the Bible. They are bound to obedience, fidelity, submission,
and respect to their masters, not only to the good and kind, but also to
the unkind and froward." But when he comes to reason about these words,
which he finds it so impossible for any one to misunderstand, he is not
without a very ingenious method to evade their plain import and to
escape from their influence. Let the reader hear, and determine for
himself.

"I do not see," says Dr. Wayland, "that the scope of these passages can
be misunderstood. They teach patience, meekness, fidelity, and
charity--duties which are obligatory on Christians toward all men, and,
of course, toward masters. These duties are obligatory on us toward
enemies, because an enemy, like every other man, is a moral creature of
God." True. But is this all? Patience, meekness, fidelity,
charity--duties due to all men! But what has become of the word
_obedience_? This occupies a prominent--nay, the most prominent--place
in the teachings of St. Paul. It occupies no place at all in the
reasonings of Dr. Wayland. It is simply dropped out by him, or
overlooked; and this was well done, for this word _obedience_ is an
exceedingly inconvenient one for the abolitionist. If Dr. Wayland had
retained it in his argument, he could not have added, "duties which are
obligatory on Christians toward all men, and, of course, toward
masters." Christians are not bound to obey all men. But slaves are bound
to obey "their own masters." It is precisely upon this injunction to
obedience that the whole argument turns. And it is precisely this
injunction to obedience which Dr. Wayland leaves out in his argument. He
does not, and he cannot, misunderstand the word. But he can just drop it
out, and, in consequence, proceed to argue as if nothing more were
required of slaves than is required of all Christian men!

The only portion of Scripture which Mr. Sumner condescends to notice is
the Epistle of St. Paul to Philemon. He introduces the discussion of
this epistle with the remark that, "In the support of slavery, it is the
habit to pervert texts and to invent authority. Even St. Paul is vouched
for a wrong which his Christian life rebukes."[170] Now we intend to
examine who it is that really perverts texts of Scripture, and invents
authority. We intend to show, as in the clear light of noonday, that it
is the conduct of Mr. Sumner and other abolitionists, and not that of
the slaveholder, which is rebuked by the life