Whoever reads Mr. Charles C. Jones’ book on the religious instruction of the negroes will have no doubt of the following facts:
1. That from year to year, since the introduction of the negroes into this country, various pious2 and benevolent3 individuals have made efforts for their spiritual welfare.
2. That these efforts have increased, from year to year.
3. That the most extensive and important one came into being about the time that Mr. Jones’ book was written, in the year 1842, and extended to some degree through the United States. The fairest development of it was probably in the State of Georgia, the sphere of Mr. Jones’ immediate4 labor5, where the most gratifying results were witnessed, and much very amiable6 and commendable7 Christian8 feeling elicited9 on the part of masters.
4. From time to time, there have been prepared, for the use of the slave, catechisms, hymns10, short sermons, &c. &c., designed to be read to them by their masters, or taught them orally.
5. It will appear to any one who reads Mr. Jones’ book that, though written by a man who believed the system of slavery sanctioned by God, it manifests a spirit of sincere and earnest benevolence11, and of devotedness12 to the cause he has undertaken, which cannot be too highly appreciated.
It is a very painful and unpleasant task to express any qualification or dissent13 with regard to efforts which have been undertaken in a good spirit, and which have produced, in many respects, good results; but, in the reading of Mr. Jones’ book, in the study of his catechism, and of various other catechisms and sermons which give an idea of the religious instruction of the slaves, the writer has often been painfully impressed with the idea that, however imbued15 and mingled16 with good, it is not the true and pure gospel system which is given to the slave. As far 245as the writer has been able to trace out what is communicated to him, it amounts in substance to this; that his master’s authority over him, and property in him, to the full extent of the enactment17 of slave-law, is recognized and sustained by the tremendous authority of God himself. He is told that his master is God’s overseer; that he owes him a blind, unconditional18, unlimited19 submission20; that he must not allow himself to grumble21, or fret22, or murmur23, at anything in his conduct; and, in case he does so, that his murmuring is not against his master, but against God. He is taught that it is God’s will that he should have nothing but labor and poverty in this world; and that, if he frets24 and grumbles25 at this, he will get nothing by it in this life, and be sent to hell forever in the next. Most vivid descriptions of hell, with its torments28, its worms ever feeding and never dying, are held up before him; and he is told that this eternity29 of torture will be the result of insubordination here. It is no wonder that a slave-holder once said to Dr. Brisbane, of Cincinnati, that religion had been worth more to him, on his plantation30, than a wagon-load of cowskins.
Furthermore, the slave is taught that to endeavor to evade31 his master by running away, or to shelter or harbor a slave who has run away, are sins which will expose him to the wrath32 of that omniscient33 Being, whose eyes are in every place.
As the slave is a movable and merchantable being, liable, as Mr. Jones calmly remarks, to “all the vicissitudes34 of property,” this system of instruction, one would think, would be in something of a dilemma35, when it comes to inculcate the Christian duties of the family state.
When Mr. Jones takes a survey of the field, previous to commencing his system of operations, he tells us, what we suppose every rational person must have foreseen, that he finds among the negroes an utter demoralization upon this subject; that polygamy is commonly practised, and that the marriage-covenant has become a mere36 temporary union of interest, profit or pleasure, formed without reflection, and dissolved without the slightest idea of guilt37.
That this state of things is the necessary and legitimate38 result of the system of laws which these Christian men have made and are still keeping up over their slaves, any sensible person will perceive; and any one would think it an indispensable step to any system of religious instruction here, that the negro should be placed in a situation where he can form a legal marriage, and can adhere to it after it is formed.
But Mr. Jones and his coadjutors commenced by declaring that it was not their intention to interfere40, in the slightest degree, with the legal position of the slave.
We should have thought, then, that it would not have been possible, if these masters intended to keep their slaves in the condition of chattels41 personal, liable to a constant disruption of family ties, that they could have the heart to teach them the strict morality of the gospel with regard to the marriage relation.
But so it is, however. If we examine Mr. Jones’ catechism, we shall find that the slave is made to repeat orally that one man can be the husband of but one woman, and if, during her lifetime, he marries another, God will punish him forever in hell.
Suppose a conscientious42 woman, instructed in Mr. Jones’ catechism, by the death of her master is thrown into the market for the division of the estate, like many cases we may read of in the Georgia papers every week. She is torn from her husband and children, and sold at the other end of the union, never to meet them again, and the new master commands her to take another husband;—what, now, is this woman to do? If she take the husband, according to her catechism she commits adultery, and exposes herself to everlasting43 fire; if she does not take him, she disobeys her master, who, she has been taught, is God’s overseer; and she is exposed to everlasting fire on that account, and certainly she is exposed to horrible tortures here.
Now, we ask, if the teaching that has involved this poor soul in such a labyrinth44 of horrors can be called the gospel?
Is it the gospel,—is it glad tidings in any sense of the words?
In the same manner, this catechism goes on to instruct parents to bring up their children in the nurture45 and admonition of the Lord, that they should guide, counsel, restrain and govern them.
Again, these teachers tell them that they should search the Scriptures46 most earnestly, diligently48 and continually, at the same time declaring that it is not their intention to interfere with the laws which forbid their being taught to read. Searching the Scriptures, slaves are told, means coming to people who are willing to read to them. Yes, but if there be no one willing to do this, what then? Any one whom this catechism has 246thus instructed is sold off to a plantation on Red river, like that where Northrop lived; no Bible goes with him; his Christian instructors50, in their care not to interfere with his civil condition, have deprived him of the power of reading; and in this land of darkness his oral instruction is but as a faded dream. Let any of us ask for what sum we would be deprived of all power of ever reading the Bible for ourselves, and made entirely51 dependent on the reading of others,—especially if we were liable to fall into such hands as slaves are,—and then let us determine whether a system of religious instruction, which begins by declaring that it has no intention to interfere with this cruel legal deprivation52, is the gospel!
The poor slave, darkened, blinded, perplexed53 on every hand, by the influences which the legal system has spread under his feet, is, furthermore, strictly54 instructed in a perfect system of morality. He must not even covet55 anything that is his master’s; he must not murmur or be discontented; he must consider his master’s interests as his own, and be ready to sacrifice himself to them; and this he must do, as he is told, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward. He must forgive all injuries, and do exactly right under all perplexities; thus is the obligation on his part expounded56 to him, while his master’s reciprocal obligations mean only to give him good houses, clothes, food, &c. &c., leaving every master to determine for himself what is good in relation to these matters.
No wonder, when such a system of utter injustice57 is justified58 to the negro by all the awful sanctions of religion, that now and then a strong soul rises up against it. We have known under a black skin shrewd minds, unconquerable spirits, whose indignant sense of justice no such representations could blind.
That Mr. Jones has met such is evident; for, speaking of the trials of a missionary59 among them, he says (p. 127):
He discovers Deism, Scepticism, Universalism. As already stated, the various perversions61 of the gospel, and all the strong objections against the truth of God,—objections which he may, perhaps, have considered peculiar62 only to the cultivated minds, the ripe scholarship and profound intelligence, of critics and philosophers!—extremes here meet on the natural and common ground of a darkened understanding and a hardened heart.
Again, in the Tenth Annual Report of the “Association for the Religious Instruction of the Negroes in Liberty County Georgia,” he says:
Allow me to relate a fact which occurred in the spring of this year, illustrative of the character and knowledge of the negroes at this time. I was preaching to a large congregation on the Epistle to Philemon; and when I insisted upon fidelity63 and obedience64 as Christian virtues65 in servants, and, upon the authority of Paul, condemned67 the practice of running away, one-half of my audience deliberately68 walked off with themselves, and those that remained looked anything but satisfied, either with the preacher or his doctrine69. After dismission, there was no small stir among them: some solemnly declared that there was no such epistle in the Bible; others, “that it was not the gospel;” others, “that I preached to please masters;” others, “that they did not care if they ever heard me preach again.”—pp. 24, 25.
Lundy Lane, an intelligent fugitive70 who has published his memoirs71, says that on one occasion they (the slaves) were greatly delighted with a certain preacher, until he told them that God had ordained72 and created them expressly to make slaves of. He says that after that they all left him, and went away, because they thought, with the Jews, “This is a hard saying; who can hear it?”
In these remarks on the perversion60 of the gospel as presented to the slave, we do not mean to imply that much that is excellent and valuable is not taught him. We mean simply to assert that, in so far as the system taught justifies73 the slave-system, so far necessarily it vitiates the fundamental ideas of justice and morality; and, so far as the obligations of the gospel are inculcated on the slave in their purity, they bring him necessarily in conflict with the authority of the system. As we have said before, it is an attempt to harmonize light with darkness, and Christ with Belial. Nor is such an attempt to be justified and tolerated, because undertaken in the most amiable spirit by amiable men. Our admiration74 of some of the laborers75 who have conducted this system is very great; so also is our admiration of many of the Jesuit missionaries76 who have spread the Roman Catholic religion among our aboriginal77 tribes. Devotion and disinterestedness78 could be carried no further than some of both these classes of men have carried them.
But, while our respect for these good men must not seduce79 us as Protestants into an admiration of the system which they taught, so our esteem80 for our Southern brethren must not lead us to admit that a system which fully14 justifies the worst kind of spiritual and temporal despotism can properly represent the gospel of him who came to preach deliverance to the captives.
To prove that we have not misrepresented 247the style of instruction, we will give some extracts from various sermons and discourses81.
In the first place, to show how explicitly83 religious teachers disclaim84 any intention of interfering85 in the legal relation (see Mr. Jones’ work, p. 157):
By law or custom, they are excluded from the advantages of education; and, by consequence, from the reading of the word of God; and this immense mass of immortal86 beings is thrown, for religious instruction, upon oral communications entirely. And upon whom? Upon their owners. And their owners, especially of late years, claim to be the exclusive guardians87 of their religious instruction, and the almoners of divine mercy towards them, thus assuming the responsibility of their entire Christianization!
All approaches to them from abroad are rigidly88 guarded against, and no ministers are allowed to break to them the bread of life, except such as have commended themselves to the affection and confidence of their owners. I do not condemn66 this course of self-preservation on the part of our citizens; I merely mention it to show their entire dependence89 upon ourselves.
In answering objections of masters to allowing the religious instruction of the negroes, he supposes the following objection, and gives the following answer:
If we suffer our negroes to be instructed, the tendency will be to change the civil relations of society as now constituted.
To which let it be replied, that we separate entirely their religious and their civil condition, and contend that the one may be attended to without interfering with the other. Our principle is that laid down by the holy and just One: “Render unto C?sar the things which are C?sar’s, and unto God the things which are God’s.” And Christ and his apostles are our example. Did they deem it proper and consistent with the good order of society to preach the gospel to the servants? They did. In discharge of this duty, did they interfere with their civil condition? They did not.
With regard to the description of heaven and the torments of hell, the following is from Mr. Jones’ catechism, pp. 83, 91, 92:
Q. Are there two places only spoken of in the Bible to which the souls of men go after death?—A. Only two.
Q. Which are they?—A. Heaven and hell.
Q. After the Judgment90 is over, into what place do the righteous go?—A. Into heaven.
Q. What kind of a place is heaven?—A. A most glorious and happy place.
Q. Shall the righteous in heaven have any more hunger, or thirst, or nakedness, or heat, or cold? Shall they have any more sin, or sorrow, or crying, or pain, or death?—A. No.
Q. Repeat “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”—A. “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying; neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away.”
Q. Will heaven be their everlasting home?—A. Yes.
Q. And shall the righteous grow in knowledge and holiness and happiness for ever and ever?—A. Yes.
Q. To what place should we wish and strive to go, more than to all other places?—A. Heaven.
Q. Into what place are the wicked to be cast?—A. Into hell.
Q. Repeat “The wicked shall be turned.”—A. “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.”
Q. What kind of a place is hell?—A. A place of dreadful torments.
Q. What does it burn with?—A. Everlasting fire.
Q. Who are cast into hell besides wicked men?—A. The devil and his angels.
Q. What will the torments of hell make the wicked do?—A. Weep and wail91 and gnash their teeth.
Q. What did the rich man beg for when he was tormented92 in the flame?—A. A drop of cold water to cool his tongue.
Q. Will the wicked have any good thing in hell? the least comfort? the least relief from torment27?—A. No.
Q. Will they ever come out of hell?—A. No, never.
Q. Can any go from heaven to hell, or from hell to heaven?—A. No.
Q. What is fixed93 between heaven and hell?—A. A great gulf94.
Q. What is the punishment of the wicked in hell called?—A. Everlasting punishment.
Q. Will this punishment make them better?—A. No.
Q. Repeat “It is a fearful thing.”—A. “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
Q. What is God said to be to the wicked?—A. A consuming fire.
Q. What place should we strive to escape from above all others?—A. Hell.
The Rev26. Alex. Glennie, rector of Allsaints parish, Waccamaw, South Carolina, has for several years been in the habit of preaching with express reference to slaves. In 1844 he published in Charleston a selection of these sermons, under the title of “Sermons preached on Plantations95 to Congregations of Negroes.” This book contains twenty-six sermons, and in twenty-two of them there is either a more or less extended account, or a reference to eternal misery96 in hell as a motive97 to duty. He thus describes the day of judgment (Sermon 15, p. 90):
When all people shall be gathered before him, “he shall separate them, one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats; and he shall set the sheep on the right hand, but the goats on the left.” That, my brethren, will be an awful time, when this separation shall be going on; when the holy angels, at the command of the great Judge, shall be gathering98 together all the obedient followers99 of Christ, and be setting them 248on the right hand of the Judgment-seat, and shall place all the remainder on the left. Remember that each of you must be present; remember that the Great Judge can make no mistake; and that you shall be placed on one side or on the other, according as in this world you have believed in and obeyed him or not. How full of joy and thanksgiving will you be, if you shall find yourself placed on the right hand! but how full of misery and despair, if the left shall be appointed as your portion! * * * *
But what shall he say to the wicked on the left hand? To them he shall say, “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” He will tell them to depart; they did not, while here, seek him by repentance100 and faith; they did not obey him, and now he will drive them from him. He will call them cursed.
(Sermon 1, p. 42.) The death which is the wages of sin is this everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. It is a fire which shall last forever; and the devil and his angels, and all people who will not love and serve God, shall there be punished forever. The Bible says, “The smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever.” The fire is not quenched102, it never goes out, “their worm dieth not;” their punishment is spoken of as a worm always feeding upon but never consuming them; it never can stop.
Concerning the absolute authority of the master, take the following extract from Bishop103 Mead’s sermon. (Brooke’s Slavery, pp. 30, 31, 32.)
Having thus shown you the chief duties you owe to your great Master in heaven, I now come to lay before you the duties you owe to your masters and mistresses here upon earth; and for this you have one general rule that you ought always to carry in your minds, and that is, to do all service for them as if you did it for God himself. Poor creatures! you little consider, when you are idle and neglectful of your masters’ business, when you steal and waste and hurt any of their substance, when you are saucy104 and impudent105, when you are telling them lies and deceiving them; or when you prove stubborn and sullen106, and will not do the work you are set about without stripes and vexation; you do not consider, I say, that what faults you are guilty of towards your masters and mistresses are faults done against God himself, who hath set your masters and mistresses over you in his own stead, and expects that you will do for them just as you would do for Him. And, pray, do not think that I want to deceive you when I tell you that your masters and mistresses are God’s overseers; and that, if you are faulty towards them, God himself will punish you severely107 for it in the next world, unless you repent101 of it, and strive to make amends108 by your faithfulness and diligence for the time to come; for God himself hath declared the same.
Now, from this general rule,—namely, that you are to do all service for your masters and mistresses as if you did it for God himself,—there arise several other rules of duty towards your masters and mistresses, which I shall endeavor to lay out in order before you.
And, in the first place, you are to be obedient and subject to your masters in all things.... And Christian ministers are commanded to “exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things, not answering them again, or gainsaying110.” You see how strictly God requires this of you, that whatever your masters and mistresses order you to do, you must set about it immediately, and faithfully perform it, without any disputing or grumbling111, and take care to please them well in all things. And for your encouragement he tells you that he will reward you for it in heaven; because, while you are honestly and faithfully doing your master’s business here, you are serving your Lord and Master in heaven. You see also that you are not to take any exceptions to the behavior of your masters and mistresses; and that you are to be subject and obedient, not only to such as are good, and gentle, and mild, towards you, but also to such as may be froward, peevish112, and hard. For you are not at liberty to choose your own masters; but into whatever hands God hath been pleased to put you, you must do your duty, and God will reward you for it.
You are to be faithful and honest to your masters and mistresses, not purloining113 or wasting their goods or substance, but showing all good fidelity in all things.... Do not your masters, under God, provide for you? And how shall they be able to do this, to feed and to clothe you, unless you take honest care of everything that belongs to them? Remember that God requires this of you; and, if you are not afraid of suffering for it here, you cannot escape the vengeance114 of Almighty115 God, who will judge between you and your masters, and make you pay severely in the next world for all the injustice you do them here. And though you could manage so cunningly as to escape the eyes and hands of man, yet think what a dreadful thing it is to fall into the hands of the living God, who is able to cast both soul and body into hell!
You are to serve your masters with cheerfulness, reverence116, and humility117. You are to do your masters’ service with good will, doing it as the will of God from the heart, without any sauciness118 or answering again. How many of you do things quite otherwise, and, instead of going about your work with a good will and a good heart, dispute and grumble, give saucy answers, and behave in a surly manner! There is something so becoming and engaging in a modest, cheerful, good-natured behavior, that a little work done in that manner seems better done, and gives far more satisfaction, than a great deal more, that must be done with fretting119, vexation, and the lash120 always held over you. It also gains the good will and love of those you belong to, and makes your own life pass with more ease and pleasure. Besides, you are to consider that this grumbling and ill-will do not affect your masters and mistresses only. They have ways and means in their hands of forcing you to do your work, whether you are willing or not. But your murmuring and grumbling is against God, who hath placed you in that service, who will punish you severely in the next world for despising his commands.
A very awful query121 here occurs to the mind. If the poor, ignorant slave, who wastes his master’s temporal goods to answer some of his own present purposes, be exposed to this heavy retribution, what will become 249of those educated men, who, for their temporal convenience, make and hold in force laws which rob generation after generation of men, not only of their daily earnings122, but of all their rights and privileges as immortal beings?
The Rev. Mr. Glennie, in one of his sermons, as quoted by Mr. Bowditch, p. 137, assures his hearers that none of them will be able to say, in the day of judgment, “I had no way of hearing about my God and Saviour123.”
Bishop Meade, as quoted by Brooke, pp. 34, 35, thus expatiates124 to slaves on the advantages of their condition. One would really think, from reading this account, that every one ought to make haste and get himself sold into slavery, as the nearest road to heaven.
Take care that you do not fret or murmur, grumble or repine at your condition; for this will not only make your life uneasy, but will greatly offend Almighty God. Consider that it is not yourselves, it is not the people that you belong to, it is not the men that have brought you to it, but it is the will of God, who hath by his providence125 made you servants, because, no doubt, he knew that condition would be best for you in this world, and help you the better towards heaven, if you would but do your duty in it. So that any discontent at your not being free, or rich, or great, as you see some others, is quarrelling with your heavenly Master, and finding fault with God himself, who hath made you what you are, and hath promised you as large a share in the kingdom of heaven as the greatest man alive, if you will but behave yourself aright, and do the business he hath set you about in this world honestly and cheerfully. Riches and power have proved the ruin of many an unhappy soul, by drawing away the heart and affections from God, and fixing them on mean and sinful enjoyments126; so that, when God, who knows our hearts better than we know them ourselves, sees that they would be hurtful to us, and therefore keeps them from us, it is the greatest mercy and kindness he could show us.
You may perhaps fancy that, if you had riches and freedom, you could do your duty to God and man with greater pleasure than you can now. But, pray, consider that, if you can but save your souls, through the mercy of God, you will have spent your time to the best of purposes in this world; and he that at last can get to heaven has performed a noble journey, let the road be ever so rugged127 and difficult. Besides, you really have a great advantage over most white people, who have not only the care of their daily labor upon their hands, but the care of looking forward and providing necessaries for to-morrow and next day, and of clothing and bringing up their children, and of getting food and raiment for as many of you as belong to their families, which often puts them to great difficulties, and distracts their minds so as to break their rest, and take off their thoughts from the affairs of another world. Whereas, you are quite eased from all these cares, and have nothing but your daily labor to look after and, when that is done, take your needful rest Neither is it necessary for you to think of laying up anything against old age, as white people are obliged to do; for the laws of the country have provided that you shall not be turned off when you are past labor, but shall be maintained, while you live, by those you belong to, whether you are able to work or not.
Bishop Meade further consoles slaves thus for certain incidents of their lot, for which they may think they have more reason to find fault than for most others. The reader must admit that he takes a very philosophical128 view of the subject.
There is only one circumstance which may appear grievous, that I shall now take notice of, and that is correction.
Now, when correction is given you, you either deserve it, or you do not deserve it. But, whether you really deserve it or not, it is your duty, and Almighty God requires, that you bear it patiently You may perhaps think that this is hard doctrine; but if you consider it right, you must needs think otherwise of it. Suppose, then, that you deserve correction; you cannot but say that it is just and right you should meet with it. Suppose you do not, or at least you do not deserve so much, or so severe a correction, for the fault you have committed; you perhaps have escaped a great many more, and at last paid for all. Or, suppose you are quite innocent of what is laid to your charge, and suffer wrongfully in that particular thing; is it not possible you may have done some other bad thing which was never discovered, and that Almighty God, who saw you doing it, would not let you escape without punishment, one time or another? And ought you not, in such a case, to give glory to him, and be thankful that he would rather punish you in this life for your wickedness, than destroy your souls for it in the next life? But, suppose even this was not the case (a case hardly to be imagined), and that you have by no means, known or unknown, deserved the correction you suffered; there is this great comfort in it, that, if you bear it patiently, and leave your cause in the hands of God, he will reward you for it in heaven, and the punishment you suffer unjustly here shall turn to your exceeding great glory hereafter.
That Bishop Meade has no high opinion of the present comforts of a life of slavery, may be fairly inferred from the following remarks which he makes to slaves:
Your own poor circumstances in this life ought to put you particularly upon this, and taking care of your souls; for you cannot have the pleasures and enjoyments of this life like rich free people, who have estates and money to lay out as they think fit. If others will run the hazard of their souls, they have a chance of getting wealth and power, of heaping up riches, and enjoying all the ease, luxury and pleasure their hearts should long after. But you can have none of these things; so that, if you sell your souls, for the sake of what poor matters you can get in this world, you have made a very foolish bargain indeed.
This information is certainly very explicit82 and to the point. He continues:
Almighty God hath been pleased to make you slaves here, and to give you nothing but labor and poverty in this world, which you are obliged to submit to, as it is his will that it should be so. And think within yourselves, what a terrible thing it would be, after all your labors129 and sufferings in this life, to be turned into hell in the next life, and, after wearing out your bodies in service here, to go into a far worse slavery when this is over, and your poor souls be delivered over into the possession of the devil, to become his slaves forever in hell, without any hope of ever getting free from it! If, therefore, you would be God’s freemen in heaven, you must strive to be good, and serve him here on earth. Your bodies, you know, are not your own; they are at the disposal of those you belong to; but your precious souls are still your own, which nothing can take from you, if it be not your own fault. Consider well, then, that if you lose your souls by leading idle, wicked lives here, you have got nothing by it in this world, and you have lost your all in the next. For your idleness and wickedness is generally found out, and your bodies suffer for it here; and, what is far worse, if you do not repent and amend109, your unhappy souls will suffer for it hereafter.
Mr. Jones, in that part of the work where he is obviating130 the objections of masters to the Christian instruction of their slaves, supposes the master to object thus:
You teach them that “God is no respecter of persons;” that “He hath made of one blood, all nations of men;” “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself;” “All things whatsoever131 ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them;” what use, let me ask, would they make of these sentences from the gospel?
Mr. Jones says:
Let it be replied, that the effect urged in the objection might result from imperfect and injudicious religious instruction; indeed, religious instruction may be communicated with the express design, on the part of the instructor49, to produce the effect referred to, instances of which have occurred.
But who will say that neglect of duty and insubordination are the legitimate effects of the gospel, purely132 and sincerely imparted to servants? Has it not in all ages been viewed as the greatest civilizer133 of the human race?
How Mr. Jones would interpret the golden rule to the slave, so as to justify134 the slave-system, we cannot possibly tell. We can, however, give a specimen135 of the manner in which it has been interpreted in Bishop Meade’s sermons, p. 116. (Brooke’s Slavery, &c., pp. 32, 33.)
“All things whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even so unto them;” that is, do by all mankind just as you would desire they should do by you, if you were in their place, and they in yours.
Now, to suit this rule to your particular circumstances, suppose you were masters and mistresses, and had servants under you: would you not desire that your servants should do their business faithfully and honestly, as well when your back was turned as while you were looking over them? Would you not expect that they should take notice of what you said to them? that they should behave themselves with respect towards you and yours, and be as careful of everything belonging to you as you would be yourselves? You are servants: do, therefore, as you would wish to be done by, and you will be both good servants to your masters, and good servants to God, who requires this of you, and will reward you well for it, if you do it for the sake of conscience, in obedience to his commands.
The reverend teachers of such expositions of scripture47 do great injustice to the natural sense of their sable39 catechumens, if they suppose them incapable136 of detecting such very shallow sophistry137, and of proving conclusively138 that “it is a poor rule that wont139 work both ways.” Some shrewd old patriarch, of the stamp of those who rose up and went out at the exposition of the Epistle to Philemon, and who show such great acuteness in bringing up objections against the truth of God, such as would be thought peculiar to cultivated minds, might perhaps, if he dared, reply to such an exposition of scripture in this way: “Suppose you were a slave,—could not have a cent of your own earnings during your whole life, could have no legal right to your wife and children, could never send your children to school, and had, as you have told us, nothing but labor and poverty in this life,-how would you like it? Would you not wish your Christian master to set you free from this condition?” We submit it to every one who is no respecter of persons, whether this interpretation140 of Sambos is not as good as the bishops141. And if not, why not?
To us, with our feelings and associations, such discourses as these of Bishop Meade appear hard-hearted and unfeeling to the last degree. We should, however, do great injustice to the character of the man, if we supposed that they prove him to have been such. They merely go to show how perfectly142 use may familiarize amiable and estimable men with a system of oppression, till they shall have lost all consciousness of the wrong which it involves.
That Bishop Meades, reasonings did not thoroughly143 convince himself is evident from the fact that, after all his representations of the superior advantages of slavery as a means of religious improvement, he did, at last, emancipate144 his own slaves.
But, in addition to what has been said, this whole system of religious instruction is darkened by one hideous145 shadow,—THE SLAVE-TRADE. What does the Southern church do with her catechumens and communicants? Read the advertisements of Southern newspapers, and see. In every city in the slave-raising states behold146 the dép?ts, kept constantly full of assorted147 negroes from the ages of ten to thirty! In every slave-consuming state see the receiving-houses, whither these poor wrecks148 and remnants of families are constantly borne! Who preaches the gospel to the slave-coffles? Who preaches the gospel in the slave-prisons? If we consider the tremendous extent of this internal trade,—if we read papers with columns of auction149 advertisements of human beings, changing hands as freely as if they were dollar-bills instead of human creatures,—we shall then realize how utterly150 all those influences of religious instruction must be nullified by leaving the subjects of them exposed “to all the vicissitudes of property.”
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1
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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2
pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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3
benevolent
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| adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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5
labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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7
commendable
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| adj.值得称赞的 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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elicited
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| 引出，探出( elicit的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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hymns
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| n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌( hymn的名词复数 ) | |
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benevolence
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| n.慈悲，捐助 | |
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devotedness
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dissent
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| n./v.不同意，持异议 | |
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14
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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imbued
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| v.使（某人/某事）充满或激起（感情等）( imbue的过去式和过去分词 )；使充满；灌输；激发（强烈感情或品质等） | |
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16
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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17
enactment
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| n.演出，担任…角色；制订，通过 | |
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18
unconditional
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| adj.无条件的，无限制的，绝对的 | |
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19
unlimited
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| adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的 | |
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20
submission
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| n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出 | |
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21
grumble
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| vi.抱怨；咕哝；n.抱怨，牢骚；咕哝，隆隆声 | |
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22
fret
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| v.(使)烦恼；(使)焦急；(使)腐蚀，(使)磨损 | |
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23
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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24
frets
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| 基质间片； 品丝（吉他等指板上定音的）( fret的名词复数 ) | |
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25
grumbles
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| 抱怨( grumble的第三人称单数 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声 | |
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26
rev
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| v.发动机旋转，加快速度 | |
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27
torment
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| n.折磨；令人痛苦的东西(人)；vt.折磨；纠缠 | |
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28
torments
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| （肉体或精神上的）折磨，痛苦( torment的名词复数 )； 造成痛苦的事物[人] | |
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29
eternity
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| n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷 | |
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30
plantation
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| n.种植园，大农场 | |
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31
evade
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| vt.逃避，回避；避开，躲避 | |
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32
wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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33
omniscient
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| adj.无所不知的；博识的 | |
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34
vicissitudes
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| n.变迁，世事变化；变迁兴衰( vicissitude的名词复数 )；盛衰兴废 | |
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35
dilemma
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| n.困境，进退两难的局面 | |
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36
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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37
guilt
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| n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责 | |
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38
legitimate
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| adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法 | |
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39
sable
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| n.黑貂；adj.黑色的 | |
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40
interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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41
chattels
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| n.动产，奴隶( chattel的名词复数 ) | |
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42
conscientious
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| adj.审慎正直的，认真的，本着良心的 | |
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43
everlasting
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| adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的 | |
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44
labyrinth
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| n.迷宫；难解的事物；迷路 | |
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45
nurture
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| n.养育，照顾，教育；滋养，营养品；vt.养育，给与营养物，教养，扶持 | |
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46
scriptures
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| 经文，圣典( scripture的名词复数 )； 经典 | |
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47
scripture
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| n.经文，圣书，手稿；Scripture:(常用复数)《圣经》，《圣经》中的一段 | |
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48
diligently
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| ad.industriously;carefully | |
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49
instructor
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| n.指导者，教员，教练 | |
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50
instructors
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| 指导者，教师( instructor的名词复数 ) | |
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51
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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52
deprivation
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| n.匮乏；丧失；夺去，贫困 | |
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53
perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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54
strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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55
covet
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| vt.垂涎；贪图(尤指属于他人的东西) | |
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56
expounded
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| 论述，详细讲解( expound的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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57
injustice
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| n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利 | |
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58
justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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59
missionary
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| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
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60
perversion
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| n.曲解；堕落；反常 | |
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61
perversions
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| n.歪曲( perversion的名词复数 )；变坏；变态心理 | |
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62
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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63
fidelity
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| n.忠诚，忠实；精确 | |
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64
obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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65
virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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66
condemn
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| vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑 | |
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67
condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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68
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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69
doctrine
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| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
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70
fugitive
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| adj.逃亡的，易逝的；n.逃犯，逃亡者 | |
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71
memoirs
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| n.回忆录；回忆录传( mem,自oir的名词复数) | |
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72
ordained
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| v.任命（某人）为牧师( ordain的过去式和过去分词 )；授予（某人）圣职；（上帝、法律等）命令；判定 | |
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73
justifies
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| 证明…有理( justify的第三人称单数 )； 为…辩护； 对…作出解释； 为…辩解（或辩护） | |
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74
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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75
laborers
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| n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工 | |
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76
missionaries
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| n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 ) | |
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77
aboriginal
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| adj.（指动植物）土生的，原产地的，土著的 | |
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78
disinterestedness
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79
seduce
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| vt.勾引，诱奸，诱惑，引诱 | |
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80
esteem
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| n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作 | |
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81
discourses
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| 论文( discourse的名词复数 )； 演说； 讲道； 话语 | |
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82
explicit
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| adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的 | |
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83
explicitly
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| ad.明确地，显然地 | |
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84
disclaim
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| v.放弃权利，拒绝承认 | |
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85
interfering
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| adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词 | |
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86
immortal
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| adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的 | |
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87
guardians
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| 监护人( guardian的名词复数 )； 保护者，维护者 | |
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88
rigidly
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| adv.刻板地，僵化地 | |
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89
dependence
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| n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属 | |
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90
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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91
wail
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| vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸 | |
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92
tormented
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| 饱受折磨的 | |
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93
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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94
gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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95
plantations
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| n.种植园，大农场( plantation的名词复数 ) | |
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96
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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97
motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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98
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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99
followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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100
repentance
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| n.懊悔 | |
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101
repent
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| v.悔悟，悔改，忏悔，后悔 | |
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102
quenched
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| 解（渴）( quench的过去式和过去分词 )； 终止（某事物）； （用水）扑灭（火焰等）； 将（热物体）放入水中急速冷却 | |
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103
bishop
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| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
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104
saucy
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| adj.无礼的；俊俏的；活泼的 | |
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105
impudent
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| adj.鲁莽的，卑鄙的，厚颜无耻的 | |
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106
sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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107
severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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108
amends
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| n. 赔偿 | |
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109
amend
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| vt.修改，修订，改进；n.[pl.]赔罪，赔偿 | |
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110
gainsaying
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| v.否认，反驳( gainsay的现在分词 ) | |
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111
grumbling
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| adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的 | |
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112
peevish
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| adj.易怒的，坏脾气的 | |
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113
purloining
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| v.偷窃( purloin的现在分词 ) | |
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114
vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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115
almighty
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| adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的 | |
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116
reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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117
humility
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| n.谦逊，谦恭 | |
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118
sauciness
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| n.傲慢，鲁莽 | |
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119
fretting
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| n. 微振磨损 adj. 烦躁的, 焦虑的 | |
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120
lash
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| v.系牢；鞭打；猛烈抨击；n.鞭打；眼睫毛 | |
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121
query
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| n.疑问，问号，质问；vt.询问，表示怀疑 | |
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122
earnings
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| n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得 | |
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123
saviour
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| n.拯救者，救星 | |
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expatiates
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| v.详述，细说( expatiate的第三人称单数 ) | |
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providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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enjoyments
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| 愉快( enjoyment的名词复数 )； 令人愉快的事物； 享有； 享受 | |
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rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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philosophical
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| adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的 | |
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labors
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| v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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130
obviating
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| v.避免，消除（贫困、不方便等）( obviate的现在分词 ) | |
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131
whatsoever
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| adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么 | |
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purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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civilizer
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| vt.使文明；使开化；教化；启发vi.变得文明 | |
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justify
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| vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护 | |
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135
specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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incapable
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| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
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sophistry
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| n.诡辩 | |
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138
conclusively
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| adv.令人信服地，确凿地 | |
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139
wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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interpretation
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| n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理 | |
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141
bishops
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| （基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象 | |
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142
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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emancipate
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| v.解放，解除 | |
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145
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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assorted
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| adj.各种各样的，各色俱备的 | |
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148
wrecks
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| n.沉船( wreck的名词复数 )；（事故中）遭严重毁坏的汽车（或飞机等）；（身体或精神上）受到严重损伤的人；状况非常糟糕的车辆（或建筑物等）v.毁坏[毁灭]某物( wreck的第三人称单数 )；使（船舶）失事，使遇难，使下沉 | |
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auction
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| n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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