"
HOLY WRIT.
The rain still poured down in the morning, making it agreeable to us
that we had the prospect of an uninterrupted forenoon for our
conversation.
So when we found ourselves together again in the course of the forenoon,
by the fire, we opened the discussion.
Mr. North inquired what I understood by the term "owning a
fellow-creature."
"I understand by it," I replied, "a right to use, and to dispose of, the
services of another, wholly at my will. That will must be subject to the
whole law of God, which includes the golden rule. I do not mean by it
that a man owns the body of a man in such a sense that he can maim it at
will, or in any way abuse it. Ownership in men is power to use their
services and to dispose of them, at will."
"Now," said he, "who gives you a right to go to Africa or to a slave
auction and to say to a human being, 'I propose to own you.' How would
you like to have a black man come to you in a solitary place and say,
'My dear Sir, I propose to own you. Henceforth your services are
subject to my will.'?"
"As to Africa," said I, "and making slaves of those who are now free, we
cannot differ. As to the other part of your question, I will carry the
illustration a little further, and in doing so, will answer you in part.
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