OCR Text |
Show 10 PREI,IMINARY. for Christians, not for Theodore Parker and his coterie: they cannot appreciate the argument; it takes common sense and common honesty to do that. I start, then, with the Christian doctrine of human bro-therhood; and by brotherhood, I mean whot any plain man would undcrstarul me to mean; not mere resemblance, but ?'elation ship j in other words, identity of origin. For instance, I claim relationship with the new-found Bourbon's reputed brothers, the descendants of Eunice Williams: I trace my pclligrco through five generations, and hers through two, .and find them meeting in one and the same person, S:1.mucl 'Villiams, son of Hobert, freeman of Roxbury, 1\Iass., 1G38. Again, I admit (not claim) relationship with the eote1·ie above-mentioned, through ou1· common ancestor, Noah: a. rather rem ote rel<tlionship, to be sure, but ncar enough fur practical purposes. Of the two rcla.tionships, I consider myself infinitely more honoure<l by the former thon by the latter. I trust, I have made cle11r what I mean by human brotherhood. I mean by it what Holy Scripture means. St. Paul declares that God "hath made of one blood all nntions of men, for to dwell on all the f01ce of thu. earth," (Acts xvii. 2G,) and I believe it because he has declared it. Even if he had not declared it explicitly, I shoulcl still believe it, for it is implied iu the doctrine of the incarnation, the cardinal doctrine of Christianity. Certainly, they who have no relation to the first Adam, have none to the second; and if there m·e any such, then Christ did not die for the whole world, and will not by his death draw all men unto l1im. 'nms the doctrine of ccrtttin modern savans, that the brotherhood of the human races is one of resemblance, and not of relationship, is a doctrine tbn.t strikes at the foundation of Christianity, and no Christian, therefore, can have any sympathy with it. PRELIJ\IIWARY 11 Having thus laid down, as my starting point, the doctrine of h~man brotherhood, I join to it that other Scripture doetnne, that, under certain circumstances, we are our brother's keeper, and from the two I draw the inference that, under certain circumstances, it is not only justifiable, but o_ur bounden duty, to hold our brother in bondage. 0~ course, the coter-ie will cry out against this, and "curse up IHII and down," as St. Clare has it, (vol. 2, p. 12,) spite of." Northern folks" being "coldblooded,"-spitc of their bemg "cool in every thing." St. Clare never made a greater mistake, so far as "cursing up hill and down," is concerned, as I can testify from personal knowledge. The Southern fanatics ''can't begin to curse" like the Northern ones; partly, probably, because they have not the talent for it, (for it requires talent of a peculiar order,) and partly, because there are not enourrh of them to keep each other in countenance. 0 Well, let the railers rail on: truth can afford to be railed at; better, at least, than they can afford to rail at her, as they may one day find to their cost. Leaving them to rail It out, I address myself to quite a different class of people,-to the truth-loving men of the North, and especially to the honest rank and file of the Free-Soil Party, whose onl! fault IS~ that. they have let their l1eart run awa.y with the1r heaJ; m wh1ch, as in ma.ny other points, they are the r~Yerse ~f their .le~ders, who have let their head run a'''ay With theJr heart, If, mdccd, they ever had one. To come back to my subject. We hear a great deal about "sbvcry in the abstmct,'' and Thirs. Stowe makes St. Cln.rc say, (vol. 2, p. 10~) "On this abstract question of slavery, there can, as I thmk, be but one opinion." On this abstract ques~ion of slavery, there can, as I think, be no opinion at all, Slmpl! because the abstract queption is no question at all. Slavery m the abstract, (admitting for the sake of tho |