purloining, but showing all good fidelity; that they may adorn
the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things."--Titus ii. 9,
10.

"_Servants_, be subject to _your masters_ with all fear; not
only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward. For this
is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure
grief, suffering wrongfully."--1 Peter ii. 18, 19.

We have but a single word of comment to offer upon these passages of
Scripture. The original words used by the Greek writers, both sacred and
profane, to express slave; the most abject condition of slavery; to
express the absolute owner of a slave, and the absolute control of a
slave, are the strongest that the language affords, and are used in the
passages here quoted. If the apostles understood the common use of
words, and desired to convey these ideas, and to recognize the relations
of master and servant, they would, naturally enough, employ the very
words used. To say that they did not know the primary meaning and _usus
loquendi_ of the original words, is paying them a compliment we wish not
to participate in! And to show that we are not singular in our views of
the meaning expressed in the passages quoted, showing that they express
in the one case slaves, and in the other masters or owners, actually
holding them as property, under the sanction of the laws of the State,
we quote from the following authorities:

That great commentator, Dr. ADAM CLARKE, on 1 Cor. vii. 21, says:

"Art thou converted to Christ while thou art a slave--the
property of another person, and bought with his money? _Care
not for it._"

The learned Dr. Neander, in his work entitled "Planting and Training of
the Church," in referring to _Onesimus_, mentioned in the epistle to
Philemon, says of him:

"It does not appear to be surprising that a _runaway slave_
should betake himself at once to Rome."

To the foregoing might be added other authorities of equal weight and
importance.

It is a well-known historical fact, that slaveholders were admitted into
the APOSTOLIC CHURCHES; nor would this assumed position of the advocates
of slavery be at all denied by any intelligent and well-read men at the
North, but for the fact that they think such an admission would decide
the question against abolitionists. We have given much attention to this
subject within ten years past, and we feel no sort of delicacy in
expressing our vie