ou inculcate upon
him principles which forbid it, for the sake of teaching him to be
governed by principles, rather than by any direct enactment. In such
case you would expect him to obey the principle, and not avail himself
of the permission." Now we fearlessly ask every reader whose moral sense
has not been perverted by false logic, if such a proceeding would not be
infinitely unworthy of the Father of mercies? According to Dr. Wayland's
view, he beholds his children living and dying in the practice of an
abominable sin, and looks on without the slightest note of admonition or
warning. Nay, he gives them permission to continue in the practice of
this frightful enormity, to which they are already bound by the triple
tie of habit, interest, and feeling! Though he gives them line upon
line, and precept upon precept, in order to detach them from other sins,
he yet gives them permission to live and die in this awful sin! And why?
To teach them, forsooth, not to follow his permission, but to be guided
by his principles! Even the guilty Eli remonstrated with his sons. Yet
if, instead of doing this, he had given them permission to practice the
very sins they were bent upon, he might have been, for all that, as pure
and faithful as the Father of mercies himself is represented to be in
the writings of Dr. Wayland. Such are the miserable straits, and such
the impious sophisms, to which even divines are reduced, when, on the
supposition that slavery is a sin, they undertake to vindicate or defend
the word which they themselves are ordained to preach!

Another reason, scarcely less remarkable than the one already noticed,
is assigned for the omission of all precepts against slavery. "It was no
part of the scheme of the gospel revelation," we are told by Dr.
Wayland, (who quotes from Archbishop Whately,) "to lay down any thing
approaching to a complete system of _moral precepts_--to enumerate every
thing that is _enjoined_ or _forbidden_ by our religion." If this method
of teaching had been adopted, "the New Testament would," says Dr.
Wayland, "have formed a library in itself, more voluminous than the laws
of the realm of Great Britain." Now, all this is very true; and hence
the necessity of leaving many points of duty to the enlightened
conscience, and to the application of the more general precepts of the
gospel. But how has it happened that slavery is passed over in silence?
Because, we are told; "every thing" could not be notice