animalcule in the ocean contributes to the coral reefs that rise above the waves4 ,true1 sir1 and beautifully expressed4 ,but while1 in harmony with your intimation1 ,i must regard you one of the animalcules1 rearing the coral reef of public opinion1 ,i cannot admit your disclaimer of special influence among them in their work4 ,doubtless1 sir1 you have special influence1--and deserve to have4 ,i make no apology for addressing you4 ,i am one of the animalcules4 ,i agree1 and ,i disagree1 with you4 ,i harmonize in your words1--,the present is eminently a time when the views of every man on the subject of slavery should be uttered in unambiguous tones4 ,i agree with you in this affirmation2 because the subject has yet to be fully understood2 because1 when understood1 if ,,the ,,bible does not sanction the system1 the ,,master must cease to be the master4 ,the ,,slave must cease to be the slave4 ,he must be free1 ,,and ,,equal ,,in ,,political ,,and ,,social ,,life4 ,that is your unambiguous tone4 ,let it be heard1 if that is the word of ,god4 ,but if ,,the ,,bible does sanction the system1 then that unambiguous tone will silence abolitionists who admit the ,scriptures2 it will satisfy all good men1 and give peace to the country4 ,that is the tone ,i want men to hear4 ,listen to it in the past and present speech of providence4 ,the time was when you had the very public sentiment you are now trying to form4 ,from ,maine to ,louisiana1 the ,american mind was softly yielding to the impress of emancipation1 in some hope1 however vague and imaginary4 ,southern as well as ,northern men1 in the church and out of it1 not having sufficiently studied the word of ,god1 and1 under our own and ,french revolutionary excitement1 looking only at the evils of slavery1 wished it away from the land4 ,it was a mistaken public sentiment4 ,yet1 such as it was1 you had it1 and it was doing your work4 ,it was ,quaker-like1 mild and affectionate4 ,it did not1 however1 work fast enough for you4 ,you thought that the negro1 with his superior attributes of body and mind and higher advantages of the nineteenth century1 might reach1 in a day1 the liberty and equality which the ,anglo-,american had attained after the struggle of his ancestors during a thousand years6 ,you got up the agitation4 ,you got it up in the ,church and ,state4 ,you got it up over the length and breadth of this whole land4 ,let me show you some things you have secured1 as the results of your work4 ,first ,result of ,agitation4 #a4 ,the most consistent abolitionists1 affirming the sin of slavery1 on the maxim of created equality and unalienable right1 after torturing the ,bible for a while1 to make it give the same testimony1 felt they could get nothing from the book4 ,they felt that the ,god of the ,bible disregarded the thumb-screw1 the boot1 and the wheel2 that he would not speak for them1 but against them4 ,these consistent men have now turned away from the word1 in despondency2 and are seeking1 somewhere1 an abolition ,bible1 an abolition ,constitution for the ,united ,states1 and an abolition ,god4 ,this1 sir1 is the first result of your agitation3--the very van of your attack repulsed1 and driven into infidelity4 ,a ,second ,result of ,agitation4 #b4 ,many others1 and you among them1 are trying in exactly the same way just mentioned to make the ,bible speak against slave-holding4 ,you get nothing by torturing the ,english version4 ,people understand ,english4 ,nay1 you get little by applying the rack to the ,hebrew and ,greek2 even before a tribunal of men like you1 who proclaim beforehand that ,moses1 in ,hebrew1 and ,paul1 in ,greek1 must condemn slavery because it is a violation of the first sentiments of the ,declaration of ,independence4 ,you find it difficult to persuade men that ,moses and ,paul were moved by the ,holy ,ghost to sanction the philosophy of ,thomas ,jefferson6 ,you find it hard to make men believe that ,moses saw in the mount1 and ,paul had vision in heaven1 that this future apostle of ,liberty was inspired by ,jesus ,christ4 ,you torture very severely4 ,but the muscles and bones of those old men are tough and strong4 ,they won't yield under your terrible wrenchings4 ,you get only groans and mutterings4 ,you claim these voices1 ,i know1 as testimony against slavery4 ,but you cannot torture in secret as in olden times4 ,when putting the question1 you have to let men be present1--who tell us that ,moses and ,paul won't speak for you1--that they are silent1 like ,christ before ,pilate's scourging-men2 or1 in groans and mutterings1--the voices of their sorrow and the tones of their indignation1--they rebuke your pre-judgment of the ,almighty when you say if the ,bible sanctions slavery1 it neither ought to be nor could be received by mankind as a divine revelation4 ,this1 sir1 is the second result you have gained by your agitation4 ,you have brought a thousand ,northern ministers of the gospel1 with yourself1 to the verge of the same denial of the word of ,god which they have made1 who are only a little ahead of you in the road you are travelling4 ,a ,third ,result of ,agitation4 #c4 ,meanwhile1 many of your most pious men1 soundest scholars1 and sagacious observers of providence1 have been led to study the ,bible more faithfully in the light of the times4 ,and they are reading it more and more in harmony with the views which have been reached by the highest ,southern minds1 to wit3--,that the relation of master and slave is sanctioned by the ,bible2--that it is a relation belonging to the same category as those of husband and wife1 parent and child1 master and apprentice1 master and hireling2--that the relations of husband and wife1 parent and child1 were ordained in ,eden for man1 as man1 and modified after the fall1 while the relation of slavery1 as a system of labor1 is only one form of the government ordained of ,god over fallen and degraded man2--that the evils in the system are the same evils of ,,oppression we see in the relation of husband and wife1 and all other forms of government2--that slavery1 as a relation1 suited to the more degraded or the more ignorant and helpless types of a sunken humanity1 is1 like all government1 intended as the proof of the curse of such degradation1 and at the same time to elevate and bless2--that the relation of husband and wife1 being for man1 as man1 will ever be over him1 while slavery will remain so long as ,god sees it best1 as a controlling power over the ignorant1 the more degraded and helpless2--and that1 when he sees it for the good of the country1 he will cause it to pass away1 if the slave can be elevated to liberty and equality1 political and social1 with his master1 in that country2 or out of that country1 if such elevation cannot be given therein1 but may be realized in some other land3 all which result must be left to the unfoldings of the divine will1 in harmony with the ,bible1 and not to a newly-discovered dispensation4 ,these facts are vindicated in the ,bible and ,providence4 ,in the ,old ,testament1 they stare you in the face3--in the family of ,abraham1--in his slaves1 bought with his money and born in his house1--in ,hagar1 running away under her mistress's hard dealing with her1 and yet sent back1 as a fugitive slave1 by the angel1--in the law which authorized the ,hebrews to hold their brethren as slaves for a time1--in which parents might sell their children into bondage1--in which the heathen were given to the ,hebrews as their slaves forever1--in which slaves were considered so much the money of their master1 that the master who killed one by an unguarded blow was1 under certain circumstances1 sufficiently punished in his slave's death1 because he thereby lost his money1--in which the difference between man-stealing and slave-holding is1 by law1 set forth1--in which the runaway from heathen masters may not be restored1 because ,god gave him the benefits of an adopted ,hebrew4 ,in the ,new ,testament3--wherein the slavery of ,greece and ,rome was recognised1--in the obligations laid on master and slave1--in the close connection of this obligation with the duties of husband and wife1 parent and child1--in the obligation to return the fugitive slave to his master1--and in the condemnation of every abolition principle1 ,,as ,,destitute ,,of ,,the ,,truth4 7#a ,tim4 vi4 #a-e47 ,this view of slavery is becoming more and more1 not only the settled decision of the ,southern but of the best ,northern mind1 with a movement so strong that you have been startled by it to write the pamphlet now lying before me4 ,this is the third result you have secured3--to make many of the best men in the ,north see the infidelity of your philosophy1 falsely so called1 on the subject of slavery1 in the clearer and clearer light of the ,scriptures4 ,another ,result of ,agitation4 #d4 ,the ,southern slave-holder is now satisfied1 as never before1 that the relation of master and slave is sanctioned by the ,bible2 and he feels1 as never before1 the obligations of the word of ,god4 ,he no longer1 in his ignorance of the ,scriptures1 and afraid of its teachings1 will seek to defend his common-sense opinions of slavery by arguments drawn from ,types of ,mankind1 and other infidel theories2 but he will look1 in the light of the ,bible1 on all the good and evil in the system4 ,and when the ,north1 as it will1 shall regard him holding from ,god this high power for great good1--when the ,north shall no more curse1 but bid him ,god-speed1--then he will bless himself and his slave1 in nobler benevolence4 ,with no false ideas of created equality and unalienable right1 but with the ,bible in his heart and hand1 he will do justice and love mercy in higher and higher rule4 ,every evil will be removed1 and the negro will be elevated to the highest attainments he can make1 and be prepared for whatever destiny ,god intends4 ,this1 sir1 is the fourth result of your agitation3--to make the ,southern master know1 from the ,bible1 his right to be a master1 and his duty to his slave4 ,these four results are so fully before you1 that ,i think you must see and feel them4 ,you have brought out1 besides1 tremendous political consequences1 giving astonishing growth and spread to the slave power3 on these ,i cannot dwell4 ,sir1 are you satisfied with these consequences of the agitation you have gotten up8 ,i am4 ,i thank ,god that the great deep of the ,american mind has been blown upon by the wind of abolitionism4 ,i rejoice that the stagnant water of that ,american mind has been so greatly purified4 ,i rejoice that the infidelity and the semi-infidelity so long latent have been set free4 ,i rejoice that the sober sense ,north and ,south1 so strangely asleep and silent1 has risen up to hear the word of ,god and to speak it to the land4 ,i rejoice that all the ,south now know that ,god gives the right to hold slaves1 and1 with that right1 obligations they must fulfil4 ,i rejoice that the day has dawned in which the ,north and ,south will think and feel and act together on the subject of slavery4 ,i thank ,god for the agitation4 ,may he forgive the folly and wickedness of many who have gotten it up6 ,may he reveal more and more1 that surely the wrath of man shall praise him1 while the remainder of wrath he will restrain6 ,declaration of ,independence4 ,i agree with you1 sir1 that the second paragraph of the ,declaration of ,independence contains five affirmations1 declared to be self-evident truths1 which1 if truths1 do sustain you and all abolitionists in every thing you say as to the right of the negro to liberty2 and not only to liberty1--to equality1 political and social4 ,but ,i disagree with you as to their truth1 and ,i say that not one of said affirmations is a self-evident truth1 or a truth at all4 ,on the contrary1 that each one is contrary to the ,bible2 that each one1 separately1 is denied2 and that all five1 collectively1 are denied and upset by the ,bible1 by the natural history of man1 and by providence1 in every age of the world4 ,i say this now4 ,in a subsequent communication1 ,i will prove what ,i affirm4 ,for the present ,i merely add1 that the ,declaration of ,independence stands in no need of these false affirmations4 ,it was1 and is1 a beautiful whole without them4 ,it was1 and is1 without these imaginary maxims1 the simple statement of the grievances the colonies had borne from the mother-country1 and their right as colonies1 when thus oppressed1 to declare themselves independent4 ,that is to say1 the right given of ,god to oppressed children to seek protection in another family1 or to set up for themselves somewhat before twenty-one or natural maturity2 right belonging to them in the ,british family2 right sanctioned of ,god2 right blessed of ,god1 in the resistance of the colonies as colonies--not as individual men--to the attempt of the mother-country to consummate her tyranny4 ,but ,god gives no sanction to the affirmation that he has created all men equal2 that this is self-evident1 and that he has given them unalienable rights2 that he has made government to derive its power solely from their consent1 and that he has given them the right to change that government in their mere pleasure4 ,all this--every word of it1 every jot and tittle--is the liberty and equality claimed by infidelity4 ,god has cursed it seven times in ,france since #agic2 and he will curse it there seventy times seven1 if ,frenchmen prefer to be pestled so often in ,solomon's mortar4 ,he has cursed it in ,prussia1 ,austria1 ,germany1 ,italy1 ,spain4 ,he will curse it as long as time1 whether it is affirmed by ,jefferson1 ,paine1 ,robespierre1 ,ledru ,rollin1 ,kossuth1 ,greeley1 ,garrison1 or ,barnes4 ,sir1 that paragraph is an excrescence on the tree of our liberty4 ,i pray you take it away4 ,worship it if you will1 and in a manner imitate the ,druid4 ,he gave reverence to the mistletoe1 but first he removed the parasite from the noble tree4 ,do you the same4 ,cut away this mistletoe with golden knife1 as did the ,druid2 enshrine its imaginary divinity in a grove or cave2 then retire there1 and leave our oak to stand in its glory in the light of heaven4 ,men have been afraid to say all this for years1 just as they have been timid to assert that ,god has placed master and slave in the same relation as husband and wife4 ,public sentiment1 which you once had and have lost1 suppressed this utterance as the other4 ,but now1 men speak out2 and ,i1 for one1 will tell you what the ,bible reveals as to that part of the ,declaration of ,independence1 as fearlessly as ,i tell you what it says of the system of slavery4 ,how ,men are made ,infidels4 ,i agree with you that some men have been1 are1 and will be1 made infidels by hearing that ,god has ordained slavery as one form of his government over depraved mankind4 ,but how does this fact prove that the ,bible does not sanction slavery8 ,why1 sir1 you have been all your life teaching that some men are made infidels by hearing any truth of the ,bible2--that some men are made infidels by hearing the ,trinity1 ,depravity1 ,atonement1 ,divinity of ,christ1 ,resurrection1 ,eternal ,punishment4 ,true3 and these men find great laws of their nature1--instinctive feelings--just such as you find against slavery1 and not more perverted in them than in you1 condemning all this ,bible4 ,and they hold now1 with your sanction1 that a book affirming such facts cannot be from ,god4 ,sir1 some men are made infidels by hearing the ,ten ,commandments1 and they find great laws of their nature1 as strong in them as yours in you against slavery1 warring against every one of these commandments4 ,and they declare now1 with your authority1 that a book imposing such restraints upon human nature1 cannot be from ,god ,sir1 what is it makes infidels8 ,you have been wont to answer1 ,they will not have ,god to rule over them4 ,they will not have the ,,bible to control the great laws of their nature4 ,sir1 that is the true answer4 ,and you know that the great instinct of liberty is only one of three great laws1 needing special teaching and government3--that is to say1 the instinct to rule2 the instinct to submit to be ruled2 and the instinct for liberty4 ,you know1 too1 that the instinct to submit is the strongest1 the instinct to rule is next1 and that the aspiration for liberty is the weakest4 ,hence you know the overwhelming majority of men have ever been willing to be slaves2 masters have been next in number2 while the few have struggled for freedom4 ,the ,bible1 then1 in proclaiming ,god's will as to these three great impulses1 will be rejected by men1 exactly as they have yielded forbidden control to the one or the other of them4 ,the ,bible will make infidels of masters1 when ,god calls to them to rule right1 or to give up rule1 if they have allowed the instinct of power to make them hate ,god's authority4 ,pharaoh spoke for all infidel rulers when he said1 ,who is the ,lord that ,i should obey his voice8 ,the ,bible will make infidels of slaves1 when ,god calls to them to aspire to be free1 if they have permitted the instinct of submission to make them hate his commands4 ,the ,israelites in the wilderness revealed ten times1 in their murmuring1 the slave-instinct in all ages3--,would to ,god we had died in the wilderness6 ,you know all this1 and you condemn these infidels4 ,good4 ,but1 sir1 you know equally well that the ,bible will make infidels of men affirming the instinct of liberty1 when ,god calls them to learn of him how much liberty he gives1 and how he gives it1 and when he gives it1 if they have so yielded to this law of their nature as to make them despise the word of the ,lord4 ,sir1 ,korah1 ,dathan1 and ,abiram spoke out just what the liberty-and-equality men have said in all time3--,ye1 ,moses and ,aaron1 take too much upon you1 seeing all the congregation are holy1 every one of them3 wherefore1 then1 lift ye up yourselves above the congregation8 ,verily1 sir1 these men were intensely excited by the great law of our nature1--the great instinct of freedom4 ,yea1 they told ,god to his face they had looked within1 and found the higher law of liberty and equality--the eternal right--in their intuitional consciousness2 and that they would not submit to his will in the elevation of ,moses and ,aaron above them4 ,verily1 sir1 you1 in the spirit of ,korah1 now proclaim and say1 ,ye masters1 and ye white men who are not masters1 ,north and ,south1 ye take too much upon you1 seeing the negro is created your equal1 and1 by unalienable right1 is as free as you1 and entitled to all your political and social life4 ,ye take1 then1 too much upon you in excluding him from your positions of wealth and honor1 from your halls of legislation1 and from your palace of the nation1 and from your splendid couch1 and from your fair women with long hair on that couch and in that gilded chariot3 wherefore1 then1 lift ye up yourselves above the negro8 ,verily1 sir1 ,korah1 ,dathan1 and ,abiram said all we have ever heard from abolition-platforms or now listen to from you4 ,but the ,lord made the earth swallow up ,korah1 ,dathan1 and ,abiram6 ,i agree with you then1 sir1 fully1 that some men have been1 are1 and will be1 made infidels by hearing that ,god1 in the ,bible1 has ordained slavery4 ,but ,i hold this to be no argument against the fact that the ,bible does so teach1 because men are made infidels by any other doctrine or precept they hate to believe4 ,sir1 no man has said all this better than you4 ,and ,i cannot express my grief that you--in the principle now avowed1 that every man must interpret the ,bible as he chooses to reason and feel--sanction all the infidelity in the world1 obliterate your ,notes on the ,bible1 and deny the preaching of your whole life1 so far as ,god may1 in his wrath1 permit you to expunge or recall the words of the wisdom of your better day4 ,testimonies of ,general ,assemblies4 ,i agree with you that the ,presbyterian ,church1 both before and since its division1 has testified1 after a fashion1 against slavery4 ,but some of its action has been very curious testimony4 ,i know not how the anti-slavery resolutions of #ahah were gotten up2 nor how in some ,assemblies since4 ,i can guess1 however1 from what ,i do know1 as to how such resolutions passed in ,buffalo in #ahec1 and in ,new ,york in #ahef4 ,i know that in ,buffalo they were at first voted down by a large majority4 ,then they were reconsidered in mere courtesy to men who said they wanted to speak4 ,so the resolutions were passed after some days1 in which the screws were applied and turned1 in part1 by female hands1 to save the chairman of the committee from the effects of the resolutions being finally voted down6 ,i know that1 in ,new ,york1 the decision of the ,assembly to spread the minority report on the minutes was considered1 in the body and out of it1 as a ,southern victory2 for it revealed1 however glossed over1 that many in the house1 who could not vote directly for the minority report1 did in fact prefer it to the other4 ,i was not in ,detroit in #ahej2 but ,i think it was established in ,new ,york last ,may that that ,detroit testimony was so admirably worded that both ,southern and ,northern men might vote for it with clear consciences6 ,i need not pursue the investigation4 ,i admit that1 after this sort1 you have the stultified abstractions of the ,new ,school ,presbyterian ,church1--while ,i have its common sense2 you have its ,delphic words1--,i have its actions2 you have the traditions of the elders making void the word of ,god1--,i have the providence of ,god restraining the church from destroying itself and our social organization under folly1 fanaticism1 and infidelity4 ,you1 sir1 seem to acknowledge this2 for1 while you appear pleased with the testimony of the ,new ,school ,presbyterian ,church1 such as it is1 you lament that the ,old ,school have not been true to the resolutions of #ahah1--that1 in that branch of the church1 it is questionable whether those resolutions could now be adopted4 ,you lament the silence of the ,episcopal1 the ,southern ,methodist1 and the ,baptist denominations2 you might add the ,cumberland ,presbyterian ,church4 ,and you know that in ,new ,england1 in ,new ,york1 and in the ,northwest1 many testify against us as a pro-slavery body4 ,you lament that so many members of the church1 ministers of the gospel1 and editors of religious papers1 defend the system2 you lament that so large a part of the religious literature of the land1 though having its seat ,north and sustained chiefly by ,northern funds1 shows a perpetual deference to the slave-holder2 you lament that1 after fifty years1 nothing has been done to arrest slavery2 you lament and ask1 ,why should this be so8 ,in saying this1 you acknowledge that1 while you have been laboring to get and have reached the abstract testimony of the church1 all diluted as it is1 the common-sense fact has been and is more and more brought out1 in the providence of ,god1 that the slave-power has been and is gaining ground in the ,united ,states4 ,in one word1 you have contrived to get1 in confused utterance1 the voice of the ,sanhedrim2 while ,christ himself has been preaching in the streets of our ,jerusalem the true meaning of slavery as one form of his government over fallen men4 ,these1 then1 are some of the things ,i promised to show as the results of your agitation4 ,this is the tone of the past and present speech of ,providence on the subject of slavery4 ,you seem disturbed4 ,i feel sure things are going on well as to that subject4 ,speak on1 then1 in unambiguous tones4 ,but1 sir1 when you desire to go from words to actions1--when you intimate that the constitution of the ,presbyterian ,church may be altered to permit such action1 or that1 without its alteration1 the church can detach itself from slavery by its existing laws or the modification of them1--then ,i understand you to mean that you desire to deal1 in fact1 with slave-holders as offenders4 ,then1 sir1 you mean to exscind the ,south2 for it is absurd to imagine that you suppose the ,south will submit to such action4 ,you mean1 then1 to exscind the ,south1 or to exscind yourself and others1 or to compel the ,south to withdraw4 ,your tract1 just published1 is1 ,i suppose1 intended by you to prepare the next ,general ,assembly for such movement8 ,what then8 ,will you make your ,american ,presbyterian1 and your ,presbyterian ,house1 effect that great change in the religious literature of the land whereby the subject of slave-holding shall be approached precisely as you deal with theft1 highway-robbery1 or piracy8 ,will you1 then1 by act of ,assembly1 ,synod1 ,presbytery1 ,session1 deny your pulpits1 and communion-bread and wine1 to slave-holding ministers1 elders1 and members8 ,will you1 then1 tell ,new ,england1 and especially little ,rhoda1 ,we have purified our skirts from the blood3 forgive us1 and take us again to your love8 ,what then8 ,will you then ostracize the ,south and compel the abolition of slavery8 ,sir1 do you bid us fear these coming events1 thus casting their shadow before from the leaves of your book8 ,sir1 you may destroy the integrity of the ,new ,school ,presbyterian ,church4 ,so much evil you may do2 but you will hereby only add immensely to the great power and good of the ,old ,school2 and you will make disclosures of ,providence1 unfolding a consummation of things very different from the end you wish to accomplish for your country and the world4 ,i write as one of the animalcules contributing to the coral reef of public opinion4 ,f4 ,a4 ,ross4 ,no4 ,,ii4 ,government ,over ,man a ,divine ,institute4 ,this letter is the examination and refutation of the infidel theory of human government foisted into the ,declaration of ,independence4 ,i had written this criticism in different form for publication1 before ,mr4 ,barnes's had appeared4 ,i wrote it to vindicate my affirmation in the ,general ,assembly which met in ,new ,york1 ,may last1 on this part of the ,declaration4 ,my views were maturely formed1 after years of reflection1 and weeks--nay months--of carefully-penned writing4 ,and thus these truths1 from the ,bible1 ,providence1 and common sense1 were like rich freight1 in goodly ship1 waiting for the wind to sail2 when lo1 ,mr4 ,barnes's abolition-breath filled the canvas1 and carried it out of port into the wide1 the free1 the open sea of ,american public thought4 ,there it sails4 ,if pirate or other hostile craft comes alongside1 the good ship has guns4 ,i ask that this paper be carefully read more than once1 twice1 or three times4 ,mr4 ,barnes1 ,i presume1 will not so read it4 ,he is committed4 ,greeley may notice it with his sparkling wit1 albeit he has too much sense to grapple with its argument4 ,the ,evangelist-man will say of it1 what he would say if ,christ were casting out devils in ,new ,york1--,he casteth out devils through ,beelzebub the chief of the devils4 ,yea1 this ,evangelist-man says that my version of the golden rule is diabolical2 when truly that version is the word of the ,spirit1 as ,christ's casting out devils was the work of the ,holy ,ghost4 ,gerrett ,smith1 ,garrison1 ,giddings1 do already agree with me1 that they are right if ,jefferson spoke the truth4 ,yea1 whether the ,bible be true1 is no question with them no more than with him4 ,yea1 they hold1 as he did1 that whether there be one ,god or twenty1 it matters not3 the fact either way1 in men's minds1 neither breaks the leg nor picks the pocket4 7,see ,jefferson's ,notes on ,virginia47 ,messrs4 ,beecher and ,cheever will find nothing in me to aid them in speaking to the mobs of ,ephesus and ,antioch4 ,they are making shrines1 and crying1 ,great is ,diana4 ,mrs4 ,stowe is on the ,dismal ,swamp1 with ,dred for her ,charon1 to paddle her light canoe1 by the fire-fly lamps1 to the ,limbo of ,vanity1 of which she is the queen4 ,none of these will read with attention or honesty1 if at all1 this examination of what ,randolph long ago said was a fanfaronade of nonsense4 ,these are all wiser than seven men that can render a reason4 ,but there are thousands1 ,north and ,south1 who will read this refutation1 and will feel and acknowledge that in the light of ,god's truth the notion of created equality and unalienable right is falsehood and infidelity4 ,rev4 ,a4 ,barnes3-- ,dear ,sir3--,in my first letter ,i promised to prove that the paragraph in the ,declaration of ,independence1 which contains the affirmation of created equality and unalienable rights1 has no sanction from the word of ,god4 ,i now meet my obligation4 ,the time has come when civil liberty1 as revealed in the ,bible and in ,providence1 must be re-examined1 understood1 and defended against infidel theories of human rights4 ,the slavery question has brought on this conflict2 and1 strange as it may seem1 the ,south1 the land of the slave1 is summoned by ,god to defend the liberty he gives2 while the ,north1 the clime of the free1 misunderstands and changes the truth of ,god into a lie1--claiming a liberty he does not give4 ,wherefore is this8 ,i reply3--- ,god1 when he ordained government over men1 gave to the individual man ,,rights1 only as he is under government4 ,he first established the family2 hence all other rule is merely the family expanded4 ,the good of the family limited the rights of every member4 ,god required the family1 and then the state1 so to rule as to give to every member the good which is his1 in harmony with the welfare of the whole2 and he commanded the individual to seek that good1 and ,,no ,,more4 ,now1 mankind being depraved1 government has ever violated its obligation to rule for the benefit of the entire community1 and has wielded its power in oppression4 ,consequently1 the governed have ever struggled to secure the good which was their right4 ,but1 in this struggle1 they have ever been tempted to go beyond the limitation ,god had made1 and to seek supposed good1 not given1 in rights1 prompted by self-will1 destructive of the state4 ,government thus ever existing in oppression1 and people thus ever rising up against despotism1 have been the history of mankind4 ,the ,reformation was one of the many convulsions in this long-continued conflict4 ,in its first movements1 men claimed the liberty the ,bible grants4 ,soon they ran into licentiousness4 ,god then stayed the further progress of emancipation in ,europe1 because the spread of the asserted liberty would have made infidelity prevail over that part of the continent where the ,reformation was arrested4 ,god preferred ,romanism1 and other despotisms1 modified as they were by the struggle1 to rule for a time1 than have those countries destroyed under the sway of a licentious freedom4 ,in this contest the ,north ,american colonies had their rise1 and they continued the strife with ,england until they declared themselves independent4 ,that ,declaration affirmed not only the liberty sanctioned of the ,bible1 but also the liberty constituting infidelity4 ,its first paragraph1 to the word separation1 is a noble introduction4 ,omit1 then1 what follows1 to the sentence beginning ,prudence will dictate1 and the paper1 thus expurgated1 is complete1 and is then simply the complaint of the colonies against the government of ,england1 which had oppressed them beyond further submission1 and the assertion of their right to be free and independent ,states4 ,this declaration was1 in that form1 nothing more than the affirmation of the right ,god gives to children1 in a family1 applied to the colonies1 in regard to their mother-country4 ,that is to say1 children have1 from ,god1 ,,right1 ,,as ,,children1 when cruelly treated1 to secure the good to which they are entitled1 as children1 ,,in ,,the ,,family4 ,they may secure this good by becoming part of another family1 or by setting up for themselves1 if old enough4 ,so the colonies had1 from ,god1 right as colonies1 when oppressed beyond endurance1 to exchange the ,british family for another1 or1 if of sufficient age1 to establish their own household4 ,the ,declaration1 then1 in that complaint of oppression and affirmation of right1 in the colonies1 to be independent1 asserts liberty sanctioned by the word of ,god4 ,and therefore the pledge to that ,declaration1 of lives1 fortune1 and sacred honor1 was blessed of ,heaven1 in the triumph of their cause4 ,but the ,declaration1 in the part ,i have omitted1 affirms other things1 and very different4 ,it asserts facts and rights as appertaining to man1 not in the ,scriptures1 but contrary thereto4 ,here is the passage3-- ,we hold these truths to be self-evident1--that all men are created equal2 that they are endowed by their ,creator with certain unalienable rights2 that among these are life1 liberty1 and the pursuit of happiness4 ,that to secure these rights1 governments are instituted among men1 deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed2 that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends1 it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it1 and to institute a new government1 laying its foundation on such principles1 and organizing its powers in such form1 as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness4 ,this is the affirmation of the liberty claimed by infidelity4 ,it teaches as a fact that which is not true2 and it claims as right that which ,god has not given4 ,it asserts nothing new1 however4 ,it lays claim to that individual right beyond the limitation ,god has put1 which man has ever asserted when in his struggle for liberty he has refused to be guided and controlled by the word and providence of his ,creator4 ,the paragraph is a chain of four links1 each of which is claimed to be a self-evident truth4 ,the first and controlling assertion is1 that ,,all ,,men ,,are ,,created ,,equal2 which proposition1 as ,i understand it1 is1 that every man and woman on earth is created with equal attributes of body and mind4 ,secondly1 and consequently1 that every individual has1 by virtue of his or her being created the equal of each and every other individual1 the right to life1 liberty1 and the pursuit of happiness1 so in his or her own keeping that that right is unalienable without his or her consent4 ,thirdly1 it follows1 that government among men must derive its just powers only from the consent of the governed2 and1 as the governed are the aggregate of individuals1 then each person must consent to be thus controlled before he or she can be rightfully under such authority4 ,fourthly1 and finally1 that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of the right to life1 liberty1 and the pursuit of happiness1 as each such individual man or woman may think1 then each such person may rightly set to work to alter or abolish such form1 and institute a new government1 on such principles and in such form as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness4 ,this is the celebrated averment of created equality1 and unalienable right to life1 liberty1 and pursuit of happiness1 with the necessary consequences4 ,i have fairly expanded its meaning4 ,it is the old infidel averment4 ,it is not true in any one of its assertions4 ,all ,men not created equal4 ,it is not a truth1 self-evident1 that all men are created equal4 ,webster1 in his dictionary1 defines ,self-evident--,evident without proof or reason3 clear conviction upon a bare presentation to the mind1 as that two and three make five4 ,now1 ,i affirm1 and you1 ,i think1 will not contradict me1 that the position1 all men are created equal is not self-evident2 that the nature of the case makes it impossible for it to be self-evident4 ,for the created nature of man is not in the class of things of which such self-evident propositions can by possibility be predicated4 ,it is equally clear and beyond debate1 that it is not self-evident that all men have unalienable rights1 that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed1 and may be altered or abolished whenever to them such rights may be better secured4 ,all these assertions can be known to be true or false only from revelation of the ,creator1 or from examination and induction of reasoning1 covering the nature and the obligations of the race on the whole face of the earth4 ,what revelation and examination of facts do teach1 ,i will now show4 ,the whole battle-ground1 as to the truth of this series of averments1 is on the first affirmation1 that all men are created equal4 ,or1 to keep up my first figure1 the strength of the chain of asserted truths depend on that first link4 ,it must then stand the following perfect trial4 ,god reveals to us that he created man in his image1 i4e4 a spirit endowed with attributes resembling his own1--to reason1 to form rule of right1 to manifest various emotions1 to will1 to act1--and that he gave him a body suited to such a spirit1 7,gen4 i4 #bf1 #bg1 #bh27 that he created ,,man male and female1 7,gen4 i4 #bg27 that he made the woman out of the man1 7,gen4 ii4 #bc27 that he made the man the image and glory of ,god1 but the woman the glory of the man4 ,for the man is not of the woman1 but the woman of the man4 ,neither was the man created for the woman1 but the woman for the man1 7#a ,cor4 xi427 that he made the woman to be the weaker vessel1 7#a ,pet4 iii4 #g47 ,here1 then1 ,god created the race to be in the beginning ,,two1--a male and a female ,,man2 one of them not equal to the other in attributes of body and mind1 and1 as we shall see presently1 not equal in rights as to government4 ,observe1 this inequality was fact as to the ,,two1 in the perfect state wherein they were created4 ,but these two fell from that perfect state1 became depraved1 and began to be degraded in body and mind4 ,this statement of the original inequality in which man was created controls all that comes after1 in ,god's providence and in the natural history of the race4 ,providence1 in its comprehensive teaching1 says that ,god1 soon after the flood1 subjected the races to all the influences of the different zones of the earth2--,that he hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth1 and hath determined the times before appointed and the bounds of their habitation2 that they should seek the ,lord if haply they might feel after him and find him1 though he be not far from every one of us4 7,acts xvii4 #bf1 #bg47 ,these bounds of their habitation have had much to do in the natural history of man2 for all men have been created1 or1 more correctly1 born1 7since the race was created once only at the first17 with attributes of body and mind derived from the ,,two unequal parents1 and these attributes1 in every individual1 the combined result of the parental natures4 ,all men1 then1 come into the world under influences upon the amalgamated and transmitted body and mind1 from depravity and degradation1 sent down during all the generations past2 and1 therefore1 under causes of inequality1 acting on each individual from climate1 from scenery1 from food1 from health1 from sickness1 from love1 from hatred1 from government1 inconceivable in variety and power4 ,under such causes1 to produce infinite shades of inequality1 physical and mental1 in birth--if all men were created equal 7i4e4 born equal7 in attributes of body and mind--such creation would be a violation of all the known analogies in the world of life4 ,do1 then1 the facts in man's natural history exhibit this departure from the laws of life and spirit8 ,do they prove that all men are created equal8 ,do they show that every man and every woman of ,africa1 ,asia1 ,europe1 ,america1 and the islands of the seas1 is created each one equal in body and mind to each other man or woman on the face of the earth1 and that this has always been8 ,need ,i extend these questions8 ,methinks1 sir1 ,i hear you say1 what others have told me1 that the ,declaration is not to be understood as affirming what is so clearly false1 but merely asserts that all men are created equal in natural rights4 ,i reply that that is not the meaning of the clause before us2 for that is the meaning of the next sentence1--the second in the series we are considering4 ,there are1 as ,i have said1 four links to the chain of thought in this passage3--#a4 ,that all men are created equal4 #b4 ,that they are endowed by the ,creator with certain unalienable rights4 #c4 ,that government derives its just powers from the consent of the governed4 #d4 ,that the people may alter and abolish it1 c4 ,these links are logical sequences4 ,all men--man and woman--are created equal1--equal in attributes of body and mind2 7for that is the only sense in which they could be created equal27 therefore they are endowed with right to life1 liberty1 and pursuit of happiness1 unalienable1 except in their consent2 consequently such consent is essential to all rightful government2 and1 finally and irresistibly1 the people have supreme right to alter or abolish it1 c4 ,the meaning1 then1 ,i give to that first link1 and to the chain following1 is the sense1 because1 if you deny that meaning to the first link1 then the others have no logical truth whatever4 ,thus3-- ,if all men are not created equal in attributes of body and mind1 then the inequality may be so great that such men cannot be endowed with right to life1 liberty1 and pursuit of happiness1 unalienable save in their consent2 then government over such men cannot rightfully rest upon their consent2 nor can they have right to alter or abolish government in their mere determination4 ,yea1 sir1 you concede every thing if you admit that the ,declaration does not mean to affirm that all men are created equal in body and mind4 ,i will suppose in the ,alps a community of ,cretins1--i4e4 deformed and helpless idiots1--but among them many from the same parents1 who1 in body and mind1 by birth are comparatively ,napoleons4 ,now1 this inequality1 physical and mental1 by birth1 makes it impossible that the government over these ,cretins can be in their consent4 ,the ,napoleons must rule4 ,the ,napoleons must absolutely control their life1 liberty1 and pursuit of happiness1 for the good of the community4 ,do you reply that ,i have taken an extreme case8 that everybody admits sensible people must govern natural fools8 ,ay1 sir1 there is the rub4 ,natural fools6 ,are some men1 then1 created natural fools8 ,very well4 ,then you also admit that some men are created just a degree above natural fools6--and1 consequently1 that men are created in all degrees1 gradually rising in the scale of intelligence4 ,are they not created just above the brute1 with savage natures along with mental imbecility and physical degradation8 ,must the ,napoleons govern the ,cretins without their consent8 ,must they not also govern without their consent these types of mankind1 whether one1 two1 three1 thirty1 or three hundred degrees above the ,cretins1 if they are still greatly inferior by nature8 ,suppose the ,cretins removed from the imagined community1 and a colony of ,australian ant-catchers or ,california lizard-eaters be in their stead3 must not the ,napoleons govern these8 ,and1 if you admit inequality to be in birth1 then that inequality is the very ground of the reason why the ,napoleons must govern the ant-catchers and lizard-eaters4 ,remove these1 and put in their place an importation of ,african negroes4 ,do you admit their inferiority by ,,creation8 ,then the same control over them must be the irresistible fact in common sense and ,scripture of ,god4 ,the ,napoleons must govern4 ,they must govern without asking consent1--if the inequality be such that consent would be evil1 and not good1 in the family--the state4 ,yea1 sir1 if you deny that the ,declaration asserts all men are created equal in body and mind1 then you admit the inequality may be such as to make it impossible that in such cases men have rights unalienable save in their consent2 and you admit it to be impossible that government in such circumstances can exist in such consent ,but1 if you affirm the ,declaration does mean that men are created equal in attributes of body and mind1 then you hold to an equality which ,god1 in his word1 and providence1 and the natural history of man1 denies to be truth4 ,i think ,i have fairly shown1 from ,scripture and facts1 that the first averment is not the truth2 and have reduced it to an absurdity4 ,i will now regard the second1 third1 and fourth links of the chain4 ,i know they are already broken2 for1 the whole chain being but an electric current from a vicious imagination1 ,i have destroyed the whole by breaking the first link4 ,or was it but a cluster from a poisonous vine1 then ,i have killed the branches by cutting the vine4 ,i will1 however1 expose the other three sequences by a distinct argument covering them all4 ,authority ,delegated to ,adam4 ,god gave to ,adam sovereignty over the human race1 in his first decree3--,he shall rule over thee4 ,that was ,,the ,,institution ,,of ,,government4 ,it was not based on the consent of ,eve1 the governed4 ,it was from ,god4 ,he gave to ,adam like authority to rule his children4 ,it was not derived from their consent4 ,it was from ,god4 ,he gave ,noah the same sovereignty1 with express power over life1 liberty1 and pursuit of happiness4 ,it was not founded in consent of ,shem1 ,ham1 and ,japheth1 and their wives4 ,it was from ,god4 ,he then determined the habitations of men on all the face of the earth1 and indicated to them1 in every clime1 the form and power of their governments4 ,he gave1 directly1 government to ,israel4 ,he just as truly gave it to ,idumea1 to ,egypt1 and to ,babylon1 to the ,arab1 to the ,esquimaux1 the ,caffre1 the ,hottentot1 and the negro4 ,god1 in the ,bible1 decides the matter4 ,he says1 ,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 ,whosoever therefore resisteth the power1 resisteth the ordinance of ,god3 and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation4 ,for rulers are not a terror to good works1 but to the evil4 ,wilt thou then not be afraid of the power8 ,do that which is good1 and thou shalt have praise of the same3 for he is the minister of ,god to thee for good4 ,but if thou do that which is evil1 be afraid1 for he beareth not the sword in vain3 for he is the minister of ,god1 a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil4 ,wherefore ye must needs be subject1 not only for wrath1 but also for conscience' sake4 ,for this cause pay ye tribute also3 for they are ,god's ministers1 attending continually upon this very thing4 ,render1 therefore1 to all their dues2 tribute to whom tribute is due2 custom to whom custom2 fear to whom fear2 honor to whom honor4 7,rom4 xiii4 #a-g47 ,here ,god reveals to us that he has delegated to government his own ,,right over life1 liberty1 and pursuit of happiness2 and that that ,,right is not1 in any sense1 from the consent of the governed1 but is directly from him4 ,government over men1 whether in the family or in the state1 is1 then1 as directly from ,god as it would be if he1 in visible person1 ruled in the family or in the state4 ,i speak not only of the ,,right simply to govern1 but the mode of the government1 and the extent of the power4 ,government can do ,,all which ,god would do1--just ,,that1--no more1 no less4 ,and it is bound to do just ,,that1--no more1 no less4 ,government is responsible to ,god1 if it fails to do just ,,that which ,he himself would do4 ,it is under responsibility1 then1 to rule in righteousness4 ,it must not oppress4 ,it must give to every individual life1 liberty1 and pursuit of happiness1 in harmony with the good of the family1--the state1--as ,god himself would give it1--just ,,that1 no more1 no less4 ,this passage of ,scripture settles the question1 ,from whence has government ,,right to rule1 and what is the extent of its power8 ,the ,,right is from ,god1 and the ,,extent of the power is just ,,that to which ,god would exercise it if he were personally on the earth4 ,god1 in this passage1 and others1 settles1 with equal clearness1 from whence is the ,,obligation to submit to government1 and what is the extent of the duty of obedience8 ,the ,,obligation to submit is not from individual ,,right to consent or not to consent to government1--but the ,,obligation to submit is directly from ,god4 ,the ,,extent of the duty of obedience is equally revealed--in this wise3 so long as the government rules in righteousness1 the duty is perfect obedience4 ,so soon1 however1 as government requires that which ,god1 in his word1 forbids the subject to do1 he must obey ,god1 and not man4 ,he must refuse to obey man4 ,but1 inasmuch as the obligation to submit to authority of government is so great1 the subject must know it is the will of ,god1 that he shall refuse to obey1 before he assumes the responsibility of resistance to the powers that be4 ,his conscience will not justify him before ,god1 if he mistakes his duty4 ,he may be all the more to blame for having ,,such ,a ,,conscience4 ,let him1 then1 be ,,certain he can say1 like ,peter and ,john1 ,whether it be right1 in the sight of ,god1 to hearken unto you more than unto ,god1 judge ye4 ,but1 when government requires that which ,god does not forbid the subject to do1 although in that the government may have transcended the line of its righteous rule1 the subject must1 nevertheless1 submit1--until oppression has gone to the point at which ,god makes ,,resistance to be duty4 ,and that point is when ,,resistance will clearly be less of evil1 and more of good1 ,,to ,,the ,,community1 than further submission4 ,that is the rule of duty ,god gives to the whole people1 or to the minority1 or to the individual1 to guide them in resistance to the powers that be4 ,it is irresistibly certain that ,he who ordains government has1 alone1 the right to alter or abolish it1--that ,he who institutes the powers that be has1 alone1 the right to say when and how the people1 in whole or in part1 may resist4 ,so1 then1 the people1 in whole1 or in part1 have no right to resist1 to alter1 or abolish government1 simply because they may deem it destructive of the end for which it was instituted2 but they may resist1 alter1 or abolish1 when it shall be seen that ,god so regards it4 ,this places the great fact where it must be placed1--under the ,,control of the ,,bible and ,,providence4 ,illustrations4 ,i will conclude with one or two illustrations4 ,god1 in his providence1 ordains the ,russian form of government1--i4e4 ,he places the sovereignty in one man1 because ,he sees that such government can secure1 for a time1 more good to that degraded people than any other form4 ,now1 ,i ask1 ,has the emperor right1 from ,god1 to change at once1 in his mere consent1 the form of his government to that of the ,united ,states8 ,no4 ,god forbids him4 ,why8 ,because he would thereby destroy the good1 and bring immense evil in his empire4 ,i ask again1 ,have the ,russian serfs and nobles1--yea1 all1--consenting1 the right1 from ,god1 to make that change8 ,no4 ,for the government of the ,united ,states is not suited to them4 ,and1 in such an attempt1 they would deprive themselves of the blessings they now have1 and bring all the horrors of anarchy4 ,do you ask if ,i then hold1 that ,god ordains the ,russian type of rule to be perpetual over that people8 ,no4 ,the emperor is bound to secure all of life1 liberty1 and pursuit of happiness1 to each individual1 consistent with the good of the nation4 ,and he is to learn his obligation from the ,bible1 and faithfully apply it to the condition of his subjects4 ,he will thus gradually elevate them2 while they1 on their part1 are bound to strive for this elevation1 in all the ways in which ,god may show them the good1 and the right1 which1 more and more1 will belong to them in their upward progress4 ,the result of such government and such obedience would be that of a father's faithful training1 and children's corresponding obedience4 ,the ,russian people would thus have1 gradually1 that measure of liberty they could bear1 under the one-man power1--and then1 in other forms1 as they might be qualified to realize them4 ,this development would be without convulsion1--as the parent gives place1 while the children are passing from the lower to their higher life4 ,it would be the exemplification of ,carlyle's illustration of the snake4 ,he says1 ,a people should change their government only as a snake sheds his skin3 the new skin is gradually formed under the old one1--and then the snake wriggles out1 with just a drop of blood here and there1 where the old jacket held on rather tightly4 ,god ordains the government of the ,united ,states4 ,and ,he places the sovereignty in the will of the majority1 because ,he has trained the people1 through many generations in modes of government1 to such an elevation in moral and religious intelligence1 that such sovereignty is best suited to confer on them the highest right1 as yet1 to life1 liberty1 and the pursuit of happiness4 ,but ,god requires that that will of the majority be in perfect submission to ,him4 ,once more then ,i inquire1--,whether the people of this country1 yea all of them consenting1 have right from ,god1 to abolish now1 at this time1 our free institutions1 and set up the sway of ,russia8 ,no4 ,but why8 ,there is one answer only4 ,he tells us that our happiness is in this form of government1 and in it1 its developed results4 ,the ,social ,compact not recognised in the ,divine ,institute4 ,here ,i pause4 ,so1 then1 ,god gives no sanction to the notion of a ,,social ,,compact4 ,he never gave to man individual1 isolated1 natural rights1 unalienably in his keeping4 ,he never made him a ,caspar ,hauser1 in the forest1 without name or home1--a ,melchisedek1 in the wilderness1 without father1 without mother1 without descent1--a ,robinson ,crusoe1 on his island1 in skins and barefooted1 waiting1 among goats and parrots1 the coming of the canoes and the savages1 to enable him to consent if he would1 to the relations of social life4 ,and1 therefore1 those five sentences in that second paragraph of the ,declaration of ,independence are not the truth2 so1 then1 it is not self-evident truth that all men are created equal4 ,so1 then1 it is not the truth1 in fact1 that they are created equal4 ,so1 then1 it is not the truth that ,god has endowed all men with unalienable right to life1 liberty1 and pursuit of happiness4 ,so1 then1 it is not the truth that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed4 ,so1 then1 it is not the truth that the people have right to alter or abolish their government1 and institute a new form1 whenever to them it shall seem likely to effect their safety and happiness4 ,the manner in which these unscriptural dogmas have been modified or developed in the ,united ,states1 ,i will examine in another paper4 ,i merely add1 that the opinions of revered ancestors1 on these questions of right and their application to ,american slavery1 must now1 as never before1 be brought to the test of the light of the ,bible4 ,f4,a4 ,ross4 ,huntsville1 ,ala41 ,jan4 #aheg4 ,man-,stealing4 ,this argument on the abolition charge1 against the slave-holder1--that he is a man-stealer1--covers the whole question of slavery1 especially as it is seen in the ,old ,testament4 ,the headings in the letter make the subject sufficiently clear4 ,no4 ,,iii4 ,rev4 ,albert ,barnes3-- ,dear ,sir3--,in my first letter1 ,i merely touched some points in your tract1 intending to notice them more fully in subsequent communications4 ,i have1 in my second paper1 sufficiently examined the imaginary maxims of created equality and unalienable rights4 ,in this1 ,i will test your views by ,scripture more directly4 ,to the law and to the testimony3 if they speak not according to this word1 it is because there is no light in them4 7,isaiah viii4 #bj74 ,the abolitionist charges the slave-holder with being a man-stealer4 ,he makes this allegation in two affirmations4 ,first1 that the slave-holder is thus guilty1 because1 the negro having been kidnapped in ,africa1 therefore those who now hold him1 or his children1 in bondage1 lie under the guilt of that first act4 ,secondly1 that the slave-holder1 by the very fact that he is such1 is guilty of stealing from the negro his unalienable right to freedom4 ,this is the charge4 ,it covers the whole subject4 ,i will meet it in all its parts4 ,the ,difference between ,man-,stealing and ,slave-,holding1 as set forth in the ,bible4 ,the ,bible reads thus3 7,exodus xxi4 #af37--;,he that stealeth a man and selleth him1 or if he be found in his hand1 he shall surely be put to death4 ,what1 then1 is it to kidnap or steal a man8 ,webster informs us--,to kidnap is to steal a human being1 a man1 woman1 or child2 or to seize and forcibly carry away any person whatever1 from his own country or state into another4 ,the idea of seizing and forcibly carrying away enters into the meaning of the word in all the definitions of law4 ,the crime1 then1 set forth in the ,bible was not selling a man3 but selling a stolen man4 ,the crime was not having a man in his hand as a slave2 but444444in his hand1 as a slave1 a stolen man4 ,and hence1 the penalty of death was affixed1 not to selling1 buying1 or holding man1 as a slave1 but to the specific offence of stealing and selling1 or holding a man thus stolen1 contrary to this law4 ,yea1 it was this law1 and this law only1 which made it wrong4 ,for1 under some circumstances1 ,god sanctioned the seizing and forcibly carrying away a man1 woman1 or child from country or state1 into slavery or other condition4 ,he sanctioned the utter destruction of every male and every married woman1 and child1 of ,jabez-,gilead1 and the seizure1 and forcibly carrying away1 four hundred virgins1 unto the camp to ,shiloh1 and there1 being given as wives to the remnant of the slaughtered tribe of ,benjamin1 in the rock ,rimmon4 ,sir1 how did that destruction of ,jabez-,gilead1 and the kidnapping of those young women1 differ from the razing of an ,african village1 and forcibly seizing1 and carrying away1 those not put to the sword8 ,the difference is in this3--,god commanded the ,israelites to seize and bear off those young women4 ,but he forbids the slaver to kidnap the ,african4 ,therefore1 the ,israelites did right2 therefore1 the trader does wrong4 ,the ,israelites1 it seems1 gave wives1 in that way1 to the spared ,benjamites1 because they had sworn not to give their daughters4 ,but there were six hundred of these ,benjamites4 ,two hundred were therefore still without wives4 ,what was done for them8 ,why1 ,god authorized the elders of the congregation to tell the two hundred ,benjamites to catch every man his wife1 of the daughters of ,shiloh1 when they came out to dance1 in the feast of the ,lord1 on the north side of ,bethel4 ,and the children of ,benjamin did so1 and took them wives1 whom they caught3 7,judges xxi47 ,god made it right for those ,benjamites to catch every man his wife1 of the daughters of ,shiloh4 ,but he makes it wrong for the trader to catch his slaves of the sons or daughters of ,africa4 ,lest you should try to deny that ,god authorized this act of the children of ,israel1 although ,i believe he did order it1 let me remind you of another such case1 the authority for which you will not question4 ,moses1 by direct command from ,god1 destroyed the ,midianites4 ,he slew all the males1 and carried away all the women and children4 ,he then had all the married women and male children killed2 but all the virgins1 thirty-two thousand1 were divided as spoil among the people4 ,and thirty-two of these virgins1 the ,lord's tribute1 were given unto ,eleazar1 the priest1 as the ,lord commanded ,moses4 7,numbers xxxi47 ,sir1 ,thomas ,paine rejected the ,bible on this fact among his other objections4 ,yea1 his reason1 his sensibilities1 his great law of humanity1 his intuitional and eternal sense of right1 made it impossible for him to honor such a ,god4 ,and1 sir1 on your now avowed principles of interpretation1 which are those of ,paine1 you sustain him in his rejection of the books of ,moses and all the word of ,god4 ,god's command made it right for ,moses to destroy the ,midianites and make slaves of their daughters2 and ,i have dwelt upon these facts1 to reiterate what ,i hold to be ,,the ,,first ,,truth ,,in ,,morals3--that a thing is right1 not because it is ever so per se1 but because ,god makes it right2 and1 of course1 a thing is wrong1 not because it is so in the nature of things1 but because ,god makes it wrong4 ,i distinctly have taken1 and do take1 that ground in its widest sense1 and am prepared to maintain it against all comers4 ,he made it right for the sons of ,adam to marry their sisters4 ,he made it right for ,abraham to marry his half-sister4 ,he made it right for the patriarchs1 and ,david and ,solomon1 to have more wives than one4 ,he made it right when he gave command to kill whole nations1 sparing none4 ,he made it right when he ordered that nations1 or such part as he pleased1 should be spared and enslaved4 ,he made it right that the patriarchs and the ,israelites should hold slaves in harmony with the system of servile labor which had long been in the world4 ,he merely modified that system to suit his views of good among his people4 ,so1 then1 when he saw fit1 they might capture men4 ,so1 then1 when he forbade the individual ,israelite to steal a man1 he made it crime1 and the penalty death4 ,so1 then1 that crime was not the mere stealing a man1 nor the selling a man1 nor the holding a man1--but the stealing and selling1 or holding1 a man under circumstances thus forbidden of ,god4 ,was the ,israelite ,master a ,man-,stealer8 ,i now ask1 ,did ,god intend to make man-stealing and slave-holding the same thing8 ,let us see4 ,in that very chapter of ,exodus 7xxi47 which contains the law against man-stealing1 and only four verses further on1 ,god says1 ,if a man smite his servant or his maid with a rod1 and he die under his hand1 he shall be surely punished3 notwithstanding1 if he continue a day or two he shall not be punished2 for he is his money4 7,verses #bj1 #ba47 ,sir1 that man was not a hired servant4 ,he was bought with money4 ,he was regarded by ,god as the money of his master4 ,he was his slave1 in the full meaning of a slave1 then1 and now1 bought with money4 ,god1 then1 did not intend the ,israelites to understand1 and not one of them ever understood1 from that day to this1 that ,jehovah in his law to ,moses regarded the slave-holder as a man-stealer4 ,man-stealing was a specific offence1 with its specific penalty4 ,slave-holding was one form of ,god's righteous government over men1--a government he ordained1 with various modifications1 among the ,hebrews themselves1 and with sterner features in its relation to heathen slaves4 ,in ,exodus xxi4 and ,leviticus xxv41 various gradations of servitude were enacted1 with a careful particularity which need not be misunderstood4 ,among these1 a ,hebrew man might be a slave for six years1 and then go free with his wife1 if he were married when he came into the relation2 but if his master had given him a wife1 and she had borne him sons or daughters1 the wife and her children should be her master's1 and he should go out by himself4 ,that is1 the man by the law became free1 while his wife and children remained slaves4 ,if the servant1 however1 plainly said1 ,i love my master1 my wife1 and my children2 ,i will not go out free3 then his master brought him unto the judges1 also unto the doorpost1 and his master bored his ear through with an awl1 and he served him forever4 7,ex4 xxi4 #a-f47 ,sir1 you have urged discussion3--give us then your views of that passage4 ,tell us how that man was separated from his wife and children according to the eternal right4 ,tell us what was the condition of the woman in case the man chose to go out without her8 ,tell us if the ,hebrew who thus had his ear bored by his master with an awl was not a slave for life8 ,tell us1 lastly1 whether those children were not slaves8 ,and1 while on that chapter1 tell us whether in the next verses1 #g-aa1 ,god did not allow the ,israelite father to sell his own daughter into bondage and into polygamy by the same act of sale8 ,i will not dwell longer on these milder forms of slavery1 but read to you the clear and unmistakable command of the ,lord in ,leviticus xxv4 #dd1 #df3--;,both thy bondmen and thy bondmaids which thou shalt have1 shall be of the heathen that are round about you2 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 beget in your land3 and they shall be your possession3 and ye shall take them for an inheritance for your children after you1 to inherit them for a possession2 and they shall be your bondmen forever4 ,sir1 the sun will grow dim with age before that ,scripture can be tortured to mean any thing else than just what it says2 that ,god commanded the ,israelites to be slave-holders in the strict and true sense over the heathen1 in manner and form therein set forth4 ,do you tell the world that this cannot be the sense of the ,bible1 because it is a violation of the first principles of the ,american ,declaration of ,independence2 because it grates upon your instinct of liberty2 because it reveals ,god in opposition to the spirit of the age2 because1 if it be the sense of the passage1 then the ,bible neither ought to be1 nor can be1 received by mankind as a divine revelation8 ,that is what you say3 that is what ,albert ,barnes affirms in his philosophy4 ,but what if ,god in his word says1 ,both thy bondmen and thy bondmaids which thou shalt have shall be of the heathen that are round about you8 ,what if we may then choose between ,albert ,barnes's philosophy and ,god's truth8 ,or will you say1 ,god1 under the circumstances1 permitted the ,israelites to sin in the matter of slave-holding1 just as he permitted them to sin by living in polygamy4 ,permitted them to sin6 ,no1 sir2 ,god commanded them to be slave-holders4 ,he made it the law of their social state4 ,he made it one form of his ordained government among them4 ,moreover1 you take it for granted all too soon1 that the ,israelites committed sin in their polygamy4 ,god sanctioned their polygamy4 ,it was therefore not sin in them4 ,it was right4 ,but ,god now forbids polygamy1 under the gospel2 and now it is sin4 ,or will you tell us the iniquity of the ,canaanites was then full1 and ,god's time to punish them had come8 ,true2 but the same question comes up3--,did ,god punish the ,canaanites by placing them in the relation of slaves to his people1 by express command1 which compelled them to sin8 ,that's the point4 ,i will not permit you to evade it4 ,in plainer words3--,did ,god command the ,hebrews to make slaves of their fellow-men1 to buy them and sell them1 to regard them as their money8 ,he did4 ,then1 did the ,hebrews sin when they obeyed ,god's command8 ,no4 ,then they did what was right1 and it was right because ,god made it so4 ,then the ,hebrew slave-holder was not a man-stealer4 ,but1 you say1 the ,southern slave-holder is4 ,well1 we shall see presently4 ,just here1 the abolitionist who professes to respect the ,scriptures is wont to tell us that the whole subject of bondage among the ,israelites was so peculiar to ,god's ancient dispensation1 that no analogy between that bondage and ,southern slavery can be brought up4 ,thus he attempts to raise a dust out of the ,jewish institutions1 to prevent people from seeing that slaveholding then was the same thing that it is now4 ,but1 to sustain my interpretation of the plain ,scriptures given1 ,i will go back five hundred years before the existence of the ,hebrew nation4 ,i read at that time1 7,gen4 xiv4 #ad37--;,and when ,abraham heard that his brother was taken captive1 he armed his trained servants1 born in his own house1 three hundred and eighteen1 and pursued them even unto ,damascus1 c4 7,gen4 xvii4 #bg37--;,and all the men of his house1 born1 in the house1 and bought with the money of the stranger1 were circumcised4 7,gen4 xx4 #ad37--;,and ,abimelech took sheep and oxen1 and men-servants and women-servants1 and gave them unto ,abraham4 7,gen4 xxiv4 #cd1 #ce37--;,and he said1 ,i am ,abraham's servant2 and the ,lord hath blessed my master greatly1 and he is become great2 and he hath given him flocks and herds1 and silver and gold1 and men-servants and maid-servants1 and camels and asses4 ,was ,abraham a ,man-,stealer8 ,sir1 what is the common sense of these ,scriptures8 ,why1 that the slave-trade existed in ,abraham's day1 as it had long before1 and has ever since1 in all the regions of ,syria1 ,palestine1 ,arabia1 and ,egypt1 in which criminals and prisoners of war were sold1--in which parents sold their children4 ,abraham1 then1 it is plain1 bought1 of the sellers in this traffic1 men-servants and maid-servants2 he had them born in his house2 he received them as presents4 ,do you tell me that ,abraham1 by divine authority1 made these servants part of his family1 social and religious8 ,very good4 ,but still he regarded them as his slaves4 ,he took ,hagar as a wife1 but he treated her as his slave1--yea1 as ,sarah's slave2 and as such he gave her to be chastised1 for misconduct1 by her mistress4 ,yea1 he never placed ,ishmael1 the son of the bondwoman1 on a level with ,isaac1 the son of the freewoman4 ,if1 then1 he so regarded ,hagar and ,ishmael1 of course he never considered his other slaves on an equality with himself4 ,true1 had he been childless1 he would have given his estate to ,eliezer3 but he would have given it to his slave4 ,true1 had ,isaac not been born1 he would have given his wealth to ,ishmael2 but he would nave given it to the son of his bondwoman4 ,sir1 every ,southern planter is not more truly a slave-holder than ,abraham4 ,and the ,southern master1 by divine authority1 may1 to-day1 consider his slaves part of his social and religious family1 just as ,abraham did4 ,his relation is just that of ,abraham4 ,he has slaves of an inferior type of mankind from ,abraham's bondmen2 and he therefore1 for that reason1 as well as from the fact that they are his slaves1 holds them lower than himself4 ,but1 nevertheless1 he is a slave-holder in no other sense than was ,abraham4 ,did ,abraham have his slave-household circumcised8 ,every ,southern planter may have his slave-household baptized4 ,i baptized1 not long since1 a slave-child1--the master and mistress offering it to ,god4 ,what was done in the parlor might be done with divine approbation on every plantation4 ,so1 then1 ,abraham lived in the midst of a system of slave-holding exactly the same in nature with that in the ,south1--a system ordained of ,god as really as the other forms of government round about him4 ,he1 then1 with the divine blessing1 made himself the master of slaves1 men1 women1 and children1 by buying them1--by receiving them in gifts1--by having them born in his house2 and he controlled them as property1 just as really as the ,southern master in the present day4 ,i ask now1 was ,abraham a man-stealer8 ,oh1 no1 you reiterate3 but the ,southern master is4 ,why8 ,is the ,southern ,master a ,man-,stealer8 ,do you1 sir1 or anybody1 contend that the ,southern master seized his slave in ,africa1 and forcibly brought him away to ,america1 contrary to law8 ,that1 and that alone1 was and is kidnapping in divine and human statute4 ,no4 ,what then8 ,why1 the abolitionist responds1 ,the ,african man-stealer sold his victim to the slave-holder2 he1 to the planter2 and the negro has been ever since in bondage3 therefore the guilt of the man-stealer has cleaved to sellers1 buyers1 and inheritors1 to this time1 and will through all generations to come4 ,that is the charge4 ,and it brings up the question so often and triumphantly asked by the abolitionist2 i4e4 ,you1 he says to the slave-holder1--you admit it was wrong to steal the negro in ,africa4 ,can the slave-holder1 then1 throw off wrong so long as he holds the slave at any time or anywhere thereafter8 ,i answer1 yes2 and my reply shall be short1 yet conclusive4 ,it is this3--,guilt1 or criminality1 is that state of a moral agent which results from his actual commission of a crime or offence knowing it to be crime or violation of law4 ,that is the received definition of guilt1 and you1 ,i know1 do accept it4 ,the guilt1 then1 of kidnapping terminated with the man-stealer1 the seller1 the buyer1 and holders1 who1 knowingly and intentionally1 carried on the traffic contrary to the divine law4 ,,that ,,guilt attaches in no sense whatever1 as a personal1 moral responsibility1 to the present slave-holder4 ,observe1 ,i am here discussing1 not the question of mere slave-holding1 but whether the master1 who has had nothing to do with the slave-trade1 can now hold the slave without the moral guilt of the man-stealer8 ,i have said that that guilt1 in no sense whatever1 rests upon him2 for he neither stole the man1 nor bought him from the kidnapper1 nor had any complicity in the traffic4 ,here1 ,i know1 the abolitionist insists that the master is guilty of this complicity1 unless he will at once emancipate the slave2 because1 so long as he holds him1 he thereby1 personally and voluntarily1 assumes the same relation which the original kidnapper or buyer held to the ,african4 ,this is ,dr4 ,cheever's argument in a recent popular sermon4 ,he thinks it unanswerable2 but it has no weight whatever4 ,it is met perfectly by adding one word to his proposition4 ,thus3--,the master does ,,not assume the same relation which the original man-stealer or buyer held to the ,african4 ,the master's relation to ,god and to his slave is now wholly changed from that of the man-stealer1 and those engaged in the trade2 and his obligation is wholly different4 ,what is his relation8 and what is his obligation8 ,they are as follows3---- ,the master finds himself1 with no taint of personal concern in the ,african trade1 in a ,christian community of white ,anglo-,americans1 holding control over his black fellow-man1 who is so unlike himself in complexion1 in form1 in other peculiarities1 and so unequal to himself in attributes of body and mind1 that it is impossible1 in every sense1 to place him on a level with himself in the community4 ,this is his relation to the negro4 ,what1 then1 does ,god command him to do8 ,does ,god require him to send the negro back to his heathen home from whence he was stolen8 ,that home no longer exists4 ,but1 if it did remain1 does ,god command the master to send his ,christianized slave into the horrors of his former ,african heathenism8 ,no4 ,god has placed the master under law entirely different from his command to the slave-trader4 ,god said to the trader1 ,let the negro alone4 ,but he says to the present master1 ,do unto the negro all the good you can2 make him a civilized man2 make him a ,christian man2 lift him up and give him all he has a right to claim in the good of the whole community4 ,this the master can do2 this he must do1 and then leave the result with the ,almighty4 ,we reach the same conclusion by asking1 ,what does ,god say to the negro-slave8 ,does he tell him to ask to be sent back to heathen ,africa8 ,no4 ,does he give him authority to claim a created equality and unalienable right to be on a level with the white man in civil and social relations8 ,no4 ,to ask the first would be to ask a great evil2 to claim the second is to demand a natural and moral impossibility4 ,no4 ,god tells him to seek none of these things4 ,but he commands him to know the facts in his case as they are in the ,bible1 and have ever been1 and ever will be in ,providence3--that he is not the white man's equal1--that he can never have his level--that he must not claim it2 but that he can have1 and ought to have1 and must have1 all of good1 in his condition as a slave1 until ,god may reveal a higher happiness for him in some other relation than that he must ever have to the ,anglo-,american4 ,the present slave-holder1 then1 by declining to emancipate his bondman1 does not place himself in the guilt of the man-stealer or of those who had complicity with him2 but he stands exactly in that ,,nick of time and place1 in the course of ,providence1 where wrong1 in the transmission of ,african slavery1 ends1 and right begins4 ,i have1 sir1 fairly stated this1 your strongest argument1 and fully met it4 ,the ,southern master is not a man-stealer4 ,the abolitionist--repulsed in his charge that the slave-owner is a kidnapper1 either in fact or by voluntarily assuming any of the relations of the traffic--then makes his impeachment on his second affirmation1 mentioned at the opening of this letter4 ,that the slave-holder is1 nevertheless1 thus guilty1 because1 in the simple fact of being a master1 he steals from the negro his unalienable right to freedom4 ,this1 sir1 looks like a new view of the subject4 ,the crime forbidden in the ,bible was stealing and selling a man2 i4e4 seizing and forcibly carrying away1 from country or ,state1 a human being--man1 woman1 or child--contrary to law1 and selling or holding the same4 ,but the abolitionist gives us to understand this crime rests on the slave-holder in another sense3--namely1 that he steals from the negro a metaphysical attribute1--his unalienable right to liberty6 ,this is a new sort of kidnapping4 ,this is1 ,i suppose1 stealing the man from himself1 as it is sometimes elegantly expressed1--robbing him of his body and his soul4 ,sir1 ,i admit this is a strong figure of speech1 a beautiful personification1 a sonorous rhetorical flourish1 which must make a deep impression on ,dr4 ,cheever's people1 ,broadway1 ,new ,york1 and on your congregation1 ,washington ,square1 ,philadelphia2 but it is certainly not the ,bible crime of man-stealing4 ,and whether the ,southern master is guilty of this sublimated thing will be understood by us when you prove that the negro1 or anybody else1 has such metaphysical right to be stolen1--such transcendental liberty not in subordination to the good of the whole people4 ,in a word1 sir1 this refined expression is1 after all1 just the old averment that the slave-holder is guilty of sin per se6 ,that's it4 ,i have given you1 in reply1 the ,old ,testament4 ,in my next1 ,i propose to inquire what the ,new ,testament says in the light of the ,golden ,rule4 ,f4,a4 ,ross4 ,huntsville1 ,ala41 ,jan4 #ca1 #aheg4 ,the ,golden ,rule4 ,this view of the ,golden ,rule is the only exposition of that great text which has ever been given in words sufficiently clear1 and1 with practical illustrations1 to make the subject intelligible to every capacity4 ,the explanation is the truth of ,god1 and it settles forever the slavery question1 so far as it rests on this precept of ,jesus ,christ4 ,no4 ,,iv4 ,rev4 ,albert ,barnes3-- ,dear ,sir3--,the argument against slave-holding1 founded on the ,golden ,rule1 is the strongest which can be presented1 and ,i admit that1 if it cannot be perfectly met1 the master must give the slave liberty and equality4 ,but if it can be absolutely refuted1 then the slave-holder in this regard may have a good conscience2 and the abolitionist has nothing more to say4 ,here is the rule4 ,therefore1 all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you1 do ye even so to them2 for this is the law and the prophets4 7,matt4 vii4 #ab47 ,in your ,notes1 on this passage you thus write3--,this command has been usually called the ,savior's ,golden ,rule2 a name given to it on account of its great value4--,all that you ,,expect or ,,desire of others1 in similar circumstances1 ,,do ,,to ,,them4 ,this1 sir1 is your exposition of the ,savior's rule of right4 ,with all due respect1 ,i decline your interpretation4 ,you have missed the meaning by leaving out ,,one word4 ,observe1--you do not say1 ,all that you ,,ought to expect or desire1 c41 ,,that do to them4 ,no4 ,but you make the ,,expectation or ,,desire1 which every man ,,actually ,,has in similar circumstances1 ,,the ,,measure of his ,,duty to every other man4 ,or1 in different words1 you make1 without qualification or explanation1 the ,,mere ,,expectation or ,,desire which every man1--with no instruction1 or any sort of training1--wise or simple1 good or bad1 heathen1 ,mohammedan1 nominal ,christian1--,,would ,,have in similar circumstances1 ,,the ,,law ,,of ,,obligation1 always binding upon him ,,to ,,do ,,that ,,same ,,thing unto his neighbor6 ,sir1 you have left out the very idea which contains the sense of that ,scripture4 ,it is this3 ,christ1 in his rule1 presupposes that the man to whom he gives it knows1 and from the ,bible1 7or providence1 or natural conscience1 so far as in harmony with the ,bible17 the various relations in which ,god has placed him2 and the respective duties in those relations2 i4e4 ,the rule assumes that he ,,knows what he ,,ought to expect or desire in similar circumstances4 ,i will test this affirmation by several and varied illustrations4 ,i will show how ,christ1 according to your exposition of his rule1 speaks on the subject1--of revenge1 marriage1 emancipation1--the fugitive from bondage4 ,and how he truly speaks on these subjects4 ,revenge--,right according to your view of the ,golden ,rule4 ,indian and ,missionary--,prisoner tied to a tree1 stuck over with burning splinters4 ,here is an ,indian torturing his prisoner4 ,the missionary approaches and beseeches him to regard the ,golden ,rule4 ,humph6 utters the savage3 ,golden ,rule6 what's that8 ,why says the good man1 all that you expect or desired other ,indians1 in similar circumstances1 do you even so to them4 ,humph6 growls the warrior1 with a fierce smile1--,missionary--good3 that's what ,i do now4 ,if ,i was tied to that tree1 ,i would expect and desire him to have his revenge1--to do to me as ,i do to him2 and ,i would sing my death-song1 as he sings his4 ,missionary1 your rule is ,indian rule1--good rule1 missionary4 ,humph6 ,and he sticks more splinters into his victim1 brandishes his tomahawk1 and yells4 ,sir1 what has the missionary to say1 after this perfect proof that you have mistaken the great law of right8 ,verily1 he finds that the rule1 with your explanation1 tells the ,indian to torture his prisoner4 ,verily1 he finds that the wild man has the best of the argument4 ,he finds he had left out the word ,,ought2 and that he can't put it in1 until he teaches the ,indian things which as yet he don't know4 ,yea1 he finds he gave the commandment too soon2 for that he must begin back of that commandment1 and teach the savage ,god's ordination of the relations in which he is to his fellow-men1 before he can make him comprehend or apply the rule as ,christ gives it4 ,marriage--,void under your ,interpretation of the ,golden ,rule4 ,lucy ,stone1 and ,moses--,lady on sofa1 having just divorced herself--,moses1 with the ,tables of the ,law1 appears3 she falls at his feet1 and covers her face with her hands4 ,this woman1 everybody knows1 was married some time since1 after a fashion2 that is to say1 protesting publicly against all laws of wedlock1 and entering into the relation so long only as she1 or her husband1 might continue pleased therewith4 ,very well4 ,then ,i1 without insult to her or offense to my readers1 suppose that about this time she has shown her unalienable right to liberty and equality by giving her husband a bill of divorcement4 ,free again1 she reclines on her couch1 and is reading the ,tribune4 ,it is mid-day4 ,but there is a light1 above the brightness of the sun1 shining round about her4 ,and he1 who saw ,god on ,sinai1 stands before her1 the glory on his face1 and the tables of stone in his hands4 ,the woman falls before him1 veils her eyes with her trembling fingers1 and cries out1 ,moses1 oh1 ,i believed till now that thou practised deception1 in claiming to be sent of ,god to ,israel4 ,but now1 ,i know thou didst see ,god in the burning bush1 and heard him speak that law from the holy mountain4 ,moses1 ,i know 444 ,i confess44444 ,and ,moses answers1 and says unto her1 ,woman1 thou art one of a great class in this land1 who claim to be more just than ,god1 more pure than their ,maker1 who have made their inward light their ,god4 ,woman1 thou in 'convention' hast uttered ,declaration of ,independence from man4 ,and1 verily1 thou hast asserted this claim to equality and unalienable right1 even now1 by giving thy husband his bill of divorcement1 in thy sense of the ,golden ,rule4 ,yea1 verily1 thou hast done unto him all that thou expectedst or desiredst of him1 in similar circumstances4 ,and now thou thinkest thyself free again4 ,woman1 thou art a sinner4 ,verily1 thine inward light1 and declaration of independence1 and ,golden ,rule1 do well agree the one with the other4 ,verily1 thou hast learned of ,jefferson1 and ,channing1 and ,barnes4 ,but1 woman1 notwithstanding thou hast sat at the feet of these wise men1 ,i1 ,moses1 say thou art a sinner before the law1 and the prophets1 and the gospel4 ,woman1 thy light is darkness2 thy declaration of equality and right is vanity and folly2 and thy ,golden ,rule is license to wickedness4 ,woman1 hast thou ears8 ,hear3 ,i1 by authority of ,god1 ordained that the man should rule over thee4 ,i placed thee1 and children1 and men-servants1 and maid-servants1 under the same law of subjection to the government ordained of ,god in the family1--the state4 ,i for a time sanctioned polygamy1 and made it right4 ,i1 for the hardness of men's hearts1 allowed them1 and made it right1 to give their wives a bill of divorcement4 ,woman1 hear4 ,paul1 having the same ,spirit of ,god1 confirms my word4 ,he commands wives1 and children1 and servants1 after this manner3--',wives1 submit yourselves unto your own husbands1 as it is fit in the ,lord2 children1 obey your parents in all things1 for this is well pleasing unto the ,lord2 servants1 obey in all things your masters according to the flesh2 not with eye-service1 as men-pleasers2 but in singleness of heart1 fearing ,god4' ,woman1 ,paul makes that rule the same1 and that submission1 the same4 ,the manner of the rule he varies with the relations4 ,he requires it to be1 in the love of the husband1 even as ,christ loved the church1--in the mildness of the father1 not provoking the children to anger1 lest they be discouraged1--in the justice and equity of the master1 knowing that he also has a master in heaven3 7,colossians47 ,woman1 hear4 ,paul says to thee1 the man now shall have one wife1 and he now shall not give her a bill of divorcement1 save for crime4 ,woman1 thou art not free from thy husband4 ,christ's ,golden ,rule must not be interpreted by thee as ,a4 ,barnes has rendered it2 ,christ assumes that thou believest ,god's truth1--that thou knowest the relation of husband and wife1 and the obligations and rights of the same1 as in the ,bible2 then1 in the light of this knowledge1 verily1 thou art required to do what ,god says thou oughtest to do4 ,woman1 thou art a sinner4 ,go1 sin no more4 ,go1 find thy husband2 see to it that he takes thee back4 ,go1 submit to him1 and honor him1 and obey him4 ,emancipation--,ruin--,golden ,rule1 in your meaning1 carried out4 ,island in the ,tropics--,elegant houses falling to decay--,broad fields abandoned to the forest--,wharves grass-grown--,negroes relapsing into the savage state--,a dark cloud over the island1 through which the lightning glares1 revealing1 in red writing1 these words3--,redeemed1 regenerated1 and disenthralled by the irresistible genius of universal emancipation4--,gospel--according to ,curran--and the ,british ,parliament4 ,jamaica1 sir1 to say nothing of ,st4 ,domingo1 is illustration of your theory of the ,golden ,rule1 in negro emancipation4 ,you tell the ,southern master that all he would expect or desire1 if he were a slave1 he must do unto his bondman2 that he must not pause to ask whether the relation of master and slave be ordained of ,god or not4 ,no4 ,you tell him1 if he would expect or desire liberty were he a slave1 that settles the question as to what he is to do6 ,he must let his bondman go free4 ,yea1 that is what you teach3 because the moment you put in the word ,,ought1 and say1 all that you ,,ought to expect or desire1--i4e4 all that you know ,god commands you to expect or desire in your relations to men1 as established by him1--,,that do to them4 ,sir1 when you thus explain the ,golden ,rule1 then your argument against slave-holding1 so far as founded on this rule1 is at once arrested2 it is stopped short1 in full career2 it has to wait for reinforcement of ,,fact1 which may never come up4 ,for1 suppose the ,,fact to be1 that the relation of master and slave is one mode of the government ordained of ,god4 ,then1 sir1 the master1 knowing that ,,fact1 and knowing what the slave1 as a slave1 ,,ought to expect or desire1 he1 the master1 then ,,fulfils ,,the ,,golden ,,rule when he does that unto his slave which1 in similar circumstances1 he ,,ought to expect to be done unto himself4 ,now comes the question1 ,,ought he then to expect or desire liberty and equality8 ,,that is the question of questions on this subject4 ,and without hesitation ,i reply1 ,the ,golden ,rule ,,decides that question ,,yea or ,,nay1 absolutely and perfectly1 as ,god's word or providence shows that the ,,good of the family1 the community1 the state1 ,,requires that the slave ,,is or ,,is ,,not to be set free and made equal4 ,,that ,,good1 as ,god reveals it1 ,,settles ,,the ,,question4 ,let the master then see to it1 how he hears ,god's word as to ,,that ,,good4 ,let him see to it1 how he understands ,god's providence as to ,,that ,,good4 ,let him see to it1 that he makes no mistake as to ,,that ,,good4 ,for ,god will not hold him guiltless1 if he will not hear what he tells him as to ,,that ,,good4 ,god will not justify him1 if he has a bad conscience or blunders in his philosophy4 ,god will punish him1 if he fails to bless his land by letting the bond go free when1 he ,,ought to emancipate4 ,and ,god will punish him1 if he brings a curse upon his country by freeing his slave when he ,,ought ,,not to give him liberty4 ,so1 then1 the ,golden ,rule does not1 ,,of ,,itself1 reveal to man at all what are his ,,relations to his fellow-men2 but it tells him what he is to ,,do1 when he ,,already ,,knows ,,them4 ,so1 then1 you1 sir1 cannot be permitted to tell the world that this rule must emancipate all the negro slaves in the ,united ,states1--no matter how unprepared they may be1--no matter how degraded1--no matter how unlike and unequal to the white man by creation1--no matter if it be a natural and moral impossibility1--no matter3 the ,golden ,rule must emancipate by authority of the first sentiments of the ,declaration of ,independence1 and by obligation of the great law of liberty1--the intuitional consciousness of the eternal right6 ,no4 ,the ,rule1 as said1 presupposes that he who is required to obey it does already know the relations in which ,god has placed him1 and the respective duties in those conditions4 ,has ,god1 then1 established the relations of husband and wife1 parent and child1 master and slave8 ,yes4 ,then the command comes4 ,it says to the husband1 ,to aid you in your known obligations to your wife1--to give you a lively sense of it1--suppose yourself to be the wife3 whatsoever1 therefore1 you ,,ought1 in that condition1 to expect or desire1 that1 as husband1 do unto your wife4 ,it says to the parent1 ,imagine yourself the child2 and whatsoever1 as such1 you ,,ought to expect or desire1 that1 as parent1 do unto your child4 ,it says to the master1 ,put yourself in the place of your slave2 and whatsoever you ,,ought1 in that condition1 to expect or desire1 that1 as master1 do unto your slave4 ,let husband1 parent1 master1 know his obligations from ,god1 and obey the ,rule4 ,fugitive ,slave--,obeying the ,golden ,rule under your version4 ,honorable ,joshua ,r4 ,giddings and the ,angel of the ,lord--,hon4 ,gentleman at table--,nine runaway negroes dining with him--,the ,angel1 uninvited1 comes in and disturbs the feast4 ,giddings has boasted in ,congress of having had nine fugitive slaves to break bread with him at one time4 ,i choose1 then1 to imagine that1 during the dinner1 the angel who found ,hagar by the fountain stands suddenly in the midst1 and says to the negroes1 ,ye slaves1 whence came ye1 and whither will ye go8 ,and they answer and say1 ,we flee from the face of our masters4 ,this abolitionist told us to kill1 and steal1 and run away from bondage2 and we have murdered and stolen and escaped4 ,he1 thou seest1 welcomes us to liberty and equality4 ,we expect and desire to be members of ,congress1 ,governors of ,states1 to marry among the great1 and one of us to be ,president4 ,giddings1 and all abolitionists1 tell us that these honors belong to us equally as to white people1 and will be given under the ,golden ,rule4 ,and the angel of the ,lord says to them1 ,ye slaves1 return unto your masters1 and submit yourselves under their hands4 ,i sent your fathers1 and ,i send you1 into bondage4 ,i mean it unto good1 and ,i will bring it to pass to save much people alive4 ,then1 turning to the tempter1 he says1 ,thou1 a statesman6 thou1 a reader of my word and providence6 why hast thou not understood my speech to ,hagar8 ,i gave her1 a slave1 to ,sarah4 ,she fled from her mistress4 ,i sent her back4 ,why hast thou not understood my word four thousand years ago1--that the slave shall not flee from his master8 ,why hast thou also perverted my law in ,deuteronomy1 7xxiii4 #ae1 #af87 ,i say therein1 ',thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which is escaped from his master unto thee3 he shall dwell with thee1 even among you1 in that place which he shall choose1 in one of thy gates where it liketh him best3 thou shalt not oppress him4' ,why hast thou not known that ,i meant the heathen slave who escaped from his heathen master8 ,i commanded1 ,israel1 in such case1 not to hold him in bondage4 ,i made this specific law for this specific fact4 ,why hast thou taught that1 in this commandment1 ,i gave license to all men-servants and maid-servants in the whole land of ,israel to run away from their masters8 ,why hast thou thus made me1 in one saying1 contradict and make void all my laws wherein ,i ordained that the ,hebrews should be slave-owners over their brethren during years1 and over the heathen forever8 ,why hast thou in all this changed my ,golden ,rule8 ,i1 in that rule1 assume that men know from revelation and providence the relations in which ,i have placed them1 and their duties therein4 ,i then command them to do unto others what they thus know they ought to do unto them in these relations2 and ,i make the obligation quick and powerful1 by telling every man to imagine himself in such conditions1 and then he will the better ,,know 'whatsoever' he should do unto his neighbor4 ,why hast thou made void my law1 by making me say1 ',all that thou expectest or desirest of others1 in similar circumstances1 do to them'8 ,i never imagined to give such license to folly and sin4 ,why hast thou imagined such license to iniquity8 ,verily1 thou tempter1 thou hast in thy ,golden ,rule made these slaves thieves and murderers1 and art now eating with them the bread of sin and death4 ,why hast thou tortured my speech wherein ,i say that ,i have made of one blood all nations of men1 to mean that ,i have created all men equal and endowed them with rights unalienable save in their consent8 ,i never said that thing6 ,i said that ,i made all men to descend from one parentage6 ,that is what ,i say in that place6 ,why hast thou tortured that plain truth8 ,thou mightest as well teach that all 'the moving creatures that have life1 and fowl that fly above the earth1 in the open firmament of heaven1' are created equal1 because ,i said ,i brought them forth of the water4 ,thou mightest as well say that 'all cattle1 and creeping thing and beast of the earth1 are created equal1 because ,i said ,i brought them forth of the earth1 as to affirm the equality of men because ,i say they are of one blood4 ,nay1 ,i have made men unequal as the leaves of the trees1 the sands of the sea1 the stars of heaven4 ,i have made them so1 in harmony with the infinite variety and inequality in every thing in my creation4 ,and ,i have made them unequal in my mercy4 ,had ,i made all men equal in attributes of body and mind1 then unfallen man would never have realized the varied glories of his destiny4 ,and had ,i given fallen man equality of nature and unalienable rights1 then ,i had made the earth an ,aceldama and ,valley of ,gehenna4 ,for what would be the strife in all the earth among men equal in body and mind1 equal in power1 equal in depravity1 equal in will1 each one maintaining rights unalienable8 ,when would the war end8 ,who would be the victors where all are giants8 ,who would sue for peace where none will submit8 ,what would be human social life8 ,who would be the weak1 the loving8 ,who would seek or need forbearance1 compassion1 self-denying benevolence8 ,who would be the grateful8 ,who would be the humble1 the meek8 ,what would be human virtue1 what human vice1 what human joy or sorrow8 ,nay1 ,i have made men unequal and given them alienable rights1 that ,i might ,,institute ,,human ,,government and reveal ,,human ,,character4 ,why hast thou been willingly ignorant of these first principles of the oracles of ,god1 which would have made thee truly a ,christian philosopher and statesman8 ,fugitive ,slave--,obeying the ,golden ,rule as ,christ gave it ,rev4 ,a4 ,barnes and the ,apostle ,paul--,minister of the gospel in his study--,fugitive slave1 converted under his preaching1 inquiring whether it is not his duty to return to his master--,paul appears and rebukes the minister for wresting his ,gospel4 ,with all respect and affection for you1 sir1 ,i imagine a slave1 having run away from his master and become a ,christian under your preaching1 might1 with the ,bible in his hands and the ,holy ,spirit in his heart1 have1 despite your training1 question of conscience1 whether he did right to leave his master1 and ought not to go back4 ,and ,i think how ,paul would listen1 and what he would say1 to your interpretation of his ,epistle to ,philemon4 ,i think he would say1-- ,i withstand thee to thy face1 because thou art to be blamed4 ,why hast thou written1 in thy ',notes1' that the word ,i apply to ,onesimus may mean1 not slave1 but hired servant8 ,why hast thou said this in unsupported assertion8 ,why hast thou given no respect to ,robinson1 and all thy wise men1 who agree that the word wherein ,i express ,onesimus's relation to ,philemon never means a hired servant1 but a slave1--the property of his master1--a living possession8 ,why hast thou called in question the fact that ,philemon was a slave-holder8 ,why hast thou taught that1 if he was a slave-holder when he became a ,christian1 he could not continue1 consistently1 to be a slave-owner and a ,christian1--that if he did so continue1 he would not be in good standing1 but an offender in the church8 7,see ,notes47 ,i say ,philemon was the master of ,onesimus1 in the real sense of a slave-owner1 under ,roman law1 in which he had the right of life and death over him1--being thereby a master in possession of power unknown in the ,united ,states4 ,and yet ,i call ,philemon 'our dearly beloved and fellow-laborer1' ,i tell him that ,i send to him again ,onesimus1 who had been unprofitable to him in time past2 but now1 being a ,christian1 he would be profitable4 ,i tell him1 ,i send him again1 not a slave1 7only17 but above a slave1 a ,christian brother1 beloved1 specially to me1 but how much more unto him1 both in the flesh and in the ,lord4 ,dost thou know1 ,albert ,barnes1 what ,i mean by that word1 in the flesh8 ,verily1 ,i knew the things wherein the master and the slave are beloved1 the one of the other1 in the best affections of human nature1 and in the ,lord6 therefore ,i say to ,philemon that he1 as master1 could receive ,onesimus as his slave1 and yet as a brother1 ,,more beloved1 by reason of his relation to him as master1 than ,i could regard him6 ,yea1 verily1--and ,i say to thee1 ,albert ,barnes1 thou hast never been in the ,south1 and thou dost not understand1 and canst not understand1 the force1 or even the meaning1 of my words in the flesh2 i4e4 in the love of the master and the slave to one another4 ,but ,philemon ,i knew would feel its power1 and so ,i made that appeal to him4 ,why hast thou said1 that ,i did not send ,onesimus back by authority8 ,i did send him back by authority1--yea1 by authority of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ8 ,for it was my duty to send him again to ,philemon1 whether he had been willing to go or not2 and it was his duty to go4 ,but he was willing4 ,so we both felt our obligations2 and1 when ,i commanded1 he cheerfully obeyed4 ,what else was my duty and his8 ,had ,i not said1 in line upon line and in precept upon precept1 ',servants1 obey in all things your masters according to the flesh2 not with eye-service1 as men-pleasers1 but in singleness of heart1 pleasing ,god'8 7,coloss4 iii4 #bb47 ,had not ,peter written1 ',servants1 be subject to your masters with all fear2 not only to the good and gentle1 but also to the froward'8 7#a ,pet4 ii4 #ah47 ,onesimus had broken these commandments when he fled from his master4 ,was it not then of my responsibility to send him again to ,philemon8 ,and was it not ,christ's law to him to return and submit himself under his master's hand8 ,why1 then1 hast thou not understood my speech8 ,has it been even because thou couldst not hear my word8 ,what else has hindered8 ,what more could ,i have said1 than 7in #a ,tim4 vi4 #a-e7 ,i do say1 to rebuke all abolitionists8 ,yea1 ,i describe them--,i show their principles--as fully as if ,i had called them by name in ,boston1 in ,new ,york1 in ,philadelphia1 and said they would live in #aheg4 ,and yet thou hast1 in thy commentary on my letter to ,timothy1 utterly distorted1 maimed1 and falsified my meaning4 ,thou hast mingled truth and untruth so together as to make me say what was not and is not in my mind4 ,for thou teachest the slave1 while professing not so to teach him1 that ,i tell him that he is not to count his master worthy of all honor2 that he is to despise him2 that he is not to do him service as to a ,christian faithful and beloved4 ,no4 ,but thou teachest the slave1 in my name1 to regard his ,christian master an offender in the sight of ,christ1 if he continues a slave-owner4 ,thou tellest him to obey only in the sense in which he is to submit to injustice1 oppression1 and cruelty2 and that he is ever to seek to throw off the yoke in his created equality and unalienable right to liberty4 7,see ,notes47 ,this is what thou hast taught as my gospel4 ,but ,i commanded thee to teach and exhort just the contrary4 ,i commanded thee to say after this way3--',let as many servants as are under the yoke1 count their own masters worthy of all honor1 that the name of ,god and his doctrine be not blasphemed4 ,and they that have believing masters1 let them not despise them1 because they are brethren2 but rather do them service1 because they are faithful and beloved1 partakers of the benefit4 ,these things teach and exhort4' ,thou1 in thy ',notes1' art compelled1 though most unwillingly1 to confess that ,i do mean slaves in this place1 in the full and proper sense2 yea1 slaves under the ,roman law4 ,good4 ,then do ,i here tell slaves to count their masters1 even when not ,christians1 worthy of all honor2 and1 when ,christians1 to regard them as faithful and beloved1 and not to despise them1 and to do them service8 ,yet1 after all this1 do ,i say to these same slaves that they have a created equality and unalienable right to liberty1 under which1 whenever they think fit1 ,i command them to dishonor their masters1 despise them1 and run away6 ,sir1 ,i did never so instruct slaves2 nay1 ,i did never command thee so to teach them4 ,but ,i did and do exhort thee not so to train them2 for ,i said then and say now to thee1 ',if any man teach slaves otherwise1 than to honor their masters as faithful and beloved1 and to do them service1 and consent not to wholesome words1 even the words of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 and to the doctrine which is according to godliness1 he is proud1 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 godliness2 from such withdraw thyself1' ,what more could ,i have said to the abolitionists of my day8 ,what more can ,i say to them in this day8 ,that which was true of them two thousand years ago1 is true now4 ,i rebuked abolitionists then1 and ,i rebuke them now4 ,i tell them the things in their hearts1--the things on their tongues1--the things in their hands1--are contrary to wholesome words1 even the words of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,canst thou hear my words in this place without feeling how faithfully ,i have given the head1 and the heart1 and the words1 and the doings of the men1 from whom thou hast not withdrawn thyself8 ,verily1 thou canst not hear my speech1 and therefore thou canst not interpret my gospel4 ,thou believest it is impossible that ,i sanction slavery6 ,hence it is impossible for thee to understand my words3 for ,i do sanction slavery4 ,how8 ,thus3-- ,i found slavery in ,asia1 in ,greece1 in ,rome4 ,i saw it to be one mode of the government ordained of ,god4 ,i regarded it1 in most conditions of fallen mankind1 necessarily and irresistibly part of such government1 and therefore as natural1 as wise1 as good1 in such conditions1 as the other ways men are ruled in the state or the family4 ,i took up slavery1 then1 as such ordained government1--wise1 good1 yea best1 in certain circumstances1 until1 in the elevating spirit and power of my gospel1 the slave is made fit for the liberty and equality of his master1 if he can be so lifted up4 ,hence ,i make the ,,rule of magistrate1 subject1 master and servant1 parent and child1 husband and wife1 ,,the ,,same ,,rule2 i4e4 ,i make it ,,the ,,same ,,right in the superior to control the obedience and the service of the inferior1 bound to obey1 whatever the difference in the relations and service to be rendered4 ,yea1 ,i give exactly the same command to all in these relations2 and thus1 in all my words1 ,i make it plainly to be understood that ,i regard slavery to be as righteous a mode of government as that of magistrate and subject1 parent and child1 husband and wife1 during the circumstances and times in which ,god is pleased to have it continue4 ,i saw all the injustice1 the oppression1 the cruelty1 masters might be guilty of1 and were and are now guilty of2 but ,i saw no more injustice1 oppression1 and cruelty1 in the relation of master and slave1 than ,i saw in all other forms of rule1--even in that of husband and wife1 parent and child4 ,in my gospel ,i condemn wrong in all these states of life1 while ,i fully sanction and sustain the relations themselves4 ,i tell the magistrate1 husband1 father1 master1 how to rule2 ,i tell the subject1 wife1 child1 servant1 how to submit4 ,hence1 ,i command the slave not to flee from bondage1 just as ,i require the subject1 the wife1 the child1 not to resist or flee from obedience4 ,i warn the slave1 if he leaves his master he has sinned1 and must return2 and ,i make it the duty of all men to see to it1 that he shall go back4 ,hence1 ,i myself did what ,i command others to do3 ,i sent ,onesimus back to his master4 ,thus ,i sanction slavery everywhere in the ,new ,testament4 ,but it is impossible for thee1 with thy principles1--thy law of reason1--thy law of created equality and unalienable right1--thy elevation of the ,declaration of ,independence above the ordinance of ,god1--to sustain slavery4 ,nay1 it is impossible for thee1 with thy interpretation of ,christ's ,golden ,rule1 to recognise the system of servile labor2 nay1 it is impossible for thee to tell this slave to return to his master as ,i sent ,onesimus back2 nay1 thou art guarded by thy ,golden ,rule4 ,thou tellest him that1 if thou hadst been in his place1 thou wouldst have expected1 desired freedom1 that thou wouldst have run away1 and that thou wouldst not now return2 that thou wouldst have regarded thy created equality and unalienable right as thy supreme law1 and have disregarded and scorned all other obligations as pretended revelation from ,god4 ,therefore thou now doest unto him 'whatsoever' thou wouldst expect or desire him to do unto thee in similar circumstances2 i4e4 thou tellest him he did right to run away1 and will do right not to return6 ,this is thy ,golden ,rule4 ,but ,i did not instruct thee so to learn ,christ4 ,nay1 this slave knows thou hast not not given him the mind of ,christ2 nay1 he knows that ,christ commands thee to send him to his master again4 ,and thus do what thou ,,oughtest to expect or desire in similar circumstances2 yea1 do now thy duty1 and this slave1 like ,onesimus1 will bless thee for giving him a good conscience whenever he will return to his obedience4 ,thus ,paul1 the aged1 speaks to thee4 ,so1 then1 the ,golden ,rule is the whole ,bible2 yea1 ,christ says it is-the law and the prophets2 yea1 it is the ,old ,testament and the ,new condensed2 and with ever-increasing glory of ,providence in one sublime aphorism1 which can be understood and obeyed only by those who know what the ,bible1 or ,providence1 reveals as to man's varied conditions and his obligations therein4 ,i think1 sir1 ,i have refuted your interpretation of the ,golden ,rule1 and have given its true meaning4 ,the slave-holder1 then1 may have a good conscience under this commandment4 ,let him so exercise himself as to have a conscience void of offence towards ,god and towards men4 ,yours1 c4 ,f4,a4 ,ross4 ,conclusion4 ,i intended to1 and may yet1 in a subsequent edition1 write two more letters to ,a4 ,barnes4 ,the one1 to show how infidelity has been passing off from the ,south to the ,north1--especially since the ,christian death of ,jackson2 the other1 to meet ,mr4 ,barnes's argument founded on the spirit of the age4 ,the ,end4