Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1855-05-19
ity and revealed rcligion;" and, thinking Of these
things, | nm ready to say with Shekspenr.
What damned error, but some sober brow
Will bless it and approve it with n toxtf"

Will bless it and approve it with n tcxtf"
In the support of Slavery, it is the habit to per.
vert texts ana t. invent authority. Even 81. Paul
is youchcd for a wrong which his Christian life re-
Dukes. Great stress is now laid ON his example.
as it appears in the epistle to Philemon. written
at Rome, and sent BY Onesinlus, u servant. FROM
the single chapter constituting the entire epiittIo
[ take the following passage, in ten verses when
is strangely invokcd for slavery
81 GeSecch Mee, for Dy son OneSimuS, whom | have
%begOtten in my Oonds; which in time past was 70
thee Improbable, but now profitable TO thee and
to me; whom | have sent again; thou, thSreiOre,
receive him, that is, mine own bowels; whom L
would have retained with Inc, that in thy stead no
might have ministercd unto me in the bonds Of the
gospel; but without thy mind would | do nothing.
that thy benefit should not DO as it were Of neces-
sity, but willingly. For perhaps he therefore do
parted Tor u season, that thou shOuldst receive h,m
tor ever; not uOtc as a Se,rdnt, JNt ADORE a Serranf, q
brother 6eiorcd, specially to me, but how much more
unto thee, both in the flesh and in the Lord II
tim count me, therefore, a partner, rcceire him as
myself. If he hath wrUnged thee, or owe,h thee
auglit, put that on mine account. /, Paul, have
written it with mine own hand, l will repay II;
albeit, | do not say to thee how thou owest unto
me even thine own self besides. "-EpisHe 70 Phi.
emOn, verses l0-l9.
Out of this afectionate epistle, in which St.
Paul calls the converted servant, Oncsimus, his son
precisely rs in another epistlc he calls Timothy
his sun, Slavery has been deliberately indicated,
and the great Apostle to the Gentiles has been
made the very tutelary saint Of the Slave Hunter.
Now, without relying on minute criticism, to infer
his real Judgment Of Slavery from his condemra-
ton, on another occasion, vi 'menstealers," or, &C
cording to the original text, Siare-trade,s, in COM
pany with 'murderers of fathers, and murderers
of mothers" and without undertaking to show
that the present epistlc, when truly interpreted. is
Il protest against Slavery, and a voice for Freedom
all of which might he dOne-l content myself
by calling attention to two things. apparent ON its
face, and in themselves an a.l-sufhcient response
First, while it appears that Onesimus had been IN
some way the servant of Philemon, 1t does not APP
pear that he had ever been held as u slave, much
less as y chattcl; and how gross AMI monstrous is
the effort to derive a wrong, by which man ia
changed to n cha.tel, out Of words, whether in the
Constitution of our country or in the Bible, With
do net explicitly, unequivocally. and exclusively
define this wrong! Secondly y, in charging Onesi-
mus with this cpistle to Phil mon. the Apostle an
nounces him as "not now a servant, but above a
servant, n brother beloved" and he enjoins upon
his correspondent the hospitality due only to a
freeman, saying expressly, IF taou count me-.
therefore, a partner, 1eceire him as mySe!f"; ay,
Sir, not as slave, not even as servant, but as n
brother beloved, even as the Apostle himself. Thus
with apostolic pen wrote Paul to his disciple, Phh'
r emon. Beyond all doubt, in these words Of gem
tleness, beBedictiUn, and emauci patton, dropping
with celestial, soul-awakening power, there can
be no justification for q conspiracy, which Begin
$ ming with the treachery Of lscarict. and the
temptation Of pieces OF silver, seeks, by fraud,
brutality, and violence, through officers OF the
/ law armed to the teeth, like pirates, and amidst
), IsnlIicrs who degrade their uniform, to hurl n FOL
Ilow.man back into the lash resounding den Of
American Sla, cry and il any one can thus per-
c vert this bcnefcent example, allow mo to say, that
I he gives too mucn occasion to doubt his intelli-
rence or his sincerity.
Certainly | am right in thus stripping from
Slavery the apology of Christianity, which it has
a tenaciuusly Rugged, and here l leave the first part
Of my subject, assuming against every objection
he Necessity of our Enterprise.
ii. | am now brought In the second place., 10
D consider the PRAcTicADLlTY Of the Enterprise.
And here the way Is easy. la showing lie retcs-
.ity, l have already demonstrated its practical
q 'iiity for the former includes the latter, as tho
greater includes the less. Whatever IL necessary
3 must he rrac'irabie. by a decree winch has ever
: reen a hy-word OF tyranny, the lsraeiites were
compelled to make bricks wI,hout straw; but ii
is not according to the ways OF a benevolent Fry
violence, that II man should bc constrained to do
:, what cannot be done. What must te done can
" lie done. Besides The Amt Slavery Enteiprisei is
necessary because 1t Is right; ani whatever ID
i right is practicable.
know web ,he little faith which the world has
d, in the triumph of principles. and | readily imagine
; the d.snnir with which our object is regarded {.
;. INIT not on this account nm I dishc,rtencd. That
~ exnLrrant writer, Sir Thomas Browne. breaks
y forth in the ccslatic wish for some new difficulty
u in Christian belief. that his faith might hare
/ y new victory, and an eminent enthusiast ~entr 30
far rs to saw. that he believed because it WA i'm
nossible-credo ouid impossiLIe. But no such ex-
'" allied faith is n W required. Here ia no impos.
- sibility. nor is there any difficulty which will not
- Weld To a faithful, weli-directed endeayor. If to
=" any ,imid soul the En,er,rise seems impossible
- heruuse il is too beautiful, then | saw at once that
10 it is too beautiful not to be possible.
r.. doS,o,dinc from ,besc s,mm;,s lat m.
~ hd, ' ,Iai,In ths oi;an, uI;ch i, sn.Ls - accom-.
,ush pnnd Sere;n ,nu Shall SEQ md confess ;ts
lnS"i ~" "toa,;ii,u Will d;sna,n,"nnnn
~ "p p"o;, .d;co ~ c"i,y and orsru a,ta iEs h,rs,tt &c
,os,e ihe Anti.Slnyerv Entcrnrise-at least 90 far
os Imav sne,t far ;,-dnas ro, nnde,,aIa n
y, .h,nco hnmnn noture mr. 70 forre anv indiy;dnaI
vi inc Trol,,;,ns ,f IGa Ia, which he mot m,,r,iIu
: - 80,