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Show 52 Til)] LIBERTY BELJ,. The Latin proverb, of touching a thing with the needle's point, and the English one, of hitting the nail on tho bend, express at once the precision and the effectiveness of tho thing dono. 'Vhcn tllc .Abolitionists found it needful to mention Slavery at all, their obvious course was, not to go " about it and about it," but to go to it. Desiring of course both that their words should be understood and should produce an impression, they stated in clcax language what the sin in question was, who were its perpetrators, what circumstances made their offence an aggravated one, and what course of repentance and amendment justice required of them. As Nathan to David, they first described tho offence, and then said to the offender, " Tllou art the man." If David had repelled the parable as a slanderous imputation upon his character, had offered a reward for Nathan's head, and had enacted a law imposing fine and imprisonment upon whoever should interfere with his seduction of wives and murder of their husbands-and if l'EIISONALITY, 53 courtiers and priests had united in saying that though adultery and murder were evils in a State, yet that the meddling of officious prophets made tho matter a great deal worse, and that D~wid would have done what was right in the premises if ho Lad been let alone- the parallel with modern times would bave been complete. Tho practical advantage of this plainness of speech has been manifest to the Abolitionists from tho commencement, though their opponents have not ceased magnanimously to warn them that they were injuring their own cause b.l it. A recent instance exemplifies this effectiveness of direct application of tho truth to individuals, so forcibly that it is worth while to mention it. The Rev. Dr. Joel Parker, well known for many years past as a Pro-Slavery clergyman, formerly in New Orleans ancl since in Philadelphia, not only bore with perfect quietness tho censures of the Abolitionists directed against his class, but oven when he was mentioned by name in company 5• |
