have continued in the Christian church under the direction of inspired
men, when there was nothing to prevent its immediate abolition. The
answer then of Dr. Channing is unsatisfactory, first, because polygamy
does not belong to the same category in morals as that to which
slaveholding is affirmed to belong; and secondly, because it was so
plainly prohibited by Christ and his apostles as to secure the assent of
all Christians in all ages of the church.

It is, however, argued that slavery must be sinful because it interferes
with the inalienable rights of men. We have already remarked, that
slavery, in itself considered, is a state of bondage, and nothing more.
It is the condition of an individual who is deprived of his personal
liberty, and is obliged to labor for another, who has the right to
transfer this claim of service, at pleasure. That this condition
involves the loss of many of the rights which are commonly and properly
called natural, because belonging to men, as men, is readily admitted.
It is, however, incumbent on those who maintain that slavery is, on this
account, necessarily sinful, to show that it is criminal, under all
circumstances, to deprive any set of men of a portion of their natural
rights. That this broad proposition can not be maintained is evident.
The very constitution of society supposes the forfeiture of a greater or
less amount of these rights, according to its peculiar organization.
That it is not only the privilege, but the duty of men to live together
in a regularly organized society, is evident from the nature which God
has given us; from the impossibility of every man living by and for
himself, and from the express declarations of the word of God. The
object of the formation of society is the promotion of human virtue and
happiness; and the form in which it should be organized, is that which
will best secure the attainment of this object. As, however, the
condition of men is so very various, it is impossible that the same form
should be equally conducive to happiness and virtue under all
circumstances. No one form, therefore, is prescribed in the Bible, or is
universally obligatory. The question which form is, under given
circumstances, to be adopted, is one of great practical difficulty, and
must be left to the decision of those who have the power to decide, on
their own responsibility. The question, however, does not depend upon
the degree in which these several forms may encroach up