sum total of all religion consists in the advancement of
some one benevolent object. Above, beneath, beyond the attainment of
this, there is no religion, no virtue. Every thing must not only be
brought into requisition, in order to its attainment; but the end must
be attained in their own way, and according to their own notions; or
otherwise it might as well be left undone. In nine eases out of ten,
though the object of pursuit is a laudable one, yet so ill-judged and
injudicious are their plans, that if carried out, they will result in
more evil than good. The plainest and most obvious declarations of the
Bible, if they contravene their favorite theories or doctrines, are to
them unmeaning twaddle; though they are always ready to press the good
book into their service, so far as they are able by forced
constructions of detached passages, to give plausibility to their own
visionary opinions and projects.

[2] I had read but a few pages of Uncle Tom's Cabin, when the
following sentences were written. Before I had passed through the
work, my opinions underwent a change as to the merit of the work
and the designs of the writer in bringing it before the public.
The present chapter contains my first reflections on the subject
of slavery, after I determined to write on the subject.

It is a dire calamity that this class of writers have taken hold of
the subject of slavery. It is a misfortune that slavery should be
presented in a fictitious garb. I fear the consequences. It portends
no good to the nation. Slavery is among us, it is a solemn reality,
and if we expect to get rid of it, we must look it full in the face;
see it as it is, and treat it as a matter of fact business. We know
that it is an evil--a deplorable evil; but what shall we do with it?
The plague is on us--about us--in our midst. Where? Oh! where, shall
we find a remedy? The great work is before us; who is competent to the
task? Statesmen as wise and patriotic as any the world ever produced,
have shrunk from the task, confounded and abashed. Where is Clay!
Where is Webster? All that was earthly of them, is no more. Long did
they grapple with the monster slavery, and by their wise councils,
through many a dark and stormy period, did they safely conduct the
ship of State. But they are gone, and shall we now confide the
interests of this great nation, to the keeping of a few sickly
sentimentalists? No, heaven forbid that we should be led b