Chapter III: Part 3

5. In reviewing his history in the light of Christian truth, he
became painfully aware of the injuries he had inflicted on Philemon.
He longed for an opportunity for frank confession and full
restitution. Having, however, parted with Philemon on ill terms, he
knew not how to appear in his presence. Under such embarrassments,
he naturally sought sympathy and advice of Paul. _His_ influence
upon Philemon, Onesimus knew must be powerful, especially as an
apostle.

6. A letter in behalf of Onesimus was therefore written by the
apostle to Philemon. After such salutations, benedictions, and
thanksgiving as the good character and useful life of Philemon
naturally drew from the heart of Paul, he proceeds to the object of
the letter. He admits that Onesimus had behaved ill in the service
of Philemon; not in running away, for how they had parted with each
other is not explained; but in being unprofitable and in refusing to
pay the debts[32] which he had contracted. But his character had
undergone a radical change. Thenceforward fidelity and usefulness
would be his aim and mark his course. And as to any pecuniary
obligations which he had violated, the apostle authorized Philemon
to put them on his account.[33] Thus a way was fairly opened to the
heart of Philemon. And now what does the apostles ask?

7. He asks that Philemon would receive Onesimus, How? "Not as a
_servant_, but above a _servant_."[34] How much above? Philemon was
to receive him as "a son" of the apostle--"as a brother
beloved"--nay, if he counted Paul a partner, an equal, he was to
receive Onesimus as he would receive _the apostle himself_.[35] _So
much_ above a servant was he to receive him!

8. But was not this request to be so interpreted and complied with
as to put Onesimus in the hands of Philemon as "an article of
merchandise," CARNALLY, while it raised him to the dignity of a
"brother beloved," SPIRITUALLY? In other words, might not Philemon
consistently with the request of Paul have reduced Onesimus to a
chattel, as A MAN, while he admitted him fraternally to his bosom,
as a CHRISTIAN? Such gibberish in an apostolic epistle! Never. As if,
however to guard against such folly, the natural product of mist and
moonshine, the apostle would have Onesimus raised above a servant to
the dignity of a brother beloved, "BOTH IN THE FLESH AND IN THE
LORD;"[36] as a man and Christian, in all the relations,
circumstances, and responsibilities of life.

[Footnote 31: Philemon, 18.]

[Footnote 32: Verse 11, 18.]

[Footnote 33: Verse 18.]

[Footnote 34: Verse 16.]

[Footnote 35: Verse 10, 16, 17.]

[Footnote 36: Verse 16.]

It is easy now with definiteness and certainty to determine in what sense the apostle in such connections uses the word "_brother_". It describes a relation inconsistent with and opposite to the _servile_. It is "NOT" the relation of a "SERVANT." It elevates its subject "above" the servile condition. It raises him to full equality with the master, to the same equality, on which Paul and Philemon stood side by side as brothers; and this, not in some vague, undefined, spiritual sense, affecting the soul and leaving the body in bonds, but in every way, "both in the FLESH and in the Lord." This matter deserves particular and earnest attention. It sheds a strong light on other lessons of apostolic instruction.

9. It is greatly to our purpose, moreover, to observe that the
apostle clearly defines the _moral character_ of his request. It was
fit, proper, right, suited to the nature and relation of things--a
thing which _ought_ to be done.[37] On this account, he might have
urged it upon Philemon in the form of an _injunction_, on apostolic
authority and with great boldness.[38] _The very nature_ of the
request made it obligatory on Philemon. He was sacredly bound, out
of regard to the fitness of things, to admit Onesimus to full
equality with himself--to treat him as a brother both in the Lord
and as having flesh--as a fellow man. Thus were the inalienable
rights and birthright privileges of Onesimus, as a member of the
human family, defined and protected by apostolic authority.

10. The apostle preferred a request instead of imposing a command,
on the ground of CHARITY.[39] He would give Philemon an opportunity
of discharging his obligations under the impulse of love. To this
impulse, he was confident Philemon would promptly and fully yield.
How could he do otherwise? The thing itself was right. The request
respecting it came from a benefactor, to whom, under God, he was
under the highest obligations.[40] That benefactor, now an old man,
and in the hands of persecutors, manifested a deep and tender
interest in the matter and had the strongest persuasion that
Philemon was more ready to grant than himself to entreat. The result,
as he was soon to visit Collosse, and had commissioned Philemon to
prepare a lodging for him, must come under the eye of the apostle.
The request was so manifestly reasonable and obligatory, that the
apostle, after all, described a compliance with it, by the strong
word "_obedience_."[41]

[Footnote 37: Verse 8. To [Greek: anaekon]. See Robinson's New Testament Lexicon; "_it is fit, proper, becoming, it ought_." In what sense King James' translators used the word "convenient" any one may see who will read Rom. i. 28 and Eph. v. 3, 4.]

[Footnote 38: Verse 8.]

[Footnote 39: Verse 9--[Greek: dia taen agapaen]]

[Footnote 40: Verse 19.]

[Footnote 41: Verse 21.]

Now, how must all this have been understood by the church at Colosse? --a church, doubtless, made up of such materials as the church at Corinth, that is, of members chiefly from the humblest walks of life. Many of them had probably felt the degradation and tasted the bitterness of the servile condition. Would they have been likely to interpret the apostle's letter under the bias of feelings friendly to slavery!--And put the slaveholder's construction on its contents! Would their past experience or present sufferings--for doubtless some of them were still "under the yoke"--have suggested to their thoughts such glosses as some of our theological professors venture to put upon the words of the apostle! Far otherwise. The Spirit of the Lord was there, and the epistle was read in the light of "_liberty_." It contained the principles of holy freedom, faithfully and affectionately applied. This must have made it precious in the eyes of such men "of low degree" as were most of the believers, and welcome to a place in the sacred canon. There let it remain as a luminous and powerful defence of the cause of emancipation!

But what saith Professor Stuart? "If any one doubts, let him take the case of Paul's sending Onesimus back to Philemon, with an apology for his running away, and sending him back to be his servant for life."[42]

[Footnote 42: See his letter to Dr. Fisk, supra pp. 7, 8]

"Paul sent back Onesimus to Philemon." By what process? Did the apostle, a prisoner at Rome, seize upon the fugitive, and drag him before some heartless and perfidious "Judge," for authority to send him back to Colosse? Did he hurry his victim away from the presence of the fat and supple magistrate, to be driven under chains and the lash to the field of unrequited toil, whence he had escaped? Had the apostle been like some teachers in the American churches, he might, as a professor of sacred literature in one of our seminaries, or a preacher of the gospel to the rich in some of our cities, have consented thus to subserve the "peculiar" interests of a dear slaveholding brother. But the venerable champion of truth and freedom was himself under bonds in the imperial city, waiting for the crown of martyrdom. He wrote a letter to the church a Colosse, which was accustomed to meet at the house of Philemon, and another letter to that magnanimous disciple, and sent them by the hand of Onesimus. So much for _the way_ in which Onesimus was sent back to his master.

A slave escapes from a patriarch in Georgia, and seeks a refuge in the parish of the Connecticut doctor of Divinity, who once gave public notice that he saw no reason for caring for the servitude of his fellow men.[43] Under his influence, Caesar becomes a Christian convert. Burning with love for the son whom he hath begotten in the gospel, our doctor resolves to send him back to his master. Accordingly, he writes a letter, gives it to Caesar, and bids him return, staff in hand, to the "corner-stone of our republican institutions." Now, what would my Caesar do, who had ever felt a link of slavery's chain? As he left his _spiritual father_, should we be surprised to hear him say to himself, What, return of my own accord to the man who, with the hand of a robber, plucked me from my mother's bosom!--for whom I have been so often drenched in the sweat of unrequited toil!--whose violence so often cut my flesh and scarred my limbs!--who shut out every ray of light from my mind!--who laid claim to those honors to which my Creator and Redeemer only are entitled! And for what am I to return? To be cursed, and smitten, and sold! To be tempted, and torn, and destroyed! I cannot thus throw myself away--thus rush upon my own destruction.

[Footnote 43: "Why should I care?"]

Who ever heard of the voluntary return of a fugitive from American oppression? Do you think that the doctor and his friends could persuade one to carry a letter to the patriarch from whom he had escaped? And must we believe this of Onesimus?

"Paul sent back Onesimus to Philemon." On what occasion?--"If," writes the apostle, "he hath wronged thee, or oweth the aught, put that on my account." Alive to the claims of duty, Onesimus would "restore" whatever he "had taken away." He would honestly pay his debts. This resolution the apostle warmly approved. He was ready, at whatever expense, to help his young disciple in carrying it into full effect. Of this he assured Philemon, in language the most explicit and emphatic. Here we find one reason for the conduct of Paul in sending Onesimus to Philemon.

If a fugitive slave of the Rev. Dr. Smylie, of Mississippi, should return to him with a letter from a doctor of divinity in New York, containing such an assurance, how would the reverend slaveholder dispose of it? What, he exclaims, have we here? "If Cato has not been upright in his pecuniary intercourse with you--if he owes you any thing--put that on my account." What ignorance of southern institutions! What mockery, to talk of pecuniary intercourse between a slave and his master! _The slave himself, with all he is and has, is an article of merchandise_. What can _he_ owe his master? A rustic may lay a wager with his mule, and give the creature the peck of oats which he has permitted it to win. But who, in sober earnest, would call this a pecuniary transaction?

"TO BE HIS SERVANT FOR LIFE!" From what part of the epistle could the expositor have evolved a thought so soothing to tyrants--so revolting to every man who loves his own nature? From this? "For perhaps he therefore departed for a season, that thou shouldst receive him for ever." Receive him how? _As a servant_, exclaims our commentator. But what wrote the apostle? "NOT _now as a servant, but above a servant_, a brother beloved, especially to me, but how much more unto thee, both in the flesh and in the Lord." Who authorized the professor to bereave the word "_not_" of its negative influence? According to Paul, Philemon was to receive Onesimus "_not_ as a servant;"--according to Stuart, he was to receive him "_as a servant_!" If the professor will apply the same rules of exposition to the writings of the abolitionists, all difference between him and them must in his view presently vanish away. The harmonizing process would be equally simple and effectual. He has only to understand them as affirming what they deny, and as denying what they affirm.

Suppose that Professor Stuart had a son residing, at the South. His slave, having stolen money of his master, effected his escape. He fled to Andover, to find a refuge among the "sons of the prophets." There he finds his way to Professor Stuart's house, and offers to render any service which the professor, dangerously ill "of a typhus fever," might require. He is soon found to be a most active, skilful, faithful nurse. He spares no pains, night and day, to make himself useful to the venerable sufferer. He anticipates every want. In the most delicate and tender manner, he tries to sooth every pain. He fastens himself strongly on the heart of the reverend object of his care. Touched with the heavenly spirit, the meek demeanor, the submissive frame, which the sick bed exhibits, Archy becomes a Christian. A new bond now ties him and his convalescent teacher together. As soon as he is able to write, the professor sends Archy with the following letter to the South, to Isaac Stuart, Esq.:--

"MY DEAR SON,--With a hand enfeebled by a distressing and dangerous illness, from which I am slowly recovering, I address you on a subject which lies very near my heart. I have a request to urge, which our mutual relation to each other, and your strong obligations to me, will, I cannot doubt, make you eager fully to grant. I say a request, though the thing I ask is, in its very nature and on the principles of the gospel, obligatory upon you. I might, therefore, boldly demand, what I earnestly entreat. But I know how generous, magnanimous, and Christ-like you are, and how readily you will 'do even more than I say'--I, your own father, an old man, almost exhausted with multiplied exertions for the benefit of my family and my country and now just rising, emaciated and broken, from the brink of the grave. I write in behalf of Archy, whom I regard with the affection of a father, and whom, indeed, 'I have forgotten in my sickness.' Gladly would I have retained him, to be _an Isaac_ to me; for how often did not his soothing voice, and skilful hand, and unwearied attention to my wants remind me of you! But I chose to give you an opportunity of manifesting, voluntarily, the goodness of your heart; as, if I had retained him with me, you might seem to have been forced to grant what you will gratefully bestow. His temporary absence from you may have opened the way for his permanent continuance with you. Not now as a slave. Heaven forbid! But superior to a slave. Superior, did I say? Take him to your bosom, as a beloved brother; for I own him as a son, and regard him as such, in all the relations of life, both as a man and a Christian. 'Receive him as myself.' And that nothing may hinder you from complying with my request at once, I hereby promise, without adverting to your many and great obligations to me, to pay you every cent which he took from your drawer. Any preparation which my comfort with you may require, you will make without much delay, when you learn, that I intend, as soon as I shall be able 'to perform the journey,' to make you a visit."

And what if Dr. Baxter, in giving an account of this letter should publicly declare that Professor Stuart, of Andover regarded slaveholding as lawful; for that "he had sent Archy back to his son Isaac, with an apology for his running away" to be held in perpetual slavery? With what propriety might not the professor exclaim: False, every syllable false. I sent him back, NOT TO BE HELD AS A SLAVE, _but recognized as a dear brother, in all respects, under every relation, civil and ecclesiastical_. I bade my son receive _Archy as myself_. If this was not equivalent to a requisition to set him fully and most honorably free, and that, too, on the ground of natural obligation and Christian principle, then I know not how to frame such a requisition.

I am well aware that my supposition is by no means strong enough fully to illustrate the case to which it is applied. Professor Stuart lacks apostolical authority. Isaac Stuart is not a leading member of a church consisting, as the early churches chiefly consisted, of what the world regard as the dregs of society--"the offscouring of all things." Nor was slavery at Colosse, it seems, supported by such barbarous usages, such horrid laws as disgrace the South.

But it is time to turn to another passage which, in its bearing on the subject in hand, is, in our view, as well as in the view of Dr. Fisk. and Prof. Stuart, in the highest degree authoritative and instructive. "Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honor, that the name of God and his doctrines be not blasphemed. And they that have believing masters, let them not despise them because they are brethren; but rather do them service, because they are faithful and beloved, partakers of the benefit." [44]

[Footnote 44: 1 Tim. vi. 1. 2. The following exposition of this passage is from the pen of ELIZUR WRIGHT, JR.:--

"This word [Greek: antilambanesthai] in our humble opinion, has been
so unfairly used by the commentators, that we feel constrained to
take its part. Our excellent translators, in rendering the clause
'partakers of the benefit,' evidently lost sight of the component
preposition, which expresses the _opposition of reciprocity_, rather
than the _connection of participation_. They have given it exactly
the sense of [Greek: metalambanein], (2 Tim. ii. 6.) Had the apostle
intended such a sense, he would have used the latter verb, or one of
the more common words, [Greek: metochoi, koinonomtes, &c.] (See Heb.
iii. 1, and 1 Tim. v. 22, where the latter word is used in the clause,
'neither be partaker of other men's sins.' Had the verb in our text
been used, it might have been rendered, 'neither be the _part-taker_
of other men's sins.') The primary sense of [Greek: antilambans] is
_to take in return_--_to take instead of, &c._ Hence, in the middle
with the genitive, it signifies _assist_, or _do one's part towards_
the person or thing expressed by that genitive. In this sense only
is the word used in the New Testament,--(See Luke i. 54, and Acts, xx.
35.) If this be true, the word [Greek: emsgesai] cannot signify the
benefit conferred by the gospel, as our common version would make it,
but the _well doing_ of the servants, who should continue to serve
their believing masters, while they were no longer under the _yoke_
of compulsion. This word is used elsewhere in the New Testament but
once (Acts. iv. 3.) in relation to the '_good deed_' done to the
impotent man. The plain import of the clause, unmystified by the
commentators, is, that believing masters would not fail to do
their part towards, or encourage by suitable returns, the free
service of those who had once been under the yoke."]

1. The apostle addresses himself here to two classes of servants,
with instructions to each respectively appropriate. Both the one
class and the other, in Professor Stuart's eye, were slaves. This
he assumes, and thus begs the very question in dispute. The term
servant is generic, as used by the sacred writers. It comprehends
all the various offices which men discharge for the benefit of each
other, however honorable, or however menial; from that of an
apostle[45] opening the path to heaven, to that of washing "one
another's feet."[46] A general term it is, comprehending every
office which belongs to human relations and Christian character.[47]

[Footnote 45: Cor. iv. 5.]

[Footnote 46: John, xiii, 14.]

[Footnote 47: Mat, xx, 26-28.]

A leading signification gives us the manual laborer, to whom, in
the division of labor, muscular exertion was allotted. As in his
exertions the bodily powers are especially employed--such powers as
belong to man in common with mere animals--his sphere has generally
been considered low and humble. And as intellectual power is
superior to bodily, the manual laborer has always been exposed in
very numerous ways and in various degrees to oppression. Cunning,
intrigue, the oily tongue, have, through extended and powerful
conspiracies, brought the resources of society under the control of
the few, who stood aloof from his homely toil. Hence his dependence
upon them. Hence the multiplied injuries which have fallen so
heavily upon him. Hence the reduction of his wages from one degree
to another, till at length, in the case of millions, fraud and
violence strip him of his all, blot his name from the record of
_mankind_, and, putting a yoke upon his neck, drive him away
to toil among the cattle. _Here you find the slave_. To reduce
the servant to his condition, requires abuses altogether
monstrous--injuries reaching the very vitals of man--stabs upon the
very heart of humanity. Now, what right has Professor Stuart to make
the word "_servants_," comprehending, even as manual laborers, so
many and such various meanings, signify "_slaves_," especially where
different classes are concerned? Such a right he could never have
derived from humanity, or philosophy, or hermeneutics. It is his by
sympathy with the oppressor?

Yes, different classes. This is implied in the term "as many,"[48]
which sets apart the class now to be addressed. From these he
proceeds to others, who are introduced by a particle,[49] whose
natural meaning indicates the presence of another and a different
subject.

[Footnote 48: [Greek: Ochli] See Passow's Schneider.]

[Footnote 49: [Greek: Dd.] See Passow.]

2. The first class are described as "_under the yoke_"--a yoke from
which they were, according to the apostle, to make their escape if
possible.[50] If not, they must in every way regard the master with
respect--bowing to his authority, working his will, subserving his
interests so far as might be consistent with Christian
character.[51] And this, to prevent blasphemy--to prevent the pagan
master from heaping profane reproaches upon the name of God and the
doctrines of the gospel. They should beware of rousing his passions,
which, as his helpless victims, they might be unable to allay or
withstand.

[Footnote 50: See 1 Cor. vii, 21--[Greek: All' ei kai dunasai
eleuphoros genesthai].]

[Footnote 51: See 1 Cor. vii, 23--[Greek: Mae ginesthe doulos
anthroton].]

But all the servants whom the apostle addressed were not "_under the
yoke_"[52]--an instrument appropriate to cattle and to slaves. These
he distinguishes from another class, who instead of a "yoke"--the
badge of a slave--had "_believing masters_." _To have a "believing
master," then, was equivalent to freedom from "the yoke_." These
servants were exhorted not _to despise_ their masters. What need of
such an exhortation, if their masters had been slaveholders, holding
them as property, wielding them as mere instruments, disposing of
them as "articles of merchandise." But this was not consistent with
believing. Faith, "breaking every yoke," united master and servants
in the bonds of brotherhood. Brethren they were, joined in a
relation which, excluding the yoke,[53] placed them side by side on
the ground of equality, where, each in his appropriate sphere, they
might exert themselves freely and usefully, to the mutual benefit of
each other. Here, servants might need to be cautioned against getting
above their appropriate business, putting on airs, despising their
masters, and thus declining or neglecting their service. [54]
Instead of this, they should be, as emancipated slaves often
have been, [55] models of enterprise, fidelity, activity, and
usefulness--especially as their masters were "worthy of their
confidence and love," their helpers in this well-doing.

[Footnote 52: See Lev. xxvi. 13; Isa lviii. 6, 9.]

[Footnote 53: Supra p. 44.]

[Footnote 54: See Mat. vi. 24.]

[Footnote 55: Those, for instance, set free by that "believing master" James G. Birney.]

Such, then, is the relation between those who, in the view of Professor Stuart, were Christian masters and Christian slaves [56]--the relation of "brethren," which, excluding "the yoke," and of course conferring freedom, placed them side by side on the common ground of mutual service, both retaining, for convenience sake, the one while giving and the other while receiving employment, the correlative name, _as is usual in such cases_, under which they had been known. Such was the instruction which Timothy was required, as a Christian minister, to give. Was it friendly to slaveholding?

[Footnote 56: Letter to Dr. Fisk, supra, p. 7.]

And on what ground, according to the Princeton professor, did these masters and these servants stand in their relation to each other? On that _of a "perfect religious equality."_[57] In all the relations, duties, and privileges--in all the objects, interests, and prospects, which belong to the province of Christianity, servants were as free as their master. The powers of the one, were allowed as wide a range and as free an exercise, with as warm encouragements, as active aids, and as high results, as the other. Here, the relation of a servant to his master imposed no restrictions, involved no embarrassments, occasioned no injury. All this, clearly and certainly, is implied in "_perfect religious equality_," which the Princeton professor accords to servants in relation to their master. Might the _master_, then, in order more fully to attain the great ends for which he was created and redeemed, freely exert himself to increase his acquaintance with his own powers, and relations, and resources--with his prospects, opportunities, and advantages? So might his _servants_. Was _he_ at liberty to "study to approve himself to God," to submit to his will and bow to his authority, as the sole standard of affection and exertion? So were _they_. Was _he_ at liberty to sanctify the Sabbath, and frequent the "solemn assembly?" So were _they_. Was _he_ at liberty so to honor the filial, conjugal, and paternal relations, as to find in them that spring of activity and that source of enjoyment, which they are capable of yielding? So were _they_. In every department of interest and exertion, they might use their capacities, and wield their powers, and improve their opportunities, and employ their resources, as freely as he, in glorifying God, in blessing mankind, and in laying up imperishable treasures for themselves! Give perfect religious equality to the American slave, and the most eager abolitionist must be satisfied. Such equality would, like the breath of the Almighty, dissolve the last link of the chain of servitude. Dare those who, for the benefit of slavery, have given so wide and active a circulation to the Pittsburg pamphlet, make the experiment?

[Footnote 57: Pittsburg Pamphlet, p. 9.]

In the epistle to the Colossians, the following passage deserves earnest attention:--"Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eye-service, as men-pleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God: and whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing, that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance; for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.--Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye have a Master in heaven."[58]

[Footnote 58: Col. iii. 22 to iv. 1.]

Here it is natural to remark--

1. That in maintaining the relation, which mutually united them,
both masters and servants were to act in conformity with the
principles of the divine government. Whatever _they_ did, servants
were to do in hearty obedience to the Lord, by whose authority they
were to be controlled and by whose hand they were to be rewarded. To
the same Lord, and according to the same law, was the _master_ to
hold himself responsible. _Both the one and the other were of course
equally at liberty and alike required to study and apply the standard,
by which they were to be governed and judged_.

2. The basis of the government under which they thus were placed,
was _righteousness_--strict, stern, impartial. Nothing here of bias
or antipathy. Birth, wealth, station,--the dust of the balance not
so light! Both master and servants were hastening to a tribunal,
where nothing of "respect of persons" could be feared or hoped for.
There the wrong-doer, whoever he might be, and whether from the top
or bottom of society, must be dealt with according to his deservings.

3. Under this government, servants were to be universally and
heartily obedient; and both in the presence and absence of the master,
faithfully to discharge their obligations. The master on his part,
in his relations to the servants, was to make JUSTICE AND EQUALITY
the _standard of his conduct_. Under the authority of such
instructions, slavery falls discountenanced, condemned, abhorred. It
is flagrantly at war with the government of God, consists in
"respect of persons" the most shameless and outrageous, treads
justice and equality under foot, and in its natural tendency and
practical effects is nothing else than a system of wrong-doing. What
have _they_ to do with the just and the equal who in their "respect
of persons" proceed to such a pitch as to treat one brother as a
thing because he is a servant, and place him, without the least
regard to his welfare here, or his prospects hereafter, absolutely
at the disposal of another brother, under the name of master, in
the relation of owner to property? Justice and equality on the one
hand, and the chattel principle on the other, are naturally
subversive of each other--proof clear and decisive that the
correlates, masters and servants, cannot here be rendered slaves
and owners, without the grossest absurdity and the greatest
violence.

"Servants, be obedient to them that are _your_ masters according
to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart,
as unto Christ; not with eye-service, as men-pleasers; but as the
servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; with good
will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: knowing that
whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the
Lord, whether _he be_ bond or free. And, ye masters, do the same
things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master
also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with
him."[59]

[Footnote 59: Ephesians, vi. 5-9.]

Without repeating here what has already been offered in exposition of kindred passages, it may be sufficient to say:--

1. That the relation of the servants here addressed, to their master,
was adapted to make him the object of their heart-felt attachment.
Otherwise they could not have been required to render him an
affectionate service.

2. This relation demanded a perfect reciprocity of benefits. It had
its soul in _good-will_, mutually cherished and properly expressed.
Hence "THE SAME THINGS," the same in principle, the same in
substance, the same in their mutual bearing upon the welfare of
the master and the servants, was to be rendered back and forth
by the one and the other. It was clearly the relation of mutual
service. Do we here find the chattel principle?

3. Of course, the servants might not be slack, time-serving,
unfaithful. Of course, the master must "FORBEAR THREATENING."
Slavery without threatening! Impossible. Wherever maintained, it is
of necessity a _system of threatening_, injecting into the bosom of
the slave such terrors, as never cease for a moment to haunt and
torment him. Take from the chattel principle the support, which it
derives from "threatening," and you annihilate it at once and
forever.

4. This relation was to be maintained in accordance with the
principles of the divine government, where "RESPECT OF PERSONS"
could not be admitted. It was, therefore, totally inconsistent with,
and submissive of, the chattel principle, which in American slavery
is developed in a system of "respect of persons," equally gross and
hurtful. No Abolitionist, however eager and determined in his
opposition to slavery, could ask for more than these precepts, once
obeyed, would be sure to confer.

"The relation of slavery," according to Professor Stuart, is recognized in "the precepts of the New Testament," as one which "may still exist without violating the Christian faith or the church."[60] Slavery and the chattel principle! So our professor thinks; otherwise his reference has nothing to do with the subject--with the slavery which the abolitionist, whom he derides, stands opposed to. How gross and hurtful is the mistake into which he allows himself to fall. The relation recognized in the precepts of the New Testament had its basis and support in "justice and equality;" the very opposite of the chattel principle; a relation which may exist as long as justice and equality remain, and thus escape the destruction to which, in the view of Professor Stuart, slavery is doomed. The description of Paul obliterates every feature of American slavery, raising the servant to equality with his master, and placing his rights under the protection of justice; yet the eye of Professor Stuart can see nothing in his master and servant but a slave and his owner. With this relation he is so thoroughly possessed, that, like an evil angel, it haunts him even when he enters the temple of justice!

[Footnote 60: Letter to Dr. Fisk, supra p. 7.]

"It is remarkable," saith the Princeton professor, "that there is not even an exhortation" in the writings of the apostles "to masters to liberate their slaves, much less is it urged as an imperative and immediate duty."[61] It would be remarkable, indeed, if they were chargeable with a defect so great and glaring. And so they have nothing to say upon the subject? _That_ not even the Princeton professor has the assurance to affirm. He admits that KINDNESS, MERCY, AND JUSTICE, were enjoined with a _distinct reference to the government of God_.[62] "Without respect of persons," they were to be God-like in doing justice. They were to act the part of kind and merciful "brethren." And whither would this lead them? Could they stop short of restoring to every man his natural, inalienable rights?--of doing what they could to redress the wrongs, sooth the sorrows, improve the character, and raise the condition of the degraded and oppressed? Especially, if oppressed and degraded by any agency of theirs. Could it be kind, merciful, or just to keep the chains of slavery on their helpless, unoffending brother? Would this be to honor the Golden Rule, or obey the second great command of "their Master in Heaven?" Could the apostles have subserved the cause of freedom more directly, intelligibly, and effectually, than _to enjoin the principles, and sentiments, and habits, in which freedom consists--constituting its living root and fruitful germ_!

[Footnote 61: Pittsburg pamphlet, p. 9.]

[Footnote 62: The same, p. 10.]

The Princeton professor himself, in the very paper which the South has so warmly welcomed and so loudly applauded as a scriptural defence of "the peculiar institution," maintains, that the "GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF THE GOSPEL _have_ DESTROYED SLAVERY _throughout the greater part of Christendom_"[63]--"THAT CHRISTIANITY HAS ABOLISHED BOTH POLITICAL AND DOMESTIC BONDAGE WHEREVER IT HAS HAD FREE SCOPE--_that it_ ENJOINS _a fair compensation for labor; insists on the mental and intellectual improvement of_ ALL _classes of men; condemns_ ALL _infractions of marital or parental rights; requires, in short, not only that_ FREE SCOPE _should be allowed to human improvement, but that_ ALL SUITABLE MEANS _should be employed for the attainment of that end_."[64] It is indeed "remarkable," that while neither Christ nor his apostles ever gave "an exhortation to masters to liberate their slaves," they enjoined such "general principles as have destroyed domestic slavery throughout the greater part of Christendom;" that while Christianity forbears "to urge" emancipation "as an imperative and immediate duty," it throws a barrier, heaven high, around every domestic circle; protects all the rights of the husband and the father; gives every laborer a fair compensation; and makes the moral and intellectual improvement of all classes, with free scope and all suitable means, the object of its tender solicitude and high authority. This is not only "remarkable," but inexplicable. Yes and no--hot and cold, in one and the same breath! And yet these things stand prominent in what is reckoned an acute, ingenious, effective defence of slavery!

[Footnote 63: Pittsburg pamphlet, p. 18, 19.]

[Footnote 64: The same, p. 31.]

In his letter to the Corinthian church, the apostle Paul furnishes another lesson of instruction, expressive of his views and feelings on the subject of slavery. "Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called. Art thou called being a servant? care not for it; but if thou mayest be made free, use it rather. For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ's servant. Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men." [65]

[Footnote 65: 1 Cor. vii. 20-23.]

In explaining and applying this passage, it is proper to suggest:

1. That it _could_ not have been the object of the apostle to bind
the Corinthian converts to the stations and employments in which the
gospel found them. For he exhorts some of them to escape, if possible,
from their present condition. In the servile state, "under the yoke,"
they ought not to remain unless impelled by stern necessity.
"If thou canst be free, use it rather." If they ought to prefer
freedom to bondage and to exert themselves to escape from the latter
for the sake of the former, could their master consistently with the
claims and spirit of the gospel have hindered or discouraged them in
so doing? Their "brother" could _he_ be, who kept "the yoke" upon
their neck, which the apostle would have them shake off if possible?
And had such masters been members of the Corinthian church, what
inferences must they have drawn from this exhortation to their
servants? That the apostle regarded slavery as a Christian
institution?--or could look complacently on any efforts to introduce
or maintain it in the church? Could they have expected less from him
than a stern rebuke, if they refused to exert themselves in the
cause of freedom?

2. But while they were to use their freedom, if they could obtain it,
they should not, even on such a subject, give themselves up to
ceaseless anxiety. "The Lord was no respecter of persons." They need
not fear, that the "low estate," to which they had been wickedly
reduced, would prevent them from enjoying the gifts of his hand or
the light of his countenance. _He_ would respect their rights, sooth
their sorrows, and pour upon their hearts, and cherish there, the
spirit of liberty. "For he that is called in the Lord, being a
servant, is the Lord's freeman." In _him_, therefore, should they
cheerfully confide.

3. The apostle, however, forbids them so to acquiesce in the servile
relation, as to act inconsistently with their Christian obligations.
To their Savior they belonged. By his blood they had been purchased.
It should be their great object, therefore, to render _Him_ a hearty
and effective service. They should permit no man, whoever he might be,
to thrust in himself between them and their Redeemer. "_Ye are
bought with a price_; BE NOT YE THE SERVANTS OF MEN."

With his eye upon the passage just quoted and explained, the Princeton professor asserts that "Paul represents this relation"--the relation of slavery--"as of comparatively little account."[66] And this he applies--otherwise it is nothing to his purpose--to _American_ slavery. Does he then regard it as a small matter, a mere trifle, to be thrown under the slave-laws of this republic, grimly and fiercely excluding their victim from almost every means of improvement, and field of usefulness, and source of comfort; and making him, body and substance, with his wife and babes, "the servant of men?" Could such a relation be acquiesced in consistently with the instructions of the apostle?

[Footnote 66: Pittsburg pamphlet, p.10.]

To the Princeton professor we commend a practical trial of the bearing of the passage in hand upon American slavery. His regard for the unity and prosperity of the ecclesiastical organizations, which in various forms and under different names, unite the southern with the northern churches, will make the experiment grateful to his feelings. Let him, then, as soon as his convenience will permit, proceed to Georgia. No religious teacher [67] from any free State, can be likely to receive so general and so warm a welcome there. To allay the heat, which the doctrines and movements of the abolitionists have occasioned in the southern mind, let him with as much despatch as possible, collect, as he goes from place to place, masters and their slaves. Now let all men, whom it may concern, see and own that slavery is a Christian institution! With his Bible in his hand and his eye upon the passage in question, he addresses himself to the task of instructing the slaves around him. Let not your hearts, my brethren, be overcharged with sorrow, or eaten up with anxiety. Your servile condition cannot deprive you of the fatherly regards of Him "who is no respecter of persons." Freedom you ought, indeed, to prefer. If you can escape from "the yoke," throw it off. In the mean time rejoice that "where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty;" that the gospel places slaves "on a perfect religious equality" with their master; so that every Christian is "the Lord's freeman." And, for your encouragement, remember that "Christianity has abolished both political and domestic servitude wherever it has had free scope. It enjoins a fair compensation for labor; it insists on the moral and intellectual improvement of all classes of men; it condemns all infractions of marital or parental rights; in short it requires not only that free scope be allowed to human improvement, but that all suitable means should be employed for the attainment of that end." [68] Let your lives, then, be honorable to your relations to your Savior. He bought you with his own blood; and is entitled to your warmest love and most effective service. "Be not ye the servants of men." Let no human arrangements prevent you, as citizens of the kingdom of heaven, from making the most of your powers and opportunities. Would such an effort, generally and heartily made, allay excitement at the South, and quench the flames of discord, every day rising higher and waxing hotter, in almost every part of the republic, and cement "the Union?"

[Footnote 67: Rev. Mr. Savage, of Utica, New York, had, not very long ago, a free conversation with a gentleman of high standing in the literary and religious world from a slaveholding State, where the "peculiar institution" is cherished with great warmth and maintained with iron rigor. By him, Mr. Savage was assured, that the Princeton professor had, through the Pittsburg pamphlet, contributed most powerfully and effectually to bring the "whole South" under the persuasion, _that slaveholding is in itself right_--a system _to which the Bible gives countenance and support_.

In an extract from an article in the Southern Christian Sentinel, a new Presbyterian paper established in Charleston, South Carolina, and inserted in the Christian Journal for March 21, 1839, we find the following paragraphs from the pen of Rev. C.W. Howard, and, according to Mr. Chester, ably and freely endorsed by the editor. "There is scarcely any diversity of sentiment at the North upon this subject. The great mass of the people, believing slavery to be sinful, are clearly of the opinion that, as a system, it should be abolished throughout this land and throughout the world. They differ as to the time and mode of abolition. The abolitionists consistently argue, that whatever is sinful should be instantly abandoned. The others, _by a strange sort of reasoning for Christian men_, contend that though slavery is sinful, _yet it may be allowed to exist until it shall he expedient to abolish it_; or, if, in many cases, this reasoning might be translated into plain English, the sense would be, both in Church and State, _slavery, though sinful, may be allowed to exist until our interest will suffer us to say that it must be abolished_. This is not slander; it is simply a plain way of stating a plain truth. It does seem the evident duty of every man to become an abolitionist, who believes slavery to be sinful, for the Bible allows no tampering with sin.

"To these remarks, there are some noble exceptions, to be found in both parties in the church. _The South owes a debt of gratitude to the Biblical Repertory, for the fearless argument in behalf of the position, that slavery is not forbidden by the Bible_. The writer of that article is said, without contradiction, to be _Professor Hodge, of Princeton_--HIS NAME OUGHT TO BE KNOWN AND REVERED AMONG YOU, _my brethren, for in a land of anti-slavery men, he is the_ ONLY ONE _who has dared to vindicate your character from the serious charge of living in the habitual transgression of God's holy law_."]

[Footnote 68: Pittsburg pamphlet, p. 31.]

"It is," affirms the Princeton professor, "on all hands acknowledged, that, at the time of the advent of Jesus Christ, slavery in its worst forms prevailed over the whole world. _The Savior found it around him_ IN JUDEA."[69] To say that he found it _in Judea_, is to speak ambiguously. Many things were to be found "_in_ Judea," which neither belonged to, nor were characteristic of _the Jews_. It is not denied that _the Gentiles_, who resided among them, might have had slaves; _but of the Jews this is denied_. How could the professor take that as granted, the proof of which entered vitally into the argument and was essential to the soundness of the conclusions to which he would conduct us? How could he take advantage of an ambiguous expression to conduct his confiding readers on to a position which, if his own eyes were open, he must have known they could not hold in the light of open day!

[Footnote 69: The same, p. 9]

We do not charge the Savior with any want of wisdom, goodness, or courage,[70] for refusing to "break down the wall of partition between Jews and Gentiles" "before the time appointed." While this barrier stood, he could not, consistently with the plan of redemption, impart instruction freely to the Gentiles. To some extent, and on extraordinary occasions, he might have done so. But his business then was with "the lost sheep of the house of Israel." [71] The propriety of this arrangement is not the matter of dispute between the Princeton professor and ourselves.

[Footnote 70: Pittsburg pamphlet, p. 10.]

[Footnote 71: Matt. xv. 24.]

In disposing of the question whether the Jews held slaves during our Savior's incarnation among them, the following points deserve earnest attention:--

1. Slaveholding is inconsistent with the Mosaic economy. For the
proof of this, we would refer our readers, among other arguments more
or less appropriate and powerful, to the tract already alluded
to.[72] In all the external relations and visible arrangements of
life, the Jews, during our Savior's ministry among them, seem to
have been scrupulously observant of the institutions and usages of
the "Old Dispensation." They stood far aloof from whatever was
characteristic of Samaritans and Gentiles. From idolatry and
slaveholding--those twin-vices which had always so greatly prevailed
among the heathen--they seem at length, as the result of a most
painful discipline, to have been effectually divorced.

[Footnote 72: "The Bible against Slavery."]

2. While, therefore, John the Baptist; with marked fidelity and
great power, acted among the Jews the part of a _reprover_, he found
no occasion to repeat and apply the language of his
predecessors,[73] in exposing and rebuking idolatry and
slaveholding. Could he, the greatest of the prophets, have been
less effectually aroused by the presence of "the yoke," than was
Isaiah?--or less intrepid and decisive in exposing and denouncing
the sin of oppression under its most hateful and injurious forms?

[Footnote 73: Psalm lxxxii; Isa. lviii. 1-12 Jer. xxii. 13-16.]

3. The Savior was not backward in applying his own principles plainly
and pointedly to such forms of oppression as appeared among the Jews.
These principles, whenever they have been freely acted on, the
Princeton professor admits, have abolished domestic bondage. Had
this prevailed within the sphere of our Savior's ministry, he could
not, consistently with his general character, have failed to expose
and condemn it. The oppression of the people by lordly ecclesiastics,
of parents by their selfish children, of widows by their ghostly
counsellors, drew from his lips scorching rebukes and terrible
denunciations.[74] How, then, must he have felt and spoke in the
presence of such tyranny, if _such tyranny had been within his
official sphere_, as should _have made widows_, by driving their
husbands to some flesh-market, and their children not orphans,
_but cattle_?

[Footnote 74: Matt. xxiii; Mark, vii. 1-13.]

4. Domestic slavery was manifestly inconsistent with the _industry_,
which, _in the form of manual labor_, so generally prevailed among
the Jews. In one connection, in the Acts of the Apostles, we are
informed, that, coming from Athens to Corinth, Paul "found a certain
Jew, named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his
wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to
depart from Rome;) and came unto them. And because he was of the
same craft, he abode with them and wrought: (for by their occupation
they were tent-makers.")[75] This passage has opened the way for
different commentators to refer us to the public sentiment and
general practice of the Jews respecting useful industry and manual
labor. According to _Lightfoot_, "it was their custom to bring up
their children to some trade, yea, though they gave them learning or
estates." According to Rabbi Judah, "He that teaches not his son a
trade, is as if he taught him to be a thief."[76] It was, _Kuinoel_
affirms, customary even for Jewish teachers to unite labor
(opificium) with the study of the law. This he confirms by the
highest Rabbinical authority.[77] _Heinrichs_ quotes a Rabbi as
teaching, that no man should by any means neglect to train his son
to honest industry.[78] Accordingly, the apostle Paul, though
brought up at the "feet of Gamaliel," the distinguished disciple of
a most illustrious teacher, practised the art of tent-making. His
own hands ministered to his necessities; and his example is so
doing, he commends to his Gentile brethren for their imitation.[79]
That Zebedee, the father of John the Evangelist, had wealth, various
hints in the New Testament render probable.[80] Yet how do we find
him and his sons, while prosecuting their appropriate business? In
the midst of the hired servants, "in the ship mending their
nets."[81]

[Footnote 75: Acts, xviii. 1-3.]

[Footnote 76: Henry on Acts, xviii. 1-3.]

[Footnote 77: Kuinoel on Acts.]

[Footnote 78: Heinrichs on Acts.]

[Footnote 79: Acts, xx. 34, 35; 1 Thess. iv. 11.]

[Footnote 80: See Kuinoel's Prolegom. to the Gospel of John.]

[Footnote 81: Mark, i. 19, 20.]

Slavery among a people who, from the highest to the lowest, were
used to manual labor! What occasion for slavery there? And how could
it be maintained? No place can be found for slavery among a people
generally inured to useful industry. With such, especially if
men of learning, wealth, and station, "labor, working with their
hands," such labor must be honorable. On this subject, let Jewish
maxims and Jewish habits be adopted at the South, and the "peculiar
institution" would vanish like a ghost at daybreak.

5. Another hint, here deserving particular attention, is furnished
in the allusions of the New Testament to the lowest casts and most
servile employments among the Jews. With profligates, _publicans_
were joined as depraved and contemptible. The outcasts of society
were described, not as fit to herd with slaves, but as deserving a
place among Samaritans and publicans. They were "_hired servants_,"
whom Zebedee employed. In the parable of the prodigal son we have a
wealthy Jewish family. Here servants seem to have abounded. The
prodigal, bitterly bewailing his wretchedness and folly, described
their condition as greatly superior to his own. How happy the change
which should place him by their side? His remorse, and shame, and
penitence made him willing to embrace the lot of the lowest of them
all. But these--what was their condition? They were HIRED SERVANTS.
"Make me as one of thy hired servants." Such he refers to as the
lowest menials known in Jewish life.