Colossians, "Masters give unto your servants that which is _just
and equal_, knowing that ye also have a master in heaven." Let
slaveholders only obey these injunctions of Paul, and I am satisfied
slavery would soon be abolished. If he thought it sinful even to
_threaten_ servants, surely he must have thought it sinful to flog and
to beat them with sticks and paddles; indeed, when delineating the
character of a bishop, he expressly names this as one feature of it,
"_no striker_." Let masters give unto their servants that which is
_just_ and _equal_, and all that vast system of unrequited labor would
crumble into ruin. Yes, and if they once felt they had no right to the
_labor_ of their servants without pay, surely they could not think
they had a right to their wives, their children, and their own bodies.
Again, how can it be said Paul sanctioned slavery, when, as though
to put this matter beyond all doubt, in that black catalogue of
sins enumerated in his first epistle to Timothy, he mentions
"_menstealers_," which word may be translated "_slavedealers_." But
you may say, we all despise slavedealers as much as any one can; they
are never admitted into genteel or respectable society. And why not?
Is it not because even you shrink back from the idea of associating
with those who make their fortunes by trading in the bodies and souls
of men, women, and children? whose daily work it is to break human
hearts, by tearing wives from their husbands, and children from their
parents? But why hold slavedealers as despicable, if their trade is
lawful and virtuous? and why despise them more than the _gentlemen of
fortune and standing_ who employ them as _their_ agents? Why more than
the _professors of religion_ who barter their fellow-professors to
them for gold and silver? We do not despise the land agent, or the
physician, or the merchant, and why? Simply because their professions
are virtuous and honorable; and if the trade of men-jobbers was
honorable, you would not despise them either. There is no difference