ardent spirits;
_but they were all wrong_, and they now acknowledge their error. At the
present day, a large proportion of the professed disciples of the Prince
of Peace maintain the lawfulness of defensive war, and the right of the
oppressed to fight and kill for liberty; but they hold this sentiment in
direct opposition to the precepts of their Leader--'I say unto you which
hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, bless them that
curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.' Surely 'the
time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God.'

I must pause, for a moment, and count the number of those with whom I am
about to conflict. If I had to encounter only men-stealers and
slaveholders, victory would be easy; but it is not the south alone that
is to be subdued. The whole nation is against me. Church after church is
to be converted, and the powerful influence of the clergy broken. The
friendship of good men is to be turned into enmity, and their support
into opposition. It is my task to change their admiration into
abhorrence; to convince them that their well-meant exertions have been
misdirected, and productive of greater evil than good; and to induce
them to abandon an institution to which they now fondly cling.

To those who neither fear God nor regard man--who have sworn eternal
animosity to their colored countrymen, and whose cry is, 'Away with
them, we do not want them here!'--I make no appeal. Disregarding as they
do that divine command, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,' it
would be idle for me to direct my arguments to them. I address myself
to high-minded and honorable men, whose heads and hearts are susceptible
to the force of sound logic. I appeal to those, who have been redeemed
from the bondage of sin by the precious blood of Christ, and with whom I
hope to unite in a better world in ascribing glory, and honor, and
praise to the Great Deliverer for ever. If I can succeed in gaining
their attention, I feel sure of convincing their understandings and
securing their support.

Besides the overwhelming odds which are opposed to me, I labor under
other very serious disadvantages. My efforts in the cause of
emancipation have been received as if they were intended to bring chaos
back again, and to give the land up to pillage and its inhabitants to
slaughter. My calls for an alteration in the feelings and practices of
the people toward the blacks have been regarded as r