Slavery and the Constitution Part 5

Q. How are they to try to please their masters?--A. 'Please them well in all things, not answering again.'

Q. Is a servant who is an eye-servant to his earthly master an eye-servant to his heavenly Master?--A. Yes.

Q. Is it right in a servant, when commanded to do any thing, to be sullen and slow, and answer his master again?--A. No.

Q. If the servant professes to be a Christian, ought he not to be _as a Christian servant_, an example to all other servants of love and obedience to his master?--A. Yes.

Q. And, should his master be a Christian also, ought he not on that account specially to love and obey him?--A. Yes.

Q. But suppose the master is hard to please, and threatens and punishes more than he ought, what is the servant to do?--A. Do his best to please him.

Q. When the servant suffers _wrongfully_ at the hands of his master, and, to please G.o.d, takes it patiently, will G.o.d reward him for it?--A. Yes.

Q. Is it right for the servant to _run away_, or is it right to _harbor_ a runaway?--A. No.

Q. What did the Apostle Paul to Onesimus, who was a runaway? Did he harbor him, or send him back to his master?--A. He sent him back to his master with a letter.

Q. Is it any praise to a servant to be punished for his faults, or ought he to think hard of it?--A. No.

Q. Are servants at liberty to tell lies, and deceive their masters?--A. No.

Q. Are they at liberty to steal from their masters?--A. No.

Q. What ought they to show in their whole character and conduct?--A.

'_All good fidelity_, that they may adorn the doctrine of G.o.d our Saviour in all things.'

Q. If servants will faithfully do their duty and serve G.o.d in their stations as servants, will they be respected of men, and blessed and honored of G.o.d as well as others?--A. Yes.

Q. Will servants have to account to G.o.d for the manner in which they serve their masters on earth?--A. Yes."

Mr. Jones thus expounds the tenth commandment ("Catechism," pp.

118-120):--

"Q. How does G.o.d require me to love my neighbor?--A. As myself.

Q. Ought I not therefore to be glad when I see him have and enjoy every good thing?--A. Yes.

Q. But suppose I am _not glad_, and desire the very things he has, and begrudge his having them, what do I?--A. I covet.

Q. Is it not my duty to be contented with such things as I have, without coveting what my neighbor has?--A. Yes.

Q. What did the Apostle Paul say he had learned?--A. 'I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.'

Q. Repeat, 'G.o.dliness with contentment.'--A. 'G.o.dliness with contentment is great gain; for we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out; and, having food and raiment, let us be therewith content.'

Q. From whom cometh down every good gift and every perfect gift?--A.

From G.o.d.

Q. Who is exalted as head above all, and giveth riches and honor and greatness and strength, and also casteth down and maketh poor whom he pleaseth?--A. G.o.d.

Q. If I work and am industrious, and walk uprightly with G.o.d, will he suffer me to want any good thing?--A. No.

Q. Does this commandment forbid _the very thought itself_ of evil against our neighbor?--A. Yes.

We are to be contented with our own condition and circ.u.mstances, as appointed unto us by our infinitely wise and gracious Father in heaven."

Thus discourseth that eminent son of Ma.s.sachusetts, the Rev. Theodore Clapp, after seventeen years' experience of the blessedness of slavery (Sermon, p. 66):--

"Let all Christian teachers show our servants the importance of being submissive, obedient, industrious, honest, and faithful to the interests of their masters. Let their minds be filled with sweet antic.i.p.ations of rest eternal beyond the grave. Let them be trained to direct their views to that fascinating and glorious futurity, where the sins, sorrows, and troubles of earth will be contemplated under the aspect of means indispensable to our everlasting progress in knowledge, virtue, and happiness. I would say to every slave in the United States, You should realize that a wise, kind, and merciful Providence has appointed for you your condition in life; and, all things considered, you could not be more eligibly situated.

The burden of your care, toils, and responsibilities is much lighter than that which G.o.d has imposed on your master. The most enlightened philanthropists, with unlimited resources, could not place you in a situation more favorable to your present and everlasting welfare than that which you now occupy. You have your troubles. So have all.

Remember how evanescent are the pleasures and joys of human life."

_Judicious_ religious instruction, therefore, makes the slaves faithful, diligent, and honest, and very materially promotes discipline; and it produces these results much more perfectly than any other motive which can be used. The cowskin and the paddle are doubtless serviceable; but that South Carolina planter told the truth who said to Dr. Brisbane (Brooke's "Slavery," p. 35), that religion was worth more to him with his slaves than four wagon-loads of cowskins! A judiciously awakened conscience, an earnest wish on the part of the slave to do what he believes to be the will of G.o.d, in order to escape never-ending torments in h.e.l.l, const.i.tute a much more forcible and constant incitement and restraint than that of fear. When we reflect that "ignorance and superst.i.tion render them easy dupes to their teachers," and that the more ignorant and superst.i.tious they are, the more easily they may be duped, it is evident that this religious restraint is easily created, and daily increases in strength. How infinitely more powerful, then, is such a motive than the fear of bodily suffering! It is equally easy and vastly more efficacious to ply judicious religious instruction than to ply the cowskin or the paddle!

It is evident also, that the religious instruction of slaves increases their market-value, and greatly promotes the safety of the community.

"Experience teaches us," says the Right Rev. Dr. Gibson, "the great value of those servants who are truly religious, compared with those who have no sense of religion" ("Rel. Inst." p. 22). No persons feel this more sensibly than the slaveholders. "Even _men of the world_," says the Presbytery of Georgia, "throw wide the door of access to their negroes."

The fourth of a series of resolutions reported to the Synod of South Carolina and Georgia in 1833 reads, "We deem religious instruction to master and servant every way conducive to _our interests for this world_ and for that which is to come" (ib. p. 74). With the proceedings of a convention held in Charleston, S.C. in 1845, to consider the subject of the religious instruction of slaves, were published letters from several persons, describing the effect actually produced by such instruction.

One person writes, "The deeper the piety of the slave, the more valuable is he in every sense of the word." Another says, "A regard to self-interest should lead every planter to give his people religious instruction." "On such large plantations," says Mr. Jones ("Rel.

Inst." p. 239), "_as a mere matter of gain_, a religious instructor should be employed." _By religious instruction_ (ib. p. 208), "_the pecuniary interests of masters will be advanced as a necessary consequence._"--Page 204: "Is it not conceded, that a truly pious servant gives less trouble, and is more profitable, than one who is not?

Is there one master in a thousand who does not desire such servants? Is it not true, that the most pious servants exert the happiest influence in promoting honesty and good order on plantations and in communities?"--Page 210: "_The religious instruction of the slaves will contribute to safety._ 'The thing that hath been, it is that which may be;' and although, as a slaveholding country, we are so situated that, so far as man can see, the hope of success on the part of our laboring cla.s.s, in any attempt at revolution, is forlorn; yet no enemy (if there be an enemy) should be despised, however weak, and no danger unprovided for, however apparently remote.... It is, then, but a prudent foresight, a dictate of benevolence and of wisdom, to originate, and set in operation, means that may act as _a check upon, if not a perfect preventive, of evil_. I am a firm believer in the efficacy of _sound religious instruction_ as a means to the end desired."

Ib. p. 212: "Besides the general and special influences of the gospel now adverted to, safety will be connected with _the very dispensation of it_.... The presence of white instructors, settled ministers, or missionaries, in their private as well as public religious a.s.semblies, and free intercourse with the people and with their influential men and leaders, exert a restraining influence upon any spirit of insubordination that may exist, and at the same time give opportunities for its detection. The negroes are as capable of strong personal attachments to their religious instructors as are any other people, _and of their own will are inclined to make confidential communications_"!

Such is the quality of the religious instruction imparted to slaves; such is the way in which their famis.h.i.+ng souls are led away to the water of life! To escape everlasting torments in h.e.l.l, a slave must submit to remain in slavery! He must neither murmur nor repine at his lot, but rather give thanks to G.o.d for his loving-kindness and tender mercy in removing from his path so many temptations to sin! He must obey his master in all things, and do the work a.s.signed to him faithfully and diligently, "in singleness of heart, as unto Christ"! He must act honestly, and never waste any of "the comforts and conveniences of life"

which he procures for his master. No acc.u.mulation of injuries or deprivations can excuse him for running away; but he is bound to endure all his wrongs with cheerfulness and patience, and, leaving his cause in the hands of G.o.d, look to Heaven alone for his reward! Who is there that does not feel irresistibly impelled, with Bishop Ives, to cease "wailing over the _imaginary_ suffering" of the slaves, and to unite with him in "the heart-felt exclamation, 'How happy are the people that are in such a case! yea, blessed are the people who have the Lord for their G.o.d'"?

(Bishop Ives's "Address to the Convention in his Diocese;" Jay's "Letter," p. 3). Who cannot say to the slaves, with Mr. Glennie (p. 58), "Your advantages are indeed great: ... oh! make full use of your privileges, and show that you thank G.o.d by serving him"?

To teach untruths is a greater wrong to a man's soul than merely to keep him in ignorance. How much more pitifully wicked is it, then, to teach such untruths only or mainly as must advance the pecuniary interest of the oppressor!

CHAPTER VI.

INDIRECT INSTRUCTION.--NO LEGAL MARRIAGE OF SLAVES.

"Marriage unites all which enn.o.bles and beautifies life."--_De Wette._

"Negro marriages are neither recognized nor protected by law."--_Rev. C. C. Jones._

Besides the direct instruction thus imparted to slaves, there is an indirect instruction much more powerful and effective in securing their degradation.

"Marriage," says De Wette, "is genuine only when single and permanent.

It is then also the first and most important inst.i.tution of human existence; the foundation of all civilization and culture; the root of church and state. It is the most intimate covenant of heart formed among mankind; and thousands are first made aware by it that they have within them a n.o.bler impulse and a n.o.bler want than to labor, to acquire, and to enjoy. It is the union of manly strength with feminine gentleness; the tempering of masculine rudeness by female delicacy; and, for innumerable persons, the only relation in which they feel the true sentiments of humanity. It gives scope for every human virtue, since each of these is developed from the love and confidence which here predominate. It unites all which enn.o.bles and beautifies life,--sympathy, kindness of will and deed, grat.i.tude, devotion, and every delicate, intimate feeling. As the only asylum for true education, it is the first and last sanctuary of human culture. As husband and wife, through each other, become conscious of complete humanity, of every humane feeling and every humane virtue; so children, at their first awakening in the fond covenant of love between parents, both of whom are tenderly concerned for the same object, find an image of complete humanity, leagued in free love. The spirit of love, which prevails between them, acts with creative power upon the young mind, and awakens every germ of goodness within it. This invisible, uncalculated, and incalculable influence of parental life acts more upon the child than all the efforts of education by means of instruction, precept, and exhortation."