The weekly Anglo-African. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1859-1861, 1860-03-31

are some of the sentiments he uttered con-
corning slavery: Mobility consists not in
illustrious ancestry, but in the virtues Of
the soul. l call the slave a patricsn,
though bound in chains, if l know his soul
to be noble; and l deem the patrician a
slave, though invested with outward digni-
ty, if he has an ignoble mind. How ma
ny drunken patricians lie stupefied on the
touches while their sober servants stand
by Which of these ought to be called Il
slave7 Should the term be applied to him
who has been made captive by man, or to
him who is the slave of his passions2 One
is enslaved by external circumstances; the
other carries his slavery within him.
- "Let there be no wall Of
separation between freemen and slaves. 1t
is better they should serve one another, for
mutual service is preferable to exclusive
and solitary liberty. Suppose master
owns hundred slaves who serve with re-
pugnance; and then suppose a hundred
souls who help each other from affection.
On which side will there be most happi-
ness2 On which will life be the most
lovely2 On the first is misery and fear,
because everything is effected by force and
done from necessity. On the other, ven-
geance is banished, and all comes from free
will, benevolence, and gratitude. Such is
the order of God Jesus washed the feet
of his disciples, and said, Let him who
would be your master be your servant"
Another of the Christian fathers, Gregg
ry, Bishop of Nyssa, preached thus: 81
possessed myself of servants and maids.
Possessed, do you say2 Who save God
can possess human beings2 By what right
can any other claim possession of them2
Those men whom you say belong to you,
did not God create them free2 Command
the brute creation-that is well and good ;
but do not degrade the image of God You
may bend the beasts of the field beneath
your yoke ;but are your fellow men to be
bought and sold like herds of cattle? Who
can pay the value of a being created in the
image of God2 The whole world itself
bears no proportion to the value of soul,
on which the Most High has set the seal of
His likeness. This world will perish, but
the soul of man is immortal. Show me,
then, your title of possession. Whence
have you received this strange privilege
Is not your nature the same with that of
those whom you call your slaves2 Have
they not the same origin with yourself
Are they not born to the same immortal
destinies Z"
Lactantius, another of the Christian faith
ers, who was tutor in the family of Con-
stantine the Great, and who was styled the
christian Cicero" on account of his pol
ished style, taught thus concerning the
brotherhood of the human race: "God,
who creates and inspires men, wills that
they should be equal He made them all
capable of wisdom, imposed the same laws
on all, and promised Immortality to all.
No one is excluded from His heavenly
gifts. He makes the sun to shine equally
on all, and the fountains to issue freely for
all. AS He furnishes food for all and
gives the sweet repose of sleep to all, SO
does he give virtue and equality to all.
With Him no one is a slave and no one
master He is the Father of all, and we
are all by equal right His children. In
His sight no man is poor but him who is
wanting in goodness, and no man is
rich but him who abounds in virtues"