Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1855-07-07
WHOLE NO. 500.


them. Life is q ministry. All labor is holy, that
ministers to the benefit Of man None shall be
masters, none slaves but all ministers Of good,
Gods lreemen above none, beneath none. "Breth-
rem, says Paul, ''ye have been called unto iber-
y," mot" that liberty (which is an occasion" or
license "to the flesh !" nut that liberty in which,
| by love we slave for one another 1t is that
state wherein freedom and slavery meet that is
he laJor rdich those 'rho toa5tf Icing free 'oars
IL their pride 10 be per- formed by crushed humanity;
G hristianS shall do for each otker aid for Hs
,eorld as COTS treemen, that there shall be in
TIE church worldly distinctions of bond and
free, Greek and jew, bat oil shall pe equal, ell
ministers.
The opinion Of the purest and best of the early
Christians is wonderfully in contrast with those Of
our modern slave holding and slave advocating
Diyines.
Such was the grand idea Of Christian life. r,
was wholly ut with slavery. Hence the purest
Of the church fathers labored against slavery. The
Christians in Asia Minor at very early period
'decried the awfulness of it. denounced slayehold-
ing as sin, violation Of the law of nature and
religion. They gave fugitive slaves astldth, and
openly Offer ed them protection. Maximus preach
ed and wrote aganst it. Those who entered upon
religious life gave freedom to their slaves. The
odorus Studita, gave particular directions mot to
employ those beings, created in the image of God,
rs slaves" Polycarp and Ignatius manumtted
their slaves on realizing the equality Of ~. Chris
tan law Constantine gave authority to the Bishops
TO manumit slaves and granted Roman citizenship.
to many of those set free. ST. Augustine speaks
of the freedom of slaves as great religious vir-
tue, and declares the Christian law against regard
ing Gods rational CREATION as property
Nor could the corrupting influence which hea.
thcnsm and barbarsm eXerted upon the chureh.
entirely destroy this particular mission of the gos-
pei. Neander speaking of the early oriental
Christians, says, they declared themselves Oppos-
ed to the whole relation Of slavery repugnant to.
the image Of God in all men," g can hardly
credit said Isidore 'that friend Of Christ, who
has experienced that grace which bestowed free
dom on all, would still own slaves" This was the.
spirit that animated the purest men of the church.
BY their influence, laws and charters of freedom,
were obtained, by means of which immense num-
bers of sa7es were made free. They united their.
exertions to enlist even the barbarian princes in
the cause of the slave. Remigius thus wrote to-
Clovis "Let the gate of your palace be open to oil,
that every one may have recourse to you for JUS
tice. Emp'oy your great rerenues IN redeeming
Sldrss."
Johannes Eleemosynarlus, patriarch Of Alexan-
dria addressing himself to slaveholdef, said.
| Tell me what price can man pay to purchase q
man, who was created in the image OF God2 Hast
thou different soul? Is he not IN all Miags thy
egualP There is neither bond free; all are one
in Christ. What then is the gold you have paid for
a child Of God? So Lingard refers to the divine
infir ence of the Christian church in destroying
slavery
1t has leen seen that just when the old Roman sla-
very was being destroyed the feudai slavery Of the
middle ages arose Alas that just when this latter
was expiring throughout Europe, under the power
pl influence of the natural law of society another
and still more horrd form of this monster should
arise-the bondage of the African
But little more than q century had passed after.
decreed that "as all men are by nature free born,"
acknowledgements should be granted throughout the
whole kingdom upon just and reasonable condi:
tons when popes Martin v. Eugene w., Mich.
oas ", Caxtus Ill, and Sextus w., assumed
the right in the name of God and Christ to grant
power to the kings and princes of Portugal to on
slave the poor Africans.
This was not the first attempt of the popes to
give an open and direct sanction to involuntary
bondage 1t would not have answered for them
to have made even this attempt of enslaying tho
Africans, without the specous pretcxt that their
purpose was the conversion of these heather. The
bulls however expressly granted the right of rob-
berry and murder thus --.to appropriate The king.
dcs goos and possessions OF all infdels or heath
en- in Africa or wheresoever found" TO reduce their
persons to perpetual Sarey, OF to destroy them from
the earth."-, TO take any Of the Guineans or other
IegrOeS, BY FORCE BY BARTER"
Thus modern negro slavery had its origin in
the bulls of five Roman popes in thu most corrupt
age of the church. Such, then gentlemen, is tho
origin Of your beautiful your virtuous, your pecu
liar institution" at the South. How charmingly
YOU and the popes have met together, and shall
soon show how you and the Tories kiss eaci
other
from very early period, had been on the side of
slavery. Leo IX, in 1861 condemned the mistress
ses of the priests to state OF absolute slavery.
So Gregory XI, in his bull against the Florentines
in 1876 declared their property to be at the mercy
e of any who wish to rob them, and exhorted the
world to seize their person whenever found, and
reduced them to absolute slavery.
Between the bull Of Calixtus ILL.,, in 1913, and
that Of Sextus ~, in 1881, granting the right to
ensiave the Afrcans,a bull was issued by Plus H.
in l46l in which this pope demonstrated against
, ensIayinp tie Christians But not one word does
he utter against erslaying the poor heather in
Africa.
The first pope who took any dirHct steRs 70 sup:
press African slavery in the 'Romish church, was
Gregory XVI, in 1889. And though he quotes
the precedents of other popes, yet l find none of
them he refers to- issued any bull against African
slavery. lie refers to Plus VII. as opposing the
slave trade but it not the Africuh slave irsda.
lie refers to Paul III. But Paul III only cohdem:
ned the slavery of the Indians Though it is due 20
him to say that some declare he imprecated curse
on those who should enslave any class Of men. So
Urban VII, in 1889, is referred to- But his bull
was only against enslaving the western and south:
ern Indians. Likewise Benedict XIV. is cited.
But his bull was intened for the suppression y
Indian slavery in Brazil, Paragua, &c.
All these popes denopnce the slavery Of Fhe poop
| American Indians in 70 r1essured tarms. Why
= Slavery was complained Of by the Jespts as .
monstrons barrier to the copyeTsiqH Of the fHdiani
to the church. It was found thstif the ehHreh q:
lowed the Indaps to be enslavsd by those Of heF
own COMMUNION. the Indians gonia desRlsa FRS
f church, and close their to her taaahsfss5s
Therefora tho popes issued their bulls against theiS
aimed at African slavery pntl tb9t Of Grsgory
: XVI, in 1859. True Bancroft s4ys, aEs9 & i Dc;
nature nature herself cried out against the stais Ms
4 very" But why did not this. Pops FifR athsfs
exert the same efficient power in the suppression
i of African as of Indian slavery Why vas ths
i church allowed to buy and sell AFRICANS. While
not allowed to buy and sell Chri.tiaRs Snd tn
b rous Portuguese You gentlemen pfiafss OF the
. church may make war upon the uno6eading AZ.
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