DUKE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 
 DURHAM, N. C. 
 
 Rec’d. 
 
 IJaau l 1UUL & l_ 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2016 
 
 
 https://archive.org/details/christiannonresi01ball 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 IN ALL ITS IMPORTANT BEARINGS 
 
 ILLUSTRATED AND DEFENDED 
 BY 
 
 ADIN BALLOU 
 
 Whoso readeth let him understand 
 
 SECOND EDITION 
 
 ALSO 
 
 AN APPENDIX— In Two Parts 
 
 By WILLIAM S. HEYWOOD 
 
 1 . Biographical Sketch of the Author 
 
 2. The Higher Patriotism 
 
 UNIVERSAL PEACE UNION 
 PHILADELPHIA, PA. 
 
 1910 
 
CONTENTS 
 
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 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER I.— EXPLANATORY DEFINITIONS. 
 
 Different kinds of Non-Resistance 1 
 
 The term Non-Resistance 2 
 
 The term Force, etc 5 
 
 The term Injury 7 
 
 The term Christian Non-resistance 12 
 
 The key text of Non-resistance 13 
 
 Necessary applications of Non-resistance 16 
 
 What a Christian Non-resistant cannot consistently do. 19 
 The principle and sub-principle of Non-resistance.... 20 
 The conclusion 25 
 
 CHAPTER II.— SCRIPTURAL PROOFS. 
 
 Matthew 5: 38 — 41, a proof text 26 
 
 Evasive constructions of the text 28 
 
 Evasion first 29 
 
 Evasion second 30 
 
 Evasion third 31 
 
 Evasion fourth 32 
 
 Evasion fifth 33 
 
 Evasion sixth 34 
 
 Evasion final 34 
 
 Reason for noticing all these evasions 37 
 
 Second proof, Matt. 5:43 — 48 38 
 
 Third proof — forgiveness 42 
 
 Further important proofs. 45 
 
 Apostolic testimonies 48 
 
 General view of the evidence 51 
 
 The primitive Christians 54 
 
 Testimony of Celsus and Gibbon 56 
 
IV 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER III.— SCRIPTURAL OBJECTIONS 
 ANSWERED. 
 
 Objection I. — You throw away the Old Testament... 58 
 
 Voice of the New Testament 60 
 
 Voice of the Old Testament 65 
 
 Objection II. — The scourge of small cords 69 
 
 Answer 69 
 
 Objection III. — The two swords 73 
 
 Answer 73 
 
 Objection IV. — The death of Ananias and Sapphira.. 74 
 
 Answer 75 
 
 Objection V. — Human Government — 13th of Romans. 
 
 &c 76 
 
 Answer ; 77 
 
 How the Apostles viewed the then existing Govern- 
 ments 79 
 
 Submission to, not participation in. Government en- 
 joined on Christians 81 
 
 In what sense “the powers that be are ordained of God. 82 
 
 Pharaoh God’s minister 83 
 
 The Monarch of Assyria God's minister 84 
 
 Nebuchadnezzar God's minister 85 
 
 The Roman Government 86 
 
 Respects wherein Government is ordained of God 87 
 
 Paul’s conduct in relation to Government 90 
 
 Conclusion 96 
 
 CHAPTER IV.— NON-RESISTANCE NOT CON- 
 TRARY TO NATURE. 
 
 Nature and the laws of nature defined 98 
 
 Self-preservation the first law of nature 101 
 
 What is the true method of self-preservation 101 
 
 A demurrer of the objector 104 
 
 The objector still persists — Analogy of the animals.. 106 
 Common method of self-preservation certainly false.. 107 
 
 Live great laws of human nature considered 108 
 
 These laws radically harmonious Ill 
 
 Non-resistance in perfect unison with these laws 113 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 v 
 
 A law of universal nature. Like begets its like 115 
 
 General illustrations in common life 117 
 
 Subdued pride and scorn .• . 121 
 
 The man whose temper was broken 122 
 
 Colored woman and the sailor 125 
 
 The haymakers 125 
 
 The two students 126 
 
 Two neighbors and the manure 127 
 
 Impounding the horse . 128 
 
 Two neighbors and the hens 128 
 
 Henry and Albert 130 
 
 The subdued hatter 131 
 
 The revolutionary soldier 132 
 
 Ex-President Jefferson and the cooper’s shop 134 
 
 William Ladd and neighbor Pulsifer 135 
 
 Conclusion 137 
 
 CHAPTER V.— THE SAFETY OF NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 Raymond the traveller 140 
 
 Agent of the Bible Society in Texas 141 
 
 The young man near Philadelphia 142 
 
 Robert Barclay and Leonard Fell 142 
 
 Archbishop Sharpe 144 
 
 Rowland Hill 144 
 
 Two methodist Non-resistants 146 
 
 The two New Zealand chiefs 148 
 
 The missionary and Arabs 148 
 
 A Christian tribe in Africa 150 
 
 The Moravian Indians 151 
 
 The Moravians of Grace Hill 152 
 
 The Shakers 153 
 
 The Indians and the Quaker family 153 
 
 The inhabitants of the Loochoo Islands 154 
 
 The Indians and the Quaker meeting 155 
 
 The Christian town in the Tyrol 156 
 
 Capt. Back — The Quakers— The Malays 159 
 
 Jonathan Dymond — Colony of Pennsylvania 165 
 
 The colony of Pennsylvania 169 
 
VI 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER VI.— GENERAL OBJECTIONS 
 ANSWERED. 
 
 Objection I. — Impracticable till the millennium 173 
 
 Principles of the millennium 177 
 
 Objection II. — Extremely difficult, if not impossible.. 180 
 
 Passage of the Traun 183 
 
 Objection III. — More difficult in small than large mat- 
 ters 188 
 
 Answer 189 
 
 The profane swearer reproved and subdued 191 
 
 The Christian slave and his enemy 192 
 
 How to overcome evil 193 
 
 Henry C. Wright and his assailant 195 
 
 The victorious little boy 196 
 
 Colony of practical Christians 197 
 
 The avenger stayed 201 
 
 Conclusion 206 
 
 CHAPTER VIE— NON-RESISTANCE IN RELATION 
 TO GOVERNMENT. 
 
 Is Non-resistance for or against human government?.. 209 
 
 Human government de facto 212 
 
 Objection 212 
 
 Answer 213 
 
 Extract from the Constitution of Massachusetts 213 
 
 Extracts from the U. S. Constitution 214 
 
 Why net participate in order to reform? 215 
 
 Cannot lie and commit perjury 217 
 
 Delegated power to declare war 218 
 
 Letters of marque and reprisal piracy.. 219 
 
 Legal and political action 220 
 
 How to reform government 222 
 
 Injurious force not essential to government 226 
 
 Under what circumstance's the country might have a 
 
 Non-resistant government 2 27 
 
 View of present order of things and remedies 229 
 
 Extract from M. Guizot’s lectures 233 
 
 Conclusion 235 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 1. Biographical Sketch of the Author 238 
 
 2. The Higher Patriotism 246 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 vii 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 By William S. Heywood. 
 
 The Treatise upon Christian non-resistance, which 
 is reproduced on the following pages, constituting 
 the more essential part of the present volume, was 
 first published in the year 1846, more than half a 
 century ago. It was at a time when a great wave 
 of philanthropic thought and feeling seemed to be 
 sweeping over the land and world, especially over 
 the so-called Christian world, recasting and to some 
 extent displacing previously existing conceptions of 
 truth and duty, by bringing more distinctly to view 
 the practical and humanitary features of the Gospel 
 of Christ, relegating to a subordinate place those 
 of a merely speculative and dogmatic character so 
 long dominant in the church, and demanding that 
 the principles and spirit of the Gospel of Christ lie 
 uncompromisingly applied to human life in all its 
 multiform phases, manifestations and relations — not 
 only to private but to public concerns — to concerns 
 affecting alike personal character and conduct and 
 also the character and conduct of communities, 
 neighborhoods, townships, States and nations, both 
 in regard to forms of organization and modes of 
 administration — to their attitude toward and treat- 
 ment of each other under all possible conditions and 
 circumstances. 
 
 The work was received with heartfelt approval 
 and gratification by some of the foremost philan- 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 viii 
 
 thropists and radical reformers of both this country 
 and England, as expressed in numerous personal 
 letters to the author and through the medium of 
 the public press, and, when occasion permitted, was 
 commended by them to the attention and favorable 
 judgment of all lovers of truth and humanity whom 
 their testimonies might reach. Mr. Garrison, the 
 distinguished leader of the Anti-Slavery movement 
 in the United States, gave it most earnest greet- 
 ing, at the outset, in the columns of his paper, The 
 Liberator, as a brief extract from his pen will show : 
 “We hail the appearance of this work with great 
 satisfaction. It treats of a subject more vital per- 
 haps than any other that ever challenged the atten- 
 tion of mankind — vital to human safety, vital to 
 the attainment and establishment of true liberty, 
 vital to the prosperity of nations, vital to the re- 
 conciliation of a hostile world: a subject, too, gross- 
 ly misapprehended by some, maliciously misrepre- 
 sented by others, and clearly understood by very 
 few. It is such a work as we have long desired 
 to see, and from the pen of one who is, in all re- 
 spects, qualified to undertake it and carry it through 
 in the best manner. 
 
 “We have no desire to deal in laudation, but sim- 
 ply to express our conviction of the value of the 
 work and of the competency of Adin Ballou to 
 state, illustrate and defend the great doctrine it 
 inculcates. With a mind strictly logical, and a 
 spirit deeply imbued with gentleness and peace — 
 aided by rare good sense, great self-possession and 
 a resolute dispositon to be in the right — for right’s 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 IX 
 
 sake, he brings to his task the best qualities of both 
 head and heart. 
 
 “The work is soberly and frankly addressed to 
 the reason, conscience and higher sentiments of 
 mankind — not to their propensities, passions and 
 carnal ambitions and desires. In the circulation 
 of this little volume the friends of Peace shotdd 
 take a lively interest. At this particular crisis, 
 when the spirit of war and violence is so madly 
 raging in the land, its distribution, as far and wide 
 as possible, is most earnestly to be desired.” 
 
 The book very soon arrested the attention and 
 won the approbation of the more active friends of 
 humanity in Great Britain, and two years later, in 
 1848, two widely known philanthropists of Edin- 
 burgh, Scotland, caused it to be republished for 
 special circulation in the United Kingdom. The 
 English edition was a verbatim reprint of the orig- 
 inal, with the exception of portions of two chapters 
 relating to local political affairs, but which were 
 without pertinency or force under a system of gov- 
 ernment differing from that of the United States. 
 The parties responsible for the re-publication of 
 the book beyond the sea commended it to the fa- 
 vorable attention of its readers in the following 
 language: “We have been impressed with the 
 excellence of the matter contained in the work, and 
 with the sound Scriptural arguments of the talented 
 author on the highly important question discussed 
 by him ; and we trust that the present edition will 
 be generally acceptable to the friends of the Peace 
 Cause. We have carefully perused the volume, and, 
 having weighed the sentiments which it contains, 
 
X 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 desire to express our firm conviction that they are 
 entirely in accordance with pure Christianity, evi- 
 dently proceeding from a mind richly imbued with 
 the spirit of love to God and man, desirous of pro- 
 moting the advancement of the Redeemer’s king- 
 dom on the earth.” 
 
 In the sincere belief, shared by a considerable 
 number of the friends of universal peace, that the 
 importance of the exposition of the doctrine of 
 Christian non-resistance given by Adin Ballou in 
 the work under notice, is not over-estimated by the 
 writers of the foregoing paragraphs, and that the 
 work has in no proper sense “outlived its useful- 
 ness” ; a new edition is now offered to the gen- 
 eral public and urged upon the thoughtful and con- 
 scientious consideration of all well-wishers of their 
 kind, with the well-assured conviction and most 
 ardent hope that, by setting forth most clearly and 
 uncompromisingly the essential barbarism and 
 iniquity, not only of the great war system of the 
 world and the death-dealing exploits of the battle- 
 field, but of all forms of injurious and brutal force, 
 under whatever pretext called into exercise between 
 man and man, it will contribute much to the growth 
 of that public sentiment which seems to be tend- 
 ing in the right direction, promising, as it does, 
 to rise at an early day into an imperative demand 
 for the entire abolition of war and of all the arma- 
 ments and preparations for war of every kind and 
 name, and prove to be, henceforth, as hitherto, an 
 efficient instrumentality in promoting “Peace on 
 earth and good will among men” — a cause most 
 dear to its author’s heart, to the advocacy and ad- 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 xi 
 
 vancement of which he devoted much of his thought, 
 energy and time during a long, active and eminent- 
 ly useful life. 
 
 It is to be presumed that among the readers 
 of this volume there will be many who, while as- 
 senting to the general doctrine which it inculcates 
 and admitting the principal points of the argument 
 of the author in its support, will yet feel unable 
 to agree with him in all the practical applications 
 which he makes of it ; especially in regard to polit- 
 ical action under the provisions of a constitution 
 and form of government claiming and exercising 
 from time to time the power and the right to de- 
 clare war and carry on the work of human 
 slaughter; failing to recognize or allow that the 
 responsibility involved in such action is so great 
 and so inclusive as he assumes and maintains to 
 be the case, nevertheless, it has been deemed wise 
 and just to the author, in this new edition of his 
 work, to reprint the original, verbatim, giving his 
 views in full as they came from his pen, without 
 excision or emendation, leaving the reader to make 
 such qualifications or set such limitations, in the 
 respects indicated, as in loyalty to his own highest 
 conviction of truth and duty, he feels bound to do. 
 
 Supplementary to the subject-matter treated in 
 the earlier pages of this work, constituting its char- 
 acteristic feature, may be found an appendix, in 
 two parts; the first being a “Biographical sketch 
 of the author,” which will be of interest, no doubt, 
 to' those readers otherwise uninformed in regard to 
 his earthly life and the manifold labors in which 
 he was engag-ed, the other an address before the 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 xii 
 
 Universal Peace Union upon a theme concerning 
 which there is great confusion and oftentimes much 
 question, when considered in connection with the 
 practical bearings of the doctrines of Christian non- 
 resistance ; the purpose of the address being to 
 show that as “there are victories of peace no less 
 renowned than those of war,” so is there a patriot- 
 ism disassociated from all scenes of carnal strife 
 enacted on the bloody, death-inflicting battlefield 
 no less honorable and praiseworthy than that thus 
 associated, as is so often the case — a love and serv- 
 ice of one’s country, calculated to promote and se- 
 cure, in an eminent degree, the highest prosperity, 
 welfare, happiness and truest glory of a country; 
 and yet strictly accordant with the principles and 
 sentiments which this work is designed to expound, 
 illustrate and apply to the various interests and 
 activities of human life. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 xiii 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 Here is a little book in illustration and defence 
 of a very unpopular doctrine. The author believes 
 it to be as ancient as Christianity, and as true as 
 the New Testament. But it is a doctrine little un- 
 derstood and almost everywhere spoken against. 
 He therefore entreats his readers to divest them- 
 selves as much as possible of prejudice, and patiently 
 examine what he has here written. He does not 
 expect every one to be pleased with what he has 
 presented in this volume, not even those who ap- 
 prove of it as a whole. But he desires friends and 
 opposers to be candid, just and generous; to treat 
 the work as they would have one of their own (on 
 any important subject) treated. He wishes no per- 
 sonal strain of panegyric from those who may think 
 well of his Treatise. Let all glory be given to 
 the Supreme Source of wisdom and goodness. On 
 the other hand, he hopes that those who may think 
 ill of it will be manly enough not to condemn it 
 merely on account of its authorship. Let it be ap- 
 proved or condemned solely on its own intrinsic 
 merits or demerits. 
 
 It is soberly and frankly addressed to the reason, 
 conscience and higher sentiments of mankind — not 
 to their propensities and lower passions. May it 
 be read and responded to accordingly. The honest 
 inquirer will ask: Is it in accordance with divine 
 
XIV 
 
 PREPACK 
 
 truth and righteousness? Search and see. Perhaps 
 the controversial critic will look for its errors, fal- 
 lacies, inconsistencies and assailable points. If there 
 are any such, let them be detected and exposed. 
 This ought to be done ; but let those who undertake 
 it prove themselves workmen that need not be 
 ashamed. Let them be sure that they understand 
 the subject, that they understand precisely what is 
 contended for in this work, and that they are com- 
 petent to refute its fundamental positions by good 
 and sufficient arguments. It is so plain, discriminat- 
 ing and unequivocal in the style of its statements 
 and reasonings, that serious misapprehension or 
 misrepresentation of its meaning will hardly be ex- 
 cusable. It does not court controversy, but if sub- 
 jected to it will be entitled to fair and honorable 
 treatment. 
 
 It is a book for the future rather than the present, 
 and will be better appreciated by the public half a 
 century hence than now. But a better future is 
 even now dawning and it is needed to help develop 
 the coming age of love and peace. A great transi- 
 tion of the human mind has commenced and the 
 reign of military and penal violence must ultimate- 
 ly give place to that of forbearance, forgiveness and 
 mercy. Such a work as this will meet a deepfelt 
 want of many minds scattered up and down Chris- 
 tendom. So strongly was the author persuaded of 
 this fact by various indications, that he felt impelled 
 by a sense of duty to prepare this Manual as a sup- 
 ply for that want. Providentially the worthy friend, 
 who assumes the pecuniary responsibility of its pub- 
 lication, generously came forward to facilitate the 
 
PREFACE 
 
 XV 
 
 object, and thus by a concurrence of effort, it has 
 made its appearance. It is now sent forth on its 
 mission of reconciliation. The author feels a com- 
 fortable assurance that the blessing of the Most 
 High God will accompany it wherever it goes, that 
 it will diffuse light among many that sit in darkness 
 and promote in some humble degree that glorious 
 regeneration of the world for which the good men 
 of all ages have constantly prayed and hoped. 
 
 A. B. 
 
 Hopedale, Mass., April, 1846. 
 
Engraved 1 y H.W. Smith. 
 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Explanatory Definitions. 
 
 Different kinds of Non-Resistance — The term Non-Resis- 
 tance -The term Force, etc. — The term injury, etc. —The 
 term Christian Non-Resistance; its derivation— The key 
 text of Non-Resistance — Necessary applications of Non. 
 Resistance — What a Christian Non-Resistant cannot con- 
 sistently do — The principle and sub-principle of Non-Re- 
 sistance — The conclusion. 
 
 DIFFERENT KINDS OF NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 What is Christian Non Resistance ! It is that orig- 
 inal, peculiar kind of non-resistance, which was en 
 joined and exemplified by Jesus Christ, according to 
 the Scriptures of the New Testament. Are there 
 other kinds of non-resistance t Yes. 1. Philosoph- 
 ical non-resistance of various hue; which sets at 
 nought divine revelation, disregards the authority of 
 Jesus Christ as a divine teacher, excludes all strictly 
 religious considerations, and deduces its conclusions 
 from the light of nature, the supposed fitness of 
 things and the expediency of consequences. 2. Sen- 
 timental non-resistance, also of various hue; which is 
 
2 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON- RESISTANCE. 
 
 held to be the spontaneous dictate of man’s higher 
 sentiments in the advanced stages of his development, 
 transcending all special divine revelations, positive 
 instructions, ratiocination and considerations of ex- 
 pediency. '3. Necessitous non-resistance, commonly 
 expressed in the phrase, “passive obedience and non- 
 resistance,” imperiously preached by despots to their 
 subjects, as their indispensable duty and highest vir- 
 tue; also recommended by worldly prudence to the 
 victims of oppression when unable to offer successful 
 resistance to their iujurers. With this last mentioned 
 kind Christian non-resistance has nothing in com- 
 mon. With philosophical and sentimental non resis- 
 tance it holds much in common; being, in fact, the di- 
 vine original of which they are human adulterations, 
 and embracing all the good of both without the evils 
 of either. This treatise is an illustration and defence 
 of Christian non-resistance, properly so designated. 
 
 THE TERM NON -RESISTANCE. 
 
 The term non-resistance itself next demands atten- 
 tion. It requires very considerable qualifications. I 
 use it as applicable only to the conduct of human be- 
 ings towards human beings — not towards the inferior 
 animals, inanimate things, or Satanic influences. If 
 an opponent, ^willing to make me appear ridiculous, 
 should say — “You are a non-resistant, and therefore 
 must be passive to all assailing beings, things and in- 
 fluences, Up satan, man, beast, bird, serpent, insect, 
 rocks, timbers, fires, floods, heat, cold and storm,” — 
 I should answer, not so; my i on resistance relates 
 solely to conduct between human beings. This is an 
 important limitation of the term. But I go further, 
 and disclaim using the term to express absolute passiv- 
 
CHRISTIAN NON- RESISTANCE. 
 
 3 
 
 ity, even towards human beings. I claim the right 
 to offer the utmost moral resistance, not sinful, of 
 which God has made me capable, to every manifesta- 
 tion of evil among mankind. Nay, I hold it my duty 
 to offer such, moral resistance. In this sense my very 
 non-resistance becomes the highest kind of resistance 
 to evil. This is another important qualification of 
 the term. Bid I do not stop here. There is an uniu- 
 jurious, benevolent physical force. There are cases in 
 which it would not only be allowable, but in the high- 
 est degree commendable, to restrain human beings by 
 this kind of force. Thus, maniacs, the insane, the de- 
 
 lirious sick, ill uatured children, the intellectually or 
 morally non-compos mentis, the intoxicated and the 
 violently passionate, are frequently disposed to perpe- 
 trate outrages and indict injuries, either on them- 
 selves or others, which ought to be kindly and unin- 
 juriously prevented by the muscular energy of their 
 friends. And in cases where deadly violence is in- 
 dicted with deliberation and malice aforethought, one 
 may nobly throw his body as a temporary barrier be- 
 tween the destroyer and his helpless victim, choosing 
 to die in that"position, rather than be a passive spec- 
 tator. Thus another most important qualification is 
 given to the term non-resistance. It is not non-resis- 
 tance to animals and inanimate things, nor to satan, 
 but only to human beings. Nor is i? moral non resis- 
 tance to human beings, but chiefly physical. Nor is 
 it physical non-resistance to all human beings, under 
 all circumstances, but only so far as to abstain totally 
 from the infliction of personal injury, as a means of 
 resistance .“jit is simply non-resistance of injury with 
 injury— evil with evil. 
 
 Will the opposer exclaim — “This is no non-resist- 
 
4 
 
 Oil R ISTI AN NON-RESISTANCE . 
 
 ance at all; the term is mischoseu !” I answer. >So 
 said the old opposers of the Temperance Reformation, 
 respecting the term £< total abstinence.” They began 
 by insisting that the term must be taken unqualifiedly, 
 and pronounced total abstinence an absurdity. It 
 was replied — “we limit its application to the use of 
 ardent spirits and intoxicating liquors.” “Then 
 you exclude these substances from the arts and from 
 external applications, do you?” rejoined the opposers. 
 ££ No, ” replied the advocates of the cause, “ we mean 
 total abstinence from the internal use — the drinking ot 
 those liquors.” “ But are they not sometimes neces- 
 sary for medical purposes ?” said the opposers, “and 
 then may they not be taken internally?’ ’ “Certainly, 
 with proper precautions, was the reply; we mean 
 by total abstinence, precisely this and no more — the 
 entire disuse of all ardent spirits and intoxicating 
 liquors, as a beverage. ’ f ‘ ‘That, ’ ’ exclai med the ob - 
 
 jectors, (despairing of a reductio ad absurdam ,) “ is 
 no total abstinence at all; the term is mischoseu ! 
 Nevertheless, it was a most significant term. It had 
 in it an almost talismanic power. It expressed 
 better than any other just what was meant, and 
 wrought a prodigious change in public opinion and 
 practice. The term non-resistance is equally signifi- 
 cant and talismanic. It signifies total absinence 
 from all resistance of injury with injury. It is thus 
 far non-resistance — no farther. 
 
 The almost universal opinion and practice of man- 
 kind has been on the side of resistance of injury with 
 injury. It has been held justifiable and necessary, for 
 individuals and nations to inflict any amount of injury 
 which would effectually resist a supposed greater in- 
 jury. The consequence has been universal suspicion, 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 5 
 
 defiance, armament, violence, torture and bloodshed. 
 The earth has been rendered a vast slaughter- field — a 
 theatre of reciprocal cruelty and vengeance — strewn 
 with human skulls, reeking with human blood, re- 
 sounding with human groans, and steeped with hu- 
 man tears. Men have become drunk with mutual re- 
 venge; and they who could inflict the greatest amount 
 of injury, in pretended defence of life, honor, rights, 
 property, institutions and laws, have been idolized as 
 the heroes and rightful sovereigns of the world. Non- 
 resistance explodes this horrible delusion; announces 
 the impossibility of overcoming evil with evil; and, 
 making its appeal directly to all the injured of the hu- 
 man race, enjoins on them, in the name of God, never 
 more to resist injury with injury; assuring them that 
 by adhering to the law of love under all provocations, 
 aud scrupulously suffering wrong rather than inflict- 
 ing it, they shall gloriously “overcome evil with 
 good,” and exterminate all their enemies by turn- 
 ing them into faithful friends. 
 
 THE TERM FORCE, ETC. 
 
 Having thus qualified and defined the term non- 
 resistance, it would seem proper to do the same with 
 several others, frequently made use of in tlie discus- 
 sion of our general subject. On§ of these terms is 
 force. Non-resistants, like others, have been in the- 
 habit of using this, and similar terms too loosely; there- 
 by giving needless occasion for misunderstanding, on 
 the part of the uninformed, and misrepresentation on 
 the part of interested opposers. The word force, is 
 thus defined by Walker, “strength, vigor, might, 
 violence, virtue, efficacy, validness, power of law, 
 armament, warlike preparations, destiny, necessity, 
 
6 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 fatal compulsion.” Now it' we should use tlie word 
 force, as the contrary of non-resistance, without any 
 qualification, the idea would be conveyed that non- 
 resistance was identical with absolute passivity, and 
 that it necessarily excluded all kinds and degrees of 
 force, under all circumstances whatsoever. The gen- 
 eric meaning of the term force, is ‘ -Strength, vigor, 
 might,” whether physical or moral. Thus we may 
 speak of the force of love, the force of truth, the 
 force of public opinion, the force of moral suasion, 
 the force of non resistance. Or we may speak of 
 the force of gravitation, the force of cohesion the 
 force of repulsion, &c. Or in relation to the mus- 
 cular force of human beings, we may speak of benev- 
 olent force, kind force, uninjurious force; meaning 
 thereby, various applications of muscular strength for 
 the purpose of preventing human beings committing 
 on themselves or others some injury; in which pre- 
 vention no personal injury is inflicted, but real kind- 
 ness and. benefit done to all parties concerned. As 
 non resistance is not identical with absolute passivity 
 but- allows, implies and requires various kinds and 
 degrees of moral and physical “strength,” according 
 to circumstances, the term force must not be used as 
 its converse unless it be with such qualifications, or 
 in such a connection, as will give it some one of its con- 
 ventional significations, so that it shall mean violence, 
 warlike force, positive vengeance, destructive force 
 — in fine, injurious force. Injurious force of all 
 kinds and degrees, between human beings, is incom- 
 patible with non -resistance. Such are the qualifications 
 with which the term force will be used in this work. 
 
 The term moral force will be understood from the 
 preceding remarks, as synonymous with moral power 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 7 
 
 — tlie effective influence of moral “strength, vigor, 
 might.” Physical force, as distinguished from moral 
 force, is a term used to express the idea of. material 
 force, the action of one body on another, compelling 
 the weaker to yield to the stronger by mere animal 
 strength or mechanical power. As moral force may 
 be either good or evil, injurious or uninjurious, ac- 
 cording to its kind, its object, its spirit, or its man- 
 ner of application; so may physical force be good or 
 evil, injurious or uninjurious, according to the same 
 considerations. When a licentious man corrupts the 
 mind of an innocent youth by bad examples, bad 
 counsel, bad maxims, and other evil influences, in 
 which there is no physical force, he exerts a most in- 
 jurious moral force. He demoralizes the principles 
 and habits of one, whom he ought to encourage and 
 confirm in virtue. When a good mau converts a sin- 
 ner from the error of his ways, by good examples, 
 counsels, maxims and other purifying influences, he 
 exerts a most beneficent and salutary moral force. So 
 when a mau by physical force destroys or impairs the 
 life, intellect, moral sentiment, or absolute welfare of 
 a human being, he uses an injurious physical force. 
 But in restraining a madman from outrage, or holding 
 a delirious sick person on the bed, or compelling an 
 ill-natured child to desist from tearing out the hair of 
 a weaker brother, or interposing his body and mus- 
 cular strength to prevent rape, or any similar act, 
 wherein he does no one a real injury, while he renders 
 to some or all the parties concerned a real benefit, he 
 uses a rightful, uninjurious, physical force. 
 
 THE TERM INJURY. 
 
 * 
 
 I use this term in a somewhat peculiar sense, to sig.- 
 
8 
 
 CHRISTIAN N ON -RESISTANCE . 
 
 mfy any moral influence or physical force exerted by 
 one human being upon another, the legitimate effect 
 of which is to destroy or impair life, to destroy or im- 
 pair the physical faculties, to destroy or impair the in- 
 tellectual powers, to destroy, impair or pervert the 
 moral and religious sentiment, or to destroy or impair 
 the absolute welfare, all things considered, of the per- 
 son on whom such influence or force is exerted, 
 whether that person be innocent or guilty, harmless, 
 or offensive, injurious or uninjurious, sane or insane, 
 compos mentis or non- compos, adult or infant. Some 
 of the lexicographers define an “injury” to be “hurt, 
 harm or mischief, unjustly done to a person;” thereby 
 implying that any hurt, harm or mischief done to one 
 who deserves nothing better, or can be considered as 
 justly liable to it, is no injury at all. I reject entirely 
 every such qualification of tne term. I hold an injury 
 to be an injury, whether deserved or undeserved, wheth- 
 er intended or unintended, whether well meant or ill 
 meant, determining the fact in accordance with the 
 foregoing definition. But, says the inquirer— “ what 
 if it can be proved justifiable, by the law of God, to 
 inflict personal injury in certain cases on the offensive 
 and guilty ? ” Then, of course, it will be proved that 
 non-resistance is a false doctrine. “ What if it can be 
 proved that the infliction of small injuries may pre- 
 vent much greater evils?” Then it will be proved 
 that we may do evil that good may come, which will 
 forever keep the world just where it is. “ What if it 
 can be mown that the person who inflicts an injury 
 honestly intended it for a benefit l” That will only 
 prove him honestly mistaken, and so undeserving of 
 blame. “ What if a man inflicts death or any other 
 injury, according to established human laws, but dees 
 
C'H R 1ST TAN NON- EESI STANCE . 
 
 y 
 
 it without malice, or revenue, or any malevolent in- 
 tent!” Then he does an anti-Christian act, without 
 conscience as to its real nature. The act must be con- 
 demned; he must be credited for his motives; due allow - 
 ante must be made for his misapprehension of duty; 
 and light poured into his mind to superinduce a bet- 
 ter conscience, that he may be brought to act the 
 Christian part. But in no case must we lose sight of 
 the inquiry, whether an injury has been done. And in 
 determining this, we must not ask whether the recip- 
 ient were guilty or innocent, whether the thing done 
 were well or ill intended, whether it were done in a 
 right or a wrong spirit. If it be in fact an injury, it is 
 contrary to the doctrine of Christian non-resistance; 
 and no person knowing it to be such can repeat it un- 
 der any pretest whatsoever, without violating the law 
 of God. This is the sense and signification of the 
 terms injury, injurer, injurious, &c., as used in these 
 pages. 'The objector may here interpose critical 
 queries, with a view to test the soundness of my defi- 
 nition. He may suppose that a man’s leg, hand or 
 eye, is so diseased as to require amputation in order 
 to save his life. But such member is one of his phy- 
 sical faculties, which must not be destroyed or im- 
 paired, because that would be an injury. I answer. 
 The diseased member is already lost. The question 
 is not whether the friendly surgeon shall destroy or 
 impair it; but only whether he shall amputate it, in 
 order to preserve the life and remaining faculties. No 
 injury, but an absolute benefit is proposed. This case 
 is clear. But suppose the minister of the law is or- 
 dered to amputate a sound leg, hand or eye, as a pun- 
 ishment, or for an example to deter others from the 
 commission of crime. This is absolute injury, done 
 
10 
 
 CHRISTIAN- NON- RESIST A NC E . 
 
 under good pretexts indeed, but on that account none 
 the less an injury. Again, a child dangerously sick re- 
 quires some medical application, very disagreeable, 
 yet indispensable to his recovery, which can only be 
 applied by physical force. Or an insane adult is in 
 the same circumstances. Or a person infected with 
 hydrophobia, and subject to terrible paroxysms of the 
 disease, needs to be confined; and yet for want of 
 judgment, even in his intervals, refuses to be. Or a 
 man subject to violent impulses of propensity or pas- 
 sion, renderi ng him dangerous to all around him when 
 excited, needs to be excluded from general society, or 
 otherwise watched and restrained by keepers in order 
 to prevent serious mischief to others; and yet he re- 
 sents and resists all entreaties to submit to such re- 
 striction. Or a wicked man is exceedingly alarmed 
 disturbed and offended by a truthful exposure of his 
 iniquitous proceedings, or by the faithful remon- 
 strances and rebukes of some good man. Now in all 
 such cases the will must be crossed, the personal free- 
 dom abridged, and the feelings pained. Must it not 
 be an injury to coerce, restrain, expose and reprove 
 such persons, however necessary to tliMy and the pub- 
 lic good, and however kindly executed? Is it not gen- 
 erally more intolerable to be crossed in one’s will, and 
 wounded in one’s feelings, than to be beaten, maimed 
 and otherwise maltreated ? Answer. It is not man’s 
 imaginations, thoughts and feelings, that determine 
 what is or is not injurious to him. Love itself may 
 “heap coals of fire on a man’s head. ” Truth may 
 torment his mind. The most benevolent restraint 
 may be painful to his feelings. He may be made, for 
 a while, quite unhappy by crossing his evil will. He 
 may prefer to be smitten and mutilated, rather than 
 
CHRISTIAN NON- R ESIST ANCE . 
 
 11 
 
 be exposed in his secret iniquities, or endure the faith- 
 ful reproof of the upright. Such persons often prefer 
 an injury to a benefit. They are not. for the time be- 
 ing, in a state of mind to understand and choose what 
 is best for them. Therefore their wills, feeliugs and 
 opinions are not the indices of their own good — much 
 less that of others. Is it good for a capricious, obstiu- 
 ate'child to be indulged in opposing a necessary medi- 
 cal application ? Is it good for an insane or delirious, 
 sick adult to have his own will, even to the commis- 
 sion of murder and self-destruction ? Is it good for a 
 man to have unlimited freedom, when he will almost 
 certainly make it a curse to himself and others, by 
 gross involuntary outrage, or uncontrollable passion? 
 Is it good for a wicked man, under specious hypocriti- 
 cal disguises, to perpetrate the most atrocious mis- 
 chief, unexposed and unreproved ? These things are 
 not good for mankind. On the contrary, it is good 
 for them to be crossed, restrained, coerced and re- 
 proved, by all uuinjurious moral and physical forces, 
 which benevolence prompts and wisdom dictates. To 
 ■cross their wills, and pain their feelings, by such 
 means, under such circumstances, is not an injury, but 
 a substantial good, 'to them and to all who are con- 
 nected with them. It may be said— “ these things 
 cannot be done uu injuriously. It would be impractic- 
 able. ” Cannot unreasonable children be nursed, de- 
 lirious adults controlled, dangerously distempered 
 people prevented from doing themselves and others 
 harm, outrageous non- compos persons restrained, hyp- 
 ocrites exposed, and sinners reproved without inflict- 
 ing injury on them ! Then can nothing good be done 
 without doing evil. Imperfection is indeed inciden- 
 tal to all human judgment and conduct; and therefore 
 
12 
 
 CHRISTIAN NOX-EESISTANCE. 
 
 it is probable that some mistakes and some accidental; 
 injuries might happen. But the reason and common 
 sense of mankind, once fairly pledged to the true 
 principle of action, would seldom fail to discharge all 
 these duties to general satisfaction. Still it may be 
 asked: “What is to be done if uniujurious force should 
 prove inadequate? May life be sacrificed, limbs 
 broken, the flesh mangled, or any other injuries al- 
 lowed in extreme cases?” Never. The principle of 
 non-injury must be held inviolable. It is worth worlds 
 and must be preserved at all hazards. What cannot 
 be done uninjuriously must be left undone. But these 
 extreme cases are mostly imaginary. The truth is, 
 that what cannot be done uninjuriously can scarcely 
 ever be done at all. Or if done, had better have been 
 let alone. Experience in the case of the insane has 
 already proved that incomparably more can be done 
 by uniujurious forces, scrupulously and judiciously 
 employed, than by any admixtures of the injurious ele- 
 ment. Presuming that my definition and use of the 
 terms injure, injury, iujurer, injurious, &c., cannot be 
 misunderstood, I pass on. 
 
 THE TEEM CHBISTIAN NON- RESISTANCE. 
 
 Whence originated the term Christian non-resistance? 
 Non-resistance comes from the injunction, “resist not 
 evil,” Matt. 5: 39. The words “resist not,” being 
 changed from the form of a verb to that of a substan- 
 tive, give us non resistance. This term is considered 
 more strikingly significant than any other of the prin- 
 ciple involved, and the duty enjoined in our Saviours 
 precept. Hence its adoption and established use. It 
 is denominated Christian non-resistance, to distin- 
 guish it, as the genuine primitive doctrine, from mere 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 13 
 
 philosophical, sentimental and necessitous non-resist- 
 ance. Literally, then. Christian non resistance is the 
 original non-resistance taught and exemplified by 
 Jesus Christ; the bearings, limitations aud applications 
 of which are to be learned from the Scriptures of the 
 Xew Testament. 
 
 And what are those bearings, limitations and appli- 
 cations .’ I have already given an imperfect view of 
 them in the previous definitions. But I will be more 
 explicit. What I aim at is to carry the obligations of 
 non-resistance just as far and no farther than Jesus 
 Christ has done. It is easy to go beyond, or to fall 
 short of his limits. Ultra radicals go beyond him. 
 Ultra conservatives fall short of him. Even those of 
 both these classes, who profess to abide implicitly by 
 his teachings, construe .and interpret his language so 
 as to favor their respective errors. The ultra radi- 
 cals seize on strong figurative, hyperbolic, or intensive 
 forms of expression, and make him seem to mean 
 much more than he could have intended. The ultra 
 conservatives ingeniously fritter away and nullify the 
 very essence of his precepts, in such a manner as to 
 make him seem to mean much less than he must have 
 intended. There is, however, a general rule for such 
 cases, which can scarcely fail to expose the errors of 
 both classes, in respect to any given text. It is this: 
 “Consider the context; consider parallel texts; con- 
 sider examples; consider the known spirit of Christi- 
 anity. ” Any construction or interpretation of the 
 recorded language of Christ, or of his apostles, in 
 which all these concur, is sound. Any other is prob- 
 ably erroneous. 
 
 THE KEY TEXT OF N O^T - RESISTANCE. 
 
 Xow let us examine Matt. 5: 39. “I say unto you, 
 
14 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 resist- not evil,”&c. This single text, from which, as- 
 lias been stated, the term non-resistance took its rise, 
 if justly construed, furnishes a complete key to the 
 true bearings, limitations and applications of the doc- 
 trine under discussion. This is precisely one of those 
 precepts which may be easily made to mean much 
 more, or much less, than its author intended. It is in 
 the intensive, condensed form of expression, and can 
 be understood only by a due regard to its context. 
 What did the divine Teacher mean by the word “evil,” 
 and what by the word “resist?” There are several 
 kinds of evil. 1. Pain, loss, damage, suffered from 
 causes involving no moral agency, or natural evil. 2. 
 Sin in general, or moral evil. 3. Temptations to sin, 
 or spiritual evil; and 4. Personal wrong, insult, out- 
 rage, injury — or personal evil. Which of these kinds 
 of evil does the context show to have been in our 
 Saviour’s mind when he said, “resist not evil?” Was 
 he speaking of fires, floods, famine, disease, serpents, 
 wild beasts, or any other mere natural evil agent 1 -' ? 
 No. Then of course he does not prohibit our resist- 
 ing such evil. Was he speaking of sin in general? 
 No. Then of course he does not prohibit our resist- 
 ing such evil by suitable means. Was he speaking of 
 temptations addressed to our propensities and pas- 
 sions, enticing us to commit sin? No. Then of 
 course he does not prohibit our resisting the devil, 
 withstanding the evil suggestions of our own carnal 
 mind, and suppressing our evil lusts. Was he speak- 
 ing of personal evil, injury personally inflicted by man 
 on man? Yes. “Ye have heard that it hath been 
 said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth ; but T 
 say unto you that ye resist not evil,” i. e. personal 
 outrage, insult, affront — injury. The word “evil,” 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE . 
 
 15 
 
 necessarily means, in this connection, personal injury 
 or evil inflicted by human beings on human beings. 
 
 But what did Jesus mean by the words ‘ ‘resist not?’ ’ 
 There are various kinds of resistance, which may be 
 offered to personal injury, when threatened or ac- 
 tually inflicted. There is passive resistance — a dead 
 silence, a sullen inertia, a complete muscular help- 
 lessness — an utter refusal to speak or move. Does 
 the contest show that Jesus contemplated, pro or con, 
 any such resistance in his prohibition ? No. There 
 is an active, righteous, moral resistance — a meek, firm 
 remonstrance, rebuke, reproof, protestation. Does 
 the connection show that Jesus prohibits this kind of 
 resistance ? Xu. There is an active, firm, compound, 
 moral and physical resistance, uninjurious to the evil 
 doer, and only calculated to restrain him from deadly 
 violence or extreme outrage. Was Jesus contemplat- 
 ing such modes of resisting personal injury 1 ? Does 
 the context show that he intended to prohibit all re- 
 sistance of evil by such means? Xo. There is a de- 
 termined resistance of personal injury by means of 
 injury inflict?d; as when a man deliberately takes life 
 to save life, destroys an assailant’s eye to save an eye, 
 inflicts a violent blow to prevent a blow; or, as when, 
 in retaliation, he takes life for life, eye for eye, tooth 
 for tooth, hand for hand, &c. ; or, as when, by means 
 of governmental agencies, he causes an injurious per- 
 son to be punished by the infliction of some injury 
 equivalent to the one he has inflicted or attempted. 
 It was of such resistance as this, that our Saviour was 
 speaking. It is such resistance as this that he pro- 
 hibits. His obvious doctrine is: Resist not person- 
 al injury with personal injury. I shall have occasion 
 to press this point more conclusively in the next chap- 
 
16 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 ter, when presenting my Scriptural proofs. Enough 
 has been said to determine the important bearings and 
 limitations of the general doctrine. It bears on all 
 mankind, in every social relation of life. It con- 
 templates men as actually injured, or in imminent 
 danger of being injured, by their fellow men; and 
 commands them to abstain from all personal injuries 
 either as a means of retaliation, self-defence, or sup- 
 pression of injury. If smitten on the one cheek, they 
 must submit the other to outrage, rather than smite 
 back. If the life of their dearest friend has been 
 taken, or an eye or a tooth thrust out, or any other 
 wrong been done to themselves or their fellow men, 
 they must not render evil for evil, or railing for rail- 
 ing, or hatred for hatred. But they are not prohibited 
 from resisting, opposing, preventing, or counteract- 
 ing the injuries inflicted, attempted or threatened by 
 man on man, in the use of any absolutely uuinjurious 
 forces, whether moral or physical. On the contrary, 
 il is their bounden duty, by all such benevolent re- 
 sistances, to promote the safety and welfare, the holi- 
 ness and happiness of all human beings, as opportu- 
 nity may offer. 
 
 NECESSARY APPLICATIONS OF NON RESISTANCE . 
 
 The necessary applications of the doctrine, are to all 
 cases in human intercourse where man receives ag- 
 gressive injury from man, or is presumed to be in im- 
 minent danger of receiving it: i. e., to all cases where- 
 in the injury of man upon man, is either to be repelled, 
 punished or prevented There are four general posi- 
 tions in which human beings may stand to resist injury 
 with injury. 1. As individuals; 2. As a lawless com- 
 bination of individuals; 3. As members of allowable 
 
CHRISTIAN NON RESISTANCE. 
 
 17 
 
 voluntary associations; aucl 4. As constituent sup- 
 porters of human government in its State or National 
 sovereignty. Standing in either of these positions, 
 they can resist injury with injury, either in immedi- 
 ate self-defence, in retaliation or by vindictive pun- 
 ishments. As individuals, they may act immediately 
 by their own personal energies, or they may act 
 through their agents — persons employed to execute 
 their will. Connected with a lawless combination, they 
 may act directly in open co-operative violence, or 
 clandestinely, or through select agents, or in a more 
 general manner through their acknowledged leaders. 
 As members of allowable voluntary associations, they 
 may exert a powerful influence, without any deeds of 
 violence, by means of speech, the press, education. re- 
 ligion, Ac., to delude, corrupt, prejudice and insti- 
 gate to evil the minds of mankind one toward another. 
 Thus designedly to stimulate, predispose and lead 
 men to commit personal injury, under pretence of 
 serving God and humanity, is essentially the same 
 thing as directly resisting injury with injury by phy- 
 sical means. The mischief may be much greater, the 
 moral responsibility certainly no less. As constituent 
 supporters of human government, (whether civil or 
 military, or a compound of both,) in its State or Nat- 
 ional sovereignty, men are morally responsible for 
 all constitutions, institutions, laws, processes and 
 usages which they have pledged themselves to support, 
 or which they avowedly approve, or which they de- 
 pend upon as instrumentalities for securing and pro- 
 moting their personal welfare, or in which they acqui- 
 esce without positive remonstrance and disfellowship. 
 Thus if a political compact, a civil or military league, 
 covenant or constitution, requires, authorizes, pro- 
 
18 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 A ides for or tolerates war, bloodshed, capital punish- 
 ment, slavery, or any kind of absolute inj ury, offensive 
 or defensive, the man who swears, affirms or otherwise 
 pledges himself to support such a compact, league, 
 covenant or constitution, is just as responsible for 
 every act of injury done in strict conformity thereto, 
 as if he himself personally committed it. He is not re- 
 sponsible for abuses and violations of the constitution. 
 But for all that is constitutionally done he is respon- 
 sible. The army is his army, the navy his navy, the 
 militia his militia, the gallows his gallows, the pillory 
 his pillory, the whipping post his Avhippiug post, the 
 branding iron his branding iron, the prison his prison, 
 the dungeon his dungeon, and the slaveholding his 
 slaveholding. When the constitutional majority de- 
 clare war, it is his war. All the slaughter, rapine, 
 ravages, robbery, destruction and mischief committed 
 under that declaration, in accordance with the laws of 
 war, are his. Nor can he exculpate himself by plead, 
 ing that he Avas one of a strenuous anti-war minority in 
 the government. He was in the government. He had 
 sworn, affirmed or otherwise pledged himself, that the 
 majority should have discretionary power to declare 
 war. He tied up his hands Avith that anti-Christian 
 obligation, to stand by the majority in all the crimes 
 and abominations inseparable from war. It is there- 
 fore his war, its murders are his murders, its hoirible 
 injuries on humanity are his injuries. They are all 
 committed with his solemn sanction. There is no es- 
 cape from this terrible moral responsibility but by a 
 conscientious withdrawal from such government, and 
 an uncompromising protest against so much of its 
 fundamental creed and constitutional law, as is de- 
 cidedly anti-Christian. He must cease to be its pledged 
 supporter, and approving dependent. 
 
CHRISTIAN NON- RESISTANCE . 
 
 13 
 
 WHAT A CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANT CANNOT 
 CONSISTENTLY DO. 
 
 It will appear from tlie foregoing exposition, that a^- 
 true Christian non-resistant can not, with, deliberate in- 
 tent, knowledge or conscious voluntariness, compro- 
 mise his principles by either of the following acts. 
 
 1. He cannot kill, maim or otherwise absolutely in- 
 jure any human being, in personal self defence, or for 
 the sake of his family, or any thing he holds dear. 
 
 2. He cannot participate in any lawless conspiracy, 
 mob, riotous assembly, or disorderly combination of 
 individuals, to cause or countenance the commission 
 of any such absolute personal injury. 
 
 3 He cannot be a member of any voluntary assoc i ' 
 ation, however orderly, respectable or allowable by 
 law and general consent, which deelaratively holds as 
 fundamental truth, or claims as an e.ssential right, or 
 distinctly inculcates as sound doctrine, or approves as 
 commendable in practice, war, capital punishment, 
 or any other absolute personal injury. 
 
 4. He cannot be an officer or private, chaplain or re- 
 tainer, in the army, navy or militia of any nation, 
 state, or chieftain. 
 
 5. He cannot be an officer, elector, agent, legal 
 prosecutor, passive constituent, or approver of any 
 government, as a sworn or otherwise pledged sup- 
 porter thereof, whose civil constitution and funda- 
 mental laws, require, authorize or tolerate Avar, sla- 
 A-ery, capital punishment, or the infliction of any ab- 
 solute personal injury. 
 
 6. He cannot be a member of any chartered corpor- 
 ation or body politic, Avhose articles of compact oblige 
 or authorize its official functionaries to resort for com- 
 
“20 
 
 < H RIST IAN NON- RESIST ANC E . 
 
 pulsory aid in the conducting of its affairs, to a gov 
 eminent of constitutional violence. 
 
 7. Finally, he cannot do any act, either in person 
 or by proxy; nor abet or encourage any act in others; 
 nor demand, petition for, request, advise or approve 
 $he doing of any act, by an individual, association or 
 government, which act would inflict, threaten to in- 
 flict, or necessarily cause to be inflicted, any absolute 
 personal injury, as herein before defined. 
 
 Such are the necessary bearings, limitations and 
 applications of the doctrine of Christian non-resistance. 
 Lei, the reader be careful not to misunderstand the 
 positions laid down. The platform of principle and 
 action has been carefully founded, and its essential 
 peculiarities plainly delineated. Let it not be said 
 that the doctrine goes against all religion, govern- 
 ment, social organization, constitutions, laws, order, 
 rules, and regulations. It goes against none of these 
 dfiiiugs per se. It goes for them in the highest and 
 best sense. It goes only against such religion, govern- 
 ment, social organization, constitutions, laws, order, 
 rules, regulations and restraints, as are unequivocally 
 contrary to the law of Christ; as sanction taking “life 
 if or life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth;” as are based on 
 the assumption, that it is right to resist injury with in 
 jury, evil with evil. 
 
 -THE PRINCIPLE AND SUB-PRINCIPLE OF NON-RESIS- 
 TANCE. 
 
 ''This chapter may be profitably concluded with a 
 brief consideration of the doctrine under discussion 
 with respect to the principle from which it proceeds, 
 to the sub-principle which is its immediate moral basis, 
 and to the rule of duty in which all its applications 
 
CHE ISTIAX XOX-B ESISTAXCE . 
 
 21 
 
 are comprehended. What is the principle from, 
 which it proceeds ? It is a principle from the inmost 
 bosom of God. It proceeds from all perfect loye 
 that absolute, iudependeut. unerringly wise. holy love, 
 which distinguishes the Divine from all inferior 
 natures, and which, transfused into the natural sen- 
 timent of human benevolence, superinduces the high- 
 est order of goodness. Of this it is said — --Love 
 worketh no ill to his neighbor; therefore love is the- 
 fulfilling of the law.” Or as the amiable John ex- 
 pressed it — “He that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in 
 God, and God in him. ” This love is not mere natur- 
 al affection, nor sentimental passion, but a pure, en- 
 lightened, conscientious principle. It is a divine spring 
 of action, which intuitively and spontaneously dictates 
 the doing of good to others, whether they do good or- 
 evil. It operates independently of external influences, 
 and being in its nature absolutely unselfish, is not 
 affected by the merit or demerit of its objects. It 
 does not inquire, ‘ ‘Am I loved % have I been benefittedt 
 have my merits been appreciated ? shall I be blessed 
 in return? Or, am I hated, injured, cursed and con- 
 temned?” Whether others love or hate, bless or 
 curse, benefit or injure, it says, “I will do right; I will 
 love still; I will bless; I will never injure even the 
 most injurious; I will overcome evil with good”* 
 Therefore its goodness is not measured by or adjusted, 
 to the goodness of others, but ever finds in itself V- 
 sufficient reason for doing good and nothing but good 
 to all moral agents. Jesus, in whom flowed the full 
 current of this diving love, the sublime efflux of the- 
 heavenly nature, laying hold of the great command- 
 ment, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,’ * 
 drew it forth front the qrk of the Mosaic Testament. 
 
22 
 
 CHE 1ST I AN NON - E ESISTANCE . 
 
 all mildewed and dusky with human misapprehension, 
 and struck from it the celestial fire. The true prin- 
 ciple was in it, but men could not clearly perceive it, 
 much less appreciate its excellency. He showed that 
 the “ neighbor” intended was any human being, a 
 stranger, an enemy, a bitter foe— any one needing 
 relief, or in danger of suffering through our selfishness, 
 anger or contempt — the greatest criminal, the veriest 
 wretch of our race. Hence, knowing that the entire 
 wisdom of this world had justified injury to injurers, 
 hatred to enemies, and destruction to destroyers, he re- 
 versed the ancient maxims, abrogated the law of retal- 
 iation, and proclaimed the duty of uni i noted forbear- 
 ance, mercy and kindness. Imperfect religion, world- 
 ly minded philosophy, and vindictive selfishness had 
 concurrently declared u there is a point beyond which 
 forbearance ceases to be a virtue.” He swept 
 away this heartless delusion with a divine breath, 
 and sublimely taught obedient and everlasting ad- 
 herence to the law of love, as well toward offend- 
 ers, injurers and enemies, as toward benefactors, 
 lovers, and friends. “ I say unto you, take not life 
 for life, eye for eye, and tooth for tooth. Smite 
 not the smiter to save thine own cheek. Give to him 
 that asketh, and turn not the borrower away. Love 
 your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to 
 them that hate you, and pray for them which despite- 
 fullyuse you and persecute you; that ye may be the 
 children of your Father in Heaven. For he maketh 
 his sun to rise on the evil and the good, andsendeth rain 
 on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love, and 
 salute, and do good to them that love you, what are 
 ye better than the publicans V’ Be like your Father 
 in Heaven. Such is the true light radiated from 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 23 
 
 the bosom of the Infinite Father, and reflected on 
 this benighted world from the face of Jesus Christ. 
 What are the puerile sentimentalisms of effeminate 
 poets, or the gossamer elaborations of the world’s 
 philosophers, or the incantations of solemn but vin- 
 dictive religionists, compared with the divine excel- 
 lency of Truth, as it distilled in the language of the 
 Messiah . 
 
 All-perfect, independent, self-sustaining, unswerv- 
 able love — divine love — is the principle from which 
 Christian non-resistance proceeds. What is the sub- 
 principle which constitutes its immediate moral basis? 
 The essential efficacy of good, as the counteracting 
 force with which to resist evil. The wisdom of this 
 worll has relied on the efficacy of injury, terror, 
 evil, to resist evil. It has trusted in this during all 
 past time. It has educated the human race to believe 
 that their welfare and security depended mainly on 
 their power to inflict injury on offenders. Hence it 
 lias been their constant endeavor to possess a suffi- 
 ciency of injurious means to overawe their enemies, 
 and terrify their encroaching fellow-men. Their lan- 
 guage has been, ‘‘keep your distance; touch not my 
 property; insult not my honor; infringe not my rights, 
 assail not my person; be just and respectful; yield to 
 my convenience, and be my friend; or I will let slip 
 the dogs of war; you shall feel the weight of my ven- 
 geance; I will inflict unendurable injuries on you 
 death itself, torture, imprisonment in a loathsome dun 
 geon, pains and penalties, shall be your portion. I 
 will do you incomparably greater evil, than you 
 -can do me. Therefore be afraid, and let me alone.” 
 And so perfectly befooled are the children of this 
 world, with faith in injury as their chief ultimate se- 
 
24 
 
 CH K 1ST I A X NON-RESISTANCE . 
 
 curity, that scarcely one in a thousand will at first 
 thought allow the non-resistance doctrine to be any- 
 thing better than a proclamation of cowardice on one 
 side, and of universal anarchy, lawlessness and vio- 
 lence on the other. As if all mankind were so en- 
 tirely controlled by the dread of deadly, or, at least 
 tremendous personal injury, that if this were relin- 
 quished a man’s throat would be instantly cut, his 
 family assassinated, or some horrible mischief indicted. 
 Very few know how entirely they trust for defence 
 and security iu this grim and bloody god of human in- 
 jury. They have enshrined him in the sword, the 
 gibbet and the dungeon. They worship him in armies, 
 navies, militia organizations, battle ships, forts, arsen- 
 als, penal statutes, judicial indictions. pistols, daggers 
 and bowie knives. And if we propose to lay all these 
 evils aside, and go for nothing but uninjurions, bene- 
 ficent treatment of transcending mankind never, 
 even with the most outrageous, the limits of drm, but 
 friendly personal restraint, lo, they cry out with 
 alarm, “these have come hither that turn the world up- 
 side down ! ” “ Torment us not before the time ! ry 
 
 “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!” “Great is the sword, 
 the halter, thesalutary powerto kill or injure sinners at 
 discretion! What would become of human society, if 
 war, capital and other injurious punishments should 
 be abolished ! ” On this altar they liwre sacrificed! 
 human beings enough to people twenty such planets 
 as the earth, with no other success than to confirm and 
 systematize violence throughout the whole habitable 
 globe. And yet injury is their god, and at his gory 
 altar of revenge and cruelty they are resolved forever 
 to worship, amid the clangor of deadly weapons, and 
 the groans of a bleeding world. 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 THE CONCLUSION. 
 
 Bat tlie Son of the Highest, the great self-sacrific- 
 iug Xon-Resistant, is our prophet, priest and king. 
 Though the maddened inhabitants of the earth have 
 so long turned a deaf ear to his voice, he shall yet be 
 heard. He declares that good is the only antagonist 
 of evil, which can conquer the deadly foe. Therefore 
 he enjoins on his disciples the duty of resisting evil 
 only with good. This is the sub-principle of Chris- 
 tian non-resistance. “ Evil can be overcome only 
 with good. ” Faith, then, in the inherent superiority 
 of good over evil, truth over error, right over wrong, 
 love over hatred, is the immediate moral basis of our 
 doctrine. Accordingly we transfer all the faith we 
 have been taught to cherish in injury, to beneficence, 
 kindness, and uninjurious treatment, as the only all- 
 sufficient enginery of war against evil doers. Xo 
 longer seeking or expecting to put down evil with evil, 
 we lift up the cross for an ensign, and surmounting it 
 with the glorious banner of love, exult in the divine 
 motto displayed on its immaculate folds, “ resist not 
 injury with injury. " Let this in all future time 
 be the specific rule of our conduct, the magnetic 
 ueeclle of our pathway across the troubled waters 01 
 human reform, till all men. all governments and all. 
 social institutions shall have been moulded into moral 
 harmony with the grand comprehensive command- 
 ment of the living God ” — “ thou shalt love thy 
 neighbor as thyself. ” Then shall Love (God by 
 his sublimest name) “ be all in all. 
 
 The earth, so long a slaughter-field,, 
 
 Shall yet an Eden bloom; 
 
 The tiger to the lamb shall yield, 
 
 And War descend the tomb: 
 
 For all thall feel the Saviour’s love,. 
 
 Reflected from the eros£ 
 
 That love, that non-resistant love,, 
 
 Which triumphed on the cress. 
 
26 
 
 CHE ISTIAN NON - E ES 1ST A NCE . 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Scriptural Proofs. 
 
 Matt. 5: 3S — 41, a proof text— Evasive constructions of the 
 text— Reason for noticing these evasions— Second proof, 
 Matt. 5: 43—48 — Third proof, forgiveness — Further im- 
 portant proofs— Apostolic testimonies — General view of 
 the evidence— The primitive Christians — Testimony of 
 Celsus and Gibbons. 
 
 The preceding chapter presents a clear statement 
 and thorough explication of the doctrine of Christian 
 non-resistance. This will present the Scriptural proofs 
 of its truth. It is affirmed to have been taught and 
 exemplified by Jesus Christ. If this can be demon- 
 strated, all who acknowledge Him their Lord and 
 Master should feel bound to receive the doctrine as di- 
 vine. In determining such a question, the New Tes- 
 tament must be our principal text book. From its 
 records, fairly construed, we are to learn what Jesus 
 Christ taught, what his examples wei'e, and what is 
 the essential spirit of his religion. The evangelists 
 and apostles shall be our witnesses in the case. 
 
 MATTHEW, 5 : 38 — 41 , A PROOF TEXT. 
 
 In Matthew’s report of the Sermon on the Mount, 
 Jesus thus speaks: — Ye have heard that it hath been 
 said, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: but I 
 say unto you, that ye resist not evil; but whosoever 
 shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the 
 other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law. 
 and take away thy coaf, let him have thy cloak also. 
 
'CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 21 
 
 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go 
 with him twain.” Matt. 5:38 — 41. What is the 
 exact meaning of .this language, and what does it 
 teach? To whom does Jesus refer as having said, 
 an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth? ” To 
 Moses and his expounders. Eead the following pas- 
 sages. Speaking of injury done to a woman in preg- 
 nancy: — “ And if auy mischief follow, then thou shalt 
 give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for 
 hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for 
 wound, stripe for stripe. ” Ex. 21: 23 — 25. “If a 
 
 man cause a blemish in his neighbor; as he hath done, 
 so shall it be done to him; breach for breach, eye for 
 eye, tooth for tooth; as he hath caused a blemish in a 
 man, so shall it be done to him. ” Lev. 24: 19, 20. In 
 the case of a false witness: “And the judges shall make 
 diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a 
 false witness, and hath testified falsely against his 
 brother then shall ye do unto him. as he had thought 
 to have done unto his brother; so shalt thou put the 
 evil away from among you. And thy eye shalt not 
 pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for 
 tooth, foot for foot. ” Deut. 19: IS — 21. Here we 
 
 have a comprehensive view of the personal injuries 
 authorized to be inflicted on injurers under the Mo- 
 saic code, from capital punishment down to the inflic- 
 tion of a stripe. And we have a strong expression of 
 ithe design of those inflictions: “ So shalt thou put 
 the evil away from among you. ” Xow did Jesus re- 
 fer to these precepts of Moses, and to the enforcement 
 of them ? Who can doubt it? And if so, did he in- 
 tend to confirm or to abrogate them? Certainly to 
 abrogate them. For his words express positive oppo- 
 sition of sense: — “ BUT T say unto you. that ye resist 
 
2S 
 
 0 HR 1ST! A X XOX- R ESISTANCE . 
 
 not evil. ” How? As they do who take “ life for 
 life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. ” &c. “ But whoso- 
 
 ever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him 
 the oilier also. ” Instead of smiting hack and giving- 
 wound for wound, or going to the magistrate to get thy 
 assailant punished, as the olden sayings authorize, en- 
 dure to he smitten again and again. If under color 
 of the law thy coat lie taken from thee; witliold not 
 thy cloak. Sue not hack to recover thy spoiled goods. 
 If men force thee to go whither they will, become 
 their prisoner without turbulence. Bcsist not in- 
 jury with injury. Inflict not evil in opposing evil. It 
 has been so commanded in time past, as a means of 
 suppressing and preventing evil among men; “hut I 
 say unto you,' that ye resist not evil doing with inflic- 
 tions of evil. ” Xothing can he plainer, than that,. SO' 
 far as Moses and his expounders enjoined the inflic- 
 tion of penal personal injuries in resistance of injuries, 
 and for the suppression of evil doing, Jesus Christ 
 prohibits the same. He enjoins his disciples never to 
 resist evil with such inflictions. They are forbidden 
 to render evil for evil, either directly as individuals, 
 on their own responsibility, or as prosecutors at law. 
 Is this a just and unobjectionable construction of the 
 Saviour’s language? If it is, the doctrine of Aon-Be- 
 sistance is already established, by a single quotation. 
 But this will be contested. 
 
 EVASIVE CONSTRUCTIONS OF THE TEXT. 
 
 It will be said that the words of Christ, in the pas- 
 sage quoted, are extremely figurative and intensive in 
 their form of expression; that there is danger of tak- 
 ing them too literally; and they must be duly quali- 
 fied. I grant it and have construed them accord- 
 
VHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 29 
 
 ingly. I ascertained first their reference to the say- 
 ings of Closes, and then determined the prohibition to 
 be exactly commensurate with the Mosaic require- 
 ment. That resistance of evil which Moses sanctioned 
 and enjoined Jesus obviously repudiates and forbids. 
 The prohibition is made precisely co-extensive in all 
 its bearings with the allowances and injunctions of 
 the olden code. This is the only fair construction 
 which can be given to the great Teacher’s language. 
 Should any one affirm that Jesus prohibits all kinds 
 and degrees of resistance to evil, he could sustain his 
 affirmation only by insisting on the literal expression, 
 and would make the Saviour contradict himself, his 
 own example, and the common sense of mankind. 
 Should any one affirm, on the other hand, that Jesus 
 did not intend to abrogate and prohibit all the per- 
 sonal and judicial iuflictions of evil on offenders, au- 
 thorized by the fore cited sayings of Moses, he would 
 find himself in an equally perplexing dilemma. I 
 have seen distinguished opposers in this latter di- 
 lemma. 
 
 EVASION" FIRST. 
 
 One says, “I doubt if Jesus referred to the sayings 
 of Moses, quoted from Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuter- 
 onomy. He must have referred to certain perverse 
 Rabbinical glosses on the precepts of the law, and to 
 •common sayings among the people pleaded in justifi- 
 cation of frequent and extreme revenge.” Is there 
 any proof of this ? Ro ; it is mere supposition. But 
 if it were true, why did not Jesus give some intima- 
 tion that he was prohibiting only abuses. And withal, 
 what glosses or common sayings could go beyond the 
 original sayings themselves ? They express the lex 
 
30 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON - RESIST ANC E . 
 
 talonis in its fullest extent; “life for life, eye for 
 eye, tootli for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,, 
 breach for breach, wound for wound, stripe for 
 stripe.” It would be hard glossing, or overstraining 
 such sayings. This plea is futile. 
 
 EVASION SECOND. 
 
 Another insists that Christ was only inculcating 
 the importance of executing legal penalties, and of 
 using lawful inflictions of injury against assailants, in 
 a right spirit. “He does not prohibit the act, but 
 only a vindictive, revengeful spirit in performing it. 
 Life ought to be taken for life, and various evils in- 
 flicted on evil doers, as a just punishment; and self- 
 defence ought to be maintained, even to the infliction 
 of death in extreme cases; but all should be done 
 without revenge, without unnecessary cruelty and in 
 pure love to the offender, as well as Avith a sacred rev- 
 erence for the law.” In this way Jesus is smoothly 
 construed to have really said nothing at all, — 
 practially nothing that Moses and the ancients had 
 not said. Did they authorize personal hate, malice, 
 revenge and wanton cruelty in executing the penalties 
 of the law ? Did they not positively prohibit all such 
 feelings and conduct? “Thou shalt not avenge, nor 
 bear any grudge against the children of thy people.” 
 “Thou shalt not hate tl^ brother in thy heart: thou 
 shalt in anywise rebuke thy neighbor, and not suffer 
 sin upon him.” “In righteousness shalt thou judge 
 thy neighbor.” Lev. 19th chap. “ If there be a con- 
 troversy between men, and they come unto judgment, 
 that the judges may judge them; then they shall 
 justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked. And 
 i shall be, if the wicked man be worthy to be beaten, 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 31 
 
 that the judge shall cause him to lie down, and to he- 
 beaten before his face, according to his fault, by a 
 certain number. Forty stripes he may give him, and 
 not exceed: lest if he should exceed, and beat him 
 above these with many stripes, then thy brother 
 should seem vile unto thee. Deut. 25: 1—3. See 
 Deut. 16: 18, 20; 17: 2—12; 19: 15. Ex. 23: 1—8. 
 From these and other passages in the writings of 
 Moses, it will be seen that, notwithstanding the sever- 
 ity of his code, he did not authorize individual hatred, 
 revenge and wanton cruelty in punishing the wicked. 
 To make Christ prohibit only a personal, spiteful, 
 malicious, cruel spirit in executing the punishments of 
 the law, is to make him the mere echo of Moses and 
 his expounders; whereas he goes absolutely against the 
 deed — the act of inflicting evil on the persons of of- 
 fenders. And by killing the body of the thing, he 
 banishes the spirit of it. Seeming love only renders 
 the infliction of death or torture on offenders the 
 more abhorrent to Christian sensibility. It is too 
 much like a mother kissing, while at the same time 
 she presses her child to death ; or a beautiful damsel, 
 with all her Charming airs, embracing, and at the 
 same time slowly thrusting a tine stiletto into the 
 oosom of her admirer. Death is death, torture is 
 torture, injury is injury, how gently and politely so- 
 ever inflicted. And there is a kind of fittness in hav- 
 ing stern hearted, severe -natured persons to execute 
 such sentences. 
 
 EVASION THIRD. 
 
 Another pleads that Jesus was inculcating the- 
 duty of referring all punishments to magistracy and. 
 the government ; that he prohibited a resort to pri- 
 
32 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON- RESIST ANC E . 
 
 rate revenges ; and only meant to teacli liis disciples 
 *to seek redress for the injuries done them in courts of 
 law. This is a still lamer shift than the other. The 
 connection gives no intimation whatever that this was 
 his design. On the contrary, he enjoins non resist- 
 ance alike in respect to personal assult and legal 
 wrong. If a man smite thee on thy right cheek, offer 
 the other. If he sue thee at the law and take away 
 thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. If he make 
 thee a prisoner, and force thee to go with him, resist 
 not. This does not look like teaching men to go to 
 law for redress of grievances ,or encouraging them to 
 make magistrates the revengers of their wrongs. He 
 does not say “ Ye have heard that it hath been said, 
 let every man take vengeance on his own offenders, 
 and redress his own grievances ; but I say unto you 
 look to the government, complain to the magistrates, 
 carry all your causes iuto the courts for adjudication.” 
 Not a word of this. And not a -word of it is to be 
 found in any part of the New Testament. Jesus 
 Christ never sued or taught his followers to sue men 
 at the law. It would have sunk his divine dignity 
 to contempt had he exhibited such folly. 
 
 EVASION FOURTH. 
 
 Another presumes he intended to discountenance 
 all petty vindictiveness, retaliation and litigation, 
 but not to forbid these things in extreme cases, on a 
 great scale, and where important interests are at 
 stake. This is very accommodating but very, falla- 
 cious. Who shall draw the line between the great 
 and the small, the frivolous and the important, in 
 these matters ! The inj ured party, of course. It is for 
 
 him to say whether the wrongs done him are of suffi- 
 
 2 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 33 
 
 ■cient moment to justify litigation, retaliation or per- 
 sonal resistance ; and the consequence is that small of- 
 fences, insults and injuries, are rare. Nearly all are 
 
 too great to be endured. Jesus gives not the slightest 
 intimation that lie is drawing a line of distinction be- 
 tween great and small evils ; and that he forbids his 
 followers to resist ordinary personal injuries, whilst 
 great ones are left to the law or resistance and retalia- 
 tion. Such pleadings are only so many attempts of 
 • a worldly mind, to procure itself indulgence under 
 the Christian name in practices upon which, root and 
 branch, the Son of God has placed the seal of prohibi- 
 tion. 
 
 EVASION FIFTH. 
 
 Another presumes to assert that Jesus never in- 
 tended the precept, “Resist not evil,” &c., “for a 
 general rule ; but it was given to his early followers, 
 as their guide when wronged by the tyrants under 
 whom they lived. To resist then would be of no 
 avail; it was better therefore patiently to endure.” 
 What a despicable expediency does this ascribe to the 
 Saviour ! What a skulking prudence ! Resist not 
 evil when unable to do so ! Submit to irresistable 
 tyranny and outrage ; offer the other cheek ; crawl 
 like spaniels, when you cannot help yourselves ! 
 But tight like dragons when you have a fair prospect 
 of overmatching your enemies ! To a mind capable 
 of drawing such a meaning from the words of Christ, 
 I should thiuk the text would furnish a general rule, 
 i. e. “submit when you must, but resist when you 
 can.” If it were not utterly derogatory to the char- 
 acter of Jesus, and utterly unsupported by a single 
 hint in the context, it might be worth while to at- 
 
34 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE . 
 
 tempt its sober refutation. As it is, the mere state- 
 ment sufficiently explodes it. 
 
 EVASION SIXTH. 
 
 Still another argues that Jesus, though he preached 
 strict non-resistance, as to the duty of his followers 
 in all strictly religious matters, nevertheless left them 
 perfectly free in secular matters, to resist, litigate and 
 make war at discretion. That is, while attending 
 purely to religious duties, and propagating Chris- 
 tianity by divinely appointed means, they must suf- 
 fer all manner of personal abuse, insult, outrage, per- 
 secution and violence, without offering the least re- 
 sistance, either by individual force of arms or prose- 
 cutions at law. But as men of the world, politicians, 
 merchants, tradesmen, money -getters, &c. they are at 
 full liberty to follow the dictates of worldly expedi- 
 ency, and to resist even unto death all who threaten 
 their lives, liberty or property. This stands on the 
 same sandy foundation with the others, and cannot be 
 sustained by one single decent looking reason. In- 
 deed, its bare statement ought to be its sufficient 
 refutation. 
 
 EVASION FINAL. 
 
 Finally, another declares that he does not know 
 what Jesus did really mean to teach, in the passage 
 under consideration; but he is sure it cannot have 
 been the prohibition of life-taking, penal inflictions 
 on criminals, defensive war, or personal self-defense 
 under severe assault. Because Jesus himself had be- 
 fore declared in the same discourse: — “ Think not 
 that I am come to destroy the law and the prophets; 
 I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I 
 
CHK ISTI AN NON- E ESISTA NOE . 
 
 35 
 
 say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or 
 tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all he 
 fulfilled. Whosoever, therefore, shall break one of 
 these least commandments, and shall teach men so, 
 he shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; 
 but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same 
 shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For 
 I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall 
 exceed the righteousness of the scribes and pharisees, 
 ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” 
 Matt. 5: IS — 20. And what is the deduction from 
 these words'? It is, that if Moses commanded men to 
 take ‘‘life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand 
 for hand,” &c., Jesus does not abrogate or invalidate 
 such commandment, and cannot have intended any 
 such thing, whatever else he meant; since one jot or 
 tittle of the least of the commandments in the law T 
 and the prophets was not to be destroyed, or left un- 
 fulfilled. In answer to this, I may remark that it is 
 rather a cavil than a candid objection, and would 
 sound much better from the lips of an infidel, than 
 from those of a professed Christian. It is alleging an 
 apparent self contradiction of Jesus. He says, “Ye 
 have heard that it hath been said (i. e., by Moses and 
 his expounders,) an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a 
 tooth; but I say unto you that ye resist not evil (thus); 
 but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek 
 (rather than smite him) turn unto him the other also.” 
 Then on the contrary he says, “Whosoever therefore, 
 shall break one of the least of these commandments, 
 (even the one which requires eye to be taken for eye i 
 and tooth for tooth,) and shall teach men so, shall be 
 called least in the kingdom of heaven,” &c. Thus the 
 opposer urges a self contradiction. Well, if there be 
 
30 
 
 CHRIST r A N NON- RESISTANCE. 
 
 a contradiction, and it weigh anything at all in the 
 ease at issue, it is not worth as much for non-resis- 
 tance as against it ? Is not Jesus as good authority 
 against himself for the abrogation of the command- 
 ment, as for its confirmation f Certainly. But if it 
 would invalidate his testimony, then it only furnishes 
 food for the infidel. Such is not the object; for I 
 have heard this identical cavil from the lips of a ven- 
 erable Hopkinsian clergyman. What then does it 
 avail? If it proves any thing against my construc- 
 tion of Matt. 5: 38 — 41, it certainly proves a great 
 deal too much. It would carry us back, and bind us 
 hand and foot to Judaism, with its every “jot and tit- 
 tle. ” It would re-enact the whole ceremonial as well 
 as moral and penal code of the Mosaic dispensation ! 
 Circumcision, sacrifices and all the commandments, 
 least as well as greatest, would be made binding on us s 
 No Christian would admit any thing like this for a 
 moment. Many commandments have been abrogated: 
 Jesus and Paul are explicit on this point. But it does 
 not follow that any one has been absolutely destroyed, 
 or left unfulfilled. Many have emerged from the 
 shadow into the substance, from types and figures in- 
 to the reality. Others have been lost in the letter, 
 and more than preserved in the spirit. All have done 
 their work, or are still doing it in the essence of 
 Christianity. Did not Jesus mean to be understood 
 in this sense, when he declared he had not “come to 
 destroy the law or the prophets, ” but “ to fulfill 
 them, ” &c. ? Was it to preserve them in the mere 
 letter and form— in the type and shadow — or rathei 
 in their essence — in the absolute reality of their spir- 
 itual excellence "? Clearly, the latter. When he abol- 
 ished the oath, did he abolish the truth? Did he re- 
 
CHRISTIAN NON- RESISTANCE. 
 
 37 
 
 lax the obligations of men to speak the truth ? Did 
 he weaken the sanctions of truth ? Xo; he enhanced 
 them: He exalted the truth. In prohibiting his dis- 
 
 ciples from all inflictions of injury in resistance of 
 evil, did he absolve them from one iota of the law of 
 love— the obligation to love their neighbors as them- 
 elves — the doing nuto others as they would that 
 others should do unto them ? Did he weaken that 
 great law? Did he not exalt and perfect its power 
 and sanctions? If his professed followers should 
 faithfully obey his instructions, in respect to this 
 heavenly treatment of offenders, would they become 
 worse, or would offenses increase? Let the tongue of 
 blasphemy alone presume to say it? We know the 
 contrary. In a word, we know that this self-same 
 doctrine of Christian non-resistance, as we deduce it 
 from the passage before us, is the righteousness of the 
 law and the prophets in its perfection and true glory; 
 and therefore is in strict harmony with the doctrine 
 taught in the 18th, 19th, and 20th verses. The cavil 
 is silenced. 
 
 REASON FOR NOTICING ALL THESE EVASIONS. 
 
 I have been particular to notice these various con 
 structions of our Lord’s words, these attempts to avoid 
 the legitimate force of Matt. 5: 38 — 41, and to disal- 
 low it as a proot text of the doctrine before us; not be- 
 cause I thought them really worthy of it in them- 
 selves; but because I have known them all urged 3 ^,$ 
 relied on by clergymen and reputable professing 
 Christians, ot various sects, in their- struggle to with- 
 stand the truth. It is remarkable how very incon- 
 grous all these anti- non-resistant constructions, ob- 
 jections and cavils are.' Yet I have heard them put. 
 
38 
 
 CH RISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 forth with great confidence, even by different clergy- 
 men of the same general sect, and repeatedly pleaded 
 with apparent sincerity and earnestness as a sufficient 
 invalidation of our leading proof text. It is impor- 
 tant to explode them, in order to secure the convic- 
 tion of an order of minds, at once conscientious and in- 
 telligent, but liable to be misled by the confident spe- 
 cial pleadings of those from whom they have been ac- 
 customed to receive their religious opinions. When 
 we pretend to prove a doctrine, we ought not only to 
 quote passages which sound well to the ear, but to de- 
 monstrate that those passages cannot fairly be con- 
 strued in any other sense than that in which we take 
 them. To have demonstrated Matt. 5: 38 — 41 to be an 
 undeniable proof text of our doctrine is no small 
 achievement in this department of my work. This 
 once established, I can accomplish the rest with little 
 difficulty. What I insist on. then, is, that I have ad- 
 duced one fundamental proof from the highest scrip- 
 lure authority. If this cannot be invalidated; if it 
 must be admitted; if the passage cannot fairly be con- 
 strued to mean any thing else than I have shown, the 
 probability is that 1 shall find ample corroborative 
 proof all the way through the New Testament. I 
 therefore proceed to make a further quotation from 
 the same chapter and discourse. 
 
 SECOND PROOF, MATT. 5: 43 — 48. 
 
 ‘ ‘ Ye have heard that it hath been said, thou shalt 
 love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy: But I say 
 
 unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse 
 you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them 
 which despite fully use you and persecute you. ” lb. 
 5: 43, 44. This is plainly in the same strain, and of 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 39 
 
 the same import with the other. It is clear, explic- 
 it, significant and forcible. By whom the saying, 
 “ thon shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine en- 
 emy, ” had been literally uttered, I cannot with cer- 
 tainty learn. Probably it had long since passed into 
 -a common maxim. But in its nature and origin it 
 was kindred with the preceding saying, “ an eye for 
 an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' 7 It derived its prin- 
 cipal sanction from the Mosaic injunctions respecting 
 capital criminals and doomed national enemies. Bead 
 the following passages. u If thou shalt hear say in 
 one of thy cities, which the Lord thy God hath given 
 thee to dwell there, saying, certain men, the children 
 of Belial, are gone out from among you, and hath 
 withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, let us 
 go and serve other gods, which ye have not known; 
 then shalt thou inquire, and make search, and ask 
 diligently; and behold, if it lie truth, and the thing 
 certain, that such abomination is wrought among you: 
 Thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city 
 with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and 
 all that is therein, and the cattle thereof, with the 
 edge of the sword. And thou shalt gather all the 
 spoil of it into the midst of the street thereof, 
 and shalt burn with fire the city, and all the spoil 
 thereof every whit, for the Lord thy God: and it shall 
 be a heap forever; it shall not be built again. ” Dent. 
 13: 12 — 16. “ But of the cities of these people, which 
 the Lord thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, 
 thou shalt save alive nothing that breathetli. But 
 thou shalt utterly destroy them; namely the Ilittites, 
 and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perrizites, 
 the Hivites, and the Jebusites, as the Lord thy God 
 hath commanded thee. '' Deut. 20: 16, 17. “ Thou 
 
40 
 
 OH RIST r A N NON- RESIST A NOE . 
 
 shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy 
 unto them.” Ib. 7:2. In accordance with these 
 sentiments David utters the following language: 
 “ Plead my cause, O Lord, with them that strive with 
 me: tight against them that tight against me. Take 
 hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for my help. 
 Draw out also the spear, and stop the way against 
 them that persecute me: say unto my soul, I am thy 
 salvation. * * * Let them be as chaff before the 
 wind: and let the angel of the Lord chase them. Let 
 their way be dark and slippery: and let the angel of 
 the Lord persecute them. ” Psal. 35: 1 — 8. • 
 
 With equal abhorrence of idolatry, and of all the 
 crimes of those who are liolden to be outlaws and 
 doomed enemies under the former Testament, but in 
 striking contrast with the authorized hatred and ven- 
 geance exercised towards them, Jesus says, “ love, 
 bless, do good to, and pray for them, ever, though 
 they be your bitter foes and persecutors.” He in- 
 cludes among enemies, haters and persecutors,' all in- 
 jurers, whether personal, social, religious or national. 
 His words are equally irreconcilable with all hatred, 
 all persecution, all cruelty, all war, all injury which 
 one man, one family, one community or one nation, 
 can do to another. The truly Christian individ- 
 ual could not devise, execute or abet any injury 
 against an offending fellow man. What then would a 
 truly Christian family, neighborhood, community, 
 state or nation do ? Could they act any other than 
 the non-resistant part toward their foes and injurers ? 
 If they loved, blessed, benefited, and prayed for the 
 worst of aggressors and offenders, what a spectacle 
 would be presented ! What a conquest would be 
 achieved over all evil doers ! Does not Jesus enjoin 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 41 
 
 this sublime love and heavenly practice? Can he 
 mean any thing less than appears upon the beautiful 
 face of his words? What professed Christian can 
 erect the gibbet, or light the faggot, or draw out the 
 rack, or contrive any injurious punishment, or gird 
 on any weapon of war, or give his sanction to any 
 cruelty, by individuals or society, and yet plead that 
 he is in the spirit and practice of this his Lord’s 
 commandment? IX es that man love his enemies, 
 
 bless those who curse him; do good to those that hate 
 him and pray for his iujurers, who hangs, or shoots, 
 or tortures, or stones them, or holds himself sworn to 
 inflict any such evils ? But let us hear the Saviour 
 urge his own precepts. “ That ye may be the chil- 
 dren of your Father which is in heaven; for he 
 rnaketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, 
 and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For 
 if ye love them (only) which love you, what reward 
 have you ? Do not even the publicans the same ? And 
 if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than 
 others ? Do not even the publicans so ? Be ye there- 
 fore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven 
 is perfect. ” __ Verses 45 — 48. Your Father loves his 
 
 enemies, blesses those that curse him and does good to 
 them that hate him. Else the sun would not shine as- 
 it does on the evil, nor the rain distil on the unjust, 
 nor salvation descend from heaven for the lost. Im- 
 bibe the spirit of your Father. Imitate his goodness 
 to the unthankful and evil. Put on his moral char- 
 acter. Be his children. Be not content barely to 
 love them that love you. Love, forbear with, benefit 
 and seek to save even the guilty and undeserving. 
 Else what higher are ye in the moral scale than the 
 publicans? Salute and befriend, not only your own 
 
CHRISTIAN NON- RESISTANT!-’. 
 
 42 
 
 kindred, friends and intimate associates, but all men, 
 however strange or hostile to you. Aspire continually 
 to be perfectly, independently good to all, as your 
 Father in heaven is. What can be plainer than this? 
 What can be more pure, sublime, spiritually excel- 
 lent or morally beautiful ! It is Christian non-resis- 
 tance; or rather that perfect love, of which true non- 
 resistance is a distinguishing fruit. But let us pro- 
 ceed. 
 
 THIRD PKOOF — FORGIVENESS. 
 
 He enjoins the duty of forgiveness on the same gen- 
 >eral principle. “After this manner, therefore, pray 
 ye.” * * * “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our 
 debtors.” “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, 
 ’your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if 
 ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your 
 Father forgive your trespasses.” Matt. 6: 12, 14, 15. 
 “Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft 
 shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him ? 
 Till seven times ? Jesus saith unto him, I say not 
 unto thee, until seven times, but until seventy times 
 seven.” Ib. 18:21, 22. See also the illustrating par- 
 aide to the end of the chapter. “And when ye stand 
 praying, forgive, if ye have aught against any, that 
 your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you 
 your trespasses ; but if ye do not forgive, neither will 
 your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespass- 
 es.” Mark 11: 25, 2G. “Judge not, and ye shall not 
 be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be con- 
 demned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.” Luke t>: 
 
 o n 
 
 O ( . 
 
 The idea in all these passages is, that the injured 
 party claims a right to punish the injurer oh account 
 
CHRIST I AN NON- R ES 1ST A NOE . 
 
 43 
 
 mf some actual offence. Jesus is not speaking of mere 
 envious grudges, causeless resentment, or ill will. 
 He pre supposes a real injury done, which, according 
 to the common law, ‘ ; an eye for an eye ” &c., or, in 
 other words, according to strict natural justice, 
 might rightfully be punished by the infliction of an 
 ■equivalent evil on the offender. He does not palliate 
 the offence, nor deny the ill-desert of the guilty party, 
 nor require that his wrong should be considered right. 
 He addresses the injured party, the rightful com- 
 plainant, and commands him to forgive his injurer; i. 
 <e. not to exact the infliction of the deserved punish- 
 ment ; not to hold the offender punishable on his ac- 
 count, but to leave him as an object of pity, even 
 though he be one of dread, uninjured — a subject of 
 the same kindness as if he had committed no offence. 
 He is to inflict no evil upon him on account of his 
 trespass. This is human forgiveness, as enjoined by 
 Jesus on all his followers. To enforce this he declares 
 that our Father in heaven will forgive the forgiving, 
 but will not forgive the unforgiving. He reminds us 
 that we have all sinned against our Father, and are 
 justly punishable at his hands ; that the only ground 
 of our acceptance with him, and of his continued 
 benefactions, is his grace, not our merit ; and that 
 we are perpetually entreating him to bless us in spite 
 of our evil deserts. Therefore he enjoins that we for- 
 give our fellow men their trespasses against us, as we 
 beseech God to forgive us the sins we have committed 
 against him. He requires that we do unto others as 
 we would that God should do unto us. He commands 
 us t6 refrain from punishing our offenders, and still 
 to do them good, as we would that God should con- 
 tinue to forbear with and do us good, notwithstanding 
 
44 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 our sins. And if we freely forgive while we pray to 
 be forgiven, this will attest our sincerity, and fit our 
 spirits for the reception of the divine forgiveness. 
 God will accept and commune with us: for we shall 
 then present no insuperable bar to his inflowing love 
 and mercy. But if, while ,ve sue for mercy, we exer- 
 cise nope towards the guilty ; if while we pray for for- 
 giveness, we meditate vengeance against our offenders; 
 if while we ask to be treated infinitely better than we 
 deserve, we hold those who have trespassed against 
 us punishable at our hands according to their de- 
 serts, we at once betray our own insincerity, offer 
 mockery to God, and present an impassable bar of 
 hardheartedness to his love and mercy. He is essen- 
 tially a forgiving Father, but he will not, indeed can- 
 not communicate his forgiveness te us. Our spirit is- 
 in opposition to his spirit ; we do not worship him in 
 spirit and in truth ; we stand self-excluded from his 
 presence — alike unforgiving and unforgiven. We 
 cannot be at peace with him, nor worship hint ac- 
 ceptably, nor taste the richness of his grace, so long, 
 as we desire to punish our offenders. It is only in 
 the spirit of human forgiveness that we can receive- 
 and enjoy the divine forgiveness. Such is the doc- 
 trine of Jesus. How blessed a doctrine is it to the- 
 broken-hearted, merciful and meek ? How terrible 
 a one to the iron-hearted, who delight in rigorous 
 human punishment ! Here the whole superstructure- 
 of piety and religion is baptised in the waters of non- 
 resistance. We cannot e,ven pray in a punishing 
 spirit, without insulting a forgiving Father, and im- 
 precating on our heads all the deserts of our own 
 transgression. If we forgive not, but persist in 
 punishing them that trespass against us, and yet 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 45 
 
 pray to be forgiven of God as we forgive, we only call 
 on God to be as severe and punitive towards us, as 
 we are towards our fellow men. How tremendous a 
 thought is this ! Yet who can evade it. Jesus has 
 brought it as a live coal from off the alter of God, and 
 laid it on our consciences. Can the utmost ingenuity 
 of man avoid the conclusion which these precepts of 
 Christ, respecting forgiveness, are thus shown to war- 
 rant? I think not. Yet millions of professing 
 Christians, authorize, aid and abet war, capital 
 punishment and the whole catalogue of penal injuries. 
 Still they daily pray God to forgive their trespasses 
 as they forgive ! ! The language of the prophet Isaiah, 
 in his 58th chapter, seems not inapplicable to them. 
 “Cry aloud, spare not ; lift up thy voice like a trum- 
 pet, and show my people their transgressions, and the 
 house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek me daily 
 and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did 
 'righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their 
 God ; they ask of me the ordinances of justice ; they 
 take delight in approaching to God.” See the subse- 
 quent verses. This drawing near to God with the 
 lips, while the heart is far from him, is as common as 
 it is reprehensible. And in no respect is it more so, 
 than in meditating and executing punishment for of- 
 fenses against ourselves, whilst in humble supplica- 
 tion we plead for the divine forgiveness of our own 
 transgressions. 
 
 FURTHER IMPORTANT PROOFS. 
 
 Another important class of proof texts, corrobora- 
 tive of those already cited, is the following: “My 
 ^kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were 
 of this world, then would my servants fight that I 
 should not be delivered to the Jews ; but now is my 
 
4G 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 kingdom not from heuee. ” Jno. 18: 36. Compart* 
 this with Matt. 10: 16. “Behold, I send you forth, 
 as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise- 
 as serpents, and harmless as doves.” Also with Luke 
 22: 21 — 26. “And there was also a strife among; 
 
 them, which of them should be accounted the great- 
 est. And he said unto them, The Kings of the Gen- 
 tiles exercise lordship over them ; and they that ex- 
 ercise authority upon them are called benefactors.. 
 But ye shall not be so : but he that is greatest among; 
 you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief,, 
 as he that doth serve.” In the same group we may 
 include the following : “And they went, and entered, 
 iuto a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for 
 him. And they did not receive him, because his 
 face was as though he would go to Jerusalem. And 
 when his disciples James and Joliu saw this, they said,. 
 Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down 
 from Heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did f 
 But he turned and rebuked them, and said, Ye know 
 not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the son of 
 man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save 
 them.” Luke 9 : 52-56, “Then came they and laid 
 hands on Jesus, and took him. And, behold, one of 
 them which were with Jesus, stretched out his hand, 
 and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high 
 priest, and smote off his ear. Then said Jesus unto 
 him, put up again thy sword into his place : for all 
 they that take the sword shall perish with the ?word. 
 Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, 
 and he shall presently give me more than twelve 
 legions of angels.” Matt. 26 : 50 — 53. See also Jno. 
 8: 3 — 11, the case of the woman taken in adultery, and 
 brought to Jesus to see whether he would adjudge her 
 
CHRISTIAN NON- RESISTANCE . 
 
 4 T 
 
 to be stoned to death, according to the law of Moses. 
 After her accusers had declined excuting tire penal- 
 ty, Jesus said — ‘ ‘Neither do I condemn thee, (i. e. to- 
 death) go and sin no more.' 7 
 
 These and similar passages are impressive practical 
 comments on the positive doctrinal precepts of the 
 Saviour. His kingdom is not of this world, and 
 therefore excludes all military and warlike defences. 
 His ministers are seut forth unarmed, -like sheep in 
 the midst of wolves. They are therefore to be wise as- 
 serpents, and harmless as doves. All things must be- 
 conducted on the non-resistant principle. There 
 must be no political strife for the highest place ; no 
 patronizing lordship ; no Gentile love of dominion ;■ 
 but they that really occupy the highest place, must 
 prove themselves worthy of it, by an entire willing- 
 ness to take the lowest ; by governing only through 
 the influence of useful service. Government must 
 doff its worldly insignia, its craft and its prerogative 
 to punish, and be vested in real worth — unglorified,, 
 unpampered, and undistinguished by exclusive 
 privileges. This is Christian government. He and 
 his followers might be treated inhospitably, as by the 
 Samaritans, but no injury must be returned — not even 
 though by a miracle fire could be commanded from 
 heaven. No such spirit might be indulged. Because 
 the Son of man came not to destroy men’s lives, but 
 to save them. Therefore non-resistance of evil with 
 evil must be the invariable rule of action for his dis- 
 ciples forever. They must never destroy men’s lives, 
 but endeavor to save them. Even the holy one, at his 
 betrayal into the hands of a mob, might not be de- 
 fended with the sword by a Peter, because, “All they 
 that take the sword shall perish with the sword.” 
 
48 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON- R ES [STANCE. 
 
 “The wrath of man worketh not the righteousness 
 ■of Gocl.” Evil cannot be overcome with evil. 
 
 How is it possible to contemplate such clear, strik- 
 ing mutually sustaining irrefragable evidence of the 
 scriptural truth of Christian non-resistance, without 
 feeling the whole soul penetrated with profound con- 
 viction. But still the tide rises aud flows on. 
 
 APOSTOLIC TESTIMONIES. 
 
 The Apostles, having been gradually delivered 
 from their early traditionary and educational predis- 
 positions for a temporal and military kingdom, re- 
 nounced all carnal weapons, and drinking in the hea- 
 venly inspiration, reiterated the non-resistance doc- 
 trine of their Master: “ Be not conformed to this 
 world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your 
 mind, that ye may prove what is that good and ac- 
 ceptable, and perfect will of God.” “Bless them 
 which persecute you; bless, and curse not.” “Re- 
 compense to no man evil for evil. ” “Dearly beloved, 
 avenge not yourselves; but rather give place unto 
 wrath; for it is written — vengeance is mine; I will re- 
 pay, saith the Lord. Therefore, if thine enemy hun- 
 ger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so 
 doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be 
 not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” 
 Rom. 12: 2, 14, 17, 19 — 21. “ Dare any of you, hav- 
 
 ing a matter against another, go to law before the un- 
 just, and not before the saints.” “Now, therefore, 
 there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to 
 law one with another; why do ye not rather take 
 wrong f Why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be 
 defrauded !” 1 Cor. 6: 1, 7. “For though we walk 
 
 in the flesh, we do mot war after the flesh. For the 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 49 
 
 weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty 
 through God, to the palling down of strong holds; 
 casting down imaginations, and every high tiling that 
 exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and 
 bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience 
 of Christ. ” 2. Cor. 10: 3 — 5. “The fruit of the 
 
 Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, 
 goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; against such 
 there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have cru- 
 cified the tiesh, with the affections and lusts. If we 
 live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. ” 
 Gal. 5: 22 — 25. “ Be ye angry and sin not: let not the 
 sun go down upon your wrath. ’’ “ Let all bitterness, 
 and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking 
 be put away from you, with all malice. ” Ephes. 4: 
 26, 31. “ Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy 
 
 and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness 
 of mind, meekness, long suffering. ” Col. 3: 12. “See 
 that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever 
 follow that which is good, both among yourselves and 
 to all men. ” 1 Thes. 5: 15. “Let us run with pa- 
 
 tience the race set before us, looking unto Jesus, the 
 author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that 
 was set before him, endured the cross, despising the 
 shame, and is set down at the right hand of the 
 throne of God. ” “For consider him that endured 
 such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye 
 be wearied and faint in your minds ! ” “ Follow 
 
 peace with all men, and holiness, without which no 
 man shall see the Lord. ” Heb. 12: 1, 2, 3, 14. “ My 
 beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow 
 to speak, slow to wrath: for the wrath of man worketh 
 not the righteousness of God. ” James 1: 19, 20. 
 " From whence come wars and fightings among you ? 
 
50 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 Come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in 
 your members ? ’ ’ “Submit yourselves therefore to 
 God. Resist the devil, and he will tiee from you. ” 
 lb. 4: 1, 7. “This is thank-worthy, if a man for con- 
 science towards God, endure grief, suffering wrong- 
 fully. For what glory is it, if when ye be buffeted 
 for your faults, ye shall take it patiently ? But if, 
 when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, 
 this is acceptable with God. For even hereunto were 
 ye called; because Christ also suffered for us, leaving 
 us an example, that ye should follow his steps: who 
 did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: who 
 when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suf- 
 fered, he threatened not; but committed himself 
 to him that judgeth righteously.” 1 Peter. 2: 19 
 — 23. “And who is he that will harm you, if ye be 
 followers of that which is good ? But if ye suffer for 
 righteousness sake, happy are ye; and be not afraid of 
 their terror, neither be troubled. ” “For it is better, 
 if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well-doing 
 than for evil doing. For Christ also hath once suf- 
 fered for sins, the just for the unjust. ” lb. 3: 13, 14, 
 17, 18. Also, lb. 4: 13 — 19. “He that saith he 
 abideth in him, ought himself also to walk, even as he 
 walked. He that saith he is in the light, and hateth 
 his brother, is in darkness even until now, * * * 
 and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither 
 he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his 
 mind.” 1 Jno. 2:6, 11. “ He that loveth not his 
 
 brother abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his 
 brother is a murderer, and ye know that no murderer 
 hath eternal life abiding in him.” Ib. 3: 14, 15. 
 “Ro man hath seen God at any time. If we love one 
 another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 51 
 
 in us. ’’ “ If a man say I love God, and liateth liis 
 
 brother, he is a liar; for he that loveth not his brother 
 whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he 
 hath not seen ? ” lb. 4: 12, 20. 
 
 GENERAL VIEW OF THE EVIDENCE. 
 
 Is it possible to read these quotations without an ir- 
 resistable conviction of their perfect harmony with 
 the teachings of the Saviour on this great subject ? 
 Cau we doubt that they all proceeded from the same 
 Divine source? And now what was the example of 
 Jesus ? What was the practice of the Apostles, after 
 the resurrection of Christ, when fully endued with 
 power and grace from on high ? Did they ever slay 
 any human being? Ever threaten to do so? Ever 
 make use of any deadly weapon ? Ever serve in the 
 Army or Navy of any nation, state or chieftain? Ever 
 seek or accept any office, legislative, judicial or execu- 
 tive, under the existing governments of their day ? 
 Ever make complaint to the magistrates against any 
 offender or criminal, in order to procure his punish- 
 ment? Ever commence any prosecution at law, to 
 obtain redress of grievances? Ever apply to the civil 
 or military authority to protect them by force of arms 
 when in imminent danger ? Or ever counsel others to 
 do any one of these acts ? Did they ever express, by 
 word or deed, their reliance on political, military or 
 penal power to secure personal protection or to carry 
 forward the Christianization of the world? I answer 
 confidently, no. But let every one be fully persuaded 
 in his own mind. Let the New Testament be thorough- 
 ly searched with reference to tnese questions. If it 
 shall be found that I am correct, let the opposersof 
 non-resistance make up their minds to yield. For if 
 
52 
 
 CHRIST I AN NON-RESISTANCE . 
 
 precept and practice, spirit and example, go together 
 throughout the Scriptures of the New Testament, the 
 case is decided beyond controversy. Iam aware of 
 the objections urged with so much desperation from 
 such texts as that which speaks of the scourge of small 
 cords, that which mentions the direction of Jesus to 
 buy swords, Paul’s appeal to Cresar, his notification 
 of the chief captain when the forty men conspired to 
 slay him, the thirteenth chapter of Romans, &c. Nei- 
 ther of these, nor all of them together, will serve the 
 objector’s purpose, as I shall demonstrate in the next 
 chapter. On the other hand, we are able to show a 
 series of examples, indeed a life, conformable to the 
 doctrine of non-resistance. And we are also able 
 to show that this doctrine practically prevailed among 
 the primitive Christians for a considerable time subse- 
 quent to the apostolic age. 
 
 Look at Jesus in the temptation. He was offered 
 all the kingdoms of the world. But on what condi- 
 tion ? Provided only he would fall down and worship 
 the Tempter. Is not this essentially the condition on 
 which his followers have ever been offered worldly 
 political power ? There is a spirit which animates 
 and characterizes carnal human government. It is 
 the destroying spirit— the angel of injury, the old ser- 
 pent of violence. This is the grand controlling pow- 
 er underneath the throne, the dernier resort, the ulti- 
 mate indispensable reliance of all mere worldly au- 
 thority. And he is accounted a fool who supposes 
 there can be any such thing as government among 
 mankind without it. Consequently its solemn ac- 
 knowledgment is now, as ever, the condition on which 
 men must take the sceptre, or assume the seals of of- 
 fice. He who would rule, must first worship this gen- 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 53 
 
 ins of violence — must swear to support his authority 
 with sword and penal vengeance. Jesus chose the 
 pain and shame of the cross, in preference to the 
 fame and glory of universal empire on such a condi- 
 tion. It was no inducement with him, that all the 
 world should take his name, and verbally confess him 
 Lord, while at heart and in practice they served the 
 evil spirit. He would not be a king of nations, when 
 he could not be a king of hearts and consciences. He 
 would not do evil that good might come; because his 
 kingdom was not of this world, but was essentially 
 one of righteousness and peace. So he spurned an of- 
 fered sceptre, and left it in hands which he knew 
 would ere long baptize him in his own non-resistant 
 blood. For the same reason, when he perceived the 
 determination of the people to proclaim him a king, 
 he promptly placed himself beyond their reach. Xor 
 would he be a “ judge and a divider, ” among the 
 people. Xor when he alone stood up in innocence to 
 pass a rightful condemnation on the adulterous wo- 
 man, would he pronounce the deadly sentence or raise 
 the destroying stone 'When a violent multitude, led 
 on by his betrayer, came to seize him in the prayerful 
 solitude of Gethsemane, he raised not a weapon of de- 
 fence. But he rebuked his mistaken disciple for 
 drawing the sword, healed the wound he had inflicted, 
 and taught him that all who take must perish with 
 the sword. So he suffered himself to be “led as a 
 sheep dumb before the shearers, ” and “as a lamb to, 
 the slaughter. ” They stripped him of his raiment,, 
 attired him in a mock royal robe, crowned him with 
 thorns, smote him, spit upon him, sentenced him 
 without cause to death, nailed him to the cross be- 
 tween two malefactors, tormented him in his agonies, 
 
54 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 and followed him to the verge of life with all the ven- 
 em of a murderous hate. Yet never a word of threat- 
 ening, reviling, cursing or bitterness escaped him. 
 With a meek and sorrowful dignity he bore all; and 
 at the moment when he could have summoned legions 
 of angels to his rescue, and to the destruction of his 
 foes, lo, he uttered that last victorious prayer: — 
 “Father forgive them, for they know not what they 
 do.” The mourning heavens in silence heard. Then 
 came the expiring groan — not to seal the just perdi- 
 tion of a murderous world, but as the awful amen of 
 the Yew Covenant, and the signal of complete triumph 
 over hatred, sin and death ! 
 
 THE PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANS. 
 
 If we enter among the evangelists and apostles of 
 the Crucified, and inquire how they lived and died, 
 what will be the response ? “God hath- set forth us 
 the apostles last, as it were appointed unto death : for 
 we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, 
 and to men,” “We both hunger and thirst, and are 
 naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwell- 
 ing place.” “ Being reviled, webless; being perse- 
 cuted, we suffer it ; being defamed, we entreat ; we 
 ♦e made as the tilth of the world, the offscouring of 
 all things.” Stephen was stoned to death, calling on 
 the Saviour to receive his spirit, and with the holy 
 prayer on his lips. “Lord lay not this sin to their 
 charge.” James was slain with the sword, Peter 
 crucified, Paul beheaded, and innumerable martyrs 
 brought to seal their testimony with their blood. 
 But in those days they suffered all things for the sake 
 of the cross, and inflicted nothing. Always heroic 
 for the truth, yet meek, patient and non-resistant, 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 55 
 
 they exemplified in a wonderful manner the depth 
 and strength of their Christian principles. Never do 
 we find them aspiring to places of power ; never dis- 
 tinguishing themselves in the army ; never wheed- 
 ling and coaxing the worldly great to shed on them 
 the renown of their official influence ; never engaged 
 in rebellions, riots, tumults, or seditions ; never trust- 
 ing in carnal weapons for the security of their persons, 
 not even in the most barbarous and ruffian-like so- 
 ciety ; never cursing, reviling, or iusulting even their 
 persecutors. Such were the apostles and primitive 
 -Clmstiaus. They had learned of Jesus ; and non-re- 
 sistance, for the first two centuries, was the practical 
 orthodoxy of the church. Justin Martyr, early 
 in the second century, declared the devil to be the 
 author of all war. Tertullian denounced the bearing 
 of arms, saying, shall he who is not to avenge his 
 own wrongs, be instrumental in bringing others into 
 ■chains, imprisonment, torment, death?” Lactantius 
 declares: — “It can never be lawful for a righteous 
 man to go to war, whose warfare is in righteousness 
 itself,’ ’ “We find,” says Clarkson, “from Athenago- 
 ras and other early writers, that the Christians of 
 their times abstained, when they were struck, from 
 striking again; and that they carried their principles 
 so far, as even to refuse to go to law with those who 
 injured them.” The language of those primitive 
 Christians was in this strain : — -One says, “It is not 
 lawful for a Christian to bear arms.” Another — 
 
 “Because I am a Christain, I have abandoned my 
 profession of a soldier.” A third— “I am a Chris- 
 tain, and therefore I cannot fight ?” A fourth, Maxi- 
 millian: — “I cannot figbt, if I die: I am not a soldier 
 of this world, but a soldier of God.” And in his 
 .fidelity he died by the hands of military tyranny. 
 
56 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 TESTIMONY OF CEESUS AND GIBBON. 
 
 Celsus, a heathen philosopher, wrote an elaborate 
 work against the Christians, about the middle of the 
 second century. One of his grave allegations was in 
 the following words: — “You will not bear arms in the 
 service of the empire when your services are needed, 
 and if all the nations should act upon this principle, 
 the empire would be overruu by the barbarians.” 
 
 Gibbon,, the popular English historian of the de ■ 
 dining Roman empire, a skeptic as to Christianity, 
 incidentally eomtirnu the fact that the early Chris- 
 tians were unequivocal non-resistants. “The defence 
 of our persons and property they knew not how to 
 reconcile with the patient doctrine, that enjoined an 
 unlimited forgiveness of past injuries, and command- 
 ed them to invite fresh insults. Their simplicity was 
 offended by the use of oaths, by the pomp of magis- 
 tracy, and by the active contention of public life ; nor 
 could their humane ignorance be convinced that it 
 was lawful, on any occasion, to shed the blood of 
 their fellow creatures, either by the sword of justice 
 or that of war, even though their criminal and hostile 
 attempts should threaten the whole community.” * 
 * * * “They felt and confessed that such institu- 
 tions [life-taking, &c.] might be necessary for the 
 present system of the world, and they cheerfully sub- 
 mitted to the authority of their Pagan Governors. 
 But while they inculcated the maxims of passive obedi- 
 ence, they refused to take any active part in the civil 
 administration, or military defence of the empire.” 
 Vol. I p. 24. “The humble Christians were sent into 
 the world as sheep among wolves, and since they were 
 not permitted to employ force, even in the defence of 
 
CHRISTIAN NON- RESISTANCE . 
 
 sr 
 
 their religion, they deemed that they should be still 
 more criminal, if they were tempted to shed the 
 blood of their fellow creatures in disputing the vain 
 privileges or the sordid possessions of this transitory 
 life. Faithful to the doctrine of the apostle, who in 
 the reign of Nero had preached the duty of uncondi- 
 tional submission, the Chirstians of the first t n roe 
 centuries preserved their conscience pure and inno- 
 cent of the guilt of secret conspiracy or open rebellion. 
 While they experienced the rigor of persecution, they 
 were never provoked either to meet their tyrants in 
 the field, or indignantly to withdraw themselves into 
 some remote and sequestered corner of the globe.” 
 Yol. II. p. 200. 
 
 Can there be any doubt that Jesus Christ, his apostles 
 and the primitive Christians held, taught and exemp- 
 lified the doctrine for which I am contending? Is not 
 the scriptural proof of its truth abundant, positive, 
 unequivocal and irresistible? Tt seems to me that it 
 is. I therefore commend what has been submitted to 
 the deliberate consideration of all candid minds, whose 
 veneration for and attachment to the Scriptures give 
 their testimony the least weight in determining such, 
 a question. 
 
58 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 CHAPTEK III. 
 
 Scriptural Objections Answered. 
 
 Obj. 1. You throw away the Old Testament— Voice of 
 ithe New Testament— Voice of the Old Testament— 
 Obj. 2 The scourge of small cords— Obj. 3. The two 
 swords — Obj. 4. The death of Ananias and Sapphira — 
 Obj. 5. Human government — Thirteenth of Romans 
 — How the apostles viewed the then existing govern- 
 ments — Submission to, not participation in governments 
 enjoined on Christians — In what sense the powers that be 
 are ordained of God— Pharaoh God’s “minister ” — Also 
 the monarch of Assyria — Also Nebuchadnezzar— The Po- 
 man government — Respects wherein government is or. 
 dained of God — Paul’s conduct in relation to government 
 — Conclusion. 
 
 I devote the present chapter to the consideration of 
 Scriptural Objections. Our doctrine is obviously 
 sustained by the most abundant and convincing proofs 
 from the scriptures of the New Testament. It forces 
 a degree of conviction on many minds by no means 
 prepared for the great practical change involved, or 
 even for a cordial assent to the doctrine itself. Hence 
 they fall back behind certain apparently formidable 
 objections, urged by more determined opponents from 
 the scriptures. They demand that these should be 
 satisfactorily answered. It is only fair that it should 
 be done. 
 
 ■OBJECTION I. — A r OU THROW AWAY THE OLD TESTA- 
 MENT. 
 
 ‘You cpiote exclusively from the scriptures of the 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 59 
 
 New Testament, to prove the non-resistance doctrine. 
 Those of the Old Testament are unequivocally against 
 it. They afford abundant precepts and examples in 
 justification of war, capital punishment, and various 
 forms of penal restraint on criminals. Is not the whole 
 Bible the word of God % Do you throw away and 
 trample under foot the Old Testament % If your doc- 
 trine were of God, it would be equally proveable from 
 both Testaments. ” 
 
 Answer. It is true that I have quoted exclusively 
 from the scriptures of the New Testament, to prove 
 the doctrine of Christian non-resistance. And I grant 
 that those of the Old Testament, with a few unimpor- 
 tant exceptions, are unequivocally against it, i. e., 
 taken independently of the Christian revelation. I al- 
 so admit the whole Bible, properly considered and in- 
 terpreted, to be in a general sense the word of God. 
 But I do not admit the Old Testament to be as clearly, 
 fully and perfectly the word of God as the New Testa- 
 ment; nor to be of equal authority with the latter, on 
 questions of doctrine and duty; nor to be the rule of 
 faith and practice for Christians. It is to be held in 
 reverence as the prophecy and preparative of the New 
 Testament — the fore shadow of better things to come. 
 If I can prove this to be the true character and office 
 of the Old Testament, I shall thereby silence the ob- 
 jection before us. Not only so, I shall demonstrate 
 that I pay the highest respect to both Testaments; 
 and that those who claim for the Old an equal author- 
 ity with the New, discredit both. Let us settle this 
 point. The scriptures of the two Testaments shall 
 speak for themselves. What they say of each other 
 must determine the matter. 
 
60 
 
 CHRISTIAN’ NON - RES ISTANCE . 
 
 VOICE OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 
 
 We will commence with the New Testament. “God,, 
 who at sundry times, and in divers manners, spake 
 in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in 
 these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom lie- 
 hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he 
 made the worlds.” Heb. 1: 1, 2. “ Wherefore, 
 
 holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, con- 
 sider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, 
 Christ Jesus; who was faithful to him that appointed 
 him, as also Moses in all his house. For this man 
 was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inas- 
 much as he that builded the house, hath more honor 
 than the house. ” “ Moses verily was faithful in all 
 
 his house as a servant, for a testimony of those things 
 which were to be spoken after. But Christ as a Son- 
 over his own house, whose house are we, &c., Ib. .'J: 1,. 
 2, 3, 5, 6. u For if perfection were by the Levitical 
 priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) 
 what further need was there that another priest should 
 arise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called 
 after the order of Aaron 1 For the priesthood being 
 changed, there is made of necessity a change of the 
 law.” u There is verily a disannulling of the com- 
 mandment going before, for the weakness and un- 
 profitableness thereof. For the law made nothing 
 perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by 
 the which we draw nigh to Cfod. ” 11 By so ’much was 
 
 Jesus made the surety of a better Testament. ” Ib. 
 7: 11, 12, 18, 19, 22. ‘‘But now hath he obtained a 
 more excellent ministry than they, by how much also 
 lie is the mediator of a better covenant,, which was 
 established upon better promises. Four if that first 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 61 
 
 Covenant had been faultless, then should no place 
 have been sought for the second. For, finding fault 
 with them, he saith, Behold the days come, saith the 
 Lord, AA'hen I will make a new covenant Avith the house 
 of Israel, and with the house of Judah; not according 
 to the covenant that I made Avith their fathers, in the 
 day Avlien I took them by the hand, to lead them out 
 of the land of Egypt, &c. * * * After those days, 
 saith the Lord, I will put my 1aa\ - s into their mind, 
 and write them in their hearts; and I will be to them 
 a God, and they shall be to me a people, ” &c. “ In 
 
 that he saith, a new covenant, he hath made the first 
 old. Now that Avhich decayeth and waxeth old is 
 ready to vanish away. ” lb. 8: 6, 13. See lb. 10: 1, 
 '2. “ Wherefore then serveth the Laav ? It was added 
 
 because of transgressions till the seed should come to 
 whom the promise was made.” “But before faith 
 •came A\ e Avere kept under the laAv, shut up unto the 
 faith which should afterward, s_be revealed. Where- 
 fore the law was our school-master to bring us unto 
 Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after 
 f hat faith is come, Ave are no longer under a school- 
 master. ” Gal. 3: 19, 23, 25. “Whereby, when ye 
 read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mys- 
 tery of Christ, which in other ages was not made 
 known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed un- 
 to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. ” 
 Ephes. 3:4,5. “Not that we are sufficient of our- 
 selves to think any thing as of ourseh T es; but our suf- 
 ficiency is of God; who also hath made us able minis- 
 ters of the Nety Testament; not of the letter, but of 
 the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth 
 life. But if the ministration of death, written and 
 •engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children 
 
62 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON- RESISTANCE. 
 
 of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of 
 Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was 
 to be done away; how shall not the ministration of the 
 Spirit be rather glorious ? ” “ For even that which 
 
 was made glorious, had no glory in this respect, by 
 reason of the glory which excelleth. ” “ Seeing then 
 
 that we have such hope, we use great plainness of 
 speech, and not as Moses, who put a veil over his face, 
 that the children of Israel could not steadfastly look 
 to the end of that which is abolished. But their 
 minds were blinded; for until this dajyremaineth the 
 same veil untaken away in the reading of the Old 
 Testament; which veil is done away in Christ. But 
 even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is 
 upon their heart. ” 2 Cor. 3: 5 — 8, 10 — 15. ‘ 1 Hav- 
 
 ing, therefore, obtained help of God, I continue unto 
 this day witnessing both to small and great, saying 
 noue other things than those which the prophets and 
 Moses did say should come. That Christ should suf- 
 fer, and that he should be the first that should rise 
 from the dead, and should show light unto the people, 
 and to the Gentiles.” Acts 26:22, 23. “Foras- 
 much as we have heard, that certain which went out 
 from us have troubled you saying, Ye must be cir- 
 cumcised and keep the law; to w hom we gave no such 
 commandment. ” “ For it seemed good to the Holy 
 
 Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden 
 than these necessary things: That ye abstain from 
 meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things 
 strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep 
 yourselves, ye shall do well. ” lb. 15: 21, 29. “And 
 by him all that believe are justified from all things, 
 from which ye could not be justified by the law of 
 Moses.” Ib. 13; 39. “For Moses truly said unto 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 63 
 
 the fathers, a Prophet shall the the Lord your God 
 arise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him 
 shall ye hear iu all things, whatsoever he shall say 
 unto you. Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel, 
 aud those that follow after, have likewise foretold of 
 these days. ” lb. 3:22, 24. “Do not think that I 
 will accuse you to the Father; there is one that- ac- 
 cuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had 
 ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he 
 wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings how 
 shall ye believe my word. ” John 5: 45 — 47. “ We 
 
 have found him of whom Moses in the law and the 
 prophets did write. ” John 3: 45 “ These are the 
 
 words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with 
 you, that all things must be fulfilled which were 
 written in the law of Moses, and the prophets, and in 
 the Psalms, concerning me.” Luke 24:44 “The 
 law and the prophets were until John; since that time 
 the kingdom of God is preached, and every man 
 presseth into it. ” lb. 16: 16. “Among those that 
 are born of women, there is not a greater prophet than 
 John the Baptist; but he that is least in the kingdom 
 of God is greater than he. ” lb. 7 : 28, “ There was a 
 man sent from God, whose name was John. He was 
 not that Light 1 but sent to bear witness of that Light, 
 the true Light which lighteth every man that cometh 
 into the world. ” “John bore witness of him, and 
 cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that 
 cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was be- 
 fore me.” “ For the law was given by Moses, but 
 grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. Ho man hath 
 seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is 
 in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. ” 
 John 1: 6 — 8, 15, 17, 18. “ John answered and said. 
 
(34 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 A man can receive nothing, except it be given him 
 from heaven. ” “ He [Christ] must increase, but I 
 
 must decrease. He that cometh from above, is above 
 all. ” For God giveth not the Spirit by measure un- 
 to him. ” John 3: 27, 31, 34. 
 
 Such is the testimony of the New Testament Scrip- 
 tures. The objector professes to hold them, at least, 
 equally authorative with those of the Old Testament, 
 and to receive the entire Bible as the word of God. 
 Now, does he implicitly believe what is declared in 
 the forecited passages? Does he believe that “ Christ 
 was counted worthy of more glory than Moses; ’ * that 
 Moses was “ a servant, but Christ a son over his own 
 house:” that “perfection was not by the Levitical 
 priesthood:” that Christ is the great “High Priest 
 after the order of Melchisedec: ” that “the priesthood 
 being changed, there is made of necessity a change of 
 the law: ” that the old “ law made nothing perfect: ” 
 that Jesus was made the surety of a better Testament 
 — the mediator of a better covenant: that the old cove- 
 nant was faulty, that it waxed old and was ready to 
 “ vanish away: ” that the law was a mere “ school- 
 master to bring mankind to Christ:” that the New 
 Testament is not of “ the letter which killeth, but of 
 the spirit which giveth life: ” that the law was “a 
 ministration of death, ” whose “ glory was to be done 
 away: ” that the Christian dispensation “ excelleth 
 in gl'oiy: ” that the end of the Mosaic dispensation 
 was to be “ abolished: ” that a v^eil remaineth nntaken 
 away from a certain Judaizing class of minds in read- 
 ing the Old Testament, “which veil is done away in 
 ■Christ: ” that Moses and the prophets wrote of Christ: 
 that Moses wrote of him when he announced the fu- 
 ture coming of a prophet, whom the people should 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 65 
 
 “hear in all things:” that the law and the pro- 
 phets were until John the Baptist, and then the king- 
 dom of God was preached: that John was greatest 
 among prophets previously born, an 3 yet inferior to 
 the least in the gospel kingdom: that Christ was be- 
 fore and above John — from heaven and above all — 
 endowed with the Spirit beyond measure — the true 
 “ light of the world? ” If he believes all this, what 
 becomes of his objection ? If he believes it not, what 
 becomes of the New Testament ? 
 
 VOICE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 
 
 And what says the Old Testament ? Does it contra- 
 dict the testimony of the New? Does it represent it- 
 self as the perfect and final revelation of God respect- 
 ing divine truth, human duty and destiny ? Does it 
 claim a higher mission, or more permanent authority, 
 than is ascribed to it in the New ? Does not Moses 
 predict Christ, and enjoin that he shall be heard in 
 all things ? Do not the prophets foreshow the coming 
 of the Messiah, and the establishment of a new coven- 
 ant, superior to that of Sinai ? Do not all the types 
 and shadows of the old dispensation presuppose a new 
 and more glorious one? Is there any need of my 
 quoting texts from the Old Testament Scriptures to 
 this effect? No; the objector will not demand it. 
 He will spare me the labor. For he must admit the 
 obvious truth. To doubt it would be to doubt the di- 
 vine inspiration of both Testaments, and thus to do 
 the very thing he so much deprecates — discredit the 
 whole Bible. If then, the New Testament claims to 
 supersede the Old, aud the Old, by prophecy, type 
 and shadow, announced beforehand the coming in of 
 a more glorious dispensation than itself, viz. the New, 
 
66 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 the point, is settled forever. The New Testament 
 supersedes the .Old on all questions of divine truth 
 and human duty. In affirming this, I only affirm 
 what both Testaments unequivocally declare respect- 
 ing themselves and each other. To question it is virtu- 
 ally to question the credibility of both. To affirm 
 the contrary is to charge falsehood on both. Instead, 
 therefore, of throwing away the Old Testament, I re- 
 ceive its testimony and render it a just reverence. 
 By looking to the New Testament and accepting it as 
 my rule of faith and practice, I rendered the most 
 honorable obedience to the teachings of the Old. 
 Whereas they who turn back from the perfection of 
 the New to the imperfection of the Old — from the 
 substance to the shadow — from sunlight to lamp- 
 light, to determine their Christian duty, trample on 
 both Testaments, and invalidate the whole Bible. 
 They believe neither; they obey neither. 
 
 In this view of the subject, the Old Testament, be 
 ing in its nature and design a prophecy and fore- 
 shadow of the New, is not against but for non-resist- 
 ance; notwithstanding the auti- non- resistant character, 
 for the time, of its particular precepts and examples. 
 Because it is, or- the whole, for Christ and the su- 
 preme authority of his teachings, non-resistance in- 
 cluded. It is for the New Testament with all its pe- 
 culiarities, and for the excellency of the glorious gos- 
 pel. Who can gainsay this? Hence, for professed 
 Christians to quote its precepts and examples as ap- 
 plicable to the present dispensation, is not only a 
 gross perversion, but a kind of pious fraud — not to be 
 tolerated for a moment. That man can be no friend 
 to the Old Testament, who drags it into overbearing 
 conflict with the New. He is the enemy of both. 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 6T 
 
 Nor is he the friend of Moses, who claims equality for 
 him with Jesus Christ. It is no better than an attempt 
 to turn a faithful herald into a rival of the king 
 his master, whose approach he is commissioned to 
 announce and prepare for. Yet there have never 
 been wanting those who have set up Moses in su- 
 periority to Jesus. Moses predicted, and instituted 
 preparations for the coming of a Prophet whom the 
 Lord God should in due time raise up. That Prophet 
 was Christ. And what did Moses enjoin respecting 
 the reverence to be paid to Christ ? “Him shall ye 
 hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.” 
 Well, the predicted one came into the world and 
 spake as man never before had spoken. But he cor- 
 rected some, modified others, and absolutely abrogat- 
 ed several of the sayings of Moses. Moses, for the 
 hardness of the people’s hearts, had authorized them 
 to divorce their wives for ordinary causes of dislike. 
 But Jesus imperatively forbade them to do so, except 
 for one cause — fornication. Moses sanctioned sacred 
 and j udicial oath-taking, and enjoined the most faith- 
 ful performance of all vows. “But 1 say unto you 
 swear not at all,” is the injunction of Jesus. Moses 
 said— “life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for 
 tooth,” &c. “But I say unto you, that ye resist not 
 evil” thus, is the mandate of the new Prophet. This 
 viry superiority of Jesus to Moses became an offence 
 to the Jews. “Whom makest thou thyself?” said 
 they contemptuously. “We know that God spake 
 unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence 
 he is.” But Jesas said — “if ye had believed Moses 
 ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me. ” 
 Yet he became to them a stumbling stone, and a rock 
 of offence. They would not hear him in all things, 
 
68 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 even though solemnly enjoined by Moses to do so. 
 The same stumbling still happens among professing 
 Christians. "When the plain non-resistant precepts of 
 Jesus are urged upon them, and are demonstrated to 
 be prescriptive requirements of the gospel, they are 
 accounted hard sayings. The old law of retaliation 
 is so sweet, ai d inflictions of evil are so convenient, 
 as means of resisting evil, that though unable to 
 avoid the obvious non-resistant construction of the 
 language in which those precepts are expressed, they 
 retire behind the authority of Moses, and deny that 
 Jesus abrogated his sayings. They do not know what 
 Jesus really meant, but they affect to be certain that 
 he left war, capital punishment, penal inflictions and 
 personal resistance, just where Moses did. Though 
 Jesus expressly refers to the saying of Moses — “ life 
 for life, eye for eye, and tooth for tooth ’’--and re- 
 vokes it, still they adhere to it. And this they do 
 under pretence of extraordinary reverence for the 
 word of God— the whole Bible; alleging that non-re- 
 sistants contemn Moses and the Old Testament, in the 
 very act of receiving Jesus and the new covenant for 
 what those precursors announced they should be. 
 But the accusation returns upon their own heads. 
 They are the contemners of Moses and the Old Testa- 
 ment. For if they believed Moses and the prophets, 
 they would believe in Jesus and the New Testament, 
 as mo. e excellent, glorious and authorative than their 
 forerunners. But as it is, they receive neither the Old 
 nor the New Testaments as the Word of God, in any 
 such sense as each separately, and both mutually, 
 purport to be. Is it to be believed, then, that iftLey 
 could summon Moses from the world of spirits, he 
 would commend them for their adherence to his war 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 69 
 
 like and punitive precepts, regardless of Christ’s non- 
 resistant precepts? Would he thank them for over- 
 bearing and nullifying the laws of Jesus, by perpetu- 
 ating and enforcing his code ? Would he not re- 
 buke them for their unbelief and rebellion of soul ? 
 Would he not, like Elias, say, “ he that cometh after 
 me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy 
 to bear ? ” “ He must increase, but I must decrease. 
 
 He that is of the earth is earthly; he that cometh from 
 heaven is above all. ” “ Hear him in all things. ” I 
 
 consider the objection under notice fairly answered. 
 
 OBJECTION II. — THE SCOURGE OF SMALL CORDS. 
 
 “ And Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and found in 
 the temple those that sold oxen, and sheep, and doves, 
 and the changers of money, sitting. And when he 
 had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all 
 out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and 
 poured out the changer’s money, and overthrew the 
 tables; and said unto them that sold doves, take these 
 things hence; make not my Father’s house a house of 
 merchandize. And his disciples remembered that it 
 was written, the zeal of thy house hath eaten me up. ” 
 Jno. 2: 13 — 17. Is not this transaction of Jesus di- 
 rectly contrary to your doctrine of non-resistance? 
 
 Answer. — Whether the conduct of Jesus on this 
 occasion was inconsistent with my construction of his 
 non-resistance precepts, depends very much on the. 
 particular facts of the case. Did Jesus injure, or' 
 threaten to injure, any person whom he expelled from 
 the temple? Did he impair the life or health of any 
 human being? Did he wantonly destroy property? 
 Dal he commit any injurious act on the body, mind, 
 or rightful estate of any person concerned ? If he did. 
 
70 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 liis conduct was inconsistent with what I have defined 
 to be Christian non-resistance. If he did not, it is per- 
 fectly reconcilable with my doctrine. That he dis- 
 played an extraordinary zeal for the religious honor if 
 the temple is certain. Thatby some remarkable means 
 he caused a considerable number of persons traffick- 
 ing within the temple suddenly to remove from the 
 same, with their animals and other effects is granted. 
 That those persons had no right to occupy the temple 
 for such purposes, and ought to have voluntarily re- 
 moved upon the remonstrance of Jesus, will, I trust, 
 be admitted on ail sides. The precise point of inquiry 
 is, did Jesus inflict any injury on the persons, estate 
 oi morals of those who were caused to remove by his 
 interference ? If it is to be presumed that he inflicted 
 blows on the men with his scourge of small cords, and 
 that he violently upset tables covered with coin, scat- 
 tering it in all directions, I should have to admit that 
 he injured, more or less, those whom he drove out of 
 the temple. But I want some proof that he touched 
 a single person with his scourge, and that in over- 
 throwing the money changers’ tables he exhibited a 
 single undignified gesture. He urgently and authori- 
 tatively commanded the intruders to remove those 
 things thence, and probably assisted in pouring their 
 money into such vessels as were at hand, and in re- 
 moving the fixtures they had constructed for their 
 convenience. In all this he was earnest and deter- 
 mined, no doubt. But was he violent, outrageous, or 
 punitive? Are we to imagine him rushing furiously 
 among the sacreligious, smiting right and left whom- 
 soever he might reach with his scourge; knocking one 
 thing one way, and another the other way; tearing up 
 and breaking to pieces benches, tables and seats, like 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 71 
 
 the leader of a mob ! ! Some minds seem to imagine 
 such proceedings as these, and of course conclude 
 that many grevious cuts of the scourge remained on 
 the persons of the expelled, and that money and other 
 property was wantonly destroyed or wasted, or at 
 least lost to the owners. But as I have an equally 
 good right to imagine how Jesus acted on the occa- 
 sion, I shall presume that he did nothing unworthy 
 of the principles, the character and spirit which uni- 
 formly distinguished him. When he saw the temple 
 occupied by such a mixed multitude of pretended 
 worshippers; some really devout, some hypocritically 
 observing their formalities, and many others, who, while 
 professing to be promoting the service of God, were 
 intent only on acquiring gain — crowding their cattle, 
 fowls, and money changing tables hard upon the sanc- 
 tuary — so that the lowing of oxen, bleating of sheep, 
 cooing of doves, clinking of coin, and vociferations of 
 the keepers, mingled confusedly with the prayers, 
 hymns, recitations and responses of the devotees, his 
 soul was filled with grief, loathing and abhorrence. A 
 divine zeal fired his mind, to testify against and sup- 
 press this gross confusion and sacrilegious disorder. 
 Taking up from the pavement a few of those rushes, 
 or pieces of small cord made of rushes, which chanced 
 to lie about him, he fastened them together in the 
 form of a scourge or switch, and holding it up as an 
 emblem of the condemnation in which the multitude 
 had involved themselves, he commenced rebuking 
 them for corrupting the divine worship, and mocking 
 the Almighty with such a medley of prayer and traf- 
 fic. Waxing warmer in his denunciations, he assumed 
 a high moral and religious tone of authority, and 
 commanded the temple to be instantly cleansed of all 
 
VI 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 those nuisances. The people amazed and overawed 
 by the truth, justice, earnestness and uncompromis- 
 ing energy of his rebukes, shrunk backward from his 
 presence, yielded to the impulse which his moral force 
 imparted to them, almost involuntarily obeyed his di- 
 rections, and in a short time were actively engaged in 
 the work of removal. Jesus, waving the emblem of 
 condemnation and reproach, but without harming 
 either man or beast, followed up the retreating throng, 
 urging forward the cattle, expediting the clearing 
 and taking down of the money changer’s tables, and 
 pouring forth with increasing fervor his rebukes and 
 admonitions into the ears of the people, till the work 
 was consummated. I take for granted that in this 
 whole proceeding, spiritual and moral power was the 
 all controlling element; that Jesus used very little 
 physical force, and that little uninjuriously; that he 
 acted in all respects worthily of his authority, dignity, 
 spirit and mission as the Son of God; that there was 
 nothing of the mobocrat, fanatic, or police officer in 
 his manner; and that he did no injury to any human 
 being, — nothing but good to all parties concerned. 
 This is what I imagine respecting this affair. There 
 is no positive proof one way or the other; as to the 
 particular facts, we are left to form the best judgment 
 we can in view of the probabilities. These are all on 
 the non-resistant side of the question. It is unnatur- 
 al, absurd, and altogether improbable to suppose, 
 that. Jesus drove out so large a number of persons, by 
 actually scourging, or threatening to scourge their 
 bodies. That he severely scourged their minds with 
 just reproof, of which his rush scourge was a signifi- 
 cant emblem, \ willingly admit. And in this there is 
 nothing inconsistent with non-resistance, as I have 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 73 
 
 defined it. I insist, then, that it was neither mobo- 
 cratic, military, political, or any mere physical force, 
 by which Jesus cleansed the temple; but divine, 
 spiritual and moral power. Therefore, I throw the- 
 laboring oar upon the objector, and demand that he 
 adduce some evidence, other than mere inference or 
 conjecture, that the Saviour struck a single person 
 with his scourge, or otherwise absolutely injured any 
 human being. When something like this shall be 
 proved, I will confess the force of the objection. Un- 
 til then, I shall consider it sufficiently answered. 
 
 OBJECTION III. — THE TWO SWORDS. 
 
 According to the 22d chapter of Luke, Christ di- 
 rected his disciples to provide themselves swords. 
 “ He that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, 
 and buy one. ” Swords could be of no other use than 
 as weapons of war, or of self-defence. How can this 
 be reconciled with your doctrine of non-resistance ? 
 
 Answer. — There is one other use, to which the 
 sword might possibly be put. It might be employed 
 on a memorable occasion as the significant emblem of in- 
 i' nrious resistance, for thepurpose of emphatically incul- 
 cating non-resistance. I will attempt to demonstrate 
 that this was the special use to which Jesus intended 
 to apply it in the case before us. He gave this direc- 
 tion to buy swords at the last passover, just before 
 his betrayal in the garden of Gethsemane. When he 
 had given it, his disciples presently responded, — 
 “ Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he said 
 unto them, it is enough, ” v. 38. How could two 
 swords be enough to arm twelve men for war or self- 
 defence ? This single fact shows that such was not 
 the design of Jesus. He had a more sublime purpose.. 
 
74 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 "When .Tndas gave the traitorous kiss, and the multi- 
 tude approached to seize Jesus, his disciples demanded, 
 saying, “ Lord, shall we smite with the sword? And 
 one of them smote a servant of the high priest, and 
 cut off his right ear. ” v. 49, 50. Matthew (26: 52) 
 iniorms us how Jesus disposed of the sword. “Then 
 said Jesus unto him, put up again thy sword into his 
 place: for all they that take the sword shall perish 
 with the sword. ” So saying, he touched the wounded 
 ear, and restored it, suffering himself to be borne 
 away by his enemies without resistance. Thus the 
 sequel proved that he caused swords to be provided 
 for that occasion, (two only being enough) for the sole 
 purpose of emphatically, dually, and everlastingly 
 prohibiting the use of the instrument, even by the in- 
 nocent in self-defence. Ever after this, those apostles, 
 and for a long time the primitive Christians, conscien- 
 tiously eschewed the use of the sword. These three 
 facts prove my assertion. 1. Two swords were enough. 
 2. The moment one of these was wielded in defence of 
 betrayed innocence, it was peremptorily stayed, the 
 wound caused by it healed, and the sublime mandate 
 given, “ Put up thy sword again into his place; for 
 all they that take the sword shall perish with the 
 sword. ” And 3. The apostles and primitive Chris- 
 tians obeyed the in j unction, never afterwards making 
 the least use of such deadly weapons. This objection 
 then ends in solid confirmation of the non-resistance 
 doctrine, and may be appreciated accordingly. 
 
 OBJECTION IV. — DEATH OF ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA. 
 
 The sudden death of Ananias and his wife Sapphira, 
 for deception practised on the apostles, in keeping 
 back a portion of their estate for private use, while 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 75 
 
 pretending to consecrate the whole to the use of the 
 church, seems to have been virtually an infliction of 
 capital punishment. Is this reconcileable with your 
 non-resistance ? 
 
 Answer. — The death of those persons is not repre- 
 sented as the act of the apostles, or as in any manner 
 procured or occasioned by them, It is recorded as the 
 visitation of God, withoutany curse, imprecation or wish 
 of men. This will more fully appear from the record 
 itself. ‘ ‘ But a certain man named Ananias, with Sap- 
 phira, his wife, sold a possession, and kept back 
 part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and 
 brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ 
 feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled 
 thy heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back 
 part of the price of the land? While it remained, was 
 it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in 
 thine own power? Why hast thou conceived this 
 thing in thy heart? Thou hast not lied unto men, 
 but unto God. And Ananias, hearing these words, 
 fell down and gave up the ghost.” Three hours 
 after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, 
 came in, Peter said unto her, ‘‘How is it that je have 
 agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? Be- 
 hold, the feet of them which have buried thy hus- 
 band are at the door, and shall carry thee out. Then 
 fell she down straight way at his feet, and yielded 
 up the ghost.” Acts 5: 1 — 5, 7 — 10. Is there any inti- 
 mation in this account, that Peter, or any of the other 
 apostles, assumed judicial authority over those per- 
 sons? Or that they assumed any power, human or di- 
 vine, over their lives? Or that they caused, occasion- 
 ed, imprecated or desired their death? Certainly 
 not. The case then is not one on which the objec- 
 tion can pertinently rest. I therefore dismiss it. 
 
7G 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 OBJECTION V. — HUMAN GOVERNMENT — 13TH OF 
 ROMANS, &C. 
 
 Human government is recognised in the New Testa- 
 ment, as the ordinance of God, for good to mankind. 
 Rulers are declared to be a terror, not to good works, 
 but to the evil ministers of God, and revengers“to ex- 
 ecute wrath upon him that doeth evil;” who bear not 
 the sword iu vain, and ought to receive tribute, cus- 
 tom and honor at the hands of Christians,” not only 
 for wrath but also for conscience’ sake. ” Paul 
 pleaded his citizenship as a Roman to obtain an hon- 
 orable discharge from prison, and on another occasion 
 to save himself from the scourge. He applied for 
 military protection to save his life from the forty con- 
 spirators, and appealed to Ciesar to obtain justice in 
 his defence against the accusations of the Jews. See 
 Romans 13: 1 — 7. Acts 16:117. Ib. 22:24 — 29. Ib. 
 23:17. Ib. 25:10— 12. Titus 3: 1. 1 Peter 2:13, 
 
 14, and other passages. Now, as human government, 
 in all its various forms, with its military and penal 
 terrors, is the ordinance of God for good to mankind; 
 as its rulers are declared to be the ministers of God 
 for the protection of the innocent and the punishment 
 of the guilty; and as its requirements are to be re- 
 spected with submission, it follows that Christians, in 
 stead of non participating therein, on account of war, 
 capital punishment and penal inflictions, - ought to 
 share in its responsibilities, and be its firmest sup- 
 porters,— always conscientiously endeavoring to ren- 
 der it in the highest degree efficient for its divinely 
 appointed purpose. Here then is an insuperable ob- 
 jection to your doctrine of non-resistance — certainly 
 so, as respects government, war, capital punishment, 
 &c. 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 77 
 
 Answer. This is by far the most plausible and se- 
 ductive objection, uow urged against Chistian non-re- 
 sistance. It deceives and misleads more good minds, 
 and is harder to be answered than any other. And 
 yet it is essentially fallacious and invalid. This I 
 will endeavor to demonstrate. Government is the 
 bond of social order. It is that directing and regu- 
 lating authority which keeps individuals in their prop- 
 er relations to each other and the great whole. The 
 intelligent Christian must contemplate it in three 
 several characters. 1. Government per se ; li. Gov- 
 ernment de jure ; and 3. Government de facto. Gov- 
 ernment per se is authority exercised to maintain and 
 promote moral order. Moral order, of course, pre- 
 supposes rational social beings. When such beings 
 are in a state of true moral order they are right-mind- 
 ed, and being right-minded, gradually reduce all 
 things physical to the right condition. Mind gov- 
 erns matter and moral authority governs mind. Mor- 
 al order involves all other order. Imperfect moral 
 order leaves all things in a state of imperfect order. 
 Moral disorder draws after it all manner of physical 
 disorder. Therefore, all depends on a supreme mor- 
 al authority, or government. This must be inherent- 
 ly diviue. It is original and self-existent in God only. 
 Government per se , then, is essentially divine ; it is 
 of and from God. It is not original in any created be- 
 ing. Wherever it exists, it is derivable from God. 
 If so, there is, strictly speaking, no such thing as hu- 
 man government. Man is always subordinate to God, 
 and can have no right to enact any law, or to exer- 
 cise any governmental power contrary to the divine 
 law and government. If human nature possessed 
 original, independent governing authority, men could 
 
78 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON- RESISTANCE. 
 
 rightfully repeal, or nullify the divine law. Now 
 they cannot. Consequently all law and government 
 absolutely contrary to the law and government of God 
 is morally null and void. But all law and govern- 
 ment, in accordance with the divine law and govern- 
 ment, is morally binding on every human being. 
 This presents government in its second character ; 
 government de jure, or of absolute right. Tnat all 
 human governments ought to be conformed to the 
 standard of the divine none will deny. If they were 
 thus conformed, they would cease to be human in 
 their spirit and character. They would become mere 
 incarnations and elaborations of the divine. But as 
 the word human, when joined to the word govern- 
 ment, may imply nothing more than a human mani- 
 festation, is a well regulated social organization, I will 
 not discard its use, my meaning being understood. I 
 will say, then, that Christian non resistance, so far 
 from conflicting with government per se, or human 
 government de jure, i. e., human government strictly 
 subordinate and conformed to the divine government^ 
 holds the first supremely sacred, and the last as it-! 
 grand desideratum. And on this very account it re- 
 quires the disciples of Christ to keep themselves dis- 
 entangled from all such human governments as are 
 fundamentally repugnant to the divine government, — 
 all such as are not de jure, according to the law of God 
 declared by Jesus Christ. This brings into view the 
 third character, in which non-resistants are obliged to 
 contemplate government ; viz: government de facto, as 
 it is in fact. And what has human government ever 
 been in fact, from the beginning to this day ? Has it 
 been identical with the divine government? Has it 
 been radically government de jure, according to the 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 79 
 
 law of the living God ? Is the present government of 
 the United States, with all its captivating professions, 
 and really good things, fundamentally a Christian 
 government? Who will dare to say so? What tke 1 
 was human government de facto in the apostolic times? 
 The government of Herod, Pilate, Nero and the Ro- 
 man Csesars, under whom oppression, injustice, ty- 
 ranny and cruelty rioted on human rights, deluged 
 the habitable globe with blood, crucified the son of 
 God, and made myriads of martyrs? 
 
 Now, a preliminary question to be settled is, wheth- 
 er the Apostle Paul in the 13th chapter of Romans, 
 speaks of government per se, or of government de jure 
 or of government de facto. If only of the first or sec- 
 ond, then is there no incompatibility of his words 
 with non resistance, and the objection falls to the 
 ground. But if he speaks of hutnau governments aud 
 rulers, such as they were in the Roman empire, fur- 
 ther investigation will be necessary to set the subject 
 in a true light. I will take for granted that he was 
 speaking of the governments and rulers under whom 
 Christians then lived ; for I can suppose nothing else. 
 
 HOW THE APOSTLES VIEWED THE THEN EXISTING 
 GOVERNMENTS. 
 
 Taking this ground, we wish to know precisely how 
 he and other apostles viewed those governing powers, 
 and how they counselled the disciples of Christ to feel 
 and act with regard to them. If Christ and His apos- 
 tles regarded the Cresars and their subordinate kings, 
 governors and magistrates, as moved and approved of 
 God, as His conscious ministers, in carrying on the 
 government of those times; if they really held the then 
 existing governments of the earth to be ordained of 
 
80 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 God, in the same sense that their own spiritual, relig- 
 ious and moral authority was, then is the objection 
 before ns unanswerable. Then, of course, I must ad- 
 mit that it is the duty of Christians to share in the re- 
 sponsibility of any government under which they may 
 live, and to support its requirements in all things, 
 war, capital punishment, persecution, idolatry, slavery 
 and. whatever else it may exact. It would then be 
 God’s own law and voice — to be obeyed implicitly in 
 all things. There could be no limitations or excep- 
 tions. Did the apostles teach such doctrine as this ? 
 If they did, how happens it that they and the primi- 
 tive Christians kept themselves so scrupulously aloof 
 from the governments of their times? No: the ob- 
 jector will not contend for any such unqualified en 
 dorsement of human government by the apostles He 
 will disclaim such extreme conclusions. He will ad- 
 mit the gross corruption, tyranny and wickedness of 
 those very governments which Paul declares to have 
 been “ordained of God.” He will admit more than 
 I shall stop to demand, of horrible impiety, iniquity 
 and persecution on the part of those very rulers, whom 
 the apostle declares to be the “ministers of God — 
 avengers to execute wrath on evil doers.” He will 
 not argue that such governments as those of the 
 Herods, the Pilates and the Neroes, were “ordained of 
 God,” in the same sense that the Church of Jesus 
 Christ was. Nor that those bloody minded rulers and 
 their agents were “ministers of God,” consciously and 
 approvedly, as were the apostles. He knows that 
 Paul uever intended to be so understood. Here, then, 
 is the mischievous little catch of the objection. 
 Words and phrases are taken in a false sense. There 
 is a sense in which it is true that “there is no power 
 
 5 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 81 
 
 but of God;” iu which “the powers that be are ordain- 
 ed of God;” in which “rulers,” even the worst of 
 them, “are not a terror to good works, but to the 
 evil;” in which they are “the ministers of God for 
 good” to the righteous, and “avengers to execute 
 wrath” on men of violence. But what is this sense "? 
 Let us investigate the matter. 
 
 SUBMISSION TO, NOT PARTICIPATION IN, GOVERN- 
 MENT ENJOINED ON CHRISTIANS. 
 
 It is clear that Christians are everywhere in the 
 Xew Testament enjoined to render respect and sub- 
 mission to human governments, kings, rulers and 
 magistrates. They are forbidden to resist “the 
 powers that be,” or their ordinances, by any act of 
 wanton disobedience, insurrection, sedition or violence, 
 whatsoever. They are commanded to obey them in all 
 things not involving disobedience to God, and then to 
 do their duty patiently, suffering whatever persecu- 
 tion, penalties or violence government may inflict up- 
 on them. But it is equally clear that Christians are 
 now here in the ISTew Testament enjoined to enter 
 into political combinations; nor to accept offices 
 of trust and emolument, civil or military, under any 
 human government; nor to apply to courts of law 
 for redress of injuries committed upon them; nor to 
 seek personal protection from the civil or military 
 power. All tnis being assumed, we wish to as- 
 certain whether Christians are enjoined to pay re- 
 spect, submission and tribute to governments and 
 their administrative officers, otherwise than to bodies 
 of men, or individuals not governmentally organized 
 constituted and empowered. It would seem that they 
 are. They are to render respect, submission, tribute 
 
82 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON RESISTANCE. 
 
 and custom to governments and rulers as such. There 
 must then be reasons for paying this peculiar defer- 
 ence and homage. What are they? Paul presents 
 them in the passage referred to, Romans 13: 1 — 7. 
 But there is a difficulty in determining precisely what 
 he means by such terms and phrases as “ordained of 
 God.” “ordinances of God,” “ministers of God.” 
 What is the true sense of these expressions "? Let us 
 see if we can determine. 
 
 IN WHAT SENSE “THE POWERS THAT BE ARE OR- 
 DAINED OF GOD.” 
 
 It cannot be in the sense, that he requires them to 
 be just what they are, and to do just what they do. 
 It cannot be in the sense that they can do no wrong, 
 commit no sin, and deserve no punishment. It can- 
 not be in any such sense as that kings, counsellors, 
 rulers and magistrates are not moral agents, or are in 
 any manner absolved from the common obligations of 
 other men, to love God with their whole heart, to love 
 their neighbors as themselves, to forgive the trespasses 
 of their offenders, to love their enemies, bless those 
 that curse them and do good to them that hate them. 
 It can be in no such sense, as would change the law of 
 God, reverse light and wrong, or screen them from 
 condemnation in anything sinful. It must be in some 
 general sense, a sense which implies merely their 
 necessity in the nature of things, and that they are 
 overruled iu the providence of God for the good of 
 mankind. In this sense they certainly are ordained of 
 God; and in this sense kings, presidents, governors and 
 rulers are ministers of God, i. e., instruments in the 
 grand economy of his providence for the good of well 
 doers, and the punishment and restraint of evil doers. 
 
CHRISTIAN NON- RESIST A NCE. 
 
 83 
 
 And this is as true of the most corrupt perverse, ty- 
 rannical rulers, as of the more worthy. It was as true 
 of Pharaoh. Nebuchadnezzar, Nero and Robespierre, 
 as of Mel chizedec, David, Antoninus and Washington. 
 Hence we must make a great difference between a con- 
 sciously inspired and approved minister of God, and 
 those “ministers of God” that “bear not the sword in 
 vain,” that are a “terror to evil doers, ’’and that are 
 “avengers to execute wrath.” Because these latter 
 have frequently no consciousness that they are instru- 
 ments in the divine hand, that he is using them to 
 any holy purpose, or that he approves of their con- 
 duct. On the contrary they are frequently conscious 
 of setting at defiance his law and judgments, and of 
 trampling under foot every thing divine and human 
 which appears to stand in the way of their selfish- 
 ness, ambition, revenge and lust. 
 
 PHAROAH GOD’S MINISTER. 
 
 Thus it is written- concerning Pharoah: “ For this 
 same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show 
 my power in thee, and that my name might be de- 
 clared through all the earth. ” But Pharaoh had no 
 consciousness of all this.. It entered not into his mo- 
 tives. He acted entirely according to his own per- 
 verse and wicked inclinations. And God punished 
 him just as if nothing but evil was to result from his 
 tyrannical reign. Yet in the great providential sense 
 he was “ ordained of God, ” was the servant or minis- 
 ter of God for good to Israel, and for the punishment 
 of the cruel Egyptians. He knew not the use God 
 was putting him to; he intended not the good which 
 lie was made to promote; and therefore received ac- 
 cording to the evil which he did intend. Yet prob- 
 
84 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON RESISTANCE. 
 
 ably the whole human race is now in a better condi- 
 tion for his having oppressed the children of Israel, 
 and thereby hastened their exodus from Egypt. The 
 results have been good, by reason, not of his righteous 
 motives, but of an all -wise, overruling providence 
 which made the tyrant unconsciously a minister of 
 its beneficent purposes. 
 
 THE MONARCH OF ASSYRIA GOD’S MINISTER. 
 
 So it was with the Assyrian government and its 
 monarch. “ O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and 
 the staff in their hand is mine indignation. I will 
 send him against a hypocritical nation, and against 
 the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to 
 take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread 
 them down like the mire of the streets. Howbeit he 
 meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so.” 
 “ Wherefore it shall come to pass, when the Lord hath 
 performed his whole work upon Mount Zion, and on 
 Jerusalem, 1 will punish the fruit of the stout heart of 
 the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks. 
 For he saith, by the strength of my hand have I done 
 it, and by my wisdom, for I am prudent. ” “Shall 
 the axe boast itself against him that heweth there- 
 with 1 shall the saw magnify itself against him that 
 sliaketh it V’ Isaiah 10: 5 — 7, 12 — 15. Thus was the 
 Assyrian government ordained of God, in the apostle’s 
 sense, and the king thereof made to be “God’s minis- 
 ter, ” servant, instrument. He was made to be so 
 not only without any consciousness, but against his 
 own -proud, ambitious and vindictive will. And like 
 Pharaoh before him he was judged according to 
 the evil he intended, and not according to the 
 good which God obliged him, unwittingly, to sub- 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 85 
 
 serve. He was made a rod of correction to hypocritic- 
 al Israel, in the divine hand “a terror to evil doers,” 
 even while being himself a gigantic evil doer. He 
 “ bore not the sword in vain,” u howbeit he meant 
 not so. ” Query. Would this have been a good rea- 
 son why the prophets and pious portion of Israel 
 should go and connect themselves with his govern- 
 ment or army ! Yet it was a good reason why they 
 should persevere in declaring the truth, in promoting 
 righteousness, and in patiently awaiting the deliver- 
 ances of divine providence. 
 
 NEBUCHADNEZZAR GOD’S MINISTER. 
 
 Nebuchadnezzar affords another instance of the 
 same ordination and overruling of God. “ Behold, I 
 will send and take all the families of the north, and 
 Nebuchadnezzar, my servant [my minister,] and will 
 bring them against this land,” &c. “ And it shall 
 
 come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, 
 that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that na- 
 tion saith the Lord, for their iniquity, ” &c., Jer. 25: 
 9, 12. Was Nebuchadnezzar God’s minister for good 
 to Jeremiah and the faithful, but an avenger to exe- 
 cute wrath on the wicked Israelites ? Was he one 
 who bore not the sword in vain — and who was a terror 
 to evil doers ? Such God made him to be. But was 
 he conscious of it ? Was it his motive '? Did he Avork 
 righteousness? Was he not really a very wicked 
 man ? Did not God condemn and punish him % 
 Would it have been commendable, in Jeremiah and 
 the upright few among the Jews, to have gone over 
 and become soldiers in his army ? They did, indeed 
 peaceably go out and surrender to him, and coun- 
 selled their countrymen tp submit to his government, 
 
86 
 
 OH RISTI AN NON - RESISTANCE . 
 
 on the very ground that God had determined to hum- 
 ble them for their great national sins, and had in his 
 providence given Nebuchadnezzar power to subdue 
 them. But they .never held up the invading mon- 
 arch as righteous, and approved in the sight of God. 
 
 THE ROMAN GOVERNMENT. 
 
 If we descend to Paul’s time and contemplate the 
 Roman government, its Ctesars and their governors of 
 provinces, should we not be obliged to view them in 
 the same light ? We might, indeed, find many laws, 
 institutions, measures, and particular acts of adminis- 
 tration worthy of commendation, which no good man 
 would wish depreciated. But how much of the tyran- 
 nical. oppressive, cruel and utterly abominable would 
 rise up before us, to awaken our disgust and abhor 
 reuce ? What shall we think of the emperor Nero, 
 under whom Paul, Peter and thousands of Christians 
 were put to death, whose name has become univer- 
 sally infamous for cruelty, persecution and brutality ! 
 Yet he was a ‘‘minister of God ” — “ a terror to evil 
 doers, ” — 11 an avenger to execute wrath, oue who 
 “ bore not the sword in vain ,? — to whom tribute 
 should be paid, honor rendered, and unresisting sub- 
 mission offered. Paul, Peter, and the Christian mar- 
 tyrs, all acted accordingly. And though he perse- 
 cuted them unto death, it was doubtless true, that 
 God iu his providence made him, in spite of his 
 wickedness, a minister to them for good; causing all 
 things to work together for good to them, as the true 
 lovers of righteousness. How else shall we under- 
 stand the apostle’s doctrine, or interpret the persecu- 
 tions inflicted on them by “ the powers ordained of 
 God, ” anil by rulers like Nero and his deputies, the 
 
CIIRISTIA N NON-RESISTANCE . 
 
 87 
 
 <l ministers of God f ” We cannot for a moment re- 
 gard these “ powers” as approved of God, nor those 
 tyrant monsters as his conscious u ministers, ” the or- 
 acles and conscientious doers of his will. And yet, in 
 the general sense, the great providental sense, all 
 Paul says of them is true. For is his declaration of 
 this truth useless or unimportant? It is necessary for 
 the comfort, support and right conduct of Christians 
 amid the uproar, tumult and apparent confusion of 
 governmental affairs. They must see by faith the 
 hand of their Father guiding the helm of events, re- 
 straining the wrath of man, and overruling the most 
 powerful agencies of human society for good. Other- 
 wise they would often despair of the world’s redemp- 
 tion, and be thrown into the foaming currents of re- 
 taliation, revolution, violence and war. But now they 
 may do their duty without fear, in full confidence 
 that “ the Lord God omnipotent retgneth ” in right- 
 eousness over all governments, monarehs, kings, rul- 
 ers, and magistrates; judging them according to their 
 •own proper motives and works, but overruling their 
 most perverse doings for the particular good of the 
 just, and the general good of the universe. 
 
 RESPECTS WHEREIN GOVERNMENT IS ORDAINED OF 
 
 GOD. 
 
 I come then to the following conclusion: 3. That 
 
 government of some sort supplies a fundamental want 
 of human nature, and must exist wherever men exist. 
 In this respect it is ordained of God. 2. That human 
 governments de facto are barbarisms, corruptions, per 
 versions and abuses of the true government de jure, 
 which God through Christianity aims to establish 
 among mankind; and are therefore the nearest ap- 
 
88 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 proaches which the mass of men in their present low 
 moral condition are capable of making to the true 
 ideal. In this respect government is ordained of God. 
 3. That the worst of governments are preferable to ab 
 solute anarchy — being the least of two evils, and ren- 
 dering the condition of man on the whole more toler- 
 able. In this respect “ the powers that be are or- 
 dained of God. ’ ’ 4. That human governments gene- 
 
 rally proclaim and sanction some great truths and du- 
 ties, execute some justice, and intentionally maintain 
 more or less wholesome order; that they are in many 
 respects positively good in motive and deed, thus far 
 conforming to the divine government. In this respect 
 they are ordained of God. 5. Wherein human gov- 
 ernments and their administrators are fundamentally 
 tyrannical, selfish, oppressive, persecuting, unprin- 
 cipled and morally abhorrent, they are overruled in 
 the hand of God, as unwitting instrumentalities for 
 the punishment and restraint of violence, and for 
 quickening and purifying the moral sense of the 
 righteous, to superinduce in them a holier, more de- 
 voted and mightier activity in the great work of hu- 
 man reformation. In this respect the powers that be 
 are ordained of God, and rulers are ministers of God 
 for good to the just, but of wrath to the children of 
 wrath. Therefore Christians are to respect, submit, 
 and render homage to the governments and rulers un- 
 der whom they live, however anti-Christian and even 
 persecuting; taking care to obey them in all well-do- 
 ing, to conform to their requirements in all matters 
 not conflicting with the divine requirements, differ- 
 ing from them as peaceably as possible, suffering their 
 wrongs patiently in hope, withstanding them only for 
 righteousness’ sake in things absolutely sinful, and 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 89 - 
 
 then enduring their penalties with non resistant 
 meekness and submission. But at the same time t hey 
 are to be true to the kingdom of God, faithful in their 
 allegiance to the great law of Christ, never departing 
 from it for the sake of assuming the reins of any hu- 
 man government, or obtaining its honors, emoluments,, 
 advantages, approbation or protection If they can 
 enter into any government and carry their Christian- 
 ity with them unadulterated and untrammelled, let 
 them enter. If not, it is their imperative duty to re- 
 main out of it, peaceable, unoffending subjects. Their 
 mission is a higher and nobler one than that of tlie- 
 worldly politician, statesman or ruler. They must not 
 desert, betray or dishonor it. If they continue faith- 
 ful they will gradually draw up human government 
 to the divine standard. If they lower themselves 
 down, by renouncing or compromising their prin- 
 ciples, for the sake of participating in any fundamen- 
 tally anti-Christian government, hoping thereby to 
 elevate the moral tone of such government, they 
 will infallibly be disappointed. They, will sink 
 themselves, and with them the government will 
 sink still lower than before. They must everlast- 
 ingly insist on the principles and precepts of Jesus 
 Christ; and whatever will not come to those, leave to 
 its own genius and doom. God will take care of all 
 the rest. “ For there is no power but of God, and 
 subject to his own sovereign disposal. The Christian 
 has nothing to care for but to be a Christian indeed, 
 allowing himself never to be transformed into any 
 thing, or committed to any undertaking essentially 
 inconsistent with his sublime profession. 
 
 If I have taken a correct view of this important, 
 but difficult subject, I have fairly removed the pend- 
 
CHRISTIAN NON- RESISTANCE. 
 
 90 
 
 ing objection, so far as it rests on the 13th chapter of 
 Romans, and similar passages. I am confident this 
 view is substantially correct; and I do not believe the 
 opposers of Christian u on -resistance can give any 
 other view which will harmonize decently, either with 
 the plain tenor of the Scriptures, or with their own 
 doctrine, respecting the natuie and functions of civil 
 government. It remains only that I touch on that 
 part of the objection which asserts that Paul in cer- 
 tain cases resorted to human government, idolatrous, 
 warlike and despotic as it then was, to secure immun- 
 ity, protection and justice. 
 
 Paul’s conduct in relation to government. 
 
 This is a misapprehension, or at least a false view 
 of the facts. Did Paul ever commence a prosecution 
 at law for the redress of injuries perpetrated on his 
 person, property or rights "? Did he ever apply to the 
 civil or military authorities for personal protection, 
 when at large, pursuing his usual avocations"? Never. 
 Such a case is not on record The cases cited all oc- 
 curred when he was a prisoner, in charge of the gov- 
 ernment officers. The first instance is mentioned Acts 
 16:37. Paul and Silas had been thrown into prison 
 and cruelly beaten by order of the magistrates of 
 Phillippi. The next morning those magistrates sent 
 directions to the jailor to let them go. “But Paul 
 said unto them, they have beaten us openly nncou- 
 demned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison; 
 and now do they thrust us out privily? nay, verily; 
 but let them come themselves and fetch us out.” 
 The result was, that the magistrates, knowing that 
 they had proceeded unlawfully, were glad to acknow- 
 ledge their error, and discharge the prisoners in an 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 91 
 
 .’honorable manner. This was all Paul demanded. 
 -He and Silas had done nothing, even according to the 
 laws of the land, to merit such vile treatment; and 
 knowing that they had a right, as Roman citizens, to 
 redress, they meant that the magistrates and the pub- 
 lic should understand the facts. They, however, 
 brought no action for redress, but were content to for- 
 •give their injuries, if only they might be regarded as 
 the injured party, and as such reputably discharged. 
 This is just what every Non-Resistant ought to do un- 
 der like circumstances. It would have been un- 
 worthy of the gospel, for Paul and Silas to have crept 
 ■ off in a private manner, leaving the people to infer 
 that they were culprits, allowed to escape by mere in- 
 dulgence. Christianity is as bold, faithful, and heroic 
 in asserting its rights, and sustaining its just repu- 
 tation, as It is non-resistant in respect to returning in- 
 jury for injury It is never mean and skulking, 
 but always open, frank, dignified and godlike. 
 
 The next instance cited is mentioned in the 22d 
 chapter, of Acts. The Jews had raised a mob, and 
 rushed on Paul to kill him. While they were 
 cruelly beating him, the chief captain came upon 
 them with his soldiers, and made Paul his prisoner, 
 causing him to be bound with two chains, and to be 
 conducted to the castle. Having reached the stairs 
 of the castle, he asked permission to address the ex- 
 cited multitude. He was permitted, and was heard 
 for a short time with great attention. But on declar- 
 ing that God had commissioned him to preach the gos- 
 pel to the Gentiles, the whole throng broke out into 
 the most furious invectives, saying, u Away with such 
 a fellow from the earth; for it is not fit that he should 
 live. And as they cried out, and cast off their clothes, 
 
92 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 and threw dust into the air, the chief captain com- 
 manded him to lie brought into the castle, and bade 
 that he should be examined by scourging; that he 
 might know wherefore they cried so against h i m . ” ' 
 This was an extraordinary state of things. An inno- 
 cent man falsely accused and maliciously assailed by 
 a crowd of bigoted and ferocious Jews, solely on ac- 
 count of his Christianity, was about to be cruelly 
 scourged, to extort a confession of some suspected 
 secret. Paul, being a freeborn Roman citizen, and 
 knowing himself privileged by that single fact from 
 such gross outrage, demanded, as they were binding 
 him with thongs — “Is it lawful for you to scourge a 
 man that is a Roman, and uncondemned V ’ This stay- 
 ed the proceedings instantly. “Take heed,” said the 
 centurion to the chief captain, “what thou doest: for 
 this man is a Roman.” “Tell me, art thou a Romani” 
 said the captain. Paul said “Yea.” The captain 
 answered — “With a great sum obtained I this free- 
 dom.” “But I was free born,”' replied the prisoner. 
 “Then straightway they departed from him, which 
 should have examined him: and the chief captain also 
 was afraid, after he knew that he was a Roman, and' 
 because he had bound him.” Here was one remark- 
 able excellency of the Roman law and authority: — a 
 Roman citizen must be treated with a certain degree 
 of respect, and (airly heard in his own defence, even 
 though guilty of great crimes. He must be regularly- 
 condemned before being subjected to the treatment of 
 a felon. This was nothing but a dictate of plain- 
 justice and common sense. But observe, Paul hack 
 not recently gone and purchased his privilege of Ro- 
 man citizenship, in order to provide against such con- 
 tingencies as these. He was “freeborn.” All he 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 93 
 
 did was to remind those who were about to violate the 
 Eoman law by scourging him uncondemued, of 
 his rights. He threatens nothing; he only throws 
 them upon their own responsibility. It was his right 
 and privilege to be dealt with civilly, till fairly tried. 
 He pleaded his rights in the most unassuming manner 
 .possible, and left those who had his person in their 
 power, to act for themselves. How just, how honor- 
 able, how meek, how noble, how non-resistant, was 
 his conduct ! There is nothing in it which any non- 
 resistant, in like circumstances, might not and ought 
 not to copy. 
 
 The next instance followed soon after. It is re- 
 corded in the 23d chapter of Acts. Paul still a pris- 
 oner iu the castle, had received a partial hearing be- 
 fore the chief priests and their council. Meantime 
 forty of his most violent enemies banded together un- 
 der oath not to eat or drink till they had killed him. 
 To find an opportunity for their deadly assault, they 
 agreed to request the chief captain to bring Paul 
 again before the council for further hearing; intend- 
 ing while he was imperfectly guarded to rush upon 
 him and effect their purpose. Paul’s sister’s son, get- 
 ting knowledge of this conspiracy, communicated it to 
 Ms uncle, who, thereupon called one of the centurions, 
 and said: Bring this young man unto the chief cap- 
 
 tain, for he hath a certain thing to tell him. ” The 
 young man did his errand to the chief captain, who 
 kindly sent him away under a charge of silence re- 
 specting the matter. To prevent bloodshed and all 
 further violence, the chief captain ordered four hun- 
 dred and sixty of his soldiers to convey Paul during 
 the night to Cesarea, to Felix the governor. Thus 
 was the threatened mischief avoided. This is what 
 
M CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 some understand to be Paul’s application for a mili- 
 tary force to protect his person. Did Paul apply .'or 
 protection ? Did he demand a military escort? Did 
 he ask anything, or recommend any thing, except 
 barely that the centurion would conduct his nephew 
 to the chief captain, that he might communicate his 
 message ? Iso, nothing. He was a helpless prisoner, 
 guarded by the chief captain’s soldiers. It was the 
 duty of that officer to afford him such personal pro- 
 tection as was due to all Roman citizens. Paul knew 
 from his preceding conduct, that the chief captain was 
 desirous of discharging his duty according to law. He 
 was apprised of the deadly conspiracy formed against 
 him. Had he been his own man, non-resistance 
 would have admonished him to escape the danger by- 
 flight. But he was a prisoner. He was to be brought 
 within reach of his foes, under treacherous pretences 
 of a desire to give him a further hearing, and then 
 murdered in'spite of his Koman guard. What could 
 he, or ought he to have done, either to save his own 
 life, or pay proper respect to the chief captain, less 
 than to cause the simple facts to be communicated t 
 It was his duty. He would have been most criminal 
 had he done otherwise. He meditated no counter at- 
 tack on the guilty. He sought no means of punishing 
 them. He counselled no measures of violence. He 
 recommended nothing, threatened nothing, demanded 
 nothing. He caused the proper information to be 
 conveyed to the captain, and meekly left all to his 
 discretion. And the captain proved his good sense, 
 as well as pacific disposition, by so disposing of the 
 prisoner as to prevent all violence and danger. In all 
 this matter Paul acted just as any Christian non-resis- 
 tant, in such circumstances, should act most unexcep- 
 tionably. 
 
CHRISTIAN NON RESISTANCE. 
 
 95 * 
 
 His “ appeal to Caesar” followed in the train of 
 these events. It is mentioned in the 25th chapter. 
 What was the nature and design of that appeal 1 He 
 had been falsely accused, subjected to a long impris- 
 onment, and partly tried tor heresy and sedition. 
 His trial was still pending after a two years delay of 
 justice. Festus, the new governor, found Paul still 
 in bonds. The high priest and chief of the Jews, now 
 moved their suit afresh and requested that-Paul might 
 be sent to Jerusalem — “ lying iu wait in the way to 
 kill him. ” But not succeeding in this plot, the Jews 
 went down to Cesarea to renew their accusations be- 
 fore the governor’s judgment seat. Paul reaffirmed 
 his innocence of all their charges, and nothing could 
 be made out against him. Festus, the governor, 
 “ willing to do the Jews a pleasure, asked Paul if he 
 would “ go up to Jerusalem, and there be judged of 
 these things. ” “ Then said Paul, I stand at Caesar’s 
 
 judgment seat, where I ought to be judged: to the 
 Jews have I done no wrong, as thou very well know- 
 est. For if I be an offender, or have committed any 
 thing worthy of death, I refuse not to die; but if there 
 be none of these things whereof they accuse me, no 
 man may deliver me unto them. 1 appeal unto Ctes- 
 sar. ” How noble and Christian like this appeal ! 
 Jerusalem was no place for an impartial trial. It was 
 only adding insult to injury, to propose under such 
 circumstances pretexts, to take him back among those 
 prejudiced and blood thirsty men. If he must be fur- 
 ther tried, he claimed his privilege to appear before- a 
 higher and more impartial court — to go to Rome. 
 God had directed him in a vision to do so, for the pur- 
 pose of proclaiming the gospel in that great city. 
 His defence was in fact nothing but the defence of the 
 
96 
 
 C HR ISTIAN NON - RESISTANCE . 
 
 gospel. He therefore appealed to Csesar. He was 
 not the accuser, but the accused. He had not come 
 into court to complain of and procure the punishment 
 of his enemies. He was not the prosecutor in this 
 case; but a prisoner, falsely accused, detained in bonds 
 unjustly, and now laid under the necessity of going 
 to Jerusalem or to Rome for the conclusion of his 
 trial. He might have his choice; it was his acknow- 
 ledged privilege; and he availed himselt of it as a 
 duty to the cause of Christ, no less than as a right. 
 And in this, as in other instances, he acted just as 
 he ought to have acted — just as any Christian non-re- 
 sistant would be bound to act. Neither of the cases 
 cited implies the slightest inconsistency of conduct 
 with the doctrine to which they are brought as objec- 
 tions. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 Having thus thoroughly canvassed all the impor- 
 tant objections to my doctrine, which I recollect ever 
 to have seen presented out of the Scriptures, I may 
 now confidently appeal to the understanding and con- 
 science of the Christian reader for a favorable verdict. 
 Have I not triumphantly demonstrated that the Holy 
 Scriptures teach the doctrine of non-resistance as de- 
 fined in the first chapter of this work % Have I not 
 fairly answered the objections urged from the Scrip- 
 tures against it 1 Is there any doctrine or duty taught 
 in the Bible, which c^n be sustained by more convin- 
 cing testimony 1 Or that can be more satisfactorily 
 freed from objections? It seems to me that candid 
 minds, after seriously investigating the subject, can 
 come to no other conclusion. I know that it is a mo- 
 mentous conclusion, drawing after it the most radical 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 97 
 
 -change of views, feelings, conduct and character 
 throughout Christendom and the world which can 
 well be imagined. But will it not be a most glorious 
 and salutary revolution? When all who sincerely 
 reverence the Bible, as in any sacred sense the word 
 of God to mankind, shall contemplate the Old Testa- 
 ment as the prophecy and preparative of the new, 
 pointing forward to the perfect development of moral 
 -excellence under the reign of Jesus Christ; when they 
 shall see in his precepts, examples and spirit a per- 
 fect manifestation of the divine wisdom and good- 
 ness; and shall feel that his righteousness, imbibed 
 into the hearts and exhibited in the lives ot mankind, 
 is the only remedy for all the world’s disorders ! 
 
 “Fly swifter round, ye wheels of time, 
 And bring the welcome day. ” 
 
98 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Non-Resistance Not Contrary To Nature. 
 
 Nature and the laws of nature defined— Self-preservation 
 the first law of nature— What is the true method of self- 
 preservation?— Demurrer of the objector— The objector still 
 persists; analogy of the animals — Common method of 
 self-preservation certainly false— Five great laws of hu- 
 man nature considered — These laws radically harmonious 
 —Non-Resistance in perfect unison with these laws — A 
 law of universal nature, like begets its like— General illus- 
 trations in common life — Special illustrations; 1, Subdued 
 pride and scorn; 2, The man whose temper was broken; 3, 
 The colored woman and the sailor; 4, The hay makers; 5, 
 The two students; 6, Two neighbors and the manure; 7, 
 Impounding the horse; 8, Two neighbors and the hens; 9, 
 Henry and Albert; 10, The subdued hatter; 11, The re- 
 volutionary soldier; 12, Ex-President Jefferson and the 
 cooper’s shop; 13, Wm Ladd and his neighbor Pulsifer — 
 Conclusion. 
 
 The opposers of Nou -Resistance with one voice con- 
 fidently assert that it is contrary to the known law of 
 Nature and therefore must be false, however plausi- 
 bly defended from the Scriptures. It is the desig i of 
 the present chapter to refute this confident assertion, 
 and to demonstrate that Christian non-resistance is in 
 perfect accordance with the laws of Nature considered 
 in all their developments. I. shall endeavor to do 
 this Avith arguments sustained by numerous facts and 
 illustrations drawn from real life. 
 
 NATURE AND THE LAWS OF NATURE DEFINED. 
 
 What is “Nature?” and Avhat are “the laws of Na- 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 99^ 
 
 tare?” These terms are in very common use with a 
 certain class of persons. But they are more flippant- 
 ly uttered than definitely understood. Doubtless they 
 may properly be used with considerable latitude of 
 meaning. In the present discussion, however, we 
 must be definite and clear. I shall, therefore, take 
 the term “nature” to mean— the essential constituent 
 elements, properties, qualities aud capabilities of any 
 being or thing. The aggregate of these is the nature 
 of auy being or thing, whether the particular being 
 or thing considered be ever so simple, or ever so com- 
 plex. Whatever, in or about a beiug or thing, is not 
 an essential constituent element, property, quality or 
 capability thereof, is not an absolute necessary of it. 
 And what is not generally an absolute necessary of a 
 being or thing, is not a part of its nature, but merely 
 an incidental or factitious appendage. Take human 
 nature, as that particular division of Universal Ma- 
 ture which we must consider in this discussion. 
 There are elements, properties, qualities and capabili- 
 ties essential to the constitution of a human being. 
 These are common to the race. We may say of them 
 in general that they are the absolute inherent neces 
 saries of man — i. e. his nature. But there are many 
 incidental and factitious elements, properties, 
 qualities and capabilities in aud about individuals 
 and communities of the human race, which are the 
 results of causes and circumstances, either temporary 
 and transient in their operation or ultimately remov- 
 able by human efforts. Aone of these are the essen- 
 tial constituents of human nature. They may all be 
 reversed or removed without annihilating or pervert- 
 ing nature. Let this be well understood. Aext, “the 
 aws of nature.” I understand the 1 aws of nature to 
 
100 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 be those forms, modes or methods according to which 
 it necessarily operates in its various developments. 
 "When any tendency or action of nature is observed to 
 be uniform under given circumstances throughout the 
 sphere of our knowledge, we infer that a certain law 
 or necessity governs it. Consequently, we speak of all 
 things as governed Dy some law ot nature. AVhat to 
 us is uniform and universal, or nearly so, we regard as 
 the result of nature’s laws — a certain necessity of 
 tendency and development, which determines the 
 form, mode, or method of its manifestation. These 
 laws are at best but imperfectly understood, and are 
 oftener talked about than well conceived of. They 
 are only secondary causes in a vast chain incompre- 
 hensible to finite minds, and which we vaguely trace 
 to a Supreme First Cause — the Self- Existent Divine 
 Nature, God. What we can with any propriety as- 
 sume to know of those undefinable some-tilings, termed 
 • - The laws of nature,” is only the uniformity and 
 universality of their results within the narrow sphere 
 of our observation. It becomes us therefore to be 
 - liumble and modest iu pronouncing on these laws. 
 We k now some things perhaps beyond possibility of 
 mistake. Many other things we know partially and 
 imperfectly; concerning which it is our besetting- 
 weak nesS to presume that we know a vast deal more 
 than we really do. Of the great whole we know 
 comparatively next to nothing. Of the whole, even 
 -.of those natures concerning which we know most, we 
 arti extremely ignorant,- as a few thousand j ears of 
 existence and continued observation would no doubt 
 convince us. But let us reason as well as we can from 
 what we know, and learn what we may in the great 
 .future. 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-EESISTANC’E. 
 
 101 
 
 SELF-PRESERVATION THE FIRST LAW OF NATURE. 
 
 It is reiterated that “self-preservation is the first 
 law of nature.” I grant it, and then what follows? 
 “Self-defence against whatever threatens destruction 
 or injury,” says the opponent. I grant it, and what 
 next follows”? “Generally mutual personal conflict,, 
 injury, and, in extremities, death. Hence there are 
 justifiable homicides, wars, injuries and penal inflic- 
 tions. Nature impels them. Her law of self preser- 
 vation necessitates them. They are right in the very 
 nature of things: and therefore non-resistance must be 
 as wrong, as it is impracticable. It is contrary to na- 
 ture, and cannot be brought into practice.” Let us 
 examine these bold assertions. I have granted that 
 “self-preservation is the first law of nature.” Also 
 that this law prompts to self-defence against whatever 
 threatens destruction or injury. I also admit the fact 
 that generally men, in common with the lower ani- 
 mals, fight, injure, and frequently slay each other in 
 self defence, or for something supposed to be neces- 
 sary to self-preservation. In granting this last, I only 
 grant that men are generally very fcolish and wickeds 
 
 WHAT IS THE TRUE METHOD OF SELF PEESERVAv 
 
 TION. 
 
 For it remains to be seen whether this general 
 method of self-preservation be the true method- 
 Wh ether it be not a very bad method.. Wdiether j it - 
 be not a method which absolutely defeats its own- de- 
 signed object. Let us inquire. If it be the true 
 method, it must on the whole work well. It must 
 preserve human life and secure mankind against in- 
 jury, more certainly and effectually than any other- 
 possible method. Has it done this? I do not admit 
 
102 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 it. How happens it that, according to the lowest 
 probable estimate, some fourteen thousand millions of 
 human beings have been slain by human means, in 
 war and otherwise ? Here are enough to people eigh- 
 teen planets like the earth with its present popula- 
 tion. What inconceiveable miseries must have been 
 endured by these worlds of people and their friends, 
 in the process of those murderous conflicts which ex- 
 tinguished their earthly existence ! Could all their 
 dying groans be heard and their expiring throes be 
 witnessed at once by the existing generation of men; 
 could their blood flow together hito one vast lake, 
 mingled with the tears of their bereaved relatives; 
 could their corpses be seen piled up in one huge pyra- 
 mid; or their skeletons be contemplated in a broad 
 golgotka, would it be deemed conclusive evidence that 
 mankind has practised the true method of self-preser- 
 vation ! ! Would it encourage us still to confide in 
 and pursue the same method “? Would it suggest no 
 inquiries, whether there were not ‘ ‘ a more excellent 
 way?” Should we not be impelled to conclude that 
 this method was the offspring of a purblind instinct — 
 the cherished salvo of ignorance — the fatal charm of 
 deluded credulity — the supposed preserver, but the 
 real destroyer of the human family ? If this long- 
 trusted method of self-preservation be indeed the best 
 which nature affords to ln*r children, their lot is most 
 deplorable. To preserve what life has been preserved 
 at such a cost, renders life' itself a thing of doubtful 
 value. If only a few thousands, or even a few mil- 
 lions, had perished by the two edged sword; if inno- 
 cence and justice and right had uniformly triumphed; 
 if aggression, injustice, violence, injury and insult, 
 after a few dreadful experiences, had been overawed; 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 103 
 
 if gradually the world had come iuto wholesome or- 
 der — a state of truthfulness, justice and peace; if the 
 sword of self defence had frightened the sword of ag- 
 gression iuto its scabbard, there to consume in its 
 rust; then might we admit that the common method 
 of self-preservation was the true one. But now we 
 have ample demonstration that they who take the 
 sword, perish with the sword. Is it supposable that 
 if no injured person or party, since the days of Abel, 
 had lifted up a deadly weapon, or threatened an in- 
 jury against an offending party, there would have 
 been a thousandth part of the murders and miseries 
 which Lave actually takeu place on our earth ? Take 
 the worst possible view; resolve all the assailed and 
 injured into the most passive non-resistants imagin- 
 able, and let the offenders have unlimited scope to 
 commit all the robberies, cruelties and murders they 
 pleased; would as many lives have been sacrificed, or 
 as much real misery have been experienced by the 
 human race, as have actually resulted from the gener- 
 al method of self-preservatian, by personal conflict 
 and resistance of injury witn injury ? He must be a 
 bold man who affirms it. The truth is, man has stcod 
 in his own light. He has frustrated his own wishes. 
 He has been deceived, deluded, betrayed, and all but 
 destroyed, by his own self conceited, evil imagina- 
 tion. He would not be taught of God. He would 
 have his own way. He would be a, fool, a spendthrift, 
 a murderer and a suicide.. Yet his Father still calls 
 after him. He offers to make him wise, good and 
 happy. He offers to teach him the true method cf 
 self preservation. It is found in the non resistance of 
 Jesus Christ. But he is wretchedly wedded to his 
 old idols, and will scarcely hear the voice of his only 
 true friend. When he will hear, he shall live. 
 
104 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 A DEMURRER OF THE OBJECTOR. 
 
 Judged of by its fruits *tlie common and much 
 vaunted method of self-preservation, by injurious re- 
 sistance, stands hopelessly condemned. “But, ” says 
 the opponent, “you have judged it unjustly. You 
 have charged upon it the destruction of fourteen 
 thousand millions of human lives. It is not answer- 
 able for a tythe of all this. It is answerable only for 
 the loss of life, &c., in cases of justifiable homicide, 
 war, injury and penal infliction. All the rest is 
 chargeable on the murderous wickedness of wanton 
 aggressors. Yor do you give it credit for the lives it 
 has actually preserved, and the injuries it has pre- 
 vented.” Answer. I do not charge injurious resist 
 ance with causing all these murders; but I do charge 
 it with occasioning most of them, and above all with 
 being no adequate preventive of them, — with not be- 
 ing the true method ot self-preservation. It may have 
 preserved many lives, and prevented much injury in 
 particular cases, in certain localities, but what has it 
 done on the whole — on the great scale ? And what 
 has it absolutely failed to do ? It has absolutely 
 failed to preserve human life to any great extent and 
 to give peace to the world. The whole world is in 
 arms, after nearly six thousand years close adherence 
 to this method of self-preservation. It costs the hu- 
 man race more to maintain the various means of this 
 method, than for religion, government and education 
 together. There must be a delusion somewhere. If 
 there were no such method in operation, the worst 
 that could happen would be the murders, oppressions 
 and cruelties of unprovoked aggression. These would 
 be dreadful enough ; but they would be nothing in 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 105 . 
 
 comparison with the results heretofore experienced, 
 and would gradually shrink away from the moral, 
 majesty of a renovated public sentiment. Besides, it 
 must be remembered that justifiable homicide, war, 
 injury, &c , are pleaded on all sides with equal earn- 
 estness. After a few passes with the sword, a few 
 rounds of musketry, a few assaults and retreats, it is- 
 all self-defence — all justifiable homicide, violence and 
 destruction. All parties are seeking only to conquer 
 an honorable peace. One party has been wronged 
 in point of honor, another in person, another in. 
 property, and auother in imagination; all are standing 
 on the defensive; all are for carrying out the first law 
 of nature by the common method. There is no ulti- 
 mate arbiter but the sword. Injury must be resisted 
 with injury. There was a first aggression, but so 
 many mutual wrongs have succeeded between the- 
 parties, that none but God can determine which is 
 most culpable. This is the confusion which attends 
 the operation of the general method of self-preserva- 
 tion. It professes to eschew all aggression, but in- 
 variably runs into it. It promises personal security, 
 but exposes its subjects not only to aggravated assaults, 
 but to every species of danger, sacrifice and calamity. 
 It shakes the fist, brandishes the sword, and holds up 
 the rod in terrorem to keep the peace, but constantly 
 excites, provokes and perpetuates war. It nas been 
 a liar from the beginning. It has been a satau pro- 
 fessing to cast out satau, yet confirming the power 
 and multiplying the number of demons which possess 
 our unfortunate race. It does- not conduce to self- 
 preservation, but to self- destruction,, and ought there- 
 fore to be discarded. 
 
106 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 THE OBJECTOR STIEE PERSISTS — ANALOGY OF THE 
 ANIMALS. 
 
 But our opponent will not yield the point. “It is 
 the nature (says he) of all animals to fight for their 
 lives and their rights. It is the nature of man to do 
 so. He is a fighting character by the laws of his be- 
 ing. He always was so, and always will be, while 
 there is aggression, assault and abuse in the world. 
 When all men are willing to leave off giving just 
 cause of injurious resistance, there will be peace; 
 never before. You may make the common method 
 of self-preservation good or bad, a blessing or a curse, 
 better than nothing or worse than nothing; man will 
 resist — will fight — will act out his nature, cost what it 
 may.” Answer. Yot so. Yon assume too much. 
 Your argument goes too far. Can I not prove by 
 your own reasoning that man is an aggressor, an as- 
 sailant, an offender, a robber and a murderer by na- 
 ture ? He has been practising all this aggression like 
 some of the lower animals — the beasts and birds of 
 prey — ever since the time of Cain. Is this a law of 
 his nature, as well as the other ? Because he always 
 has done these things, will he, and must he forever 
 continue doing them ? You say injurious resistance, 
 war and bloodshed will never cease till aggression 
 ceases. Will aggression ever cease? Can it ever 
 cease? Is it not a necessary result of the laws of na- 
 ture? What is the conclusion from such premises but 
 this, — that man’s nature obliges him to aggress and 
 resist just as he does, and there is no hope that he 
 will ever '’ease doing either. Yone but an atheist 
 ought to put forth such arguments. I deny that there 
 is any law or necessity of nature obliging man to in- 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 107 
 
 jure his fellow man, either offensively or defensively; 
 any more than there is for his being a drunkard, of- 
 fensive or defensive, to everlasting ages. He can 
 cease to practice both. He can be cured of his war 
 mania. He can be induced to abstain from commit- 
 ting injury by aggression, and also from committing 
 it in the way of resistance. The question is, whether 
 we shall preach non-resistance to the good, as well as 
 non- aggression to the bad; or whether we shall insist 
 only on non -aggression, leaving the comparatively 
 good to resist injury with injury, so long as aggression 
 shall continue. The good wish the bad to reform. 
 Will they return good for evil, and thereby hasten 
 their reform? or will they return evil for evil, and 
 thereby frustrate that reform? God has ordered the 
 work begun and prosecuted from both ends at once; 
 the bad to cease aggressive injury, and the good de- 
 fensive injury. Which shall take the lead in the 
 great work of reform ? Shall the good wait till the 
 bad cease from aggression, before they leave off inflict- 
 ing injury in self-defence? Christianity says no. It 
 bids them be ‘‘the salt of the earth,” and “the light 
 of the world;” to suffer wrong rather than do wrong, 
 “to overcome evil with good.” Is this possible? Or 
 is there some irresistible necessity in the laws of na- • 
 ture, compelling mankind to maintain an endless 
 conflict of aggression and resistance ? I deny that 
 there is any such necessity. 
 
 COMMON METHOD OF SELF-PRESERVATION CERT ATI LY 
 FALSE. 
 
 It is plain from the foregoing discussion, that the 
 general method of self preservation by injurious and 
 deadly resistance to aggression, is a false method; that 
 
108 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 it has tailed; that it has defeated its own designed ob- 
 ject; that it has constantly ran into the very wrongs- 
 it aimed to prevent; that it has made a bad matter in- 
 comparably worse; that it is not the dictate of 
 absolute nature, but a deplorable mistake of the 
 human judgment as to ways and means; and that 
 some other method must be substituted for it. It is 
 equally plain that nature necessitates aggression as- 
 certainly as it does injurious resistance to aggression; 
 that in fact it necessitates neither; and that non-resist- 
 ance, as I have defined it, is no more contrary to na- 
 ture than non-aggression. Both aggressive and re 
 sistant injury car be unlearned / abandoned and for- 
 ever eschewed, without annihilating or perverting 
 any essential constituent, element, property, quality 
 or capability of human beings. More than this, men 
 brought up to that moral excellency will be more 
 thoroughly and perfectly men than in any inferior 
 state. Their whole nature, physical, mental, moral 
 and religious, will then he more symmetrically and 
 gloriously developed than now. If so, non-resistance 
 cauuot be contrary to nature. Nor, if embraced and 
 carried into practice, will it fail to ensure the most 
 universal and complete self-preservation. It wilL 
 prove to be the true method demanded by that first 
 great law of nature. 
 
 I now confidently proceed with the assertion that 
 Christian non resistance is in perfect accordance with 
 the known laws of nature, and absolutely necessary to 
 harmonize their development by correcting the un- 
 toward influence of many evil circumstances under 
 which they have heretofore acted. 
 
 EIVE GREAT. LAWS OF HUMAN NATURE CONSIDERED. 
 
 Let us bring into view the prominent laws of na.- 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 10!) 
 
 ture. I will mention five of the most fundamental: 
 They are self-preservation, social affinity, religious 
 and moral obligation, rational harmony and progres- 
 sion. These may be pronounced universal and eternal. 
 Under the law of self-preservation, which is substan- 
 tially identical with self love, man instinctively de- 
 sires to exist and be happy. He dreads death; he 
 guards against injury: he endeavors to keep what 
 good he already has, and in a thousand ways strive 
 to acquire more. He is constantly prompted by this 
 law to take care of himself, and ensure his supposed 
 highest welfare. But the ways and means are neither 
 dictated nor indicated by this law. These come from 
 another law. Hence it not unfrequently happens that 
 men ignorantly resort to wa] s and means of preserv- 
 ing and benefiting themselves, which frustrate their 
 object, and even result in their destruction. Under 
 the law of social affinity the sexes unite, families are 
 reared up, friendships contracted, communities, states 
 and nations formed, and all the social relations, affec- 
 tions, sympathies and bonds superinduced. Man is 
 necessitated by this law to be a social being, and to 
 share the good and ill of life with others. But this 
 law does not necessarily teach him the best method of 
 social action— the true ways and means of the highest 
 social usefulness and enjoyment. Hence he often 
 forms the most unsuitable connections, and contri- 
 butes to uphold the most perverse social institutions. 
 But a social being, for better or worse he always was, 
 and always must be. Under the law of religious and 
 moral obligation lie confesses, worships and serves a 
 God; feels a sense of dependence, gratitude and duty; 
 is conscious that there is right and wrong in human 
 conduct; that he can choose either, but that he is ac- 
 
110 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 countable for tlie choice he makes— for his use or 
 abuse of ability possessed; feels guilty when he does 
 what he supposes to be wrong and approved when he 
 does what he believes to be right. Hence arises a 
 perpetual conflict between the lower and higher por- 
 tions of his nature. The carnal or mere animal mind 
 goes for unrestrained indulgence. The spiritual con- 
 tinually says, u do right, refrain Irom all else, how- 
 ever ardently desired. ” His propensities would run 
 riot down the broad road to destruction. But his re 
 ligious and moral sentiments connect him with God 
 and eternity, and forbid him all sensual indulgence 
 which can endanger his spiritual welfare. He must 
 do the will of God; must deny himself; must do right 
 at all hazards. He must not even preserve his life or 
 seek any good for himself by wrong doing. Thus is 
 he checked, straitened, restrained and disciplined. 
 But even this law, grand and powerful as it is, does 
 not at once acquaint him with the true God, nor with 
 the true right and wrong — the perfect righteousness. 
 Hence, millions have worshipped false gods, been 
 superstitiously religious, and verily thought rnany 
 things were right, which were in fact utterly wrong. 
 Yet man always was, and always must be a religious 
 and moral being, in some way, to some extent. He 
 cannot escape from this law of his nature. Next comes 
 the law of rational harmony or consistency. This 
 ever prompts men to delight in the harmony of 
 things — the consistency and agreement of one thing 
 with another — and of parts of things with their whole. 
 He is uneasy, dissatisfied, disturbed and restless on 
 account of incongruities, contradictions, incompati- 
 bilities and hostilities, in himself and all things 
 around him. Hence his intellectual powers, and 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 Ill 
 
 specially Ms reasoning faculties, are constantly on. 
 the stretch to detect and remove the causes of disturb- 
 ance, the points of contradiction. If he can do noth- 
 ing else, he finds fault, grumbles and complains about 
 this or that presumed evil. If farther advanced, he 
 becomes a reformer and agitates the world. He may 
 be a reformer in religion, morals, government, educa- 
 tion, science, art or whatever comes in his way— theo- 
 retical or practical. And if he cannot construct what 
 ought to be, he will at least destroy or modify what 
 ought not to be. This restless activity of the human 
 mind comes from a deep, undefiuable, irresistible de- 
 sire to get rid of contradictions and reduce things to 
 harmony, to consistency. This is the great desider- 
 atum. Contradiction and inconsistency are the infal- 
 lible indications of falsehood and wrong. For truth 
 and right must be harmonious. They cannot involve 
 contradiction and discord, where they alone exist. 
 Here then is a universal, irresistible law of our na- 
 ture. It has done much to correct and reform the er- 
 rors ensuing from human ignorance and depravity. 
 But it has an infinite deal more to do. The fifth law 
 is that of progression. This follows close on the heels 
 of the others, or rather co-exists with them. It is this 
 which impels man to aspire after something higher and 
 better than the present. Hence he observes, imitates, 
 learns, inquires, invents, hopes and perseveres, im 
 proves, progresses, and will forever progress amid new 
 wonders and with new achievements of mind world 
 without end. His nature will not permit him to be- 
 come stationary. 
 
 THESE LAWS RADICALLY HARMONIOUS. 
 
 Aow all these fundamental laws of our nature must 
 
112 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 Tie radically agreeable to each other. There can be 
 no essential incongruity or discord among them. And 
 when they shall have had their perfect work , man must 
 be a lovely and glorious being. The human family must 
 be an affectionate, wise, holy, harmonious, happy 
 family. Look at the legitimate results. LllltL. law of 
 self-preservation or self-love will secure its desired ob- 
 ject, just when thj?Jaw_ofj5oc^^ makes every 
 
 fellow human be a second self — a co-self — never to be 
 injured. This will take place when t_he law of relig- 
 ious and moral obligation completely subdues the pro- 
 pensities to the sense ot' duty, attaches the soul indis- 
 solubly to the true God, and renders right identical 
 with the absolute highest good. And this will be has- 
 tened by the intense workings of the , law of rational 
 harmony . which will detect and expose error, reform 
 abuses, revolutionize false opinions, maxims, institu- 
 tions, customs and habits, and bring to light in all 
 things the “ most excellent way.” There is a true 
 God," and this law will never let man rest till he finds 
 him. There is a real right and wrong, the eternal 
 reality; and this law will at length bring all men to 
 see and feel it. There is a consistency, an absolute 
 harmony of things, and this law will turn and over- 
 turn till it be attained. All this is possible under the 
 law of progression. By this knowledge will be in- 
 creased, light will be added to light, truth to truth, 
 and triumph to triumph. Ignorance, error, folly, sin 
 will be left behind. Improvement will follow improve- 
 ment in all that needs improvement, till the jarring 
 elements be reconciled, and one soft, sweet, supernal 
 harmony consummate the happiness of the whole cre- 
 ation. This is the glorious result to which the de- 
 clared will o f God, the predictions of his holy pro- 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 113 
 
 phets ancl the prayers of saints through all past gener- 
 ations have ever pointed, and do still look forward. 
 Then will there be no war, no violence, no wrong, no 
 sorrow. 
 
 “ All crimes shall cease, and ancient fraud shall fail; 
 
 Returning Justice lift aloft her scale; 
 
 Peace o’er the' world her olive wand extend, 
 
 And white robed Innocence from heaven descend ” 
 
 There shall be none to hurt or destroy, for all the 
 earth shall be filled with the knowledge of God/] 
 
 NON-RESISTANCE IN PERFECT UNISON WITH THESE 
 
 LAWS. 
 
 Xow, is the doctrine of Christian non-resistance 
 contrary to these general laws of human nature? Is 
 it contrary to the law of self-preservation ? Does it 
 propose to destroy or preserve life; to increase or di- 
 minish human injury; to make mankind more miser- 
 able or to render them infinitely more safe, secure and 
 happy ? It proposes the very thing which the law of 
 self-preservation demands, viz: the universal inviola- 
 bility of human life now held so cheap and sacrificed 
 so recklessly. Is this doctrine contrary to the law of 
 social affinity 1 The very reverse. It stretches forth 
 the hand of love to the children of men, and entreats 
 them to consider themselves one great brotherhood; 
 to refrain from murdering and persecuting each other , 
 to love one another, to bear every thing ofone another 
 sooner than to kill or injure each other ? Is not this 
 just what the law of social affinity demands? Is the 
 doctrine contrary to the law of religious and moral ob- 
 ligation? It is an integral part of the divine law, de- 
 clared and exemplified by the Son of God. It is the 
 keystone in the arch of moral obligation. And to ful- 
 
114 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 fil it in practice is the highest obedience to God, — the 
 purest devotion to eternal right. It is putting duty 
 before all thiugs. Is it contrary to the law of rational 
 harmony? Surely not. It eschews all war, all vio- 
 lence, all injury, all social discord, all combatting of 
 wrong with wrong, evil with evil, and lays the only 
 ample foundation, deep on the rock of principle, for 
 the pacification and harmony of the world. If men 
 would only restrain themselves from mutual injury, 
 how soon would they be able to ascertain all impor- 
 tant truths, and to correct all essential errors of theory 
 and practice. But now, instead of discussion and ar- 
 gument, brute force rises up to the rescue of discom- 
 fited error, and crushes truth and right into the dust. 
 ‘‘Might makes right, ” and hoary folly totters on in 
 her mad career escorted by armies and navies. Is our 
 doctrine contrary to the law T of progression ? It is a 
 striking fruit and proof of that law. It takes for 
 granted that man has been a noisy, fretful, buffeted 
 child long enough; that it is time for him to act like a 
 reasonable being; that he ought to be, and can be gov- 
 erned by moral power; that he has been carnally 
 minded long enough, and ought now to become spiri- 
 tually minded: that he has quarreled, fought and been 
 flogged enough; that he is capable of acting from high- 
 er motives and better principles than resisting evil 
 with evil; and that he can, if he will only try, “over- 
 come evil with good, ” and thus approximate the an- 
 gelic nature. It is emphatically a doctrine of glorious 
 moral and spiritual progress — of progress from bar- 
 barism to Christian perfection. Nothing can be more 
 untrue than that non-resistance is contrary to th e 
 laws of nature. It is in perfect accordance with them. 
 It is only contrary to the false, foolish, perverse, self- 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 115 - 
 
 defeating methods, ways and means by which man, in 
 his ignorance and delusion, has heretofore attempted 
 to execute the dictates of those laws. It is at war 
 with man’s ignorance, blind self-will, and vicious 
 habits; but not with his welfare, nor the laws of his 
 nature. As well might the inveterate drunkard, 
 bound to the intoxicating cup by long confirmed hab- 
 it, plead that total abstinence was contrary to nature. 
 It is in fact this very cup which is contrary to his na- 
 ture; and though often resorted to for preservation 
 and invigoration, it has crowded him to the brink of 
 an untimely grave. Still he clings to it as his life and 
 health. Just so our drunkards of injurious resistance. 
 They can depend on nothing so confidently as the 
 means of deadly resistance for self-preservation and 
 personal security. They imagine that if they were to 
 renounce these, their lives, rights and happiness, 
 would have no protection left. But they will one day 
 learn better. 
 
 A LAW OF UNIVERSAL NATURE. LIKE BEGETS ITS 
 LIKE. 
 
 I will now introduce another law of n atm-p — n law 
 of universal natur e— and including, of course, human 
 beiugs in its scope. It is this, that like must beget 
 its like — physical, mental, moral, spiritual. Is non- 
 resistance contrary to this law of nature ? Does it be- 
 get its like ? or does it beget resistance ? This is a 
 practical question, and will settle the dispute. Either 
 the true spirit of non-resistance begets a correspond- 
 ing spirit, or it begets a violent and pugnacious 
 spirit ? Which is it ? Either the practice of non-re- 
 sistance tends to disarm and relax the fury of the as- 
 sailing party, or to encourage, excite, and confirm 
 
116 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 him in his attack. Which is it? If the latter, it is 
 contrary to that law of nature which necessitates the 
 generation of like by like. If the former, it harmon- 
 izes with that law. And if this be true, it is the very 
 doctrine necessary to fill the world with peace. It 
 is worth while then to ascertain the truth on this point. 
 
 Let me commence by asking if the very injury I 
 am endeavoring to get discarded is not generated by 
 injury ? Why does the assailed person inflict injury 
 on the offender? “To defend himself,” it will be 
 said. But why defend himself by doing injury to the 
 other party ? “Because that, and that only, will ef- 
 fect the object.” How is this certain ? What puts it 
 into the heart or the head of the assailed party to re- 
 pel injury with injury? It is like begetting its like ; 
 injury suggesting, prompting, and producing injury. 
 No better way is thought of or desired, than life for 
 life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, blow for blow, force 
 for force, injury for injury. “I will do unto him as he 
 hath done to me. It is good enough for him. He 
 shall be paid in his own coin. He shall be taught bet- 
 ter after his own fashion.” This is the feeling and 
 language of the Resistant. Here is a proof that the 
 disposition to injure begets a disposition to injure, and 
 •theact of injury induces a counter injury. What, then, 
 will be the subsequent effect? If a man strike me vio- 
 lently, and I return the blow with equal or greater vio- 
 lence, will not my blow call for a third, and so on, 
 till the weaker party cries “hold?” This is the law 
 of nature. Hoes the opponent plead that the aggres- 
 sor, being severely repelled, and knowing himself in 
 the wrong, will retreat and learn to be civil This 
 will depend on which of the parties can strike the 
 hardest, and injure the worst. If the aggressor be 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 117 
 
 the stronger party, he will only fight the harder, till 
 his antagonist is subdued. If, however, he be the 
 weaker party, he will yield from necessity and not 
 from principle — retaining his impotent revenge in 
 his heart, to fester there till a better opportunity. 
 If justice or conscience lhave anything to do in re- 
 straining him, they would work much more mightily 
 on his soul if the injured party should refuse to strike 
 back at all. So the argument in this case turns 
 wholly in favor of my doctrine. 
 
 GENERAL ILLUSTRATIONS IN COMMON LIFE. 
 
 Let ns now look into the common affairs of life, 
 amid scenes familiar to common experience and ob- 
 servation. We see one man with very large combat- 
 iveness and feeble counteracting predispositions'. If 
 this man meets with another of the same character, he 
 is almest sure to fight, quarrel, or at least, violently' 
 dispute. He is surcharged and throws off in all di- 
 rections a sort of phrenomagnetic fluid of war. No 
 sooner does he come in contact with another like him- 
 self, than they mutually inflame each other. He car- 
 ries strife and debate and violence with him where- 
 ever he goes. Even many, who are usually civil and 
 peaceable, are presently 7 provoked into a combat with 
 him. He magnetises, to a certain extent, every sus- 
 ceptible being with whom he meets. If he can live 
 peaceably with any, it is those only who from natural 
 predisposition, or moral principle, are non-resistants: 
 towards him. These he will make uncomfortable ; but 
 by bearing with him, and suffering some abuse with 
 patience, they cau keep him comparatively decent, 
 and may pass their lives near him without any 7 seri- 
 ous outbreak. Who has not seen some such persons? 
 
118 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 And who does not know that such can never be cured 
 by violence and injurious resistance. They may be 
 beaten and bruised half to death over and over again, 
 with no other result than to make them two-fold 
 more the children of wrath than before. This kind 
 of evil is not cast out, except by prayer, fasting and 
 abstinence from violence. 
 
 Here is another man with overweening self-esteem. 
 He is proud, haughty, disdainful and overbearing in 
 all his ways. What happens when two suchmeit? 
 Is there not a reciprocal inflammation of the irritable 
 organs? Do they not mutually swell, defy and repel 
 each other ? Each will accuse the other of the same 
 fault, and denounce such haughtiness as intolerable 
 never once suspecting that it is a reflection of his own 
 face in the other which seems so detestable. Suppose 
 one of these characters to move among other persons 
 ordinarily humble and unassuming. Let him treat 
 them with marked neglect, scorn or indifference; and 
 what will be the effect? Their moderate self-esteem 
 will be excited. Their attitude will become more per- 
 pendicular. Their heads will poise backward, and 
 they will begin to mutter, “he feels himself above 
 common folks; but he shall know that others are some- 
 thing as well as himself. We are not to be looked 
 down by his contempt.” Whence this sudden rising 
 of self-esteem in their minds ? It has been begotten, 
 or at least excited, by the over-charged battery of the 
 magnetiser. Like produces its, like. Reverse the 
 case. Suppose a person of great talents, wealth or 
 weight of personal influence. This character natural- 
 ly commands great respect; but he is humble, unas- 
 suming and particularly respectful to all around: to 
 the poor as well as the rich, the unlearned as well as 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 119 
 
 the learned, and persons in the lower walks of life 
 as well as those in the higher. How is he beloved 
 and esteemed by the majority of mankind? ‘‘He is 
 not proud, ” says one. “He is not above any one.” 
 says another. “I always love to meet him and be 
 with him,” says another, “because he is so kind, un- 
 assuming and friendly with every body. ” Even the 
 envious and grumbling are half disarmed when they 
 come in contact with such a person. Like begets its 
 like, as before. 
 
 Yonder is a man excessively given to acquisitive- 
 ness. He must al ways have the best end of a bargain . 
 He must skin something from every one with whom 
 he has dealings, and is sure to get the half cent when- 
 ever he “makes change.” He is never pleased but 
 when he is feathering his own nest. Yet no man 
 complains of tight people more than he. He seldom 
 meets with a person who in his opinion is entirely 
 willing to do unto others as he would be done unto. 
 What is the difficulty ? This man’s selfishness mag- 
 netises those with whom he deals. His acquisitive- 
 ness excites theirs and they stand up for their own. 
 They are not going to be cheated by him. They are 
 determined not to indulge his rapacious avarice. 
 They make it a point not to let him cheat them, filch 
 away their property in a bargain, or extort it in the 
 shape of usury. They even become tenacious about 
 the half cent when they are settling with him. And 
 many who would not otherwise stand for a trifle make 
 it a point not to give him the least advantage. “ Let 
 us look out for old hunks, ” say they. The half cent 
 is nothing, but he shall not have it. Like produces 
 its like. Hence conflicts and resistance. Reverse the 
 character. Suppose a generous whole souled man, al- 
 
120 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 ways careful to give large measure and weight, always 
 scrupulous uot to exact more than his own, and al- 
 ways sure to throw the trifle into his neighbor’s scale, 
 rather than even seem to be small in his own favor. 
 How many of the very same persons observed to be 
 sharp and close with the acquisitive dealer, relax 
 their vigilance, become indifferent about small mat- 
 ters, and even insist that they will not always take 
 the half cent, of a man so willing to yield it. Is not 
 this nature in every day life ? 
 
 It is not so with a blackguard and a reviler. He 
 assails a man with hard words, abusive epithets and 
 reviling expressions. Unless the man be particularly 
 on his guard, or naturally of a very mild disposition, 
 or a well principled non-resistant, he will be excited, 
 and teu to one return a broadside as terrible as he has 
 received. His teeth are set on edge and his tongue is 
 fired from beneath. He rails, abuses, reviles and 
 curses too. But let the true Christian receive this 
 storm of enveuomed words, and they strike his shield 
 of self composure, only to rattle for a moment like 
 hailstones on its surface, and then fall harmlessly 
 about his feet. A second and a third discharge suc- 
 ceed, but he still remains calm. The assailant is half 
 vexed, quite confounded, and soon grows ashamed of 
 himself. He either quits the field or listens to reason, 
 and perhaps is constrained to beg pardon for his rude- 
 ness. At all events he never remembers his abuse of 
 a calm, kind-hearted, firm minded man, without pe- 
 culiar mortification. And if every man who occupies 
 a place in the better ranks of society would treat him 
 in the same manner, he would ultimately be entirely 
 cured of the bad humor about his tongue. So true is 
 it that “a soft answer turnetli away wrath; but griev- 
 ous words stir up anger. ” 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 1211 
 
 These familiar workings of this law of nature ought 
 to open the most unwilling eyes to the fact, that non- 
 resistance, instead of being contrary to nature, is in 
 strict accordance with it. And if it is confessedly the 
 object of good men to do away with violence, cruelty, 
 murder, and all the great crimes which blast the hap- 
 piness of humanity, they ought to know that it never 
 can be done by rendering evil for evil — injury for in- 
 jury. Like must produce its like, and unless we op- 
 pose the injuries of evil-doers with a disposition and 
 treatment the very contrary of theirs, we shall only 
 incite, confirm and educate their evil hearts to worse 
 and worse conduct. We shall only reproduce mani- 
 fold the very evils we so strenuously resist. Though 
 the injuries we do them are doue only in resistance of 
 aggression, still they follow" the same law. They pro- 
 duce their like. They breed a fresh brood of injuries. 
 If this be not strictly true in each individual case, it 
 is true on the great wdiole. The effect, directly or in- 
 directly, sooner or later, w ill be produced. 
 
 SPECIAL ILLUSTRATIONS— FACTS FROM 
 
 • REAL LIFE. 
 
 I now r propose to offer a series of facts from real 
 life, illustrative of the truths for w T hich I am contend- 
 ing, and in confirmation of my arguments. 
 
 SUBDUED PRIDE AND SCORN. 
 
 A lady, in one of the neighboring towns to that in 
 which the w riter resides, had repeatedly treated a 
 well disposed young man with marked contempt and 
 unkindness. Neither of them moved in the upper cir- 
 cles of society, but the lady, without cause, took num- 
 erous occasions to cast reproachful reflections on the 
 
122 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 young man as beneath her notice, and unfit to be 
 treated with common respect. This lady had the mis- 
 fortune to meet with a considerable loss in the de- 
 struction of a valuable chaise, occasioned by the run- 
 ning away of an untied horse. She had borrowed the 
 horse and vehicle, and was required to make good the 
 damage. This was a serious draft on her pecuniary 
 resources, and she felt much distressed by her ill for- 
 tune. The young man, being of a kind and generous 
 disposition, and determined to return good for evil, 
 instantly set himself about collecting money for her 
 relief. Subscribing liberally himself, and actively so- 
 liciting others, he soon made up a generous sum, and 
 before she became aware of his movement, appeared 
 before her and placed his collection modestly at her 
 disposal. She was thunderstruck. He left her with- 
 out waiting for thanks or commendation. She was 
 entirely overcome, wept like a child, and declared she 
 would never be guilty again of showing contempt, 
 speaking reproachfully of, or treating with unkind- 
 ness, him or any other fellow creature. Was there 
 anything in all this contrary to nature ? 
 
 THE MAN WHOSE TEMPER WAS BROKEN.' 
 
 A man of my acquaintance, on hearing some re- 
 marks I had made on this subject, observed that he 
 knew, by experience, the doctrine was correct ; and 
 though he himself had never practised non-resistance 
 from principle in his general life, he practised it from 
 impulse on one occasion with astonishing success. He 
 was brought up with a childless uncle of his, who was 
 remarkable for violent anger wheu excited, and for 
 the cruelty with which he beat his cattle, and such 
 boys as he had taken to bring up, whenever they pro- 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 123 
 
 vokecl his vengeance. He could bear but little from 
 boy or brute, and, therefore, was a frequent and furi- 
 ous whipper till considerably past the middle age of 
 life. The narrator stated that he was well nigh a 
 man grown, when on a certain occasion the two went 
 into the woods with the team, in winter, to take home 
 fuel. At length, when on their way out of the woods 
 through an unbeaten path, the sled struck some ob- 
 stacle concealed under the snow, and the team was 
 completely set. The uncle, provoked at this inter- 
 ruption, cried out to his nephew, who held the whip, 
 to drive on and put the cattle through. He shouted, 
 and used the lash to order, but in vain, the sled was 
 fast. “My uncle flew into a most violent rage,” said 
 he, “and seizing a club from the load came furiously 
 at me with terrible threats, as the author of the 
 whole mischief. I felt entirely innoceut, and for the 
 moment determined I would not further resist my 
 uncle’s wrath than to exchange my whip for his club i 
 which was nearly of the size of a common sled stake. 
 As he rushed upon me, with uplifted weapon, I firmly 
 grasped it with one hand, reached out my cart-whip 
 with the other, and said: 'Here, uncle you shall not 
 beat me with such a thing— take the whip.’ He in- 
 stantly relinquished the stick of wood, and seizing the 
 cart-whip, beat me outrageously over the head, 
 shoulders and back. He then offered me the whip, ex- 
 claiming with stern vehemence, — 'now drive that 
 team home!’ I calmly but firmly replied, no; I have 
 done my best, and shall not try again; drive it your- 
 self, uncle. Upon this he violently assailed the poor 
 oxen, shouting, screaming, and beating them quite as 
 mercilessly as he had me, till he fairly gave out from 
 exhaustion. Pausing for a moment’s rest, and com- 
 
124 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 iug a little to his reason, he commenced searching for 
 the obstacle, and soon found that a large sized sapling 
 had falleu across the path and become firmly bedded 
 in the subsequent snows. Having ascertained this, 
 he directed me to cut off the trunk, in order to its re- 
 moval. I commenced, my back and shoulders smart- 
 ing grievously from their undeserved stripes. When 
 partly through, I looked up at my uncle and said— 
 ‘uncle do you feel any better for the cruel beating yon 
 have given me 1 ?’ He looked pale and conscience- 
 stricken, and without a word of reply started for 
 home. I extricated the load, and without further 
 difficulty drove the team to its destination. From 
 that time, sir, my uncle never broke out into his old 
 gusts of passion; never struck, scolded or abused me; 
 never mistreated his cattle; and, going quite to the 
 opposite extreme, suffered himself to be several times- 
 almost imposed on by a mischievous lad he had tak- 
 en to bring up, without inflicting a blow, or even ex- 
 pressing anger. I continued with him several years,, 
 and seeing him, as I thought, grown too lax in cor- 
 recting the lad just named, I one day asked him what 
 had so entirely changed his conduct? He looked me 
 in the face with a melancholy expression. Said he — 
 ‘do you remember the cruel flogging I gave you when 
 that load of wood got set in the snow V ‘Too wpll,’ 
 answered I. ‘That broke my temper,’ said he. ‘I 
 never had such feelings before. I have never been 
 the same man since. I then solemnly vowed never 
 to strike another cruel blow on m?.n or beast while I 
 lived. And I have scarcely felt a disposition to do 
 so since.’ Large tears rolled down his cheeks, and 
 he turned away in silence. ‘Many a time have I 
 thought of that matter,’ said the nephew, since my 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 125 
 
 uncle has gone to the grave. It convinces me your 
 doctrine is the truth.” How does it impress my 
 reader? Does it indicate that non-resistance is con- 
 trary to or consonant with the laws of nature ? 
 
 COLORED WOMAN AND THE SAILOR. 
 
 A worthy old colored woman in the city of Xew 
 York was one day walking along the street on some 
 errand to a neighboring store, with her tobacco pipe 
 in her mouth, quietly smoking. A jovial sailor, ren- 
 dered a little mischievous by liquor, came sawing- 
 down the street, and, when opposite our good Phillis, 
 saucily crowded her aside, and with a pass of his 
 hand knocked her pipe out of her mouth. He then 
 halted to hear her fret at his trick, and enjoy a 
 laugh at her expense But what was his astonish- 
 ment, when she meekly picked up the pieces of her 
 broken pipe, without the least resentment in her man- 
 ner, and giving him a dignified look of mingled sor- 
 row, kindness and pity, said, “God forgive you, my 
 son, as I do.” It touched a tender cord in tne heart 
 of the rude tar. He felt ashamed, condemned and re- 
 pentant. The tear started in his eye; he must make 
 reparation. He heartily confessed his error, and 
 thrusting both hands into his two full pockets of 
 “change,” foiced the contents upon her, exclaming, 
 “God bless you, kind mother, I’ 11 never do so again.” 
 
 THE HAYMAKERS . 
 
 Two neighbors were getting hay from adjoining lots 
 of marsh land. One had the misfortune to mire his 
 team and load so as to require aid from the other. 
 He called to him for assistance with his oxen and 
 men. But his neighbor felt churlish, and loading 
 
126 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 him with reproaches for his imprudent management,, 
 told him to help himself at his leisure. With con- 
 siderable difficulty he extricated his load from the 
 mire and pursued his business. A day or two after, 
 his churlish neighbor met with a similar mishap. 
 Whereupon the other, without waiting for a request, 
 volunteered with his oxen and rendered the necessary 
 assistance. The churl felt ashamed of himself. 
 His evil was overcome by his neighbor’s good, and 
 he never afterwards refused him a favor. 
 
 THE TWO STUDENTS. 
 
 Two students of one of our Universities had a slight 
 misunderstanding. One of them was a warm-blooded 
 Southron. He conceived himself insulted, and began 
 to demand satisfaction, according to Southern notions 
 of honor. He was met with a Christian firmness and 
 gentleness. The other calmly told his excited fellow- 
 student he could give only Christian satisfaction in 
 any case; that he was not conscious of having intended 
 him either injury or insult, and that if he could be con- 
 vinced he had wronged him at all, he was willing to 
 make ample reparation. The Southron boiled over 
 with chivalrous indignation for a few moments, dis- 
 charged a volley of reproachful epithets, and threat- 
 ened to chastise his cowardly insolence. But nothing 
 could move the other’s equanimity. Without the 
 slightest indication of fear or servility, he met his op- 
 ponent’s violence with true heroism, declared that 
 they had hitherto been friends, and he meant to main- 
 tain his friendly attitude, however he might be 
 treated, and conjured the threatener to consider how 
 unworthy of himself his present temper, language and 
 conduct were. His manner, look, words, tone, had 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 127 
 
 their effect. The flush of anger turned to a blush of 
 shame and compunction. The subdued Southron 
 stepped frankly forward, reached forth his trembling 
 hand, and exclaimed — “ I have spoken and acted like 
 a fool; can you forgive me 1 ” 11 With all my heart,” 
 
 was the cordial response. Instantly they were locked 
 in each other’s embrace; reconciliation was complete; 
 and they were evermore fast friends. The substance 
 of this anecdote was given by a worthy minister of 
 the Baptist persuasion, after one of my lectures on 
 non-resistance; and I think he represented himself as 
 a witness of the scene. 
 
 TWO NEIGHBORS AND THE MANURE. 
 
 Two of my former neighbors had a slight contro- 
 versy about a few loads of manure. One of them was 
 the other’s tenant. The lessor had distinctly stipu- 
 lated to reserve all the manure of the stable, and had 
 offset it with certain privileges and favors to the les- 
 see. But as the lessee had purchased and consumed 
 from abroad a considerable amount of hay, he claimed 
 a portion of the manure. He proposed leaving the 
 case to the arbitration of certain worthy neighbors. 
 The other declined all reference to a third party, al- 
 leging that they both knew what was right, and ought 
 to .settle their difficulties between themselves. But 
 the lessee contrived to have a couple of peaceable 
 neighbors at hand one day, and in their presence re- 
 newed with earnestness his proposal to leave out the 
 case to their decision. The other, grieved at his per- 
 tinacity, promptly replied: “I have nothing to leave 
 out; I have endeavored to do as I agreed, and to treat 
 you as I would be treated. God Almighty has planted 
 something in all our breasts which tells us what is 
 
128 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 right and wrong; if you think it right to carry off that 
 manure,, do so just when you please; and I pledge 
 myself never to trouble you with even a question 
 about the matter again. ” This was effectual. The 
 tenant felt his error; all was quiet; the claim expired 
 at the bar of conscience; and non-resistant kindness 
 and decision healed all contention. This was related 
 to me by one of the friends selected as a judge and de- 
 cider in the case. His peculiar comment was “That 
 was one of the greatest sermons I ever heard. ’ ’ 
 
 IMPOUNDING THE HORSE. 
 
 “ A man approached his neighbor in great anger 
 one afternoon, saying— ‘Sirrah ! I found your horse 
 loose in the road this morning, and put him in the 
 pound, where he now is. If you want him, go and 
 pay the tees and take him out. And I give you no- 
 tice now, that just as often as I find him loose in the 
 highway, I will impound him at your cost.’ ‘And I,’ 
 said the neighbor, ‘looking out of my window, this 
 morning, saw your cows in my corn field. I drove 
 them all out, and turned them into your pasture. I 
 now give you notice that as often as t find them in 
 my cornfield, I will do just so again.’ The first was 
 humbled, reconciled, sent to the pound, paid the fees, 
 and restored his neighbor’s horse to him with an hon- 
 orable apology for his ill temper. ” — Anonymous. 
 
 TWO NEIGHBORS AND THE HENS. 
 
 A man in Aew Jersey told Henry C. Wright the 
 following story respecting himself and one of his 
 neighbors: “I once owned a large flock of hens; I gen- 
 erally kept them shut up. But, one spring, I con- 
 cluded to let them run in my yard, after I had clipped 
 
 8 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 129 
 
 their wings, so they coulcl not fly. One day, when I 
 came home to dinner, I learned that one of my neigh- 
 bors had been there, full of wrath, to let me know my 
 hens had been in his garden, and that he had killed 
 several of them, and thrown them over into my yard. 
 I was greatly enraged because he had killed my beau- 
 tiful hens that I valued so much. I determined at 
 once to be revenged, to sue him, or in some way get 
 redress. I sat down and ate my dinner as calmly as 
 I could. By the time I had finished my meal, 1 be- 
 came more cool, and thought that perhaps it was not 
 best to fight with my neighbor about hens, and there- 
 by make him my bitter, lasting enemy. I concluded 
 to try another why, being sure that it would be bet- 
 ter. 
 
 After dinner I went to my neighbor’s. He was in 
 his garden. I went out and found him in pursuit of 
 one of my hens wdth a club, trying to kill it. I ac- 
 costed him. He turned upon me, his face inflamed 
 .with wrath, and broke out iu a great fury — ‘You have 
 abused me. I will kill all your hens, if I can get at 
 them. I never was so abused. My garden is ruined. ’ 
 ‘I am very sorry for it,’ said I. ‘I did not wish to in- 
 jure you, and now see that I have made a great mis- 
 take in letting out my hens. I ask your forgiveness, 
 and am willing to pay you six times the damage.’ 
 
 The man seemed confounded. He did not know 
 what to make of it. He looked up at the sky— then 
 down at the earth — and then at the poor hen he had 
 been pursuing, and said nothing. Tell me now, said 
 I, ‘what is the damage, and I will pay you six-fold; 
 and my hens shall trouble you no more. I will leave 
 it entirely to you to say what I shall do. I cannot af- 
 ford to lose the love and good will of my neighbors, 
 
130 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 and quarrel with them, for hens or anything else. 
 
 ‘I am a great fool!’ said the neighbor. ‘The dam- 
 age is not worth talking about; and I have more need 
 to compensate you thau you me, and to ask your for- 
 giveness than you mine.’ ” — Wright’s Kiss for a Blow. 
 
 HENRY AND ALBERT. 
 
 “I write chiefly to give you an account of the pow- 
 er of love that took place in the family of an old friend 
 of mine, who is now no more. Besides other child- 
 ren he left two sons, Henry, aged about twenty, and 
 Albert about sixteen. The latter possessed what is 
 culled a bad, ungovernable temper, that gave his 
 mother much trouble; and she (probably in a pet) 
 told Henry he must whip him. He did; but Albert 
 resisted, and he received a severe thrashing. But it 
 did not tame him at all, and he vowed that he never 
 would speak to Henry again until he was old enough 
 to have revenge. While he stayed at home (some 
 months, I believe,) he never spoke to Henry. Af- 
 ter this he went to sea, and was absent four or five 
 years. But Albert was a boy of many good qualities. 
 He laid up money; and while the vessel was loading 
 and unloading at the ports of the distant countries he 
 visited, he made short excursions into the interior,, 
 and made use of his eyes and ears to improve his 
 mind and gain what information he could, aud came 
 back an amazingly stout, athletic young man, and 
 apparently greatly improved. He was frank and so- 
 cial with the rest of the family, but not a word did 
 he say to Henry. The latter by this time had become 
 a Methodist preacher, and Albert’s conduct towards 
 him grieved him to the heart. After a time Henry 
 went to Albert, and with tears in his eyes, said to 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 131 
 
 him: ‘Albert, I cannot possibly live in this way any 
 longer. Your silence I cannot bear another hour. 
 You remember you said, when yon had whipped me 
 you would speak to me again; I am now ready to re- 
 ceive your punishmeut. Let us go to the barn; I will 
 pull off my coat — I promise you that I will make no 
 resistance, and you may whip me as long as you 
 please; and we will then be friends. I never should 
 have struck you, if mother had not requested it. I 
 am sorry that I did. ’ Albert's stout heart could bear 
 blows in almost any quantity without shrinking, but 
 Henry’s love he could not withstand. It melted his 
 proud sxiirit instantly, and in a moment he was 
 bathed in tears. They embraced each other directly. 
 For a time their love was too great for utterance, but 
 soon Albert expressed his regret for what he had said; 
 and they are now, for aught that I know, two as lov- 
 ing brothers as any in the county. And to God, the 
 God of peace be all the glory — Letter from Alf red 
 Wells in the Practical Christian. 
 
 THE SUBDUED HATTER 
 
 Some nineteen or twenty years ago, when I was iu 
 the hatting business, I employed a man by the name 
 of Jonas Pike, from Massachusetts, who was a most 
 excellent workman in the manufacture of hats. But 
 he was one of that kind of journeymen who would 
 have their trains, as they were familiarly called 
 amongst us in that day. Therefore as a natural con- 
 sequence he was without comfortable clothing the 
 most of the time. After he got a shop he would work 
 very industriously until he had earned from twenty 
 to thirty and sometimes forty dollars worth of cloth- 
 ing ; (for he was always in want of clothing when he 
 
132 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 commenced work;) and then lie would get on one of 
 his trains, and dispose of every article of his clothing 
 that would fetch six cents, expending all for whiskey. 
 When all was gone, and he began to cool off a little, 
 he would be very ugly; sometimes he would fret and 
 scold, and then he would coax and plead, to have me 
 trust him for a hat or something else, that he might sell, 
 and thereby get more whiskey. When I refused him, 
 he would become very angry and threaten to whip 
 me, which I told him he might do as soon as he 
 pleased. But said he: ‘ I will not do it in your own 
 shop; if I had you out of doors I would thrash you 
 like a sack.’ After hearing him repeat these sayings 
 several times, I walked out at the door. I then spoke 
 to him, saying, ‘I am now out of the shop, thou canst 
 whip me if thou wishest to do so very much,’ at which 
 he stepped out of the shop, came furiously towards 
 me, squaring himself for a box, and struck me a blow 
 on the breast, at which I put my hand upon my 
 cheek, and held it down to him, saying, blow strike 
 here, Jonas.’ He looked at me with surprise and 
 astonishment, then turning round saying at the same 
 time, hi — n you, if you will not fight, I will let you 
 alone.’ He went into the shop, sat down and was 
 quiet. He got sober and went to work, and ever 
 after was affectionate and kind, and very peaceable 
 with me. I employed him several times afterwards to 
 work for me, and he was always very peaceable and 
 obliging . — Letter from Erastus Huncliett in the Practi- 
 cal Christian. 
 
 THE REVOLUTIONARY SOLDIER. 
 
 “A beloved brother, now dead, related to me a 
 circumstance of his life, which I think is worth pre- 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 133 
 
 serving. He was a soldier in the revolutionary war. 
 After he came here, he became religious, and was con- 
 vinced that all ‘wars and fightings’ are contrary to 
 the Gospel of Christ. His zeal in advocating his 
 principles, stirred up the enmity of a wicked man in 
 the neighbourhood, who threatened, when his son 
 came home from the army, he would flog him. 
 
 “Sure enough, when the son came home, the old 
 man told such stories to him about this brother, that 
 it excited him to that degree, that he came to the 
 house where my brother lived, in a rage, determined 
 to fight. My brother expostulated with him, and en- 
 deavoured, by all the means in his power, to allay his 
 auger, and deter him from his purpose; but all would 
 not do ; fight he must, and fight he would. 
 
 “ ‘Well,’ says the brother, ‘if we must fight, don’t 
 let us be like cats and dogs, fighting in the house; so 
 go out into the field.’ 
 
 “To this he assented. When they had got into the 
 field, and the young bully had stripped himself for 
 the fight my brother looked him in the face, and said, 
 ‘Yow you are a great coward.’ ‘Coward! don’t call 
 me a coward.’ ‘Well, you are one of the greatest 
 cowards I ever saw.’ ‘What do you mean?’ ‘I mean 
 as I say ; you must be a very great coward to go fight- 
 ing a man who will not fight you.’ ‘What, don’t 
 you mean to fight me ”?’ ‘UMot I ; you may fight me 
 as much as you please, I shall not lift up a fingeir 
 against you.’ ‘Is that your principle?’ ‘Yes, it is; 
 and I mean to be true to it.’ The spirit of the young 
 soldier fell; and, stretching out his arm he said, ‘Then 
 I would sooner cut off that arm than I would strike 
 you.’ They then entered into an explanation, and 
 parted good friends.’’ — Non-Resistant. 
 
134 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANOE. 
 
 EX-PRESIDENT JEFFERSON AND THE COOPER’S SHOP. 
 
 “ The following was related, many years since, by 
 one of the parties, who was a very respectable citizen 
 of Montgomery county, Pa., since deceased: 
 
 During the presidential term of Thomas Jefferson, 
 two young men from Pennsylvania took a lease from 
 him of his merchant mill at Monticello, one of the 
 stipulations of which was that the landlord should 
 erect for their use, within a given period, a cooper’s 
 shop. The time for a meeting of Congress soon ar- 
 riving, the President had to repair to Washington to 
 attend to his official duties, where he remained a long 
 time absorbed in national concerns, and the building 
 of the cooper’s shop was entirely forgotten by him. 
 Not so with his tenants, whose daily wants constantly 
 reminded them of the provisions contained in the 
 lease;, and finally they determined to erect it them- 
 selves, and charge the cost of it to their landlord. On 
 the return of the President to his mansion, the parties 
 met to settle a long account current, which had been 
 running during his absence. The items were gone 
 over and scrutinized one by one, and all were found 
 satisfactory but the charge for building the cooper’s 
 shop, to which he objected, alleging that lie could 
 have erected it with his own workmen. Several at- 
 tempts were made to effect a settlement, but they al- 
 ways failed when they came to the cooper’s shop. The 
 young men became warm and zealous in the affair; 
 and the. parties, instead of getting nearer together, 
 found themselves at every interview wider apart. 
 
 In this state of affairs, the father of the young men, 
 who was[a mild, affable, conciliating gentleman, possess- 
 ing some knowledge of the world and its ways, arrived 
 on a visit to his sons, who informed him of their difh- 
 
'CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 135 
 
 eulty with their landlord. He requested them to leave 
 it to him, observing that he thought he could effect 
 an amicable settlement in the case. This course was 
 accordingly acceded to, and in due time he waited on 
 the President with the account. It was scanned and 
 :agreed to, except the charge for building the shop, 
 which, he said, with some firmness, he should not al- 
 low for reasons stated. His opponent, observing his 
 apparent decision on the subject, very gravely re- 
 marked: ‘ Well, friend Jefferson, it has always been 
 my practice through life, to yield rather than to con- 
 tend. ’ Immediately on this remark being made, the 
 president’s chin fell on his breast for an instant, when 
 raising his head in an erect position, he observed in a 
 very emphatic manner, ‘ a very good principle, Mr. 
 -Shoemaker, and I can carry it as far as you can: let 
 the account for the cooper’s shop be allowed. ’ Thus 
 ended the difficulty, and the parties continued their 
 friendly regard for each other till death separated 
 them. And the cultivation of a similar disposition, 
 
 1 to follow peace with all men, ’ would terminate 
 thousands of difficulties, add much to the happiness 
 of individuals, and tend to promote the general har- 
 mony and order of society. ’ ’ — Farmer's Cabinet. 
 
 WILLIAM LADD AND NEIGHBOR PULS I LEE. 
 
 The late William Ladd, denominated the apostle of the 
 peace cause, used to relate the following anecdote: “ I 
 had a fine field of grain growing upon an out-farm, some 
 distance from the homestead. Whenever I rode by I 
 saw my neighbor Pulsifer’s sheep in the lot destroying 
 my hopes of a harvest. These sheep were of the gaunt, 
 long legged kind, active as spaniels — they could 
 spring over the highest fence, and no wall could keep 
 
136 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 them out. I complained to neighbor Pnlsifer, and 
 sent him frequent messages, but all without avail. 
 Perhaps they would be kept out for a day or two, but 
 the legs of his sheep were loug and my grain rather 
 more tempting than the adjoining pasture. I rode by 
 again — the sheep were all there — I became angry, and 
 told my men to set the dogs on them, and if that 
 would not do, I would pay them if they would shoot 
 them. 
 
 “I rode away much agitated, for I was then not so 
 much of a peace man as I am now, and I felt literally 
 full of fight. All at once a light flashed in upon me. 
 I asked myself, would it not be well for you to try in 
 your own conduct the peace principle you are preach- 
 ing to others 1 I thought it all over, and settled down 
 my mind as to the best course to be pursued. 
 
 “ The next day I rode over to see neighbor Pulsifer. 
 I found him chopping wood at his door. ‘Good morning 
 neighbor.’ No answer. ‘Good morning, ’ I repeated. 
 He gave a kind of grunt like a hog, without looking- 
 up. ‘I came,’ continued I, ‘to see you about the sheep.’ 
 At this he threw down his axe, and exclaimed in a 
 most angry manner: ‘Now avn’t you a pretty neigh- 
 bor to tell your men to kill my sheep ! I heard of it 
 — a rich man like you to shoot a poor man’s sheep ! ’ 
 
 ‘ I was wrong,’ neighbor said I, ‘but it won’t do to 
 let your sheep eat up all that grain; so I came over to 
 say that I would take your sheep to my homestead 
 pasture, and put them with mine: and in the fall you 
 may take them back; and if any one of them is miss- 
 ing yon may take your pick out of my whole flock.’ 
 Pulsifer looked confounded; he did not know how to 
 take me. At last he stammered out, ‘Now Squire, 
 are you in earnest ?” ‘Certainly I am,’ I answered : ‘it 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 137 
 
 is better for me to feed your sheep in my pasture on 
 grass, than to feed them here on grain; and I see the 
 feuee cannot keep them out.’ 
 
 “After a moment’s silence — ‘The sheep shan’t 
 trouble you any more,’ exclaimed Pulsifer, T xvill 
 fetter them all. But I’ll let you know, when any 
 man talks of shooting, I cau shoot too; and when they 
 are kind and neighborly, I can be kind too.’ The 
 sheep never again trespassed on my lot. ‘And, my 
 friends,’ (continued Father Ladd, addressing his au- 
 dience,) ‘remember that when you talk of injuring 
 your neighbors, they talk of injuring you. When 
 nations threaten to fight, ether nations will be ready, 
 too. Love will beget love — a wish to be at peace 
 will keep you at peace. You cau overcome evil 
 only with good, there is no other way.’ ” — Democratic 
 Revieiv. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 The foregoing illustrations are from the common 
 affairs of life, aud though not involving cases of ex- 
 treme personal danger and escape, are nevertheless 
 pertinent and important. They show the adaptation 
 of Christian non-resistance to human nature iu the 
 ten thousand occurrences of personal difficulty. They 
 demonstrate that it is not contrary to nature, but is 
 peculiarly suited to allay and purify the rising pas- 
 sions of men, that the worst of people are favorably 
 affected by its interposition; that the decent sort 
 might be preserved by it from numberless contentions; 
 and that instead of counteracting the law of self-pre- 
 servation, it is the highest and surest method of se- 
 curing the great ends of that law. This will be more 
 fully demonstrated by a continuation of illustrations. 
 
138 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 involving cases of greater peril and deliverance, in the 
 next chapter. In the mean time I can hardly refrain 
 from pressing upon- the reader’s understanding and 
 conscience, the question, Is not the doctrine contend- 
 ed for, most Christian, most rational, most excellent, 
 most admirably adapted to promote peace on earth 
 and good will among mankind? Is it not just what 
 poor groaning nature needs, to soothe, restore it to 
 health, and carry it forward to its glorious destiny? 
 It will appear more and more sound and lovely the 
 more it is investigated. 
 
 “O, when will man unshackled rise, 
 
 From dross of earth refined — 
 
 Read mercy in his neighbor’s eyes. 
 
 And be forever kind?” 
 
-CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 139 
 
 CHAPTER Y. 
 
 The Safety Of Non-Resistance. 
 
 Raymond the traveller — Agent of the Bible Society in Tex- 
 as— The young man near Philadelphia — Robert Barclay 
 and Leonard Fell — Archbishop Sharpe— Rowland Hill — 
 Two Methodist Non-Resistants— The two New Zealand 
 •chiefs — The Missionary and Arabs— A. Christian tribe in 
 Africa— The Moravian Indians — The Moravians of Grace 
 Hill — The Shakers — The Indians and the Quaker family 
 — The Indians and the Quaker Meeting — The Christian 
 town in the Tyrol— Captain Back, the Quakers, and the 
 Maylays— Jonathan Dymond— Colony of Pennsylvania. 
 
 I have been endeavoring to demonstrate in the 
 preceding chapter that non-resistance, instead of be- 
 ing contrary to nature, is in perfect accordance with 
 all her fundamental laws. I intend in the present 
 chapter to complete that demonstration by a further 
 illustration of the superior general safety of non-resist- 
 ance. This will be done by anecdotes and historical 
 facts, showing its actual workings in many cases of 
 imminent danger. I do not undertake to prove that 
 the practice of non-resistance will always preserve the 
 life and personal security of its adherents, but only 
 that it generally will. Jesus, the apostles, and thou- 
 sands of Christian martyrs were slain notwithstand- 
 ing their non-resistance. Doubtless others will be 
 wronged, outraged, and murdered in time to come, 
 notwithstanding the same safeguard. Exceptions do 
 not disprove a general rule. As the advocates of 
 deadly resistance do not contend that it always en- 
 
140 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 sures the preservation of life and personal security, so 
 neither do 1 contend that Christian non-resistance 
 wiil do it. They contend that discretionary resist- 
 ance is safer than non-resistance; that its general 
 tendency, despite of incidental failures, is to pre 
 serve life and render personal safety secure. I 
 coy tend for the exact reverse. Here is an important 
 issue. The deadly resistants affirm the superior safe- 
 ty of their principle of action ; the non-resistants of 
 theirs. The parties are in direct contradiction. 
 Which of them is right? The resistants have lost, ac- 
 cording to Dr. Dick, 14,000,000,000, and according 
 to Mr. Burke, 35,000,000,000 of human lives, since 
 their experiment commenced. Can non-resistants 
 make a greater loss than this? Can their principle 
 of action result in a greater expenditure of life and 
 happiness? No. Under the most unfavoiable cir- 
 cumstances they will not lose in the proportion of one 
 to a thousand, aiyl a few centuries of perseverance in 
 their principle would totally extinguish the fires of 
 human violence throughout the earth. Let us pro- 
 ceed to show that the practice of non-resistance is pre- 
 eminently safe. 
 
 RAYMOND THE TRAVELLER. 
 
 Baymond, a celebrated European traveller, bears 
 the following testimony: 
 
 Speaking of the Spanish smugglers, he says: “These 
 smugglers are as adroit as they are determined, are 
 familiarized at all times, with peril, and march in the 
 very face of death. Their first movement is a never- 
 failing shot, and certainly would be an object of 
 dread to most passengers; for where are they to be 
 dreaded more, than in deserts, where crime has noth- 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 141 
 
 ing to witness it, and the feeble no assistance ? As 
 for myself, alone and unarmed, I have met them with- 
 out anxiety, and have accompanied them without fear. 
 We have little to apprehend from men whom we in- 
 spire with no distrust or envy, and everything to ex- 
 pect in those from whom we claim only what is due 
 from man to man. The laws of nature still exist for 
 those who have long shaken off the laws of civil gov- 
 ernment. At war with society, they are sometimes 
 at peace with their fellows. The assassin has been 
 my guide in the defiles of the boundaries of Italy; the 
 smuggler of the Pyrenees has received me with a wel- 
 come in his secret paths. Armed, I should have been 
 the enemy of both ; unarmed, they have alike re- 
 spected me. In such expectation, I have long since 
 laid aside all menacing apparatus whatever. Arms 
 may, iudeed, be employed against the wild beast, but 
 no one should forget that they are no defence against 
 the traitor ; that they irritate the wicked, and intimi- 
 date the simple ; lastly, that the man of peace; among 
 mankind, has a much more sacred defence — his char- 
 acter”. 
 
 AGENT OF THE BIBLE SOCIETY IN TEXAS. 
 
 “In the early part of the year 1833, or about that 
 time, an agent of the Bible Society was travelling in 
 Texas. His course lay through a piece of woods, 
 where two men waylaid him with murderous inten- 
 tions, one being armed with a gun, the other with a 
 large club. As he approached the i>lace of their con- 
 cealment, they rushed towards him; but finding that 
 no resistance was offered, they neither struck nor 
 fired. He began to reason with them; and, presently, 
 they seemed less eager to destroy him in haste. After 
 
142 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 a short time, he prevailed on them to sit down with? 
 him upon a log, and talk the matter over deliber- 
 ately; and finally, he persuaded them to kneel with 
 him in prayer, after which they parted with him in a 
 friendly manner. ” — Calumet. 
 
 THE YOUNG MAN NEAR PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 “ A few years since, a young man in the vicinity 
 of Philadelphia, was one evening stopped in a grove, 
 with the demand, 1 Your money, or your life. ’ The 
 robber then presented a pistol to his breast. The 
 young man, having a large sum of money, proceeded 
 leisurely and calmly to hand it over to his enemy, at 
 the same time setting before him the wickedness and 
 peril of his career. The rebukes of the young man 
 cut the robber to the heart. He became enraged,, 
 cocked his pistol, held it to the young man’s head,, 
 and with an oath, said, ‘ Stop that preaching, or I will 
 blow out your brains. ’ The young man calmly re- 
 plied , — u Friend, to save my money, I would not risk 
 my life; but to save you from your evil course, I 
 am willing to die. I shall not cease to plead with 
 you.” He then poured in the truth still more earn- 
 estly and kindly. Soon the pistol fell to the ground;, 
 the tears began to flow; and the robber was overcome. 
 He handed the money all back with the remark, 11 1 
 cannot rob a man of such principles. ” 
 
 ROBERT BARCLAY AND LEONARD FELL. 
 
 Robert Barclay, the celebrated apologist of the 
 Quakers, and Leonard Fell, a member of the same So 
 ciety, were severally attacked by highwaymen in Eng- 
 land, at different times. Both faithfully adhered to 
 their non-resistance principles, and both signally tri- 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 143 
 
 umpiiecl. The pistol was levelled at Barclay, and a 
 determined demand made for liis purse. Calm and 
 self-possessed, he looked the robber in the face, with 
 a firm but meek benignity, assured him he was 
 his and every man’s friend, that he was willing and 
 ready to relieve his wants, that he was free from the 
 fear of death through a divine hope in immortality, 
 and therefore was not to be intimidated by a deadly 
 weapon, and then appealed to him, whether he could 
 have heart to shed the blood of one who had no other 
 feeling or purpose but to do him good. The robber 
 was confounded; his eyes melted; his brawny arm 
 trembled; his pistol fell to his side; and he fled from 
 the presence of the non resistant hero whom he could 
 no longer confront. 
 
 Fell was assaulted iu a much more violent manner. 
 The robber rushed upon him, dragged him from his. 
 horse, rifled his pockets, and threatened to blow out 
 his brains on the spot, if he made the least resistance. 
 This was the work of a moment. But Fell experi- 
 enced no panic. His principles raised him above the 
 fear of man and of death. Though forbidden to speak, 
 he calmly but resolutely reproved the robber for his 
 wickedness, warned him of the consequences of such a 
 course of life, counselled him to reform, and assured 
 him that while he forgave this wanton outrage on 
 himself, he hoped for his own sake he would hence- 
 forth betake himself to an upright calling. His ex- 
 postulation was so fearless, faithful and affectionate, 
 that the robber was struck with compunction, de- 
 livered back his money and horse, and bade him go 
 in peace. Then, with tears filling his eyes, he ex- 
 claimed, — ‘ ‘ May God have mercy on a sinful wretch, ’ ’ 
 and hastened out of sight. 
 
144 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 ARCHBISHOP SHARPE. 
 
 “ Archbishop Sharpe was assaulted by a footpad ou 
 the highway, who presented a pistol and demanded 
 his money. The Archbishop spoke to the robber in 
 the language of a fellow man and of a Christian. The 
 man was really in distress, and the prelate gave him 
 such money as he had, and promised that, if he would 
 call at the palace he would make up the amount to 
 fifty pounds. This was the sum of which the robber 
 had said he was in the utmost need. The man called 
 and received the mosey. About a year aud a half af- 
 terwards, this man came again to the palace, an c j 
 brought back the same sum. He said that his cir- 
 cumstances had become improved, and that, through 
 the ‘‘astonishing goodness” of the Archbishop, he 
 had become “the most penitent, the most grateful, 
 aud happiest of his species. ” Let the reader con- 
 sider how different the Archbishop’s feelings were 
 from what they would have been if by his hand this 
 man had been cut off. ’ ’ — Dymond. 
 
 ROWLAND HILL. 
 
 I have seen an impressive anecdote of this distin- 
 guished London preacher, which I have failed to find 
 among my papers, notwithstanding considerable 
 search. I have but an imperfect recollection of the 
 details, but the substance was as follows: Mr. Hill 
 was returning from an excursion out of the city. A 
 man suddenly beset him from the wayside, pistol in 
 hand, and demanded his purse. Mr. Hill calmly 
 scrutinized his countenance with a look of compas- 
 sion, and, while taking out his money, remarked to the 
 robber that he did not look like a man of that bloody 
 calling, and he was afraid some extreme distress had 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 145 
 
 driven liim to the crime. At the same time he inquired 
 how much he stood in need of. The man was af- 
 fected, declared this was his first offence, and pleaded 
 the distress of his family as his only excuse. Mr. Hill 
 kindly assured him of his sympathy, and of his will- 
 ingness to relieve him. He gave him a certain sum 
 on the spot, and promised him further aid, if he 
 would call at his house. The robber was melted into 
 tears, humbly thanked his benefactor, and hastened 
 towards the city. Mr. Hill, desirous of knowing the 
 whole truth of the matter, directed his servant to fol- 
 low the man home. This was accordingly done, and 
 it was ascertained that the poor man occupied a mis- 
 erable tenement in an obscure street, where his wife 
 and children were on the verge of starvation. He was 
 seen to hasten first to a bakery, and then home with 
 a few loaves of bread. His wife received the bread 
 with joy, but with astonishment, expressing her hope 
 that her dear husband had obtained it by none but in- 
 nocent means. The children cried for joy as they be- 
 gan to satiate their hunger, and the father alone 
 looked sad. 
 
 Mr. Hill benevolently took this man under his im- 
 mediate care, provided a tenement for his family, and 
 made him his coachman. He proved to be a remark- 
 ably honest and industrious man: and in a little time 
 became a convert to experimental religion, and con- 
 nected himself with Mr. Hill’s church. For fifteen 
 years he walked with such Christian circumspection 
 as to command the entire confidence of all who knew 
 him. At length he died in the triumphs of hope. 
 His pastor preached an effecting funeral sermon on 
 the occasion, in which for the first time he commun- 
 icated the affair of the robbery, and took occasion to 
 
146 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 impress on his auditors the excellency of Christian 
 forbearance, kindness and compassion towards the 
 guilty. Here was a man withdrawn from an awful 
 course of crime, and by divine grace rendered a child 
 of God — an exemplary and beloved brother in Christ. 
 How different might have been the result, had Row- 
 land Hill either resisted him with deadly weapons, or 
 taken the same pains to hand him over to the govern- 
 ment, that he did to befriend him ? O how lovely is 
 true righteousness ! How comely is Christian non- 
 resistance ! How safe ! 
 
 THE METHODIST NON-RESISTANTS. 
 
 “The Rev. John Pomphret,an English Methodist min- 
 ister, always advocated the practical applicability of 
 the ‘peace doctrine,’ — ‘If a man will sue thee at the law 
 and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also, 
 and if he compel thee to go with him a mile, go with 
 him twain, ’ — always declaring that if he should be 
 attacked by a highwayman, he should put it in prac- 
 tice. Being a cheese-monger, (he preached to do 
 good, not for wages,) ou his return from market one 
 day, after he had received a large amount of money 
 from his customers for the purpose of replenishing 
 his year’s stock, he was accosted by a robber, demand- 
 ing his money, and threatening his life if he refused. 
 The reverend peace-man coolly and kindly replied, 
 ‘ Well, friend, how much do you want, for I will give 
 it to you, and thus save you from the crime of com- 
 mitting highway robbery ? ’ ‘ Will you eertainly give 
 
 me what I require, ’ asked the robber. ‘ I will, in 
 truth, if you do not require more than I have got, ’ 
 replied the non-resistant. ‘Then, I want fifteen 
 pounds, ’ (about seventy-five dollars.) The required 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 147 
 
 sum was counted out to him, and in gold, instead of 
 in bank-bills, which, if the numbers had been ob- 
 served, the reverend father, by notifying the bank, 
 could have rendered uncurrent, besides leaving the 
 robber liable to detection in attempting to pass them, 
 telling him at the same time why he gave the gold in- 
 stead of bank-notes; and saying, 1 Unfortunate man, 
 I make you welcome to this sum. Go home. Pay 
 your debts. Hereafter, get your living honestly. ’ 
 “Years rolled on. At length, the good preacher 
 received a letter, containing principal and interest, 
 and a humble confession of his sins, from the robber 
 saying that his appeals waked up his slumbering 
 conscience, which had given him no rest till he had 
 made both restitution and confession, besides wholly 
 changing his course of life. ' ’ 
 
 Reader ! Conscience is a more powerful principle 
 than fear: and more difficult to stifle. Precaution 
 may make the wicked feel safe; but conscience is not 
 to be thus put off, or its remonstrances hushed by 
 thoughts of safety. Punishment appeals to physical 
 fear, which a due precaution against detection quiets; 
 but cultivate and properly direct the consciences of 
 children, and urge home moral accountability upon 
 adults, and an effectual reformation will thereby be 
 brought about. Reader ! I leave it for you to say, 
 whether this is not a law of mind. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Ramsay, another Methodist clergy- 
 man, was wholly dependent for his living on the quar- 
 terly collection made by his people, which was barely 
 sufficient, by the greatest economy, to Support his 
 family. On the night that one of these collections was 
 taken up, he was obliged to preach six miles distant 
 from his home, and the night was too stormy to allow 
 
148 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 of his return. During the night, two robbers broke 
 into his house, called up Mrs. Eamsay and her sister, 
 (there were no men living in the house,) and demanded 
 to know where the money was. Mrs. R. , in her night 
 dress, lit the candle, and leading the way to the bu- 
 reau that contained the precious deposit, procured the 
 key, opened the drawer, and pointing out the money 
 as it lay in a handkerchief, said, e This is all we have 
 to live on. It is the Lord’s money. Yet-, if you will 
 take it, there it is. ’ With this remark, she left them 
 and retired to bed. The next morning, the money to 
 a cent was found undisturbed. Conscience here, as 
 above, was appealed to, and with the same results. — 
 Fowler' s Phrenological Journal. 
 
 THE TWO NEW ZEALAND CHIEFS. 
 
 The following highly interesting fact relates to the 
 conduct of two principal persons in Yew Zealand; one 
 of them of the Ygapuhi tribe, and the other residing 
 at Otumoetai in that island. We are indebted for 
 this truly gratifying account of highly elevated feel- 
 ings (in men, until lately, looked upon as incorrigible 
 savages,) to the Rev. Messrs. Taylor and Wilson, sta- 
 tioned among them. It is extracted from the (Church 
 of England) Missionary Register, for January, 1841. 
 Who can but wish that all our countrymen, recently 
 gone thither, may acquire this truly Christian spirit 
 in settling disputes, and forget the warlike methods 
 which, to the disgrace of Christianity, are practiced 
 in Europe and elsewhere, by the professed followers of 
 the Saviour of the world, the Prince of Peace % 
 
 THE MISSIONARY AND ARABS. 
 
 Mr. King, a respectable Missionary in Palestine, 
 mentions a remarkable instance of the effect of pacific 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 149 
 
 conduct, which operated to preserve his own life and 
 the lives of a considerable party, when assailed 
 by a powerful band of Arabs on the plain of 
 Esdracion. The party of Mr. King had lost a trunk, 
 which had been stolen, as they supposed, by some 
 Arabs. In consequence of this they seized two Arabs, 
 and bound them together with cords, believing them 
 to be tli'.: robbers. These they took along with them, on 
 their journey, contrary to the wishes of Mr. King. 
 Soon the whole party were attacked by a band of 
 Arabs, who set their brethren at liberty. Great was 
 the alarm; but one of the party of Mr. King being 
 about to fire on the Arabs, Mr. King objected, and 
 others interposed in season to prevent the evil intend- 
 ed. Every part of the Kofila was soon attacked, 
 and Mr King observes: 
 
 “It was no time to parley. All was confusion. 
 Ko one knew whether he expected life or death. 
 The latter, however, seemed to .stare us in the face. 
 Our baggage was at length cut off: there seemed to 
 be a little cessation on the part of the Arabs, and I 
 hoped that, contented with our baggage, they would 
 let us go in peace. But in a moment I saw them 
 coming on again, and I thought that probably all was 
 lost, and that, as they had stopped our baggage, they 
 now intended ro take our lives. It was an awful 
 moment. I could only say, ‘Heaven defenfl qg t ? I 
 was in front of the Kofila, and a little distance ahead,, 
 when an Arab Sheik came flying up to me on his: 
 steed with a large club in his hand. Making a halt, 
 
 I addressed him, calling him brother ; and said, ‘do. 
 me no harm, I have not injured you.’ 
 
 “I spoke to him words of peace and gentleness.. 
 Upon this he let down his club which he had been 
 
150 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 brandishing, halted, listened, and presently turned 
 away; and soon after I saw him driving back some of 
 our pursuers, and the cry of ay man (safety) was 
 heard by us ; and I need not say it was a welcome 
 sound to our ears. 
 
 “The baggage, too, to my surprise, was soon after 
 permitted to come on. The attack was a gallant one, 
 and made by the Arabs, as if they were determined to 
 carry their point- through life or death. And I have 
 no doubt that had one of their party fallen by our 
 hands, it would have been the signal for the slaughter 
 of us all.” 
 
 A CHRISTIAN TRIBE IN AFRICA. 
 
 The following interesting incident is copied from 
 “Moffat’s Southern Africa.” It occurred in a re- 
 mote village of native Africans, the inhabitants of 
 which had received Christian teachers, and were just 
 .emerging from a state of barbarism : 
 
 £ ‘This little Christian band had met on a Sabbath 
 morning, with the people, in the centre of the village, 
 to hold the early prayer meeting, before the services 
 of the day. They were scarcely seated when a party 
 -of marauders approached from the interior, whither 
 they had gone for plunder, and not having succeeded 
 to their wishes, had determined to attack this village 
 on their return. 
 
 “Moshen (the chief) arose, and begged the people 
 to sit still, and trust in Jehovah, while he went to 
 meet the marauders. To his inquiry what they 
 wanted, the appalling reply was, ‘your cattle, and it 
 is at your peril you raise your weapons to resist.’ 
 ‘There are my cattle,’ replied the chief, and then re- 
 tired and resumed his position at the prayer meeting. 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 151 
 
 A hymn was sung, a chapter read, and then all 
 kneeled in prayer to God, who only could save them 
 in their distress. 
 
 The sight was too sacred and solemn to be gazed on 
 by such a band of ruffians ; they all withdrew from 
 the spot, without touching a single article belonging 
 to the people.” 
 
 THE MORAVIAN INDIANS. 
 
 A small tribe of Indians in the West had been con- 
 verted by the Moravian Missionaries to their faith, 
 one article of which is that Christians cannot inno- 
 cently fight, even to save their lives. A while after- 
 wards this little pacific tribe was thrown into extreme 
 alarm and distress by intelligence that a much large r 
 tribe at some distance to the JTorth meditated a hos- 
 tile incursion upon them. They called on their 
 Moravian teachers for advice. They did not see how 
 they could possibly avoid fighting under such circum- 
 stances. They feared they should be utterly de- 
 stroyed by their enemies unless they resisted. They 
 were affectionately and earnestly exhorted to abide by 
 their principles, and trust in God. They were told 
 of the superior numbers of the hostile tribe, and how 
 uncertain their fate would be, should they presume 
 to make deadly weapons their reliance. They were 
 advised to select a few of their oldest men as a dele- 
 gation, and to supply them with such presents of 
 choice eatables and other articles, as their circum- 
 stances would afford. This venerable delegation, en- 
 tirely unarmed, except with their baskets of parched 
 corn, fruits, &c., were to advance and meet the enemy 
 at a distance from the village. Meantime those who 
 remained behind were to engage in united supplica- 
 
152 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 tion to the Father of spirits for his protection. The 
 advice was accepted, faithfully followed, and suc- 
 cessfully carried out. The hostile Indians were 
 advancing upon their defenceless prey. The 
 old men, laden with their simple but significant pres- 
 ents, went out to meet them. The invaders, aston- 
 ished and awed by the spectacle, halted on their tom- 
 ahawks. When the delegates reached the advanced 
 lines they opened as if by magic, and a passage was 
 freely offered them to the presence of the commanding 
 Sachem. Their age and meekness commanded his in- 
 stant admiration. He accepted their presents, listened 
 to their counsels of peace, declared his friendship, 
 sent them back with assurances that no injury should 
 be done by his tribe to theirs, and declared that if any 
 attack should be made upon them he and his people 
 would be their protectors. So these truly Christian 
 Indians escaped entirely the threatened injury, and 
 sat down in their cabins, surrounded by bulwarks of 
 security such as nothing but these divine principles 
 and their all perfect Author can establish. 
 
 THE MORAVIANS OF GRACE HILL. 
 
 During the rebellion in Ireland, in 1793, the rebels, 
 it is stated, had long meditated an attack on the Mo- 
 ravian settlement at Grace Hill, Wexford county. At 
 length, in fulfilment of their threats, a large body of 
 them marched to the town. But the Moravians, true 
 to their principles, in this trying emergency, did not 
 meet them in arms; but assembling in their place of 
 worship, besought Jehovah to be their shield and 
 protector in the hour pf danger. The hostile bands 
 who had expected an armed resistance, were struck 
 with astonishment at a sight so unexpected and im- 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 153 
 
 pressive; they heard the prayers and praises of the 
 Moravians; they listened to supplications in their own 
 behalf; and after lingering in the streets a whole day 
 and night, they with one consent turned and marched 
 away, without having injured a single individual. 
 
 THE SHAKERS. 
 
 “The Shakers, too, have experienced that protec- 
 tion which pacific principles are sure to afford. About 
 the year 1S12, the inhabitants of Indiana were har- 
 assed by incursions from ilie Indians; but the Shakers 
 who lived in that region, although they were without 
 garrisons and without arms, appear to have been en- 
 tirely secure, while the work of destruction was going- 
 on around them. The question was once put to a 
 prominent chief, why the Indians did not attack and 
 injure the Shakers, as well as others. His answer 
 was, ‘ We warriors meddle with a peaceable people ! 
 That people, we know, will not fight. It would be a 
 disgrace to hurt such a people. ’ ” — The Friend of 
 Peace. 
 
 THE INDIANS AND THE QUAKER FAMILY. 
 
 An intelligent Quaker of Cincinnatti, related to me 
 the following circumstance, as evidence that the prin- 
 ciple of non-resistance possesses great influence, even 
 over the savage. During the last war, a Quaker lived 
 among the inhabitants of a small settlement on our 
 western frontier. W'hen the savages commenced their 
 desolating outbreaks, every inhabitant fled to the in- 
 terior settlements, with the exception of the Quaker 
 and his family. He determined to remain, and rely 
 wholly upon the simple rule of disarming his enemies 
 with entire confidence and kindness. One morning 
 he observed, through his window, a file of savages is- 
 
154 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON- RESISTANCE. 
 
 suing from the forest in the direction of his house. 
 He immediately went out and met them, and put out 
 his hand to the leader of the party. But neither he 
 nor the rest gave him any notice — they entered his 
 house, and searched it for arms, and had they found 
 any, most probably would have murdered every mem- 
 ber of the family. There were none, however, and 
 they quietly partook of the provisions which he 
 placed before them, and left him in peace. At the 
 entrance of the forest, he observed that they stopped 
 and appeared to be holding a council. Soon one of 
 their number left the rest, and came towards his 
 dwelling on the leap. He reached the door, and fas- 
 tened a simple white feather above it, and returned 
 to his band, when they all disappeared. Ever after, 
 that white feather saved him from the savages; for 
 whenever a party came by and observed it, it was a 
 sign of peace to them. In this instance, we discover 
 that the law of kindness disarmed even savage foes, 
 whose white feather told their red brethren that the 
 'Quaker was a follower of Penn, and the friend of their 
 race. — Montgomery 1 s Law of Kindness. 
 
 THE INHABITANTS OF THE LOOCHOO ISLANDS. 
 
 These islands are in the neighborhood of the Chi- 
 nese Sea. They have been visited by several naviga- 
 tors, and, among others, by Captain Basil Hall. He 
 states that they have neither forts, men-of-war, gar- 
 risons, arms, nor soldiers, and appear to be quite ig- 
 norant of the art of war. They are kind, hospitable, 
 courteous, and honest, and acquainted with some of 
 the mechanical arts. Well, what has been their fate! 
 Reasoning on the rash premises of our opponents, we 
 should predicate their utter destruction. But have 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 155 
 
 they been destroyed ? Quite the contrary. They 
 have been preserved in peace, safety and happiness. 
 u The Olive branch ” is planted on their shores, and 
 they sit beneath it, “ no man daring to make them 
 afraid. ” — McCree. 
 
 THE INDIANS AND THE QUAKER MEETING. 
 
 I have somewhere met with the following anecdote, 
 but cannot now recollect where. In western Hew 
 York or Pennsylvania, in a period of Indian hostili- 
 ties, a neighborhood of Friends, who had erected a log 
 meeting house, regularly assembled after the manner 
 of their Society. They had been invited and urged 
 to come within the protection of the army and its for- 
 tifications. But they refused to abandon their testi- 
 mony by expressing auy such reliance on the arm of 
 flesh. They were consequently exposed to the attack 
 of every wandering horde of warriors on that part of 
 the frontier. One day, while sitting in silent devo- 
 tion in their rude meeting house, a party of Indians 
 suddenly approached the place, painted and armed 
 for the work of slaughter. They passed to and fro by 
 the open door of the house, looking inquisitively with- 
 in and about the building, till having sufficiently re- 
 connoitred the quiet worshippers, they at length re- 
 spectfully entered and joined them. They were met 
 by the principal Friends with the outstretched hand 
 of peace, and shown to such seats as the house af- 
 forded, which they occupied in reverent silence till 
 the meeting was regularly dissolved. They were then 
 invited to one of the nearest dwellings by the leading- 
 man of the Society, and hospitably refreshed. On 
 their departure the Indian chief took his host aside, 
 and pledged him and his people perfect security from 
 
156 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 all the depredations of the red men. Said he, “ when 
 Indian come to this place, Indian meant to tomahawk 
 every white man he found. But when- Indian found 
 white man with no guns, no fighting weapons, so still, 
 so peaceable, worshipping Great Spirit, the Great 
 Spirit say in Indian’s heart — no hurt them, no hurt 
 them ! ” So saying, he gave a final friendly grip and 
 hastened off with his followers to find that sort of 
 white man whose confidence in deadly weapons in- 
 vited destruction. 
 
 THE CHRISTIAN TOWN IN THE TYROL. 
 
 The following is a beautiful extract from one of 
 Lydia Maria Child’s letters to the Boston Courier. I 
 commend it not merely to a pleasant reading, which 
 it will be sure to receive, but to a most serious con- 
 sideration : 
 
 “To day is Christmas. From East to West, from 
 North to South, men chant hymus of praise to the 
 despised Nazarene, and kneel in worship before his 
 cross. How beautiful is this universal homage to the 
 principle of love ! — that feminine principle of the uni- 
 verse, the inmost centre of Christianity. It is the 
 divine idea which distinguishes it from all other re- 
 ligions, and yet the idea in which Christian nations 
 evince so little faith, that one would think they kept 
 only to swear by that gospel which says, ‘swear not at 
 all.’ 
 
 “Centuries ha ve passed, and through infinite con- 
 flict have ‘ushered in our brief day;’ and is there 
 peace and good will among men ? Sincere faith in the 
 words of Jesus would soon fulfil the prophecy which 
 angels sung. But the world persists in saying, ‘this 
 doctrine of unqualified forgiveness and perfect love. 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 157 
 
 through beautiful aud holy, caunot be carried into 
 practice now; men are not prepared for it.’ The 
 same spirit says, ‘it would not be safe to emancipate 
 slaves; they must first be fitted for freedom. ’ As if 
 slavery ever could fit men for freedom, or war ever 
 lead the nations into peace ! Yet men who gravely 
 utter these excuses, laugh at the shallow wit of that 
 timid mother, who declared that her son should never 
 venture into the water till he had learned to swim. 
 
 “Those who have dared to trust the principles of 
 peace, have always found them perfectly safe. It can 
 never prove otherwise, if accompanied by the declar- 
 ation that such a course is the result of Christian 
 principle, and a deep friendliness for humanity. Who 
 seemed so little likely to understand such a position, 
 as the Indians of North America? Yet how readily 
 they laid down tomahawks and scalping knives at the 
 feet of William Penn ! With what humble sorrow 
 they apologized for killing the only three Quakers 
 they were ever known to attack ! ‘The men carried 
 arms,’ said they, ‘and therefore we did not know they 
 were not fighters. We thought they pretended to be 
 Quakers, because they were cowards.’ The savages 
 of the East, who murdered Lyman and Munson, made 
 the same excuse. ‘They carried arms,’ said they, 
 ‘and so we supposed they were not Christian mission- 
 aries, but enemies. We would have done them no 
 harm, if we had known they were men of God.’ 
 
 “If a nation could but attain to such high wisdom 
 as to abjure war, aud proclaim to all the earth, ‘we 
 will not fight under any provocation ; if other nations 
 have aught against us, we will settle the question by 
 umpires mutually chosen ;’ think you that any na- 
 tion would dare to make war upon such a people? 
 
158 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 Nay. verily, they would be instinctively ashamed of 
 such an act, as men are now ashamed to attack a 
 woman or a child. Even if any were found mean 
 enough to pursue such a course,, the whole civilized 
 world would cry fie upon them, and, by universal con- 
 sent, brand them as poltroons and assassins. And 
 assassins they would be, even in the common accepta- 
 tion of the term. I have read of a certain regiment 
 ordered to march into a small town (in the Tyrol, I 
 think, ) and take it. Tt chanced that the place was 
 settled by a colony who believed the gospel of Christ, 
 and proved their faith by works . A courier from a 
 neigh coring village informed them that troops were 
 advancing to take the town. They cpiietly answered, 
 ‘If they^ will take it they must.’ Soldiers soon came 
 riding in with colors flying, and fifes piping their shrill 
 defiance. They looked round for an enemy, and saw 
 the farmer at his plough, the blacksmith at his anvil, 
 and the women at their churns and spinning-wheels. 
 Babies crowed to hear the music, and boys ran out 
 to see the pretty trainers, with feathers and bright 
 buttons, ‘the harlequins of the nineteenth century.’ 
 Of course, none of these were in a proper position to 
 to be shot at. ‘Where are your soldiers V they 
 asked. “We have none,’ was the brief reply. ‘But 
 we have come to take the town.’ ‘Well, friends, it 
 lies before you.’ ‘But is there nobody r here to fight?” 
 ‘No we are all Christians.’ Here was an emergency 
 altogether unprovided for by the military schools. 
 This was a sort of resistance which no bullet could 
 hit; a fortress perfectly bomb-proof. The commander 
 was perplexed. ‘If there is nobody to fight with, of 
 course we cannot fight,’ said he. ‘It is impossible to 
 take such a town as this.’ So he ordered the horses 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 159 
 
 heads to be turned about, and they carried the human 
 animals out of the village, as guiltless as they entered, 
 and perchance somewhat wiser. 
 
 “This experiment on a small scale indicates how 
 easy it would be to dispense with armies and na- 
 vies, il men only had faith in the religion they profess 
 to believe. When France lately reduced her army, 
 England immediately did the same; for the existauce 
 of one army creates the necessity of another, unless 
 men are safely ensconced in the bomb-proof fortress 
 above mentioned.” 
 
 CAPT. BACK — THE QUAKERS — THE MALAYS. 
 
 I shall make no apology for adding to the foregoing 
 the following extracts from another article, by the 
 same fruitful and instructive pen. 
 
 “It is a mission worth living for, if I can give the 
 least aid in convincing mankind that the Christian 
 doctrine of overcoming evil with good, is not merely 
 a beautiful sentiment, as becoming to the religious, as 
 are pearls to the maiden’s bosom, but that it is really 
 the highest reason, the bravest manliness, the most 
 comprehensive philosophy, the wisest political econ- 
 omy. 
 
 The amount of proof that it is so, seems abundant 
 enough to warrant the belief that a practical adoption 
 of peace principles would be always safe, even with 
 the most savage men, and under the most desperate 
 circumstances, provided there was a chance to have 
 it distinctly understood that such a course was not 
 based on cowardice, but on principle. 
 
 “When Capt. Back went to the Polar regions in 
 search of his friend, Capt. Eoss, he fell in with a band 
 of the Esquimaux, who had never seen a white man. 
 
1(50 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 The chief raised a spear to hurl it at the stranger’s 
 head; but when Capt. Back approached calmly aud 
 unarmed, the spear dropped, aud the rude savage 
 gladly welcomed the brother man, who had trusted 
 in him. Had Capt. Back adopted the usual maxim, 
 that it is necessary to carry arms in such emergencies, 
 he would probably have occasioned his own death 
 and that of his companions. ” 
 
 Perhaps the severest test to which the peace prin- 
 ciples were ever put, was in Ireland, during the mem- 
 orable rebellion of 179S. During that terrible conflict 
 the Irish Quakers were continually between two fires. 
 The Protestant party viewed them with suspicion and 
 dislike because they refused to tight or to pay mili- 
 tary taxes; and the fierce multitude of insurgents 
 deemed it sufficient cause of death, that they would 
 neither profess belief in the Catholic religion nor help 
 them fight for Irish freedom. Victory alternated be- 
 tween the two contending parties, and, as usual in 
 civil war, the victors made almost u ndiscriminate havoc 
 of those who did not march under their banners. It 
 was a perilous time for all men: but the Quakers alone 
 were liable to a raking fire from both sides. Foresee- 
 ing calamity, they had, nearly two years before the 
 war broke out, publicly destroyed all their guns, and 
 other weapons used for game. But this pledge of pa- 
 cific intentions was not sufficient to satisfy the gov- 
 ernment, which required warlike assistance at their 
 hands. Threats and insults were heaped upon them 
 from all quarters; but they steadfastly adhered to their 
 resolution of doing good to both parties, and harm 
 to neither. Their houses were filled with widows and 
 orphans, with the sick, the wounded and the dying, 
 
 belonging both to the loyalists and the rebels. Some- 
 
 10 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 161 
 
 times, when the Catholic insurgents were victorious, 
 they would be greatly enraged to find Quaker houses 
 filled with Protestant families. They would point 
 their pistols and threaten death, if their enemies were 
 not immediately turned into the street to be massa- 
 cred. But the pistol dropped, when the Christian 
 mildly replied, “Friend, do what thou wilt, I will not 
 harm thee, or any other human being.” Not even 
 amid the savage fierceness of civil war, could men 
 fire at one who spoke such words as these. They saw 
 that this was not cowardice, but bravery very much 
 higher than their own. 
 
 On one occasion, an insurgent threatened to burn 
 down a Quaker house unless the owner expelled the 
 Protestant women and children who had taken refuge 
 there. “I cannot help it, ’ replied the Friend; “so long 
 as I have a house, I will keep it open to succor the 
 helpless and distressed, whether they belong to thy 
 ranks, or those of thy enemies. If my house is 
 burned, I must be turned out with them, and share 
 their affliction.” The fighter turned away and did the 
 Christian no harm. 
 
 The Protestant party seized the Quaker school- 
 master of Ballitore, saying they could see no reason 
 why he should stay at home in quiet, while they were 
 obliged to defend his property. “Friends-, I have 
 asked no man to fight for me,” replied the school- 
 master. But they dragged him along, swearing that 
 he should at least stop a bullet. His house and school- 
 house were filled with women and children, who had 
 taken refuge there ; for it was an instructive fact, 
 throughout this bloody contest, that the houses of the 
 men of peace zvere the only places of safety. Some 
 of the women followed the soldiers, begging them not 
 
162 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 to take away their friend and protector, a man who 
 had expended more for the sick and starving, than 
 others did for arms and ammunition. The school- 
 master said, “Do not be distressed, my friends. I 
 forgive these neighbors; for what they do, they do 
 in ignorance of my principles and feelings. They 
 may take my life, but they cannot force me to do 
 injury to one of my fellow creatures.” As the Catho- 
 lics had done, so did the Protestants ; they went away, 
 and left the man of peace safe in his divine armor. 
 
 The flames of bigotry were, of course, fanned by 
 civil war. On one occasion, the insurgents seized a 
 wealthy old Quaker, in very feeble health, and threat- 
 ened to shoot him, if he did not go with them to a 
 Catholic priest to be christened. They had not led 
 him far, before he sank down from extreme weak- 
 ness. “What do you say to our proposition?” asked 
 one of the soldiers, handling his gun significantly. The 
 old man quietly replied, “If thou art permitted to take 
 my life I hope our Heavenly Father will forgive thee.” 
 The insurgents talked apart for a few moments, and 
 then went away, restrained by a power they did not 
 understand. 
 
 Deeds of kindness added strength to the influence 
 of gentle words. The officers and soldiers of both 
 parties had had some dying brother tended by the 
 Quakers, or some starving mother who had been fed, 
 or some desolate little ones who had been cherishe 1. 
 Whichever party marched into a village victorious, the 
 cry was, “Spare the Quakers! They have done good 
 to all, and harm to none.” While flames were raging, 
 and blood flowing in every direction, the houses of 
 the peace makers stood uninjured. 
 
 It is a circumstance worthy to be recorded, that, 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 163 
 
 during the fierce and terrible struggle, even in coun- 
 ties where Quakers were most numerous, but one of 
 their society fell a sacrifice. 
 
 That one was a young man, who, being afraid to 
 trust peace principles, put on a military uniform, and 
 went to the garrison for protection. The garrison was 
 taken by the insurgents, and he was killed. ‘‘His dress 
 and arms spoke the language of hostility," says the 
 historian, “and therefore invited it.’’ 
 
 A few years ago, I met an elderly man in the Hart- 
 ford stage, whose conversation led me to reflect on 
 the baseness and iniquity often concealed behind the 
 apparent glory of war. The thumb of his right hand 
 hung down, as if suspended by a piece of thread; and 
 some of the passengers enquired the cause ; “A Malay 
 woman cut the muscle with her sabre,” was the replv. 
 
 “A Malay woman!” they exclaimed. “How came 
 you fighting with a woman?” 
 
 “I did not know she was a woman, for they all dress 
 alike there,” said he. “I was on board the U. S. ship 
 Potomac, when it was sent out to chastise the Malays 
 for murdering the crew of a Salem vessel. We at- 
 tacked one of their forts, and killed some two hundred 
 or more. Many of them were women ; and I can tell 
 you, the Malay women are as good fighters as the 
 men.” 
 
 After answering several questions concerning the 
 conflict, he was silent for a moment, and then added, 
 with a sigh : 
 
 “Ah, that was a bad business. I do not like to re- 
 member it ; I wish I had never had any thing to do 
 with it. I have been a seaman from my youth, and I 
 know the Malays well. They are a brave and honest 
 people. Deal fairly with them, and they will treat you 
 
164 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 well, and may be trusted with untold gold. The Ameri- 
 cans were to blame in that business. The truth is, 
 Christian nations are generally to blame, in the outset, 
 in all the difficulties with less civilized people. A 
 Salem ship went to Malacca to trade for pepper. They 
 agreed to give the natives a stated compensation, when 
 a certain number of measures full of pepper were 
 delivered. 
 
 “Men, women and children were busy picking pep- 
 per and bringing it on board. The Captain proposed 
 that the sailors should go on shore and help them ; 
 and the natives consented, with the most confiding 
 good nature. The sailors were instructed to pick till 
 evening, and then leave the baskets full of pepper 
 around the bushes, with the understanding that they 
 were to be brought on board by the natives in the 
 morning. They did so, without exciting any suspicion 
 of treachery. But in the night the baskets were all 
 conveyed away, and the vessel sailed away, leaving 
 the Malays unpaid for their valuable cargo. This, of 
 course, excited great indignation, and they made loud 
 complaints to the commander of the next American 
 vessel that arrived on that coast. In answer to a 
 demand of redress from the Government, they were 
 assured the case should be represented, and the wrong 
 repaired. But ‘Yankee cuteness’ in cheating a few 
 savages, was not sufficiently uncommon to make any 
 great stir, and the affair was soon forgotten. Some 
 time after, another Captain of a Salem ship played a 
 similar trick, and carried off a still larger quantity of 
 stolen pepper. The Malays, exasperated beyond mea- 
 sure, resorted to Lynch law, and murdered an Ameri- 
 can crew that landed there about the same time. The 
 U. S. ship Potomac was sent out to punish them for 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 165 
 
 the outrage; and, as I told, we killed some two hun- 
 dred men and women. I sometimes think that our 
 retaliation was not more rational or more like Chris- 
 tians than theirs.” 
 
 “Will you please, ”'said I, “to tell me what sort of 
 revenge would be like Christians ?” 
 
 He hesitated and said it would be a hard question 
 to answer. “I never felt pleasantly about that affair,” 
 continued he; “I would not have killed her if I had 
 known she was a woman.” 
 
 I asked why he felt any more regret about killing 
 a woman than killing a man ? 
 
 “I hardly know why myself,” answered he. “I 
 don't suppose I should, if it were a common thing 
 for women to fight. But we are accustomed to think 
 of them as not defending themselves ; and there is 
 something in every human heart that makes a man 
 unwilling to fight in return. It seems mean and das- 
 tardly, and a man cannot work himself up to it.” 
 “Then, if one nation would not fight, another could 
 not,” said I. 
 
 “What if a nation, instead of an individual, should 
 make such an appeal to the manly feeling, which you 
 say is inherent in the heart?” 
 
 “I believe other nations would be ashamed to attack 
 her,” he replied. “It would take away all the glory 
 and excitement of war, and the hardiest soldier would 
 shrink from it, as from cold-blooded murder.” 
 
 “Such a peace establishment would be at once cheap 
 and beautiful," rejoined I ; and so we parted. 
 
 JONATHAN DYMOND — COLONY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 
 
 I shall relieve myself, and edify my readers, by con- 
 cluding this chapter with a somewhat extended extract 
 
166 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 from the Essays of Jonathan Dymoncl. It is from that 
 part of his third essay, headed, “ The probable practical 
 effects of adhering to the moral lazv in respect to war.” 
 It is exceedingly pertinent, lucid and convincing. He 
 says : 
 
 ‘‘It is never to be forgotten that our apparent inter- 
 ests in the present life are sometimes, in the economy 
 of God, made subordinate to our interests in futurity. 
 Yet, even in reference only to the present state of 
 existence, I believe that we shall find that the testi- 
 mony of experience is, that forbearance is most con- 
 ducive to our interests. There is practical truth in 
 the position, that, ‘When a man’s ways please the 
 Lord,’ he ‘maketh even his enemies to be at peace 
 with him.’ 
 
 “The reader of American history will recollect, that 
 in the beginning of the last century a desultory and 
 most dreadful warfare was carried on by the natives 
 against the European settlers ; a warfare that was 
 provoked — as such warfare has almost always orig- 
 inally been — by the injury and violence of the [nom- 
 inal] Christians. The mode of destruction was secret 
 and sudden. The barbarians sometimes lay in wait 
 for those who might come within their reach, on the 
 highway or in the fields, and shot them without warn- 
 ing, and sometimes they attacked the Europeans in 
 their houses, ‘scalping some, and knocking out the 
 brains of others.’ From this horrible warfare the in- 
 habitants sought safety by abandoning their houses, 
 and retiring to fortified places, or to the neighborhood 
 of garrisons ; and those whom necessity still compelled 
 to pass beyond the limits of such protection, provided 
 themselves with arms for their defence. But amidst 
 this dreadful desolation and universal terror, the 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 167 
 
 Society of Friends, who were a considerable portion 
 of the whole population, were steadfast to their prin- 
 ciples. They would neither retire to garrisons, nor 
 provide themselves with arms. They remained openly 
 in the country, whilst the rest were flying to the forts. 
 They still pursued their occupations in -the fields or at 
 their homes, without a weapon either for annoyance 
 or defence. And what was their fate? They lived 
 in security and quiet. The habitation, which, to his 
 armed neighbor, was the scene of murder and of the 
 scalping knife, was to the unarmed Quaker a place of 
 safety and of peace. Three of the Society were, how- 
 ever, killed. And who were they? They were three 
 who abandoned their principles. Two of these vic- 
 tims were men who, in the simple language of the 
 narrator, ‘used to go to their labor without any 
 weapons, and trusted to the Almighty, and depended 
 on his providence to protect them (it being their prin- 
 ciple not to use weapons of war to offend others, or to 
 defend themselves), but a spirit of distrust taking 
 place in their minds, they took weapons of war to 
 defend themselves, and the Indians who had seen them 
 several times without them and let them alone, saying 
 they were peaceable men and hurt nobody, therefore 
 they would not hurt them — now seeing them have 
 guns, 'and supposing they designed to kill the Indians, 
 they therefore shot the men dead. The third whose 
 life was sacrificed was a woman, ‘who had remained in 
 her habitation,’ not thinking herself warranted in going 
 ‘to a fortified place for preservation,’ neither she, her 
 son, nor daughter, nor to take thither the little ones: 
 but the poor woman after some time began to let in a 
 slavish fear, and advised her children to go with her 
 to a fort not far from their dwelling. She went ; and 
 
168 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 shortly afterwards ‘the bloody, cruel Indians, lay by 
 the way, and killed her.’ 
 
 "The fate of the Quakers during the rebellion in 
 Ireland was nearly similar. It is well known the 
 Rebellion was a time not only of open war but of cold- 
 blooded murder; of the utmost fury of bigotry, and 
 the utmost exasperation of revenge. Yet the Quakers 
 were preserved even to a proverb ; and when strangers 
 passed through streets of ruin, and observed a house 
 standing uninjured and alone, they would sometimes 
 point, and say, ‘That, doubtless, is the house of a 
 Quaker.’ So complete indeed was the preservation 
 which these people experienced, that in an official 
 document of the Society they say, ‘no inember of our 
 Society fell a sacrifice but one young man; and that 
 young man had assumed regimentals and arms.’ 
 
 “It were to no purpose to say, in opposition to the 
 evidence of these facts, that they form an exception 
 to a general rule. The exception to the rule consists 
 in the trial of the experiment of non-resistance, not 
 in its success. Neither were it to any purpose to say, 
 that the savages of America, or the desperadoes of 
 Ireland, spared the Quakers because they were pre- 
 viously known to be an unoffending people, or because 
 the Quakers had previously gained the love of these by 
 forbearance or good offices. We concede all this: it 
 is the very argument which we maintain. We say, 
 that a uniform, undeviating regard to the peaceable 
 obligations of Christianity becomes the safeguard of 
 those who practice it. We venture to maintain that 
 no reason whatever can be assigned, why the fate of 
 the Quakers would not be tbe fate of all who should 
 adopt their conduct. No reason can be assigned why, 
 if their numbers had been multiplied ten-fold, or a 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 169 
 
 hundred-fold, they would not have been preserved. If 
 there be such a reason, let us hear it. The American 
 and Irish Quakers were, to the rest of the community, 
 what one nation is to a continent. And we must 
 require the advocate of war to produce (that which 
 has never yet been produced) a reason for believing, 
 that although individuals exposed to destruction were 
 preserved, a nation exposed to destruction would be 
 destroyed. We do not, however, say that if a people, 
 in the customary state of men’s passions, should be 
 assailed by an invader, and should on a sudden choose 
 to declare that they would try whether Providence 
 would protect them — of such a people we do not say 
 that they would experience protection, and that none 
 of them would be killed. But we say that the evidence 
 of experience is, that a people who habitually regard 
 the obligations of Christianity in their conduct towards 
 other men and who steadfastly refuse, through what- 
 ever consequences, to engage in acts of hostility, will 
 experience protection in their peacefulness. And it 
 matters nothing to the argument, whether we refer 
 that protection to the immediate agency of Providence, 
 or to the influence of such conduct upon the minds 
 of men. 
 
 Such has been tbe experience of the unoffending and 
 unresisting, .in individual life. A National example of 
 a refusal to bear arms, has only once been exhibited 
 to tbe world ; but that one example has proved, so far 
 as its political circumstances enabled it to prove all 
 that humanity could desire and all that skepticism 
 could demand, in favor of our argument. 
 
 THE COLONY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 
 
 “It has been,” says he, “the ordinary practice of 
 
170 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 those who have colonized distant countries, to force a 
 footing; or to maintain it with the sword. One of the 
 first objects has been to build a fort, and to provide a 
 military. The adventurers became soldiers, and the 
 colony was a garrison. Pennsylvania was, however, 
 colonized by men who believed that war was abso- 
 lutely incompatible with Christianity, and who, there- 
 fore, resolved not to practice it. Having determined 
 not to fight, they maintained no soldiers and possessed 
 no arms. They planted themselves in a country that 
 was surrounded by savages, and by savages who knew 
 they were unarmed. If easiness of conquest, or in- 
 capability of defence, could subject them to outrage, 
 the Pennsylvanians might have been the very sport of 
 violence. Plunderers might have robbed them without 
 retaliation, and armies might have slaughtered them 
 without resistance. If they did not give a temptation 
 to outrage, no temptation could be given. But these 
 were the people zvho possessed their country in se- 
 curity, whilst those around them were trembling for 
 their existence. Theirs was a land of peace, whilst 
 every other was a land of war. The conclusion is 
 inevitable, although it is extraordinary; they were in 
 no need of arms, because they would not use them. 
 
 “These Indians were sufficiently ready to commit 
 outrages on other states, and often visited them with 
 desolation and slaughter; with that sort of desolation 
 and that sort of slaughter which might be expected 
 from men whom civilization had not reclaimed from 
 cruelty, and whom religion had not awed into forbear- 
 ance. ‘But whatever the quarrels of the Pennsylvania 
 Indians were with others, they uniformly respected 
 and held, as it were, sacred, the territories of William 
 Penn.’ ‘The Pennsylvanians never lost a man, woman 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 171 
 
 or child by them; which neither the colony of Mary- 
 land nor that of Virginia could say, no more than the 
 great colony of New England.’ 
 
 “The security and quiet Pennsylvania was not a 
 transient freedom from war, such as might acci- 
 dentally happen to any nation. She continued to enjoy 
 it 'for more than seventy years,’ and ‘subsisted in the 
 midst of six Indian nations, without so much as a 
 militia for her defence." 
 
 “I cannot wonder that these people were not mo- 
 lested, extraordinary and unexampled as their security 
 was. There is something so noble in this confidence 
 in the Supreme Protector, in this utter exclusion of 
 'slavish fear,’ in this voluntary relinquishment of the 
 means of injury or of defence, that I do not wonder 
 that even ferocity could be disarmed by such virtue. 
 A people generously living without arms amidst na- 
 tions of warriors ! Who would attack a people such 
 as this ? There are few men so abandoned as not to 
 respect such confidence. It were a peculiar and an 
 unusual intensity of wickedness that would not even 
 revere it. 
 
 And when was the security of Pennsylvania mo- 
 lested, and its peace destroyed? When the men who 
 had directed its counsels, and who would not engage 
 in zvar, were outvoted in its legislature ; when they 
 z oho supposed that there was greater security in the 
 szoord than in Christianity, became the predominating 
 body. From that hour the Pennsylvanians transferred 
 their confidence in Christian principles, to a confidence 
 in arms; and from that hour to the present they have 
 been subject to zvar. 
 
 Such is the evidence, derived from a national exam- 
 ple, of the consequences of a pursuit of the Christian 
 
172 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 policy in relation to war. Here are a people who abso- 
 lutely refused to fight, and who incapacitated them- 
 selves for resistance by refusing to possess arms; and 
 these were the people whose land, amidst surrounding 
 broils and slaughter, was selected as a land of security 
 and peace. The only national opportunity which the 
 virtue of the Christian world has afforded us of ascer- 
 taining the safety of relying upon God for defence, 
 has determined that it is safe.” 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 173 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 GENERAL OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 
 
 1. Impracticable till the millennium — Principles of the millen- 
 nium — Extracts from Professor Upliam — 2. Extremely diffi- 
 cult if not impossible — Hollowness of the objection- — Battle 
 at the passage of the Traun in Austria — 3. More difficulty in 
 small than large matters — Illustrations : The profane swearer 
 reproved and subdued — The Christian slave and his enemy — 
 How to overcome evil — Henry C. Wright and his assailant — 
 The victorious little boy — Colony of Practical Christians — 
 The avenger stayed — Conclusion. 
 
 The present chapter will be devoted to the consid- 
 eration and removal of sundry common objections to 
 the doctrine of Christian non-resistance. 
 
 OBJECTION I. IMPRACTICABLE TILL THE MILLENNIUM. 
 
 “Your doctrine may be true in its principles, and in 
 its ultimate requirements ; but it must be impracticable 
 till the millennium. Then, when the whole human 
 race shall have become regenerate, its sublime morality 
 will be the spontaneous development of all hearts. 
 Under existing circumstances, while there is so much 
 depravity, and such multitudes of men are restlessly 
 bent on aggression, it is obviously impracticable. The 
 
174 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 wicked would shortly exterminate the righteous were 
 the latter to act on non-resistant principles.” 
 
 Answer. — 1 affirm the exact contrary ; viz., that the 
 righteous would exterminate the wicked in the best 
 sense of the word, were they to act on strict non- 
 resistant principles. They would immediately usher 
 in the millennium with all its blessings, were they to 
 act on these principles in true and persevering fidelity. 
 How else is it imaginable that any such state as the 
 millennium should ever be developed among mankind? 
 Is it to come arbitrarily and mechanically? Is it to 
 come “with observation,” the full grown production 
 of some absolute miracle? Is not the kingdom of 
 heaven “within” and “among” men, and thence, like 
 leaven hid in three measures of meal, destined to fer- 
 ment and rectify the whole mass? Ought not each 
 true Christian’s heart to be a germ of the millennium, 
 and each Christian community a proximate miniature 
 of it? If not, what is the evidence that men have been 
 born again — that there is any such thing as regener- 
 ation ? If professing to be disciples of Christ, they are 
 unable, even by divine grace, to practice the precepts 
 of their Lord and Master merely because the unre- 
 generate around them are so wicked, what is their 
 religion, their profession, their regeneration worth? 
 
 The objection before us involves such extreme in- 
 congruities, that it can be entertained only for a 
 moment. Let us examine it. 1. It presupposes that 
 Jesus Christ enjoined on his disciples, duties for the 
 whole period preceding the millennium, which he knew 
 they could not perform until the arrival of the latter 
 period, and yet gave them no intimation of that fact. 
 2. It presupposes that Jesus enjoined many particular 
 duties for which there will be no possible occasion in 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 175 
 
 the millennium, and which therefore can never be ful- 
 filled. 3. It presupposes that the principles, disposi- 
 tions and moral obligation of men in the millennium 
 will be essentially different from what the New Testa- 
 ment requires them to be now. 
 
 Is there any doubt in respect to these three state- 
 ments? It is certain that Jesus apparently inculcates 
 his non-resistant precepts as now binding and practi- 
 cable, — and that he gives no intimation of their im- 
 practicability till some remote future period. Was 
 this design, chance or mistake! In either case it 
 derogates from the honor of the Redeemer. It is not 
 to be presumed. 
 
 It is equally certain, on the objector’s theory, that 
 Christ enjoined particular duties for which there can 
 be no possible occasion in the millennium. In the 
 millennium there will be no occasion to put in practice 
 the precept "Resist not evil for there will be no evil- 
 doers to forbear with. In that day there will be no 
 occasion for a man, when smitten on one cheek, to 
 turn the other ; when distrained of his coat, to give up 
 his cloak ; when persecuted and reviled, to bless ; when 
 trespassed upon, to forgive ; and no occasion to love 
 his enemy, do good to his hater, or pray for his injurer : 
 For there will be none to harm or destroy in all God’s 
 holy mountain. There can be no occasion for non- 
 resistance where there is no aggression, injury or in- 
 sult. So that the objector virtually makes the Son of 
 God appear in the highest degree ludicrous and absurd. 
 He makes him say, “Ye have heard that it hath been 
 said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth ; but 
 I say unto you that ye resist not evil,’’ in the millen- 
 nium when there will be none. “And if any man smite 
 thee on thy right cheek,’’ in the millennium, when all 
 
176 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 shall be love and kindness, “turn unto him the other 
 also.” “And whosoever will sue thee at the law ’ in 
 the millennium, when the law of love shall be uni- 
 versally obeyed, “and take away thy coat, let him have 
 thy cloak also.” “Love your enemies,” in the millen- 
 nium, when you have no enemies; “bless them that 
 curse you,” when there are none to curse ; “do good 
 to them that hate you,” when all love you ; forgive 
 offences “till seventy times seven,” when offences shall 
 be unknown ; feed your foes, when all are friends ; 
 and “overcome evil with good,” when no evil remains ! 
 
 These are sublime virtues which you are to practice, 
 not nozv, when there are so many occasions for them, 
 and when they might exert such a powerful influence 
 in favor of my religion as contrasted with the spirit 
 of this world — not now; for they are impracticable ; 
 the unbelieving world is too ivickcd for such an exem- 
 plification of righteousness; but in the millennium. 
 Then practice them, when you find no occasion for 
 them, and when it will be absolutely impossible to 
 fulfill them for want of an opportunity. “For then 
 all shall know and serve the Lord, from the least unto 
 the greatest ! !” Is the great Teacher to be thus under- 
 stood ? Who will presume to say it ? 
 
 The third statement is also true. The objection pre- 
 supposes that the principles, dispositions and moral 
 obligations of men in the millennium will be essen- 
 tially different from what the New Testament requires 
 them to be now. This is an error so fundamental and 
 yet so common among professing Christians, that it 
 ought to be thoroughly exploded. Professor Upham 
 has done this so effectually, in his “Manual of Peace,” 
 that I cannot refrain from presenting my readers with 
 the following excellent extract. 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 177 
 
 PRINCIPLES OF THE MILLENNIUM. 
 
 ‘ 1 Are we to expect a new code, a new system of 
 methods of operation ? Are we to expect a new Sa- 
 viour, a new crucifixion, a new and amended edition 
 of the New Testament “? Certainly not. The doctrines 
 of the millennium are the doctrines of to-day; the 
 principles of the millennium are the very principles 
 which are obligatory on the men of the present gener- 
 ation; the bond which will exclude all contention 
 and bind together all hearts, will be nothing more nor 
 less than the gospel of Christ. 
 
 “ The gospel is a book of principles — of great, op- 
 erative, unchangeable principles. Men condemn it 
 because they do not understand it; even Christians 
 may be fairly charged with treating it with no small 
 degree of disregard, because, in their worldliness, they 
 have neglected to estimate its heights and depths. If 
 heaven could be brought down to the earth— if Europe 
 and America, and all other continents and parts of 
 the world, could, at the present moment, be peopled 
 with angels, and with seraphic natures, — the gospel, 
 just as it stands, would be sufficient to guide and 
 govern them. The blessed companies of the heav- 
 enly world, unlike the children of men, would ask no 
 higher and better code. But can we regard it as al- 
 lowable, under any assignable circumstances, for an 
 angel to retaliate upon an angel, for a seraph to exer- 
 cise hostility upon a seraph, for one of these holy be- 
 ings to hold in his own hands the right of extinguish- 
 ing the life of another ? What sort of heaven would 
 that be which should be characterized by the admis- 
 sion of such a principle ? And we may ask, further, 
 what sort of a millennium will that be which shall be 
 characterized, either practically or theoretically, in 
 
178 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 the same way? When men are fully restored to the 
 favor of God, whether in heaven or on earth, is there 
 to be one code, one set of governmental principles for 
 them, and another for other holj beings ? Certainly 
 not. In all the great matters of right and duty, 
 the law of seraphs is the law of angels, and the 
 law of angels is the law of men. If it is utterly 
 and absolutely inconsistent with our conceptions of 
 the heavenly world, that the power of life and death 
 should be taken from the hands of Jehovah and 
 that angels and seraphs should have the right to 
 extinguish each other’s existence, it is equally diffi- 
 cult to conceive of such a right in the millennium. 
 And if it will not be right for the men of the millen- 
 ium to exercise the power of life and death over each 
 other, it is not right for them now. We have the 
 same code of government now which we shall have 
 then; we have the New Testament now and we shall 
 have it then; and not only that, we shall understand 
 it better and love it more. Nothing will be added to 
 it; nothing will be taken from it. If it does not now 
 consider human life inviolable, it never will ; if it does 
 not now proscribe all wars among the human species, 
 it never will; the right of taking human life, if it ex- 
 ists now under the Christian code, will exist as a 
 legal and authorized characteristic (painful and even 
 horrible as the mere thought is) of the pure, blessed, 
 and angelic state of the millennium. On the supposi- 
 tion, therefore, that life will be inviolable in the mil- 
 lennium, and that it will not be considered right for 
 one man to put another to death for any possible rea- 
 son, we argue that it is not right now. This form of 
 reasoning is applicable to any other analogous case 
 whatever. If it will not be right to steal in the milieu- 
 
CHRISTIAN NON RESISTANCE. 
 
 179 
 
 nium, it is not right to steal now; if it will not be 
 right to be intemperate in the millennium, it is not 
 right to be intemperate now; if it will not be right to 
 hold slaves in the millennium, it is not right to hold 
 slaves now; if it will not -be right to take life and 
 carry on war in the millennium, it is not right to take 
 life and carry on war now. The principles which 
 will be acknowledged as authoritative in the millen- 
 nium, are the very principles which are prescribed, 
 and are binding upon us at the present moment. No 
 change in principles is required, but merely a change 
 in practice. If the practice of men should to morrow 
 be conformed to the principles which the finger of 
 God has written on the pages of the New Testament, 
 then to-morrow would behold the millennium. 
 
 “We delight to linger upon this subject. There is 
 a charm in the millennial name. ‘Scribenti manurn 
 injicit , et quamlibet festinantem in se morari cogit.' 1 The 
 wing of poetry flags under this great conception. 
 Sometimes we see it under the type of a wilderness 
 newly clothed with bud and blossom; sometimes we 
 see it under the type of a city descending from heaven, 
 prepared as a bride adorned for her husband; some- 
 times we behold it as a great temple arising out of 
 the earth, and capacious enough to contain all nations. 
 This temple is not built of earthly materials that will 
 perish with the using, but is supported on immutable 
 columns. Every great moral and religious principle 
 is a pillar in the millennial temple. The principle of 
 total abstinence from intoxicating liquor is one pillar,- 
 it suddenly arose, fair and beautiful, and even now is 
 enveloped with some rays of millennial glory; the doc- 
 trine that all slaveholding is a sin is another pillar, 
 standing firm, awfully grand and immoveable; the 
 
180 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 doctrine of the absolute inviolability of human life is 
 another — this is in a state of preparation, but it will 
 soon ascend and stand brightly and majestically in its 
 place; and thus principle after principle will be es- 
 tablished, column after column will be erected, till 
 the spiritual house of the Lord shall be established in 
 the tops of the mountains, and shall expand upon the 
 eye of the beholder far more beautiful than the Par- 
 thenon. And what then will be wanting? Only that 
 the nations in the language of prophecy, shall flow 
 into it ; only that the people should occupy it and 
 rejoice in it; and this is millennial glory. But, 
 unless you have firm, unchangeable, immutable prin- 
 ciples, it will be like a certain house that was built 
 upon the sand; ‘and the rain descended and the floods 
 came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; 
 and it fell, and great was the fall of it.’ ” 
 
 OBJECTION II. EXTREMELY DIFFICULT IF NOT IM- 
 POSSIBLE. 
 
 ‘ ‘The practice of non-resistance, if not impossible 
 for the majority of Christians, is certainly extremely 
 difficult, even for the most advanced. It seems like 
 overstraining duty. It is urging on men so much 
 more than they feel able to perform, that multitudes 
 will faint under the burden and abandon Christianity 
 altogether, as a system wholly beyond their reach. 
 It is unwise to require what must discourage so many 
 thousands from attempting anything at all, as avowed 
 disciples of Christ. ’ ’ 
 
 Answer. — Who is to be the judge of what is pos- 
 sible ? God, or man ? Who is to judge what and hew 
 much shall be required ! Jesus Christ, or his dis- 
 ciples ? Are we to set at nought a duty because it 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 181 
 
 seems to us difficult of [performance ! Are we to 
 doubt that God’s grace is sufficient for the weakest of 
 his trusting children, to enable them to perform any 
 duty He may lay upon them! Are we to accommo- 
 date divine truth and duty to the convenience of our 
 fellow men, in order to multiply superficial disciples ? 
 Are we to pare down and fritter away the require- 
 ments of our heavenly Father, for fear of discourag- 
 ing and driving off half-hearted professors ? Who is 
 it that presumes to daub with such untempered mor- 
 tar ! He must be a most dangerous latitudinarian. Is 
 this the wav in which Christ and his apostles built up 
 the Church amid the violence of a contemptuous and 
 persecuting world ? Would it be any great misfor- 
 tune to Christianity, if nine-tenths of its present world- 
 ly minded professors, convinced of the truth of the 
 non-resistance doctrine, should honestly declare to 
 the world, “Since this is Christianity, we cannot con- 
 sistently profess to adhere to it, as its cross is greater 
 than we are willing to bear V ’ Would not the world 
 at that moment be nearer its conversion than now ? 
 
 But why need we hold this language % God reigns 
 and not man. He declares the law of perfect recti- 
 tude through his Son. That Son is the head of every 
 man— the Lord and Master of all true disciples. He 
 has enjoined the practice of non-resistance on his pro- 
 fessed followers as their indispensable duty. He has 
 promised to be with and aid them to the end of the 
 world. If so, let us say at ouce whether we believe in 
 Christ or not. Whether we will endeavor to follow 
 him and keep his sayings or not. Whether we will 
 try to do our duty, confiding in the proffered strength 
 of Heaven, or not. If we will be Christian, let us try 
 with all our might to do our duty, and see how far we 
 
182 
 
 CHRISTIAN' NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 shall be left to fall short. Let men earnestly try to 
 carry out Christian non-resistance with this full pur- 
 pose of heart, and though they may experience the 
 pain of the cross sometimes, they will soon rejoice in 
 a crown of triumph. It is difficult always to do 
 right in this, as it is in respect to other departments 
 of duty; and no more so. There is no virtue which 
 does not involve some painful and almost overwhelm- 
 ing trials. If we were to cast off all obligations that 
 ever required the hazard of mortal life, we should re- 
 ject every single commandment of the living God. 
 For there is not one that has not had its martyrs, and 
 also its apostates under great temptation. But to the 
 faithful how blessed is even death itself — if duty 
 obliges the sacrfi.ee "! And to the obedient, the will- 
 ingly cross-bearing, how true is it that Christ’s ‘ ‘yoke 
 is easy and his burden light !” It is only for us to re- 
 solve that we will try. All things are then found 
 possible, if they are right. 
 
 And what is there so discouraging to the humble 
 and upright soul ? Did not Jesus live and die the 
 glorious exemplar of his own non-resistant precepts f 
 Did not his apostles ? Did not the primitive Chris- 
 tians for more than two centuries ? Have I not 
 brought up a host of witnesses, practically illustrat- 
 ing that under the most adverse circumstances it was 
 generally even safer to carry out non resistance prin- 
 ciples than their opposite? Behold robbers looked 
 out of countenance and actually converted; ferocious 
 banditti rendered harmless; wild savages inspired 
 with permanent kindness; and all manner of evil over - 
 come with good ! Am I to be asked after all this — - 
 “ What would you do if a robber should attack you ? 
 If an assassin should threaten your life ? If a mob 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 183 
 
 should break forth upon you ? If a tribe of savages 
 should beset your dwelling? If a foreign army should 
 come against your land ? If lawless soldiers should 
 deal death and rapine about your neighborhood!” 
 "What would I do ? If I did right — if I acted the 
 Christian part — the wise and noble part, I should ad- 
 here to my non-resistance principles, and ten to one 
 experience the most signal deliverance and achieve 
 the most glorious of all victories, in the conrpiest of 
 my own passions and those of my assailants ! 
 
 HOLLOWNESS OF THE OBJECTION. 
 
 But the extreme hollowness of rhe objection before 
 us becomes at once obvious, when I turn the tables 
 and demand whether the practice of injurious resis- 
 tance offers immunity from extreme trial, danger, 
 hardship and suffering ? How happens it that human 
 beings enough to people from eighteen to forty such 
 globes as ours have perished in war ! How happens 
 it that blood enough has been shed by the sword to 
 fill a harbor that would embosom at quiet anchor the 
 combined navies of the world ? Do these tremendous 
 facts indicate that resistance is sustained without 
 hardships, distresses and mortal agony ? Let us con- 
 template the scenes of a single battle. 
 
 PASSAGE OF THE TRAUN. 
 
 “In 1S09, in the campaign of Aspern and Wag- 
 ram, Hassena added to his former renown, and was 
 one of the firm props of Fapoleoms empire on those 
 fiercely fought battle-fields. Previous to the battle of 
 Aspern, after the battle of Eckmuhl, while Bonaparte 
 was on the march for Vienna, chasing the Archduke 
 before him, Masseua had command of the advance 
 guard. Following hard after the retreating army of 
 
184 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON- RESISTANCE. 
 
 the Archduke, as he had done before in Italy, he came 
 at length to the river Trauu, at Ebersberg, or Ebers- 
 dorf, a small village on its banks just above where it 
 falls into the Danube. Here, for a while, an effectual 
 stop seemed put to his victorious career; for this 
 stream, opposite Ebersberg, was crossed by a single 
 long, narrow, wooden bridge. From shore to shore, 
 across the sand-banks, islands &c., it was nearly half 
 a mile, and a single narrow causeway traversed the 
 entire distance to the bridge, which itself was about 
 sixty rods long. Over this half mile of narrow path 
 the whole army was to pass and the columns to charge; 
 for the impetuous torrent could not be forded. But a 
 gate closed the further end of the bridge, while the 
 houses filled with soldiers enfiladed the entire open- 
 ing, and the artillery planted on the heights over it 
 commanded every inch of the narrow way. The high 
 rolling ground aloug the river was black with the 
 masses ef infantry, sustained by terrific batteries of 
 cannon, all turned on that devoted bridge, apparently 
 enough in themselves to tear it in fragments. To 
 crown the whole, an old castle frowned over the 
 stream, on whose crumbling battlements cannon were 
 so planted as to command the bridge. As if this were 
 not enough to deter any man from attempting the pas- 
 sage, another row of heights, over which the road 
 passed, rose behind the first, covered with pine trees, 
 affording a strong position for the enemy to retire to 
 if driven from their first. Thus defended, thirty-five 
 thousand men, supported by eighty cannon, -waited to 
 see if the French would attempt to pass the bridge. 
 Even the genius of Massena might have been stag- 
 gered at the spectacle before him. It seemed like 
 marching his army into the mouth of the volcano to 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 185 
 
 advance on the awful batteries that commanded that 
 long, narrow bridge. It was not like a sudden charge 
 over a short causeway; but a steady march along a 
 narrow defile through a perfect tempest of balls. But 
 this was the key to Vienna, and the Marshall resolved 
 to make the attempt — hoping that Lanues, who was 
 to cross some distance further up, would aid him by 
 a movement on the enemy’s flank. The Austrians 
 had foolishly left four battalions on the side from 
 which the French approached. The.se were first at- 
 tacked, and being driven from their positions, were 
 forced along the causeway at the point of the bayonet, 
 and on the bridge followed by the pursuing French. 
 But the moment the French column touched the 
 bridge, those hitherto silent batteries opened their 
 dreadful fiie on its head. It sank like a sand bank 
 that caves under the torrent. To advance seemed 
 impossible; but the heroic Cohorn, flinging himself in 
 front, cheered them on, and they returned to the 
 charge, driving like an impetous torrent over the 
 bridge. 
 
 ‘‘Amid the confusion and chaos of the fight be- 
 tween these flying battalions and their pursuers, the 
 Austrians on the shore saw the French colors flying, 
 and fearing the irruption of the enemy with their 
 friends, closed the gate and poured their tempest of 
 cannon balls on friend and foe alike. The carnage 
 then became awful. Smitten in front by the deadly 
 fire of their friends, and pressed behind with the bay- 
 onets of their foes, those battalions threw themselves 
 into the torrent below, or were trampelled under foot 
 by the steadily advancing column. Amid the explo- 
 sion of ammunition wagons in the midst, blowing men 
 into the air, and the crashing fire of the enemy’s can- 
 
186 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 non. the French beat clown the gate and palisades and 
 rushed with headlong speed into the streets and vil- 
 lage. But here, met by fresh battalions in front, and 
 swept by a destructive cross-fire from the houses, 
 while the old castle hurled its storm of lead on their 
 heads, these brave soldiers were compelled to retire, 
 leaving two -thirds of their number stretched ou the 
 pavement. But Masseua ordered up fresh battalions, 
 which, marching through the tempest that swept the 
 bridge, joined their companions, and regaining the 
 village, stormed the castle itself. Along the narrow 
 lanes that led to it the dead lay in swaths, and no 
 sooner did the mangled head of the column reach the 
 castle walls, than it disappeared before the dreadful 
 fire from the battlements as if it sunk into the earth. 
 Strengthened by a new reinforcement, the dauntless 
 French returned to the assault, and battering down 
 the doors, compelled the garrison to surrender. The 
 Austrian army, however, made good their position on 
 the pine-covered ridge behind the village, and dis- 
 puted every inch of ground with the most stubborn 
 resolution. The French cavalry, now across, came on 
 a plunging gallop through the streets of the village, 
 trampling on the dead and dying, and amid the flames 
 of the burning houses, and through the smoke that 
 rolled over their pathway, hurried on with exulting 
 shouts and rattling armour to the charge. Still the 
 Austrians held out, till threatened with a flank attack 
 they were compelled to retreat. 
 
 ‘ ‘ There was not a more desperate passage in the 
 whole war than this. Massena was compelled to 
 throw his brave soldiers, whether dead or wounded, 
 into the stream, to clear a passage for the columns. 
 Whole companies falling at a time, they choked up 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 187 
 
 the way and increased the obstacles to be overcome. 
 These must be sacrificed or the whole shattered col- 
 umn that was maintaining their desperate position on 
 the farther side be annihilated. It was an awful 
 spectacle to see the advancing soldiers, amid the most 
 destructive fire, themselves pitch their wounded com- 
 rades, while calling out most piteously to be spared, 
 by scores and hundreds into the torrent. Le Grand 
 fought nobly that day. Am id the choked- up defile 
 and deadly fire of the batteries, he fearlessly pressed 
 on, and in answer to the advice of his superior officer, 
 deigned only the stern reply, 1 Eoom for the head of 
 my columns— none of your advice;’ and rushed up to 
 the very walls of the castle. The nature of the con- 
 test, and the narrow bridge and streets in which it 
 raged, gave to the field of battle the most horrid as- 
 pect. The dead lay in heaps and ridges, piled one 
 across the other, mangled and torn in the most dread- 
 ful manner by the hoofs of the cavalry and the wheels 
 of the artillery which were compelled to pass over 
 them. Twelve thousand men thus lay heaped, 
 packed and trampled together, while across them were 
 stretched burning rafters and timbers which wrung 
 still more terrible cries and shrieks from the dying- 
 mass. Even Bonaparte, when he arrived, shuddered 
 at the appalling sight and turned with horror from 
 the scene. The streets were one mass of mangled, 
 bleeding, trampled men, overlaid with burning ruins. ” 
 — American Review. 
 
 Such was one of the world’s ten thousand bloody 
 conflicts. Suppose all the courage and endurance 
 displayed on this horrible occasion could be brought 
 into the service of peace and non resistance ! Should 
 we hear any more of the extreme difficulty, if not im- 
 
188 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 possibility, of carrying out the doctrine? Suppose 
 these soldiers to have been devoted Christian non-re- 
 sistants, scattered over the whole earth; and suppose 
 them exposed to all the robberies, assaults and bat- 
 teries, abuses, injuries and insults by any means 
 likely to fall to their lot; and then, let our objector 
 tells us how much harder their service would be, in 
 the army of the Prince of Peace, than that of the 
 Prince of murderers ! The truth is, men can endure 
 almost any thing they choose. What they have en- 
 dured as the servants of sin is a proof of what they 
 are capable of enduring for righteousness’ sake. The 
 latter service requires not a thousandth part of the 
 physical and mental suffering of the former. How 
 flimsy then is the objection we are considering ! Let 
 it never be repeated by any man calling himself a 
 Christian. A true heart, a sound principle of action 
 and a conscientious will, can never find Christian, 
 non-resistance either an unattainable or an unsupport - 
 able virtue. 
 
 OBJECTION III. — MORE DIFFICULT IN SMALL THAN 
 LARGE MATTERS. 
 
 “ The practice of non-resistance is more difficult in 
 small than large matters. It is not in abstaining from 
 war and battle, or in enduring great and notorious in- 
 juries with forbearance, that non-resistance imposes 
 the heaviest burdens. Men gather strength in such 
 cases from the consciousness of public admiration and 
 sympathy, — and even from the magnitude of the con- 
 flict and the conseqiient glory of a triumph. Extra- 
 ordinary events and occasions inspire an extraordin- 
 ary enthusiasm, power and firmness of purpose. But 
 in every-day life, where people pass through a thous- 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 189 
 
 and, trials, consuming to the vital spirits of their be- 
 ing, unnoticed, unsympathized with, unpitied and un- 
 cared for, it is by no means so easy to endure the 
 mean, vexatious aggressions, wrongs and insults of 
 petty injurers. But your doctrine obliges the abused 
 wife of a brutal husband, and the insulted and smitten 
 victim of insolent scoundrelism, to refrain from de- 
 fensive violence, and even from prosecutions at law, 
 at least under the existing type of human govern- 
 ment. It does not appear that you would allow even 
 a mob to be repelled with military force, or so much 
 as a demand to be made on the government for the 
 protection of one’s property, family or life. It is this 
 extreme and intolerable nicety of your doctrine to 
 which I object, as much as to anything about it.” 
 
 ANSWER. 
 
 There is truth in the assertion that a practical ex- 
 emplification of non-resistance in the small matters of 
 every-day life, is more difficult than in great matters 
 on extraordinary occasions. And is not this true of 
 all the great virtues enjoined in Law or Gospel ? It 
 may be easier to eschew idolatry, adultery, fornica- 
 tion, murder, robbery, theft, falsehood, covetousness, 
 &c., in the open gaze of public scrutiny and public 
 opinion, even under the mightiest temptation, than 
 in private unobserved life. It may be easier to suffer 
 the martyrdom of death before a gaping and amazed, 
 perhaps admiring, multitude, than the petty mar- 
 tyrdom of a taunt, a kick, a cuff, or a wrung nose, of 
 which the multitude know nothing and for which they 
 might care as little. Be it so. Does this change 
 principle or abrogate duty ? What is right ? What 
 ought we all to do in small as well as large matters ? 
 
190 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 These are the questions to settle. Not what may 
 chance to he most convenient, or easy, or comfortable, 
 or self-indulgent under momentary temptations. We 
 have already settled them, so far as respects the duty 
 never to resist injury with injury. Is indulgence 
 asked for the commission of daily violations of this 
 duty, or occasional violations of it iu what are called 
 small matters? Go demand indulgence to commit 
 violations of the ten commandments in small matters. 
 Plead how difficult it is in every-day life not to lie a 
 little, deceive a little, defraud a little, extort a little, 
 hate your neighbor a little, steal a little, be murder- 
 ous a little, idolatrous a little and lascivious a little. 
 Get your indulgence from Heaven for all this, and 
 then doubtless an indulgence will not be withheld to 
 resist injury with injury a little, and to render evil 
 for evil a little, in ordinary matters. Till then, the 
 law and standard of righteousness must not be relaxed 
 to suit human convenience. Duty must be insisted 
 on without abatement, and whoever exhibits weak- 
 ness, imperfection, frailty or sin, must bear the 
 shame and condemnation. 
 
 It is in these small matters that every virtue suf- 
 fers its greatest betrayal. A continual dropping 
 wears the hardest stone. A continual unscrupulous- 
 ness in little things undermines all moral principle. 
 The ocean is made up of drops. Righteousness is an 
 aggregate of the littles of life. He that is faithless 
 habitually in small matters is not to be depended on 
 in great matters. He may, or may not do right. A 
 principal reason why public institutions, laws and 
 measures are so repugnant to justice and humanity is 
 that the individual conscieuces of the people, in the 
 small matters of ordinary life, are habitually un- 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 191 
 
 scrupulous. If, then, non- resistance is to be insisted 
 on at all, as a duty, it is to be insisted on in small 
 matters as well as large. 
 
 And after all that may be said of the difficulty of 
 practising it, we know that it has been and can be 
 practised. Nothing is wanting but the will to try. I 
 will add to the numerous illustrations already given, 
 a few others relating chiefly to individual affairs and 
 the so-called small matters of life 
 
 THE PROFANE SWEARER REPROVED AND SUBDUED. 
 
 Mr. Deering, a Puritan minister, being once at a 
 public dinner, a gallant young man sat on the oppo- 
 site side of the table, who, besides other vain dis- 
 course, broke out in profane swearing, for which Mr. 
 Deering gravely and sharply reproved him. The 
 young man, taking this as an affront, immediately 
 threw a glass of beer in his face. Mr. Deering took 
 no notice of the insult ; but wiped his face and con- 
 tinued eating as before. The young gentleman pres- 
 ently renewed his profane conversation, and Mr. 
 Deering reproved him as before, — upon which, but 
 with more rage and violence, he flung another glass 
 of beer in his face. Mr. Deering continued unmoved, 
 still showing his zeal for the glory of God by bearing 
 the insult with Christian meekness and humble 
 silence. This so astonished the young gentleman that 
 he rose from the table, fell on his knees, and asked 
 Mr. Deering’ s pardon ; and declared, that if any of 
 the company offered him similar insults, he would 
 stab them with his sword. Here was practically veri- 
 fied the New Testament maxim : “Be not overcome of 
 evil but overcome evil with good.” — Bom. 12 : 21. — 
 Anonymous. 
 
192 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 THE CHRISTIAN SLAVE AND HIS ENEMY. 
 
 The following was first published in the London 
 Christian Observer : — 
 
 A slave in one of the West Indies, who had origi- 
 nally come from Africa, having been brought uuder 
 the influence of religious instruction, became singu- 
 larly valuable to his owner, on account of his integ- 
 rity and general good conduct. After some time his 
 master raised him to a situation of some consequence 
 in the management of his estate: and on one occasion, 
 wishing to purchase twenty additional slaves, em- 
 ployed him to make the selection, giving him in- 
 struction to choose those who were strong and likely 
 to make good workmen. The man went to the slave 
 market and commenced his scrutiny. He had not 
 long surveyed the multitude offered for sale, before 
 he fixed his eye upon an old decrepit slave, and told 
 his master that he must be one. The poor fellow 
 begged that he might be indulged ; when the dealer 
 remarked, that if they were about to buy twenty, he 
 would give them that man in the bargain. The pur- 
 chase was accordingly made and the slaves were con- 
 ducted to the plantation of their master ; but upon 
 none did the selecter show half the attention and care 
 that he did upon the poor old decrepit African. He 
 took him to his own habitation and laid him upon 
 his own bed ; he fed him at his own table and gave 
 him drink out of his own cup ; when he was cold, he 
 carried him into the sunshine ; and when he was hot, 
 he placed him under the shade of the cocoa-nut tree. 
 Astonished at the attention this confidential slave be 
 stowed upon a fellow-slave, his master interrogated 
 him upon the subject. He said, “You could not take 
 so much interest in the old man but for some special 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 193 
 
 reason: he is a relation of yours; perhaps your lather'?” 
 “No, massa,” answered the poor fellow, “he no my- 
 fader.” “He is then an elder brother?” “No, massa, 
 he’uo my broder !” “Then he is an uncle, or some 
 other relation?” “No, massa, he no be my kindred 
 at all, nor even my friend !” “Then,” asked thq, 
 master, “'on what account does he excite your in- 
 terest?” “He my enemy, massa,” replied the slave; 
 “he sold me to the slave dealer ; and my Bible tell 
 me, when my enemy hunger, feed him, and when he 
 thrist, give him drink.” 
 
 HOW TO OVERCOME EVIL. 
 
 “I once had a neighbor, who, though a clever man, 
 came to me one hay day, and said, ‘Esquire White, I 
 want you to come and get your geese away.’ ‘Why,’ 
 said I, -what are my geese doing?’ ‘They pick my 
 pigs’ears when they are eating, and drive them away, 
 and I will not have it.’ ‘What can I do?’ I said. 
 ‘You must yoke them.’ ‘That I have not time to do 
 now,’ said I, ‘I do not see but they must run.’ ‘If 
 you do not take care of them, I shall,’ said the clever 
 shoemaker in anger. ‘What do you say, Esq. W'hite?’ 
 ‘I cannot take care of them now, but I will pay you 
 for all damages.’ ‘Well,’ said he, ‘you will find that 
 a hard thing, I guess ’ 
 
 “So off he went and I heard a terrible squalling 
 among the geese. The next news from the geese was,, 
 that three of them were missing. My children went 
 and found them terribly mangled and dead and 
 thrown into the bushes. 
 
 ‘Now,’ said I, ‘all keep still and let me punish: 
 him. ’ In a few days, the shoemaker’s hogs broke in- 
 to my corn. I saw them but let them remain a long 
 
194 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 time. At last I ck-ove them all out, and picked up 
 the corn which they had torn down, and fed them 
 with it in the road. By this time the shoemaker came 
 in great haste after them. 
 
 ‘ Have you seen any thing of my hogs?’ said he. 
 ,J Yes, sir, you will find them yonder, eating some corn 
 which they tore down in my field. ’ ‘ In your field?’ 
 
 'Yes sir, ’ said I, ‘hogs love corn, you know — they 
 were made to eat. ’ ‘ How much mischief have they 
 
 done ? ’ ‘O, not much, ’ said I. 
 
 ‘■“Well, off he went to look, and estimated the dam- 
 age to be equal to a bushel and a half of corn. 
 
 'Oh, no, ’ said I, ‘it can’t be.’ ‘Yes,’ said the 
 , shoemaker,’ ‘ and I will pay you every cent of dam- 
 age.’ ‘Yo,’ replied I, ‘you shall pay me nothing. 
 My geese have been a great trouble to you.’ 
 
 The shoemaker blushed, and went home. The next 
 winter, when we came to settle, the shoemaker deter- 
 mined to pay me for my corn. ‘Yo,’ said I, ‘I shall 
 take nothing.’ 
 
 After some talk, we parted; but in a day or two, I 
 met him in the road, and fell into conversation in the 
 most friendly manner. But when 1 started on he 
 seemed loath to move, and I paused. For a moment 
 both of us were silent. At last he said, ‘I have some- 
 thing laboring on my mind.’ ‘ Well, what is it?’ 
 ‘Those geese. I killed three of your geese and shall 
 jnever rest until you know how I feel. I am sorry. ’ 
 And the tears came in his eyes. ‘Oh well,’ said I, 
 'never mind, I suppose my geese were provoking.’ 
 
 I never took any thing of him for it; but whenever 
 my cattle broke into his field after this, he seemed 
 ^lad — because he could show how patient he could be. 
 
 ‘Yow,’ said the narrator, ‘conquer yourself, and 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 195 
 
 you cau conquer with kindness where you can con- 
 quer in no other way.’ ” — Anonymous. 
 
 HENRY C. WRIGHT AND HIS ASSAILANT. 
 
 The following incident in the life of Henry C. 
 Wright shows his admirable consistency and the salu- 
 tary influence of non- resistance on the offender. He 
 was in a hotel in Philadelphia, and there engaged in 
 a conversation on non-resistance. An officer present 
 became enraged and struck him. Mr. Wright took uo 
 notice of the assault but proceeded with his remarks. 
 In a few moments the officer struck him again. 
 Friend Wright still preserved his equanimity and 
 continued the conversation. His assailant struck him 
 a third time and nearly knocked him down. He re- 
 covered himself, and though much injured by the 
 blows of his opponent, took him by the hand and 
 said, “I feel no unkindness towards you and hope 
 soon to see you at my house.” He then left the com. 
 pany and returned home. Mr. Wright saw his as- 
 sailant much sooner than he expected, for he was 
 called up at dawn next morning, by the very man 
 who had struck him the previous evening. He ex- 
 claimed, as he entered the house, “can you forgive 
 me! I have been in agony all night. I thought you 
 would strike again or I never should have struck 
 you.” “He that is slow to anger is better than the 
 mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that 
 taketh a city.” 
 
 “He that, unshrinking and without a groan 
 
 Bears the first wound, may finish all the war 
 
 With mere courageous silence, and come off Conqueror.’’ 
 
 — Watts. 
 
 — McCree. 
 
196 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 THE VICTORIOUS LITTLE BOY. 
 
 I liatl the following anecdote from a gentleman of 
 veracity. A little boy in Connecticut, of remarkably 
 serious mind and habits, was ordinarily employed 
 about a mechanic’s shop where nearly all the hands 
 were addicted to the common use of intoxicating 
 liquors. The lad had imbibed temperance principles, 
 and though often invited could never be induced to 
 partake with any of the shop’s crew. At length his 
 teacher in the Sunday School, in conversation on cer- 
 tain non-resistant texts of scripture, had awakened 
 his mind to that subject, and he very conscientiously 
 avowed his determination to try to live in accordance 
 with this great Christian doctrine. Three or four of 
 the harder drinkers in the shop, somewhat piqued at 
 such precocious piety and scrupulousness of con- 
 science, resolved to humble the lad, or at least put 
 his new notions to the test. They resolved to force a 
 dram of rum down his throat by some means. Seiz- 
 ing an opportunity when he was left alone in the shop 
 with themselves, they invited him to drink. He re- 
 fused. They then told him they should compel him. 
 He remained calm and unmoved. They threatened 
 him with violence. Still he neither seemed angry 
 nor attempted to escape nor evinced the least disposi- 
 tion to yield; but insisted that it was wicked and he 
 could not do it. They then laid hold of him, a man 
 at each arm, while the third held the bottle ready to 
 force it into his month. Still their victim remained 
 meek and firm, declaring that he had never injured 
 them and never should, but that God would be his 
 friend and protector, however they might abuse him. 
 The man who held the fatal bottle, up to that mo- 
 ment resolute in his evil purpose, was so struck by 
 
CHRISTIAN NON RESISTANCE. 
 
 197 
 
 the non-resisting dignity and innocence of the lad, 
 that, as he afterwards confessed almost with tears, he 
 actually felt unable to raise his hand. Twice he es- 
 sayed to lift the bottle, as he placed the nose of it in 
 the child’s mouth, but his arm refused to serve him. 
 Not the least resistance was made in this stage of the 
 proceeding otherwise than by a meek protesting look; 
 yet the ringleader himself was overcome in his feel- 
 ings and gave over the attempt, declaring that he 
 could not and would not injure such an innocent, con- 
 scientious, good hearted boy. Such is moral power. 
 Such is the strength by which evil may, sometimes at 
 least, be overcome with good. 
 
 COLONY OF PRACTICAL CHRISTIANS. 
 
 The following is another extract from the writings 
 of Lydia M. Child. It needs no commendation. It 
 will speak to the better feelings of the soul and leave 
 its sweet odor there. 
 
 “The highest gifts my soul has received during its 
 world pilgrimage, have often been bestowed by those 
 who were poor, both in money and intellectual culti- 
 vation. Among these donors, I particularly remem* 
 ber a hard working, uneducated mechanic, from In- 
 diana or Illinois. He told me he was one of thirty or 
 forty New Englanders, who, twelve years before, had 
 gone out to settle in the western wilderness. They 
 were mostly neighbors, and had been drawn to unite 
 together in emigration from a general unity of opinion 
 on various subjects. For some years previous, they 
 had been in the habit of meeting occasionally at each 
 others’ houses, to talk over their duties to God and 
 man, in all simplicity of heart. Their library was the 
 Gospel, their priesthood the inward light. There 
 
198 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 were then no auti -slavery societies; but thus taught 
 and reverently willing to learn, they had no need of 
 such agency to discover their duties to the enslaved. 
 The efforts of peace societies had reached this secluded 
 band only in broken echoes; and non resistance so- 
 cieties had no existence. But with the volume of the 
 Prince of Peace and hearts open to his influence 
 what need had they of preambles and resolutions 1 
 
 “Rich in God-culture, this little band started for 
 the far West. Their inward homes were blooming 
 gardens; they made their outward ones in a wilder- 
 ness. They were industrious and frugal, and all 
 things prospered under theii hands. But soon wolves 
 came near the fold in the shape of reckless, unprin- 
 cipled adventurers; believers in force and cunning, 
 who acted according to their creed. The colony of 
 practical Christians spoke of their depredations in 
 terms of gentlest remonstrance and repaid them with 
 unvarying kindness. They went farther — they openly 
 announced, You may do us what evil you choose; we 
 will 1 eturn nothing but good. Lawyers came into 
 the neighborhood and offered their services to settle 
 disputes. They answered, ‘ We have no need of you. 
 As neighbors, we receive you in the most friendly 
 spirit; but for us your occupation has ceased to exist.’ 
 \\ hat will you do, if rascals burn your barns and 
 steal your harvests ? ’ ‘ We will return good for evil. 
 
 We believe this is the highest truth, and therefore 
 the best expediency. ’ 
 
 “ When the rascals heard this, they considered it a 
 marvellous good joke, and said and did many provok- 
 ing things, which to them seemed witty. Bars were 
 taken down in the night and cows let into the corn- 
 fields. The Christians repaired the damage as well as 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 199 
 
 they could, put the cows in the barn, and at twilight 
 drove them gently home; saying, ‘Neighbor, your 
 cows have been iu my field. I have fed them well 
 during the day, but I would not keep them all night 
 lest the children should suffer for their milk. ’ 
 
 “If this was fun, those who planned the joke found 
 no heart to laugh at it. By degrees, a visible change 
 came over these troublesome neighbors. They ceasecl 
 to cut off horses’ tails and break the legs of poultry- 
 Bude boys would say to a younger brother, ‘ Don’t 
 throw that stone, Bill ! When I killed the chicken 
 last week, didn’t they lend it to mother, because they 
 thought chicken -broth would be good for poor Mary I 
 I should think you’d be ashamed to throw stones at 
 their chickens. ’ Thus was evil overcome with good; 
 till not one was found to do them wilful injury. 
 
 “Years passed on, and saw them thriving ih- 
 worldly substance beyond their neighbors, jet be- 
 loved by all. From them the lawyer aud the con- 
 stable obtained no fees. The sheriff stammered and 
 apologized when he took their hard earned goods in 
 payment for the war-tax. They mildly replied, ‘’Tis 
 a bad trade, friend. Examine it in the light of con- 
 science and see if it be not so.’ But while they re- 
 fused to pay such fees and taxes, they were liberal to- 
 a proverb in their contributions for all useful and 
 benevolent purposes. 
 
 “ At the end of ten years, the public lands, which, 
 they had chosen for their farms, were advertised fdr 
 sale at auction. According to custom, those 'who had 
 settled and cultivated the soil were considered to have 
 a right to bid it in at the government price; which at 
 that time was $1.25 per acre. But the fever of land 
 speculation then chanced to run unusually high. 
 
200 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANOE. 
 
 Aa 1\ entui ers from all parts of the country were flock - 
 ing to the auction; and capitalists in Baltimore. Phila* 
 dt lpliia, Yew York and Boston w r ere sending' agents to 
 buy up western lands. No one supposed that custom 
 or equity would be regarded. The first day’s sale 
 showed that speculation ran to the verge of insanity. 
 Land was eagerly bought in at seventeen, twenty-five 
 and forty dollars an acre. The Christian colony had 
 small hope of retaining their farms. As first settlers, 
 they had chosen the best land; and persevering indus- 
 try had brought it into the highest cultivation. Its 
 market- value was much greater than the acres already 
 sold at exorbitant prices. In view of these facts, they 
 had prepared their minds for another remove into the 
 wilderness, perhaps to be again ejected by a similar 
 process. But the morning their lot was offered for 
 sale, they observed with grateful surprise that their 
 neighbors were everywhere busy among the crowd, 
 Pegging and expostulating: ‘ Don’t bid on these 
 lands! These men have been working hard on them 
 for ten years. During all that time, they never did 
 harm to man or brute. They are always ready to do 
 good for evil. They are a blessing to any neighbor- 
 hood. It would be a sin and a shame to bid on their 
 land . Let it go at the government price. ’ 
 
 “ The sale came on; the cultivators of the soil of- 
 fered $1.25; intending to bid higher if necessary- 
 But among all that crowd of selfish, reckless specula- 
 tors, not one bid over them ! Without one opposing 
 voice, the fair acres returned to them ! I do not know 
 a more remarkable instance of evil overcome with 
 good. The wisest political economy lies folded up in 
 the maxims of Christ. ” 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 201 
 
 THE AVENGER STAYED. 
 
 I will add oue more impressive illustration, and 
 close. I copy from the Advocate of Peace for April, 
 1845, which appears to have quoted from the History 
 of Danish Missions: 
 
 “The history of the Danish missions in Greenland 
 is well known. Hans Egede, a man of apostolic be- 
 nevolence and zeal, was the pioneer in those efforts to 
 Christianize the wild and savage wanderer of the 
 frozen north ; and among his successors was his grand- 
 son, Hans Egede Saabye,from whose interesting diary 
 we select the following tale of vengeance sternly pur- 
 posed, but graciously turned into love by the power 
 of thesgospel. 
 
 “The law or custom of Greenland requires every 
 murder, especially that of a father, to be avenged by 
 the nearest of kin Some twenty years before the ar- 
 rival of Saabye, a man w r as murdered under circum- 
 stances of great atrocity, in the presence of his own 
 son. The boy, only thirteen years old, was too young 
 to defend his father, but he did not forget the debt of 
 vengeance due to his murderer. Fleeing for his own 
 safety into a remote part of the country, he there 
 fanned in his bosom the secret flame for twenty-five 
 years, and waited only for an opportunity to let it 
 burst forth in full and fierce revenge. The murderer 
 was a man of so much influence, and surrounded with 
 so many adherents ready for his defence, that the son 
 feared to attack him; but having persuaded a number 
 of his own relatives to accompany him, he started at 
 length on his long cherished purpose of vengeance, 
 and came in quest of his victim near the residence of 
 Saabye. The houses in Greenland are a species of 
 
202 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 common property. The people quit them during 
 their short summer, and on returning the next winter, 
 take possession of any one they may chance to find 
 unoccupied. Wiuter was now beginning to stretch 
 his icy arms over the north; but the avenger found no 
 shelter for himself and his associates in the work of 
 vengeance. Only one was vacant, and that belonged 
 to the preacher of peace and forgiveness; but Saabye, 
 though well apprized of his purpose, let him have the 
 house, and treated him with his wonted courtesy and 
 kindness. These attentions touched the avenger’s 
 heart; and he came to thank Saabye, and repeated his 
 visits so often, that he apologized at length for their 
 frequency by saying, ‘You are so amiable that I can- 
 not keep away from you.’ After a lapse of several 
 weeks, he said, ‘I should like to know something of 
 that great Lord of Heaven, about whom you say so 
 much ; and some of my relations wish to learn too. ’ 
 Saabye granted his request, and found ten or twelve 
 of the company anxious for instruction. He sent a 
 catechist to live with them, and was much gratified at 
 their progress, especially that of the avenger, who 
 frequently left his fishing to hear instruction, and who 
 at length resolved to ask for baptism . 
 
 In the month of May, Kunnuk came to Saabye, and 
 said, ‘Teacher, will you baptize me? You know I’m 
 obedient. I know God; and my wife, as well as I, 
 wishes to become a believer.’ ‘Yes,’ replied the 
 preacher, l y° u know something of God. You know 
 he is good; you see how he loves you and desires to 
 make you happy; but he desires also to have you obey 
 him.’ ‘I do love him,’ earnestly rejoined the aveng- 
 er; ‘I will obey him.’ ‘But,’ answered Saahye, ‘if you 
 wish to obey him, you must kill nobody. You have 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 203 
 
 often heard his command, thon shalt not kill.’ 
 
 ‘ ‘Kunnuk shook his head in great emotion, and only 
 said, half to himself, ‘hard doctrine; hard doctrine ! 7 
 
 — ‘Hear me, good Kunnuk , 7 continued the man of 
 God. ‘I know yon have come to avenge, the murder 
 of your father; this you must not do if you wish to 
 become a believer . 7 ‘But , 7 retorted the avenger with 
 a flash of indignation gleaming from his eye, ‘he mur- 
 dered my father, my own father! I saw it but could 
 not help him; and now I must punish the murderer . 7 
 
 — ‘You grieve me ! 7 said the man of peace. ‘How "? 7 
 asked the avenger. ‘Because you seem resolved to 
 murder . 7 -Only him who deserves to die.' — ‘But the 
 great Lord of Heaven says, thou shalt not kill . 7 ‘I 
 will not — only him . 7 — ‘But you must not kill even 
 him. Have you forgotten how often during the win- 
 ter, you heard this command: ‘Avenge not thyself, 
 but rather give place unto wrath; for vengeance is 
 mine, I will repay, saith the Lord. 7 — ‘But , 7 asked the 
 avenger, ‘shall the wicked murder with impunity ? 7 — 
 ‘No; he shall not; God will punish him . 7 ‘When?' — 
 ‘Perhaps in this world; but certainly at the day of 
 judgment, when he will reward every one according 
 to his deeds. 7 — ‘That is so long , 7 replied Kunnuk; ‘my 
 countrymen and relations will blame me if I do not 
 myself avenge my father now. 7 — ‘If you did not know 
 the will of God, I should say nothing; but now I must 
 not be silent . 7 ‘This is hard ! 7 said the avenger. 
 ‘What shall I do? 7 — ‘You must not kill him; you must 
 even forgive him . 7 ‘Forgive him ! 7 exclaimed the 
 avenger. ‘Your doctrine is very strange and diffi- 
 cult. 7 — ‘The doctrine , 7 replied the preacher, ‘is not 
 mine, but Christ’s . 7 
 
 “Kunnuk sighed deeply, but made no reply; and 
 
204 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 Saabye continued, ‘perhaps your father was not in- 
 nocent; he too may have hilled somebody.’ ‘As to 
 that,’ replied Kunnuk, ‘I do not know. I only know 
 that this man deserves to die.’ ‘Well,’ answered 
 Saabye, turning to leave the avenger, ‘I have done. 
 Kill him, if you will; but remain an unbeliever, and 
 expect his children one day to kill you in turn.’ ‘You 
 are amiable no longer,’ retorted the man of blood, 
 ‘you speak hard words.’ ‘No, Kunnuk,’ replied the 
 man of peace, ‘I love you still, and therefore wish you 
 not to sin against God, who will do justice both to 
 you and your adversary.’ Saabye turned to go; 
 but Kunnuk cried after him, ‘Stay, teacher: I will 
 speak to my relations.’ 
 
 “His relations urged Kunnuk day after® day to re- 
 veuge, and threatened him with the curses of his kin- 
 dred and the scorn of his countrymen, if he shrunk 
 from avenging bis murdered father. The bosom of 
 the sou seemed a theatre of conflicting emotions. The 
 preacher, in his visits to him, perceived the struggle, 
 and, without taking any notice of the particular sub- 
 ject, read such portions of Scripture and such hymns 
 as led to peaceful and forgiving thoughts. Some days 
 after, Kunnuk returned to the preacher. His coun- 
 tenance, his manner, every thing about him, indicated 
 a violent struggle. ‘I will,’ said he, ‘I will not; I 
 hear, and I do not hear. I never felt so before.’ 
 ‘What will you,’ asked the preacher, ‘and what will 
 you not?’ ‘I will forgive him. and I will not forgive 
 him; I have no ears, and yet 1 have ears.’ ‘When 
 you will not forgive, answered Saabye, ‘then your 
 unconverted heart speaks, and would dissuade you; 
 and when you will forgive, then your better heart 
 speaks. Which will you obey?’ ‘I was so moved,’ 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 205 
 
 said the avenger, -when you spoke yesterday, that 
 my heart wished to obey.’ ‘See, then, ought you 
 not,’ said Saabye, ‘to feel that it is the voice of your 
 Heavenly Father speaking in your heart; he bids you 
 be like him; and he giveth sunshine and showers to 
 his foes as well as his friends. Think of your Saviour, 
 too, and strive to resemble him. Did he ever hate 
 his enemies or return their curses on their own heads? 
 When smitten, did he smite back? When persecuted 
 from city to city, did he return evil upon his perse- 
 cutors? When led to the cross like a lamb to the 
 slaughter, did he open his mouth? Yes; but it was 
 to pray for his murderers: Father, forgive them; for 
 they know not what they do.’ 
 
 “This appeal touched the avenger’s heart; a tear 
 stood in his eye; and earnestly he replied, ‘Yes, yes, 
 that was praiseworthy; but he was better than we.’ 
 ‘Yes, infinitely better,’ rejoined Saabye; ‘but, if we 
 have a good will, God will give us strength. Hear 
 bow a man like you and me can pray for his murder- 
 ers.’ The preacher then read the martyrdom of 
 Stephen; and Kunnuk, drying his eyes, said, ‘Wicked 
 man! but he is happy; he is certainly with God in 
 heaven. My heart is so moved; but give me a little 
 time; and, when I have brought my other heart to 
 silence, I will come again.’ 
 
 “Soon Kunnuk returned with an altered countenance 
 that spoke the peace and joy of his heart. ‘Yow,’ 
 said he, ‘I am happy. I hate no more; I have for- 
 given; my wicked heart shall be silent. Did you not 
 see how moved I was when you read about him on 
 the cross praying for his murderers? Then I vowed 
 in my heart, I will forgive; I have forgiven. Yow I 
 hope I and my wife, who has never hated, may be 
 
206 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 baptized.’ His request was granted; and when the 
 day arrived for the ceremony, he gave a simple and 
 touching account of his faith; tears streamed from 
 his eyes, as he knelt for baptism; and, at the close of 
 the service, he said, ‘Receive me now as a believer; 
 I will hate no more; we will love each other, and alj 
 men.’ To the murderer of his father, he soon after 
 sent a message, saying, ‘I am now a believer; you 
 have nothing to fear.’ He even invited the murder- 
 'd’ to his house, and received him in a most friendly 
 manner. Being invited to return the visit, he went 
 alone; but to show the heathen murderer in contrast 
 with the Christian, Kunuuk found on his way back, a 
 hole cut in his kajak, or boat, for the purpose of 
 drowning him. He soon stopped out the water, and 
 said with a smile, ‘A.k! he is still afraid; but I’ll 
 never harm him. Vengeance is no longer mine; I 
 leave him to God, and pray that he may see his sins 
 as I have seen my own.’ ” 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 Who can contemplate such practical exemplifica- 
 tions of Christian non-resistance as these, and not be 
 ravished with the excellence and loveliness of the 
 sublime doctrine ! Can we turn around and gaze on 
 the battle field, the hospital of mangled mortality, the 
 gaudy military parade, the pomp of blood-stained 
 chieftains; or into the more ordinary affairs of life, 
 on the scuffles, retaliations, resentments, duels, 
 litigations and endless quarrels of a world infatuated 
 with resisting violence; — can we look on these things 
 without heart-sickness and disgust? How base, des- 
 picable and abhorrent are they all, compared with 
 the spiritual heroism, the moral bravery, the glorious 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 207 
 
 self sacrifice, the life-preserving, heart- reforming, soul- 
 redeeming works of genuine Christianity! “O, my 
 soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their as- 
 sembly, mine honor, be not thou united.” 
 
 And shall those who ought to be “the light of the 
 world” and “the salt of the earth,” dishonor their 
 high calling, and defile their garments, by engaging 
 in the conflicts of human ambition, violence and re- 
 venge 1 Shall they lust after the dainties of cannibal- 
 ism, admire the splendors of martial idolatry, and 
 delight themselves in the acts of mortal cruelty ! If 
 risen with Christ, ought they not to seek the things of 
 Christ, inhale the perfumes of his Spirit, fallow in 
 his footsteps, aud make it their supreme satisfaction 
 to do the will of the Father? Is it for them to fly 
 from the dangers of Gethsemane to look with despair 
 from afar on the non-resistant cross, and to make 
 themselves one with a mutually defiant and destruc- 
 tive world! Shall they see lions in the way, and fear 
 to go forth ? Shall they stand shivering like the 
 sluggard because it is cold, and so neglect to plow ? 
 Does it become them to complain that the duties of 
 love are hard, that non-resistance is impracticable, 
 impossible or extremely difficult; when its principle 
 is so god- like; its spirit so heavenly, its exemplifica- 
 tion so beautifcl, its fruits so refreshing, and its 
 achievements so glorious! What if it demand a strict 
 discipline; what if it require some severe exertions; 
 what if it impose some manly endurance;what if it offer 
 an opportunity to perform some exploits of moral hero- 
 ism: shall it therefore be unattractive to great souls? 
 Xay, rather let it seem the more worthy of a holy and 
 generous enthusiasm. Let its calls for volunteers ap- 
 peal more thrillingly to a noble ambition — an ambi- 
 
20S 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 tion to be and do something worthy of our divine 
 Parentage — worthy ot the Love that has purchased 
 our redemption with the tears and groans and blood 
 ot the cross — worthy of immortality- — worthy of liv- 
 ing and dying for. To save one life, to recover one 
 lost brother, to make one heart holy and happy — or 
 even to qualify ourselves by self-denial for the in- 
 dwelling Spirit of the Highest — is infinitely more 
 worthy of a whole life’s cares and vigils, than all the 
 wealth, pomp and splendor which the world’s favor- 
 ite destroyers ever acquired by the sword. “God lor- 
 bid that we should glory in any thing save the cross 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 
 
 “How hardly man this lesson learns, 
 
 To smile and bless the hand that spurns; 
 
 To see the blow— to feel the pain, 
 
 But render only love again. 
 
 This spirit not to earth is given; 
 
 One had it— H e came from heaven. 
 
 Reviled, rejected and betrayed, 
 
 No curse he breathed, no plaint he made, 
 
 But when in death’s deep pang he sighed, 
 
 Prayed for his murderers and died.” — Edmislon . 
 
 13 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 209 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Non-Resistance In Relation To Government. 
 
 Is Non-Resistance for or against human government?— Hu- 
 man government de T<tcto — Objection— Answer -Consti- 
 tutions of Massachusetts and the United States — extracts 
 — Why not participate to reform? — Cannot lie and commit 
 perjury— Delegated power to declare war — Letters of mar- 
 ' que and reprisal, piracy— Legal and political action— How 
 to reform government— Injurious force not essential to 
 government — Under what circumstances this country 
 might have a non-resistant government — View of the 
 present order of things, and remedy — Extract from M, 
 Guizot’s Lectures — Conclusion. 
 
 IS NON-RESISTANCE FOR OR AGAINST HUMAN GOV- 
 ERNMENT? 
 
 I propose to occupy the present chapter in treating 
 on the relation of non-resistance to human govern- 
 ment. Is non-resistance, as defined and expounded 
 in this work, for or against human government per sel 
 This depends on what sense is given to the adjective 
 human when joined to the noun government. If hu- 
 man government be understood to imply or presup- 
 pose an inherent, original, absolute power in man to 
 make laws and exercise discretionary control over 
 man, non resistance is against it. It denies any such 
 inherent, original, absolute power in man, and refers 
 it to God only. In this sense all rightful government 
 is essentially divine; man being ever a subject — not a 
 governor. And whenever he assumes to require any 
 thing repugnant to the divine law, he is a rebel against 
 
210 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 God, and a usurper over his co-equal fellow- man. 
 Man cannot rightfully legislate or govern insubordi- 
 nately to his Creator. lie can only govern under and 
 with the divine sanction. If this position needs auy 
 defence, non-resistants are prepared to maintain it 
 against the world. None, however, but atheists and 
 would-be Deieides — [God-killers] — the genuine 110- 
 governmentists, can be reckless enough to controvert 
 it. 
 
 But if human government be understood to imply 
 only divine government clothed in human forms and 
 administered by human organizations, with merely in 
 cidental human imperfections, non-resistance is for it 
 per se. It has no necessary opposition to it whatever. 
 It recognizes man as by nature a social being. It sees 
 the ties and dependencies of husband and wife, parent 
 and child, friend and neighbor, smaller and larger 
 community; and is essentially friendly to all social or- 
 ganizations founded on love to God and man. Hu- 
 man government in this sense would be an organiza- 
 tion of society constitutionally deferential to the high- 
 est known law of God ft would disclaim and de- 
 nounce all assumption of power to set up and enforce 
 auy law, regulation or usage in violation of the nat- 
 ural equality and brotherhood of mankind. It would 
 inscribe on its main pillars, no resistance of injury 
 with injury - no rendering of evil for evil — evil can 
 be overcome only with good! It would pledge its en- 
 tire religious, intellectual, moral, physical, industrial 
 and pecuniary resources to the maintenance of the 
 right education, good conduct, comfortable subsis- 
 tence and general welfare of all its population. It 
 would declare and treat all its officers as servants of 
 their brethren, entitled to no other remuneration than 
 
C H R I ST IAN NON - E ESISTAN CE. 
 
 211 
 
 an equal subsistence and dividend of general profits 
 with the mass of unofficials. It would know no such 
 thing- as government craft, and have no separate in 
 terests of ils functionaries to be fattened at the ex- 
 pense of their constituents. It would disclaim all au- 
 thority of its own, and rest all its legislation, its ju- 
 dicial decrees, and its executive proceedings on their 
 intrin-ic rectitude and fitness to promote the public 
 good. It would put off all external display, pomp, 
 parade and childish insignia, and be a plain simple 
 business concern, provided with all tilings decent and 
 convenient for its necessary use and nothing more. It 
 would incur no expense for distinction’s sake — for 
 show and dazzle. Man would make no wicked 'and 
 foolish attempt to appear a god to his fellow worms. 
 The most exalted servant of the people would need to 
 dwell in no bt-tter house, eat no better food, drink no 
 costlier liquids, wear no richer livery, ride in no bet- 
 ter carriage, under a wise and righteous government 
 than would be proper for every common citizen. He 
 would be ashamed to wish anythiug better. “He that, 
 will be chief among you shall be as he that doth 
 serve.” This is the pattern for the head of a Chris- 
 tian republic. Such a government would verify the 
 prophetic prediction: “I will also make thy officers 
 peace, and thine exactors righteousness. Violence 
 shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor de- 
 struction within thy borders.” Such a government 
 there will yet be throughout the earth. It is coming- 
 in the dim distant future. Christian non-resistance 
 is its forerunner, and will hail its arrival amid the 
 welcome shouts of an enlightened world. Men will 
 then look back on our present semi -barbarous govern- 
 ment, much as a philosopher now does on the picture 
 
212 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 of an Indian Sachem, smeared with paint, ornamented 
 with feathers and wampum and resting on his war 
 club or tomahawk. Understanding then by human 
 government only divine government humanized in its 
 forms, applications and details, non-resistance is de- 
 cidedly for it per se. 
 
 HUMAN GOVERNMENT DE FACTO. 
 
 But is it for human government as it is de facto 1 
 This is now the practical question. No. Why not 1 
 Because it cannot be both for and against itself. Non- 
 resistance cannot be for war, capital punishment, sla- 
 very and all sorts of penal injury. Nor can it be for 
 any government which is fundamentally for these 
 things. These things are not reconcilable with non- 
 resistance. Its adherents cannot therefore be volun - 
 tary participators in existing governments. Not be- 
 cause they are opposed to government per se- but be- 
 cause they are utterly opposed to these fundamental 
 evils, with which all that is good in existing govern- 
 ments is inseparably interwoven. They demand a re- 
 moval of these anti-Christian articles from our nation- 
 al and state constitutions before they can voluntarily 
 participate in the government. Are they right in as- 
 suming this stand 1 
 
 OBJECTION. 
 
 “No,” says the objector, “you are not clearly right, 
 to my apprehension, in charging our national and 
 state constitution with being necessarily for war, cap- 
 ital punishment, slavery and penal injury. But if 
 you are right in this, you are positively wrong in re- 
 fusing to participate in the government till these 
 things are expunged. If you will neither hold office, 
 vote nor bring actions at law under the government, 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 213 
 
 how do you expect these evils are to be eradicated ! 
 You ought to take part in the government, if for noth- 
 ing else, to effect the necessary amendments in our 
 constitutions. Who is to remove these evils, if you, 
 who see and feel them, refuse to lift a finger to dis- 
 lodge them? Stay in the government and reform it. 
 You frustrate your own aims by non-participation. ” 
 
 ANSWER. 
 
 AVar, capital punishment, slavery and many penal 
 injuries have prevailed in the United States. They 
 still prevail. Are they contrary to the fundamental 
 law? Do they not flourish under its positive sanc- 
 tion? I shall not go far out of my way to establish 
 facts naked to universal observation. Without med- 
 dling with fine spun arguments, designed to show that 
 the federal constitution is an anti-slavery instrument, 
 or anticipating any ingenious plea which might be of- 
 fered to demonstrate its consonance with Christianity 
 in respect to capital punishment, I shall content my- 
 self with presenting an extract from the Constitution 
 of Massachusetts, (a state in the vanguard of human 
 improvement, ) and two or three from that of the 
 United States. These will show whether non-resis- 
 tance can endorse even republican constitutions — not 
 to mention the written and unwritten ones of the old 
 world. 
 
 EXTRACT FROM THE CONSTITUTION OE MASSACHU- 
 SETTS. 
 
 “The Governor of this Commonwealth, for the time 
 being, shall be the commander-in-chief of .the army 
 and navy, and of all the military forces of the State, 
 by sea and land; and shall have full power, by him- 
 self, or by any commander, or other officer and offi- 
 
214 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON RESISTANCE. 
 
 cers, from time to time, to train, instruct, exercise and 
 govern the militia and navy; and for the special de- 
 fence and safety of the Commonwealth, to assemble in 
 martial array, and put in warlike posture, the in- 
 habitants thereof; and to lead and conduct them, and 
 with them to encounter, repel, resist, expel, and pur- 
 sue, by force of arms, as well by sea as by land, with- 
 in or without the limits of this Commonwealth, and 
 also to KILL, SLAY AND DESTROY, if necessary, 
 and conquer, by all fitting ways, enterprizes and 
 means whatsoever, all and every such person or per- 
 sons as shall, at any time hereafter, in a hostile man- 
 ner, attempt or enterprise the destruction, invasion, 
 detriment or annoyance of this Commonwealth; and 
 to use and exercise, over the army and navy, and over 
 the militia in actual service, the law martial, in time 
 of war and invasion, and also in time of rebellion de- 
 clared by the Legislature to exist, as occasion shall 
 necessarily require; and to take and surprise, by all 
 ways and means whatsoever, all and every such per- 
 son or persons, with their ships, arms, ammunition, 
 and other goods, as shall, in a hostile manner, invade, 
 or attempt the invading, conquering, or annoying this 
 Commonwealth; and that the Governor be entrusted 
 with all these and other powers, incident to the offices 
 of captain general and commander-in chief and ad- 
 miral, to be exercised agreeably to the rules and reg- 
 ulations of the Constitution, and the laws of the land, 
 and not otherwise.” 
 
 EXTRACTS FROM THE U. S. CONSTITUTION. 
 
 “The Congress shall have power — to define and 
 punish piracies and felonies committed on the high 
 seis, and offences against the laws of nations. 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 215 
 
 “To declare war; grant letters of marque and re- 
 prisal: and make rules concerning captures on land 
 and water. 
 
 “To raise and support armies. 
 
 “To provide and maintain a|navy. 
 
 “To provide for calling forth the militia to execute 
 the laws of the union, suppress insurrections and in- 
 vasions. 
 
 “To provide for organizing, arming and disciplin- 
 ing the militia, &c. 
 
 ‘‘The President shall be commander- in-chief of the 
 army and navy of the United States, and of the mi- 
 litia of the several States, when called into actual ser- 
 vice. 
 
 “His oath shall be: — I do solemnly swear (or affirm) 
 that I will faithfully execute the office of President of 
 tlie United States; and will, to the best of my ability, 
 preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the 
 United States. 
 
 “This Constitution, and the laws of the United 
 States which shall be made in pursuance thereof, and 
 all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the 
 authority of the United States, shall be the supreme 
 law of the land.” 
 
 These extracts ought to make it clear to every 
 man’s apprehension that our State and [National Con- 
 stitutions authorize, provide for and sanction war, 
 preparations for war and all the abominations inci- 
 dent to or consequent upon the murderous military 
 system. The objector has no ground to stand on 
 here. 
 
 WHY NOT PARTICIPATE IN ORDER TO REFORM? 
 
 But to come to the second part of the objection. If 
 
216 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 the non resistants are right, as to the fundamental, 
 military and penal character of the government, the 
 objector declares they are positively wrong in refus- 
 ing to participate in the government till these things 
 are expunged. He wishes to know how, or by whom, 
 we expect thesb evils to be eradicated, if we will 
 neither hold office, vote nor bring actions at law. He 
 bids us stay in the government to reform it; and tells 
 us we frustrate our own aims by non-participation. 
 
 This will pass current with the mass of people for 
 sound common sense; but I shall show it to be more 
 specious than substantial. If our scruples related 
 solely to minor details and incidental defects in the 
 existing governments, the objector’s reasoning would 
 be conclusive. For we do not exact absolute per- 
 fection, either theoretical or practical, in constitutions 
 of government, as a condition of our participation in 
 them. We can readily conceive of a radically Chris- 
 tian government with minor errors and defects in its 
 details, and certainly with incidental abuses of ad- 
 ministration arising out of human imperfection. In 
 such governments we could conscientiously partici 
 pate, and should feel bound to do so for the purpose 
 of purifying them entirely; if possible, from errors and 
 abuses. 
 
 But the governments now under notice are radi- 
 cally, fundamentally anti Christian. “The whol 1 
 head is sick, and the whole heart faint.” Military 
 and injurious penal power is their very life blood— 
 the stamina of their existence. They are as repugnant 
 to non-resistance, as pride is to humility, wrath to 
 meekness, vengeance to forgiveness, death to life, 
 destruction to salvation. 
 
 These Constitutions have the double character of 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 217 
 
 declarations and covenants. They declare wliat is to 
 be considered truth and duty, and are a solemn mu - 
 tual covenant of the people with each other, as to 
 what may or shall be done in their name. They are 
 written out with great clearness and precision, so 
 that no one may misunderstaud them. When a man 
 assents to them, or swears to support them, or acknow- 
 ledges himself a party to the compact established by 
 them, they become to all intents and purposes declar- 
 ations of what he regards as truth and duty, and a 
 pledge on his part that he will faithfully co-operate 
 in carrying them into full effect. If they do not de- 
 clare his sentiments, he makes himself a liar by en- 
 dorsing, subscribing or assenting to them. If he does 
 not honestly mean to co-operate in giving them prac- 
 tical efficacy, he peijures himself by solemnly engag- 
 ing tc support the compact. 
 
 CANNOT LIE AND COMMIT PERJURY 
 
 Am I advised to lie and commit perjury in order 
 to reform an anti-Christian government? If I accept 
 any office of destinctiou, I must swear or affirm to 
 support the Constitution: not in parts, but entire. In 
 fact, I cannot vote, without either actually taking 
 such oath oi affirmation, or at least virtually acknow- 
 ledging myself to be under the highest obligations of 
 allegiance. Government in this country is vested in 
 the voters. They are leagued together b ; their 
 common declaration of sentiments and mutual cove- 
 nants— the Constitution — to conduct the government 
 in a certain way, and to maintain its authority by 
 military force. It seems to have been universally 
 taken for granted that military force would be indis- 
 pensable. 
 
CH RISTI AN NON- RESISTANCE. 
 
 2 IS 
 
 It is therefore a gross fraud and imposition for any 
 man to appear at the ballot-box as a voter, who is at 
 heart false to the Constitution, who does not mean in 
 good faith to abide by and support it, and just as it 
 is, till it can be constitutionally amended. This is 
 what a non resistant cannot do, without treason to the 
 divine government; without trampling under foot the 
 precepts of Jesus Christ. 
 
 Would the objector have me join an association of 
 persons who covenant that their governor shall be 
 “commander in chief of their army and navy, and of 
 all their military forces by sea and land?” Whose 
 army, navy and military 1 ? Mine? Am I, a non-re- 
 sistant, in company with a combination who have 
 armies, navies and military forces? And do I agree 
 that our chief servant shall command these? That he 
 may lead them forth to “kill, slay and destroy” 
 our enemies! Am I to vote for such an officer, and 
 agree to have him put under oath to do such things! 
 A most exemplary non-resistant indeed! Should I 
 not speedily convince the common mind that I was 
 amazingly opposed to war and all its kindred deeds! 
 
 delegated power to declare war. 
 
 Will the objector insist that I shall proclaim to all 
 the world my assent and agreement as a co-governing 
 citizen of the United States, that “Congress shall 
 have power to declare war?” My representatives 
 have power to do this wicked thing, in my name at 
 their discretion! Power to turn the whole nation into 
 impious robbers, murderers and desolators of the 
 earth ! Power to authorize the perpetration of all the 
 crimes and cruelties of war! Never. I will not agree 
 or consent to any such thing. It is an abomination. 
 
CHRISTIAN NON RESISTANCE. 
 
 21 $ 
 
 1 will hold office on no such conditions, l will not be 
 a voter on such conditions, I will join no church or 
 state, which hold such a creed or prescribes stub a 
 covenant for the subscription of its members. 
 
 LETTERS OF MARQUE AND REPRISAL, PIRACY, 
 
 Much less will the objector persuade me to author- 
 ize any Congress of mine ever to grant those piratical 
 commissions, called “letters of marque and reprisal.” 
 Defensive war ou the home soil, to repel murderous 
 invaders, though the most excusable of all war, is 
 forbidden by Christianity. How much more these 
 seven fold abominations, called “letters of marque 
 and reprisal?’’ What are they? Nothing but conn 
 missions to unprincipled buccauiers to rob, plunder 
 and murder defenceless people ou the high seas. 
 Their victims may be individually the most peace- 
 able and honest people in the world; but if they be- 
 long to a certain nation, against which, for some fool- 
 lish or wicked reason, Congress has declared war, 
 their goods are made lawful plunder, and themselves 
 the prey of sharkish voracity. Is a common high- 
 wayman to be held in universal abhorrence and hung- 
 up by the neck on a gibbet, and yet are Christian 
 people to authorize their Congress to grant letters of 
 piracy! And will a man alter agreeing that such 
 things shall be perpetrated in his name, presume to 
 go about preaching peace and non-resistance? Does 
 the objector wish me to make myself supremely 
 ridiculous, as well as wicked? 
 
 And yet, notwithstanding all this, I must be a mem- 
 ber of the national organization, which is bound by 
 this political creed and covenant. I must be a voter. 
 I must vote for the President of the United States to 
 
220 
 
 CH KISTI AN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 be “commander iu -chief of our army and navy.” I 
 must agree to have him put under oath, faithfully to 
 execute this office. I must myself be ready to accept 
 of this, tnat and the other office, prefaced by an ob- 
 ligation to support the entire Constitution, war, sla- 
 very and all, as “the supreme law of the land!” 
 And it idolatry were a fundamental prescription of 
 the compact, I must suppoit that too! All this for 
 the sake of wielding the necessary influence to reform 
 the government! Unless I lie, perjure myself, and 
 sacrifice every particle of my non-resistant principle 
 for the time being, in order to participate in the gov- 
 ernment as it is, I can never hope to see a Christian 
 government established! I happen to see “a more 
 excellent way,” fidelity to principle. 
 
 LEGAL AND POLITICAL ACTION. 
 
 Many people seem to take for granted that legal 
 and political action afford to good men indispensable 
 instrumentalities for the promotion of moral reform, 
 or at least for the maintenance of wholesome order in 
 society. Hence we hear much said of the duty of en- 
 forcing certain penal laws, of voting for just rulers, 
 and of rendering government “a terror of evil doers.” 
 Now I make no objection to any kind of legal or 
 political action which is truly Christian action. Nor 
 deny that some local and temporary good has been 
 done by prosecutions at law, voting in our popular 
 elections and exercising the functions of magistracy, 
 under the prevailing system of human government. 
 But I contend that there is very little legal and politi- 
 cal action under this system, which is strictly Chris- 
 tian action. And I deny that professedly good men 
 do half as much to promote as they do to subvert 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 221 
 
 moral reform and wholesome order in society by 
 legal and political action. The common notions re- 
 specting these matters are extremely superficial, 
 delusive and mischievous. Look at facts. 
 
 1. Is it not a fact, that men strenuous for legal 
 coercion, who devote themselves to the prosecution of 
 lawbreakers as an important duty, generally become 
 incapable of benevolent, patient, suasory moral 
 action? Do they not become disagreeable to human 
 minds, and objects of defiance to the lawless? Is not 
 this generally the case? I am sure it is. Reliance on 
 injurious penal force costs more than it comes to, as 
 an instrumentality for the promotion of moral reform. 
 It works only a little less mischievously in morals 
 than in religion. 
 
 2. Is it not a fact, that equally good men are 
 divided among all the rival political parties, and 
 that, under pretence of doing their duty to God and 
 humanity, they vote point blank for aim against the 
 same men and measures, mutually thwarting, as far 
 as possible, each others’ preferences? Every man 
 knows this. Does God make it their duty to practice 
 this sheer contradiction and hostility of effort at the 
 ballot-box! Does enlightened humanity prompt it? 
 No; there must be a cheat somewhere in the game. 
 The Holy Ghost does not blaspheme the Holy Ghost; 
 nor Satan cast out Satan. Either the men are not 
 good, or their notions of duty are false. 
 
 3. Is it not a fact that the most scrupulously moral 
 and circumspect men in all the rival political parties 
 are uniformly found, with very rare exceptions, either 
 among the rank and file of their party, or in the in- 
 ferior offices ? Are our wisest and best men of each 
 party put forward as leaders? Are not the managers 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 222 
 
 -the real wire-pullers — generally sellish, unscrupu- 
 lous men H Whatever may be the exceptions, is not 
 this the general rale? We have all sten that it is. 
 II ow then is it to be accounted for, on the supposition 
 that political action is so adapted to moral reform and 
 wholesale order in society"? The good men in political 
 parties are not the leaders, but the led. They do not 
 use political action to a noble end, but are themselves 
 the dupes and tools of immoral managers — put up or 
 put down, foremost or rearmost, in the centre or on 
 the Hank, just as they will show and count to the 
 best advantage. All they are wanted for is to show 
 and count against the same class in the other party. 
 Their use is to give respectability, weight of character 
 and moral capital to their party. They are the 
 “stool pigeons,” the “decoy ducks,” the take-ins of 
 their managers. The way they are used and the 
 game of iniquity played off, are the proofs of this. 
 Yet this is what mau\ simple souls call having in- 
 fluence. 
 
 4. Is it not a fact that of the very few high-toned 
 moral men who happen to get into the head quartet’s 
 of political distinction, not one in ten escapes con- 
 tamination or utter disgust? And now what do all 
 these facts prove? That under the present system of 
 government, legal and political action is generally 
 anti-Christian. That political good men are influen- 
 tial chiefly as tools for mischief. And that non- 
 political good men are the most likely to render 
 legalists and politicians decent in the affairs of 
 government. 
 
 HOW TO REFORM GOVERNMENT. 
 
 Existing governments have their merits, They 
 
CHRISTIAN NON RESISTANCE. 
 
 223 
 
 might be worse than they are. They are as good as 
 the great mass of the people demand, or are capable 
 of appreciating. If full grown Christian constitu- 
 tions were proffered to them, they would vote them 
 down with contempt. If we could cheat them into 
 the reception of one, they would not know how to 
 live under it. Governments are correct exponents of 
 the aggregate religious light, moral sentiment and 
 intellectual developement of the people living under 
 them. People with a false and low religion, a false 
 and low morality, a low and undeveloped intellect, 
 will have a corresponding false and low organization 
 of society, false and low government ! An Esquimaux, 
 Hottentot, or New Hollander, would denre and ad 
 minister an Esquimaux, Hottentot, or New Holland 
 government. The reason why we have not a Chris- 
 tian government is, that our people are not in .the ag- 
 gregate a Christian people. The aggregate religion 
 is far below the Christian standard. The aggregate 
 conscience and moral sentiment of the people is semi- 
 barbarous. And their aggregate intellect is not yet 
 sufficiently improved by knowledge and discipline to 
 see how low their religion and morality is. They are, 
 therefore, not even ashamed of war and slavery. They 
 do not see that these gross abominations are their 
 disgrace and curse. We have got to enlighten them, 
 expand their intellects, purify their moral seLtiment, 
 quicken their conscience and reform their religious 
 ideas. This is not to be done by voting at the polls, 
 by seeking influential offices in the government and 
 binding ourselves to anti Christian political com- 
 pacts. It is to be done by pure Christian precepts 
 faithfully inculcated, and pure Christian examples on 
 the part of 1 hose who have been favored to receire 
 
224 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 and embrace the highest truths. They must hold up 
 the true standard, let their light shine and patiently 
 persevere in the great work of creating a new heart 
 and a new spirit in the people. They must do noth- 
 ing to disparage or hinder whatever is good in the ex- 
 isting order of society and government. Still less 
 must they do anything to hinder their own pure tes- 
 timony; either by seditious opposition to government 
 or by voluntary participation in its sins. They must 
 not falsify their principles by going with the govern- 
 ment to do evil, nor in going against its wrongs by 
 anti-Christian means, nor by contemning any thing in 
 which is right and good per se. Thi: is the strait and 
 narrow way of Christ. 
 
 When a considerable portion of the people have 
 been enlightened and won over to Christian non-re- 
 sistance, the tide of public sentiment will begin to 
 set with such force against war and the whole injury- 
 inflicting system, that the less enlightened and less 
 conscientious portion will insensibly yield to the cur- 
 rent, and the relics of barbarism, one after another, 
 be “cast to the moles and bats.” Thus, ultimately, 
 government will be christianized, and the most scrup- 
 ulous disciples of the non-resistant Saviour feel at lib- 
 erty to perform any. service in it which the public 
 good may require. 
 
 What a work is to be performed! It has com- 
 menced, and will progress much faster than either 
 faint-hearted friends or unbelieving scoffers antici- 
 pate; though doubtless its consummation is at a great 
 distance. In this view of the case, how supremely 
 silly would it appear for a handful of non-resistants 
 to run a tilt of politics and harness themselves to the 
 car of Juggernaut, in the hope of influencing the mis- 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 225 
 
 guided multitude to renounce their idolatry! It would 
 be treason to their cause and ridiculous infatuation, for 
 them to play such antics. Their mission is to “have no 
 fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but 
 rather reprove them to teach, not number the people ; 
 to show forth a model of what ought to be — not con- 
 form to what is; to testify against spiritual wickedness 
 in high places, and to cause the popular abominations of 
 the land to be properly appreciated and utterly loathed ; 
 to scatter light and call the people to repentance ; to 
 reform our thirty-thousand religious teachers, so that 
 instead of patronizing, inculcating, apologizing for, con- 
 senting to, and pronouncing benedictions on military 
 power and display, they may view and speak of it. with 
 the same abhorrence they now do idol worship ; to con- 
 vert our hundreds of thousands of church members to 
 that primitive Christianity, which nerved up the ancient 
 disciples to say, in the face of threatened death — “I am 
 a Christian, and can not fight !” When we have done 
 all this we will begin to think about voting and accept- 
 ing office in the government. We believe we shall then 
 no longer be obliged to subscribe Constitutions which 
 make our governors and presidents “commanders-in- 
 chief of the army,” or which invest Congress with dis- 
 cretionary power “to declare war, grant letters of 
 marque and reprisal" — those flagrant crimes against 
 God and humanity. If we should, we would still pi)' 
 our axe to the root of the tree, and non-participate till 
 a better day had dawned .on the world. Such is the 
 method by which true Christianity teaches its disciples 
 to reform government. True, it is not according to 
 "the wisdom of this world, which is foolishness with 
 God;” but it is according to “the wisdom that cometh 
 down from above, which is first pure, then peaceable. 
 
22 6 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good 
 fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.” — 
 James 3:17. 
 
 INJURIOUS FORCE NOT ESSENTIAL TO GOVERNMENT. 
 
 I shall now be told by the opposer that I am a 
 Utopian, a dreamer, a chimerist, to imagine any such 
 thing as a government without a war power in the last 
 resort — without the power of deadly compulsion to 
 suppress individual crime and mobocratic violence. 
 That such a government would be a body without a 
 soul- — a house without a foundation — a powerless non- 
 resistant abstraction ; a something which can never have 
 existence on earth, at least so long as human imperfec- 
 tion remains. I know that this is the common opinion 
 respecting government. But it is false, the spawn of 
 ignorance — a sheer delusion. A little reflection will 
 show how utterly groundless it is. It derives all its 
 plausibility from the exhibitions of past and remaining 
 barbarism. Because men have been barbarous, and 
 their laws and penalties barbarous, it is taken for 
 granted that they can not be otherwise; just as the 
 African, in the center of the Torrid Zone, assumed that 
 there could be no such thing as ice because he had 
 never seen any; and just as all ignorant people assume 
 that nothing can exist unlike what has come under 
 their own observation. 
 
 Suppose one should confidently assert that there 
 could be no such thing as a man, actually living and 
 transacting business among mankind, without a mili- 
 tary chapeau on his head, a sword dangling by his side 
 or a musket over his shoulder, or at least pistols or 
 bowie knife about his person ; that no man could live 
 in the world without either actually fighting, or threat- 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 227 
 
 ening to fight, or at least being armed for a fight. Who 
 would not see the absurdity of the assertion ? The man 
 and the man's means of preserving his life do not 
 necessarily belong together. The Christian non-resist- 
 ant is as much of a man as your sword and dagger 
 character, and much less of a brute; and the former 
 stands a much better chance of long life, civil treat- 
 ment and substantial happiness in the world, than the 
 latter. Suppose some one should assert that there could 
 be no such thing as a family or good family govern- 
 ment, without guns and dogs to defend them against 
 marauders, and plenty of switch-sticks to wear up over 
 the children’s backs. WTuld it show any thing more 
 than the ignorance and low moral development of the 
 asserter? Suppose another should affirm that there can 
 be no such thing as a church of Christ without the 
 Inquisition and auto da fe? Men of intelligence, re- 
 flection and Christianized moral feeling, know the con- 
 trary. 
 
 UNDER WHAT CIRCUMSTANCES THE COUNTRY MIGHT 
 HAVE A NON-RESISTANT GOVERNMENT. 
 
 Let us have two-thirds of the people of the Unite 1 
 States (including that portion who are, or would be 
 thought, Christians, philanthropists, people of intelli- 
 gence and orderly citizens) once firmly committed to 
 non-resistance, as explained and illustrated in this 
 work, with even a large share of imperfection still ling- 
 ering about them, and the government might triumph- 
 antly dispense with its army, navy, militia, capital pun- 
 ishment, and all manner of injurious inflictions. Under 
 the light necessary to effect so general a change of pub- 
 lic sentiment, a considerable portion of the people 
 would have reconstructed neighborhood society by vol- 
 
228 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 untary association, in such a manner as nearly to do 
 away intemperance, idleness, debauchery, miseducation, 
 poverty and brutality, and to insure the requisite in- 
 ducements, means and opportunities for great self-im- 
 provement and social usefulness. The consequence 
 would be that very few poor creatures would remain 
 without a strong moral guardianship of wise and true 
 friends to look after their welfare. Wholesome cure 
 would be applied with vast success to the ignorant and 
 vicious, and at the same time powerful preventives be- 
 yond estimation applied to the new-born generation. 
 Under such circumstances, suppose a truly Christian 
 government to administer the general affairs of the 
 several states and of the nation. How little would 
 they have to do, how well might they perform that 
 little, and how trifling would be the burdens of it either 
 to officers or people? It would hardly require hun- 
 dreds of millions of dollars to carry such a government 
 through a single year. They would not expend eighty 
 per cent, of all their receipts on ships of war, forts, 
 arsenals, troops, &c., &c. If they expended half this 
 sum on the reformation of the few remaining vicious, 
 the right education of youth, and the encouragement 
 of virtue among the whole people, their work would be 
 cut short in righteousness. If here and there a disord- 
 erly individual broke over the bounds of decency, the 
 whole force of renovated public sentiment would sur- 
 round and press in upon him like the waters of the 
 ocean, and slight uninjurious force would prevent per- 
 sonal outrage in the most extreme cases. And every 
 day the causes of such extreme cases would be under- 
 going the process of annihilation. Meantime England, 
 and the other great nations, between whom and our- 
 selves there is such a frequent and increasing familiar- 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 229 
 
 ity of intercourse, would vie with ours, not which 
 should have the strongest army and navy, and be able 
 to do the most mischief, but which should lead off in 
 the glorious work of reforming, improving and blessing 
 the human race. Patriotism would then no longer strut 
 in regimentals, recount its ruffian exploits, and provoke 
 quarrels with fellow men for the crime of having been 
 born over sea or on the other side a mountain or river. 
 It would glory in superior justice, forbearance, meek- 
 ness, forgiveness — charity. O glorious era, I see thee 
 coming to smile on my country and the world. Thou 
 art advancing in silent majesty on the remote verge of 
 the blue horizon. Clouds of dust intervene between 
 thee and the uncouth present. They conceal thee from 
 the gaze of the boisterous and bustling multitude. The 
 prophets even can but dimly discern thy beautiful out- 
 line. But thou art drawing nearer. Angels are thy 
 heralds. The morning stars are singing together in thy 
 train, and the sons of God shout for joy. In due time 
 the heaven shall kiss the earth in thy presence, and the 
 earth shall be restored to the bliss of heaven ! 
 
 VIEW OF PRESENT ORDER OF THINGS, AND REMEDIES. 
 
 But we must turn back from this vision and listen 
 again to the scoffs of skepticism, the growls of frown- 
 ing bigotry, and the jargon of Babylon the great. We 
 must hear those who make the sword, the gibbet and 
 the dungeon their gods, denounce the doctrines of 
 mercy, and extol the efficacy of cruelty. “The world is 
 full of criminals,” say they, “horrid criminals, ravening 
 like wolves for the prey, and it is presumption to think 
 of trusting to love, mercy, forbearance and uninjurious 
 restraints. The wicked must be slain. The unprincipled 
 must be threatened with destruction. The lawless must 
 
230 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 be held at bay by the terrors of the halter and the cell. 
 Mankind are too depraved to be held and treated as 
 brethren. ’ This is the language of many professedly 
 wise and upright men in what are falsely supposed to 
 be the first ranks of society. But it is the language of 
 men who need to be born again before they can enter 
 into the kingdom of God — Pharisees and Sadducees, 
 haughty religionists and moralists, who know not their 
 own hearts, nor “what manner of spirit they are of.” 
 They look not into the causes of crime. They feel not 
 for their fellow creatures, who were born and have 
 lived under the worst possible circumstances. They see 
 not that nine-tenths of the crimes of those whom they 
 glory in bringing to punishment, might have been pre- 
 vented, had good people, so called, been good enough 
 to care for others beyond the precincts of their own 
 blood relationship. They themselves are great sinners 
 and need great mercy ; yet they have little compassion 
 on their fellow sinners of a lower grade. They live in 
 a sort of conventional decency and imagine it to be true 
 morality. They are clothed with the fashionable gar- 
 ments of a superfine selfishness, and vainly imagine 
 themselves acceptable to God. They are supremely 
 covetous of this world’s goods and revel in the midst of 
 extravagance, yet think only of the guilt and deserved 
 punishment of thieves and robbers. Let them spare 
 their maledictions against the punishable class of their 
 fellow creatures. Let each one of them seriously ask 
 the following questions : 
 
 “How much better am I by nature than these mur- 
 derers, robbers, thieves, and wretched culprits whom I 
 so much detest ? Had I been born of their parents, been 
 brought up as they were brought up, been neglected by 
 the better classes as they were neglected, been tempted 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 231 
 
 as they have been tempted, and been treated as they 
 have been treated, should I have been at this moment 
 what I am ? Should I not have been one among them, 
 hated and hunted down as a hopeless reprobate? How 
 much attention have I given, in my whole life, to the 
 consideration of the causes -which make one person to 
 differ from another? How much time have I spent in 
 earnest endeavors to prevent my fellow creatures from 
 falling into these crimes, in educating them while chil- 
 dren, providing them a good home of industry and 
 comfort in youth and in inducing them in mature age to 
 lead orderly lives? How much thought, how much 
 affection, how much time, how much money, have I 
 devoted to such purposes ? Have I considered these 
 things, and brought up my family to consider them ? 
 Have I proposed them to my neighbors ? Have I 
 brought them before my religious or literary associates ? 
 Have I tried by precept, persuasion and example to 
 unite my friends in preventing pauperism, vice and 
 crime? Or have I thought chiefly of deterring and pun- 
 ishing crime ? Have I been spending nearly all my at- 
 tention and efforts on myself and my own family, to 
 obtain wealth, distinction, fame, self-aggrandizement 
 and self-indulgence? Have I not been living all this 
 time to myself, and for my own little circle of rela- 
 tions and friends? What has my religion done towards 
 making me a Christian after the pattern of Jesus ? What 
 has my morality amounted to but worldly decency ? 
 And have I not done some things, in secret, in spite of 
 all my religion and morality, which if known to the 
 world would plunge me into the depths of disgrace? 
 What have I to boast of? Why am I so intent on 
 punishing instead of forgiving and reforming my less 
 fortunate fellow sinners!” Would not such a self-ex- 
 
232 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 animation as this essentially humble and chasten many 
 a self-righteous soul? 
 
 The truth is, if one-hundredth part of what the better 
 classes of society now acquire contrary to the law of 
 love and expend on themselves to their positive hurt, 
 were faithfully devoted to the prevention and reforma- 
 tion of crime, scarce an offender would remain in so- 
 ciety. If no more than what is expended in detecting, 
 trying and punishing criminals, were judiciously applied 
 to this work of prevention and reformation it would 
 accomplish ten times more for society than it now does. 
 But alas, as undertakers live and flourish by burying 
 the dead, so there are not a few in the present organi- 
 zation of society who live by hunting and punishing 
 criminals. And yet many of the worst offenders lux- 
 uriate in perfect impunity, fortified by bulwarks im- 
 pregnable to the penal laws. At the same time the 
 ordinary acquisition of property by what are called the 
 better classes, the criers out for “punishment, punish- 
 ment/ is only a fashionable species of gambling and 
 extortion, in which the cunning, the fortunate and the 
 unscrupulous carry off the stakes amid the perpetual 
 grumblings of the unlucky losers. Besides this, intem- 
 perance and licentiousness are permitted to allure mil- 
 lions through their licensed portals to the chambers of 
 hell ; and slavery shakes her whips and chains over a 
 sixth portion of a professedly free people, under the 
 protection of our star-spangled banner! Is it any won- 
 der that such a state of things, such a religion, such a 
 morality, such unbridled acquisitiveness, such selfish- 
 ness, and such oppression of the governing portion, 
 should breed, foster and perpetuate all manner of vice 
 and crime in the under classes of society ? Not at all. 
 
 Therefore, Christian non-resistance protests against 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 233 
 
 the wickedness of the punishing as well as the punished 
 classes. It proposes and insists on a radical reform. 
 And when this reform shall have gone forward to a 
 certain point, a government untainted by military 
 power or penal injury will be both practicable and cer- 
 tain. To show that such a government is possible, I 
 will now present a clear, discriminating, irrefutable 
 extract from M. Guizot, prime minister of France. 
 
 EXTRACT FROM M. GUIZOT’S LECTURES. 
 
 “Is it not forming a gross and degrading idea of gov- 
 ernment to suppose that it resides only, to suppose 
 that it resides chiefly, in the force which it exercises to 
 make itself obeyed in its coercive element? 
 
 “Let us quit religion, for a moment, and turn to civil 
 government. Trace with me, I beseech you, the simple 
 march of circumstances. Society exists. Something is 
 to be done, no matter what, in its name and for its 
 interest ; a law has to be executed, some measure to be 
 adopted, a judgment to be pronounced. Now, certainly, 
 there is a proper method of supplying the social wants ; 
 there is a proper law to make, a proper measure to 
 adopt, a proper judgment to pronounce. Whatever may 
 be the matter in hand, whatever may be the interest in 
 question, there is, upon every occasion, a truth which 
 must be discovered, and which ought to decide the mat- 
 ter, and govern the conduct to be adopted. 
 
 “The first business of government is to seek this 
 truth; is to discover what is just, reasonable and suit- 
 able to society. When this is found, it is proclaimed: 
 the next business is to introduce it to the public mind ; 
 to get it approved by the men upon whom it is to act ; 
 to persuade them that it is reasonable. In all this, is 
 there anything coercive? Not at all. Suppose now 
 
234 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 that the truth which ought to decide upon the affair 
 (no matter what;) suppose, I say, that the truth being 
 found and proclaimed, all understandings should be at 
 once convinced ; all wills at once determined ; that all 
 should acknowledge that the government was right, 
 and obey it spontaneously. There is nothing yet of 
 compulsion, no occasion for the employment of force. 
 Does it follow, then, that a government does not exist ? 
 Is there nothing of government in all this? To be sure 
 there is, and it has accomplished its task. Compulsion 
 appears not till the resistance of individuals calls for it 
 — till the idea, the decision which authority has adopted, 
 fails to obtain the approbation or the voluntary submis- 
 sion of all. Then government employs force to make 
 itself obeyed. This is a necessary consequence of hu- 
 man imperfection ; an imperfection which resides as 
 well in power as in society. There is no way of entirely 
 avoiding this ; civil governments will always be obliged 
 to have recourse, in a certain degree, to compulsion. 
 Still it is evident they are not made up of compulsion, 
 because, whenever they can, they are glad to do with- 
 out it, to the great blessing of all ; and their highest 
 point of perfection is to be able to discard it and trust 
 to means purely moral, to their influence upon the un- 
 derstanding; so that, in proportion as government can 
 dispense with compulsion and force, the more faithful 
 it is in its true nature, and the better it fulfils the pur- 
 poses for which it is sent. This is not to shrink, this is 
 not to give way, as people commonly cry out; it is 
 merely acting in a different manner, in a manner more 
 general and powerful. Those governments which em- 
 ploy the most compulsion perform much less than those 
 which scarcely ever have recourse to it. Government, 
 by addressing itself to the understanding, by engaging 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 235 
 
 the free will of its subjects, by acting by means purely 
 intellectual, instead of contracting, expands and ele- 
 vates itself ; it is then that it accomplishes most and 
 attains to the greatest objects. On the contrary, it is 
 when a government is obliged to be constantly employ- 
 ing its physical arm that it becomes weak and restrained 
 — that it does little and does that little badly. 
 
 “The essence of government then by no means re- 
 sides in compulsion, in the exercise of brute force; it 
 consists more especially of a system of means and 
 powers, conceived for the purpose of discovering upon 
 all occasions what is best to done, for the purpose of 
 discovering the truth which by right ought to govern 
 society, for the purpose of persuading all men to ac- 
 knowledge this truth, to adopt and respect it willingly 
 and freely. Thus I think I have shown that the neces- 
 sity for, and the existence of a government, are very 
 conceivable, even though there should be no room for 
 compulsion, even though it should be absolutely for- 
 bidden .’’ — History of Civilisation in. Europe, Lecture 5. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 Is this satisfactory ? Is this conclusive ? It ought to 
 be so.' It is not the language of a non-resistant enthu- 
 siast — a Utopian dreamer — but of Monsieur Guizot, the 
 intelligent and accomplished prime minister of Louis 
 Phillipe. Let the arrogant contemners of the idea of a 
 pure Christian government revolve the matter, and con- 
 sider whether their skepticism arises out of knowledge 
 or ignorance? To a sound mind the case admits of 
 little doubt. The great prerequisite to the establish- 
 ment of such a government has already been pointed 
 out. It is religious, moral and intellectual reform 
 among the people, superinducing in them a more Chris- 
 
236 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 tian faith, a more Christian conscience, a more enlight- 
 ened intellect, and a purer morality. This noble work 
 non-resistance espouses and will unfalteringly prose- 
 cute to its blessed consummation. To carry it forward 
 the faithful will lay aside pecuniary, political, military 
 and all worldly ambition — every weight that encumbers 
 — and press forward to the mark for the prize of their 
 high calling in Christ Jesus ; despising the cross and en- 
 during the shame, till they enter into his glory and par- 
 take of the true majesty of his kingdom. He is King 
 of kings, and Lord of lords ; and the kingdoms of this 
 world shall at length become his in righteousness and 
 peace. 
 
 “I’ve thought at gentle and ungentle hour, 
 
 Of many an act and giant shape of power; 
 
 * * * * Of bruised rights, and flourishing bad men. 
 
 And virtue wasting heavenwards from a den : 
 
 Brute force, and fury, and the devilish drouth 
 Of the foul cannon’s ever gaping mouth; 
 
 And the bride-widowing sword; and the harsh bray 
 The sneering trumpet sends across the fray; 
 
 And all which blights the people-thinning star 
 That selfishness invokes — the horsed war, 
 
 Panting along with many a bloody mane : 
 
 I’ve thought of all this pride, and all this pain. 
 
 And all the insolent plentitudes of power; 
 
 And I declare by this most quiet hour, 
 
 * * * that power itself has not one half the might 
 Of Gentleness. ’Tis want to all true wealth; 
 
 The uneasy madman’s force to the wise health ; 
 
 Blind downward beating, to the eyes that see ; 
 
 Noise to persuasion, doubt to certainty; 
 
 The consciousness of strength in enemies, 
 
 Who must be strained upon, or else they rise ; 
 
 * * * Or as all shrieks and clangs, with which a sphere 
 Undone and fired, could rake the midnight ear, 
 
 Compared with that vast dumbness nature keeps 
 Throughout her starry deeps, 
 
 Most old, and mild, and awful, and unbroken, 
 
 Which tells a tale Of Peace beyond what’er was spoken.” 
 
 — Leigh Hunt. 
 
238 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 1 
 
 PART I 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE AUTHOR. 
 
 Adin Ballou, author of the foregoing treatise, be- 
 longed to a family widely known and somewhat dis- 
 tinguished in the religious history of this country 
 during the nineteenth century, especially in its relation 
 to the so-called Universalist Church, one of his distant 
 cousins, Hosea Ballou, being generally regarded as the 
 most prominent exponent and leading champion in his 
 day of the distinctive form of faith which that church 
 represents, while quite a number of his other kinsmen 
 have been and still are much esteemed and highly hon- 
 ored members, as ministers or laymen, of the same 
 fellowship, one of whom, Hosea Ballou, 2d, a man of 
 superior ability, rare culture and noble character, was 
 the first president of Tufts College, honored not only 
 by his immediate associates and friends, but also by 
 Harvard University, which conferred upon him the 
 degree of M.A. and D.D. and which he served for many 
 years as a member of its Board of Overseers. 
 
 Adin Ballou was a descendant in the fifth generation 
 of Maturin Ballou, the immigrant ancestor of all bear- 
 ing the family name in America, a French Protestant, 
 it is said, who came to this country about 1640 and was 
 associated with Roger Williams in the founding of 
 Providence, R. I., and the son of Ariel and Edilda 
 (Tower) Ballou, of Cumberland, R. I., where he was 
 born, April 23, 1803. He grew up after the common 
 manner of high-minded farmer’s sons of those days 
 (his father being a typical New England yeoman), with 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE AUTHOR 239 
 
 plenty of work suited to his age, and few educational 
 advantages of any sort His mind was active and 
 thoughtful from early childhood, and a thirst for knowl- 
 edge seemed to be innate with him. In his youth he 
 earnestly desired a liberal education, but circumstances 
 restricted him to the limited privileges of the ordinary 
 public school. These he sedulously improved, endeav- 
 oring to make up for his privation by diligently search- 
 ing for knowledge wherever he thought it might be 
 found, and by subjecting himself to a careful discipline 
 of his mental powers — a practice he followed through 
 life. 
 
 He was naturally disposed to religious emotions and 
 impressions, and when eleven years of age was the 
 subject of an experience of that sort the influence of 
 which upon his character and life was most salutary and 
 continuous, even to the end of his mortal pilgrimage. 
 A year later he was baptized by immersion and received 
 into a church in his neighborhood belonging to the so- 
 called “Christian Connexion,” a small division of the 
 general Baptist ecclesiastical body located mostly in 
 Rhode Island and Connecticut. When he was about 
 eighteen he had a spiritual vision, as he termed it, re- 
 quiring him imperatively to preach the gospel. From 
 this he shrank most decisively as thwarting his fondly- 
 cherished worldly plans, but at length reluctantly con- 
 sented from an overmastering sense of duty, preaching 
 his first sermon from the text “Necessity is laid upon 
 me; yea, woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel.” 
 He had received no training for such service and spoke 
 chiefly from inward inspiration. But so impressed 
 were the multitudes who heard him, and especially 
 those of the church to which he belonged, that he soon 
 after accepted a formal call to the ministry of that 
 
240 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE AUTHOR 
 
 church, an arrangement which continued for about a 
 year. It was one of the dogmas of that communion 
 that all who died out of Christ or “the finally unpeni- 
 tent,” as the saying went, would be sentenced at the 
 judgment to a punishment ending at length in their 
 destruction or utter annihilation ; and to this dogma 
 he gave his unqualified assent. But the reading of a 
 work on the doctrine of the ultimate restoration of all 
 souls to holiness and happiness, and the profound study 
 of the subject induced thereby, led him to abandon the 
 former belief for the latter, which brought him into 
 very close sympthy with the then growing Universalis! 
 movement, to which he had been previously most 
 strongly, not to say bitterly, opposed. Being strictly 
 honest and true to his convictions he openly avowed 
 his change of opinion upon the subject. Whereupon 
 his church associates, his own father being foremost 
 among them, rose in protest against him, at length 
 ejecting him from the ministerial office after having 
 served in it scarcely a year. His newly-accepted views 
 and the sympathies engendered by them inclined him 
 strongly towards the Universalists in spite of his former 
 repugnance to them, and he was soon drawn almost 
 irrestibility into their followship. They very naturally 
 hailed the accession to their numbers with unbounded 
 delight. 
 
 But while in happy accord with his new coadjutors 
 in regard to the great question of the final destiny of all 
 souls — of the ultimate outcome of things in the moral 
 and spiritual universe under the government of an in- 
 finitely powerful, wise and good God, to wit, universal 
 holiness and happiness, he found that he was quite at 
 variance with many of them, and especially with their 
 leaders in respect to the doctrine of future retribution — 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE AUTHOR 241 
 
 a doctrine which he regarded as of very great import- 
 ance in its bearing upon human character and conduct, 
 and which he therefore proclaimed in his public min- 
 istrations, but which many of his brethren repudiated 
 with something like contempt of it and of its advocates. 
 This soon caused friction between the subject of this 
 sketch and them, which increased as time went on and 
 which, with the dogmatism and intolerance of those 
 opposed to him, who seemed to dominate the great body 
 of the Denomination, at length led him. in fidelity to his 
 deep-rooted convictions of truth and duty, to sever his 
 ecclesiastical relations at the expiration of about ten 
 years of nominal fellowship, and in co-operation with 
 a dozen or more others of similar views and feelings, 
 to organize what was called “The Massachusetts Asso- 
 ciation of Independent Restorationists.” The members 
 of this organization sympathized and fraternized with 
 a section of the Unitarian denomination, with which 
 they ultimately become organically affiliated, the Res- 
 toration^ Association having been dissolved. 
 
 About this time the subject of this sketch became 
 very deeply interested in the practical nature of Chris- 
 tianity and especially in its bearing upon human char- 
 acter and human life in its various relations and mani- 
 festations. This prepared and predisposed him to ex- 
 amine and, after examination, to recognize the claims 
 made by their advocates in behalf of the great, leading 
 reforms of the day, temperance, anti-slavery, the rights 
 Tof woman, peace and, finally, social reform, each and 
 all of which he at length heartily espoused, becoming a 
 consistent exponent and an earnest and eloquent cham- 
 pion of them all. As time went on his interest and 
 thought seemed to center in and fasten upon the matter 
 of social reorganization, which he was pleased to name 
 
242 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TPIE AUTHOR 
 
 “Practical Christian Socialism,’ deeming it inclusive of 
 all other needed reforms and regarding it as the effect- 
 ive way by which the divine kingdom was to come into 
 the world and the will of God to be done “on earth 
 as it is in heaven." So fully persuaded was he of this' 
 and so strong was his faith in the beneficent results 
 to humanity that would follow the exemplification 
 of the principles of Practical Christian Socialism in 
 actual life, that he projected and, as leader of a goodly 
 number of others — men and women — of like faith, 
 founded in the town of Milford, Mass., “The Hope- 
 dale Community,” which was designed under the gene- 
 ral system of reconstructed society formulated by him, 
 to be the forerunner and the inspirer of an indefinite 
 number of similar enterprises scattered here and there 
 throughout the land, and possibly all over the globe. 
 
 This experiment failing of the success that was anti- 
 cipated, its characteristic industrial feature being aban- 
 doned some fifteen years after it was started, while its 
 moral and religious interests were at a later day merged 
 in what was termed “the Hopedale Parish, ’ a constitu- 
 ent of the Unitarian branch of the Christian church. 
 Mr. Ballou received and accepted a call to the pastor- 
 ate of the parish. In that position he remained till 
 1880, when failing health and the infirmities of age 
 induced him to resign his position and retire from the 
 active duties of his profession, only as occasional calls 
 for ministerial services, which he did not feel obliged 
 to decline, were made upon him. And these occurred 
 almost to the end of his days. 
 
 After the dissolution of the Community at Hopedale, 
 he spent most of the time that could be spared from 
 professional duties in literary pursuits. He prepared 
 several works for the press, notably among which was 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH' OF THE AUTHOR 243 
 
 a “History of the town of Milford,” a royal octavo 
 volume of 1,150 pages, and an elaborate “History of the 
 Ballous in America,” a similar work of 1,325 pages. 
 He also wrote a “History of the Hopedale Commu- 
 nity,” an autobiography, and Volumes II and III of a 
 work entitled “Primitive Christianity and its Corrup- 
 tions” (the first volume of which had been published in 
 1870) to be put in print after his decease, which has 
 been accordingly done, the books having been widely 
 distributed in theological and college libraries through- 
 out the United States. He was at an earlier day the 
 author of several published works, among which were 
 “Christian Non-resistance,” “Spirit Manifestations,” 
 “Memoir of his son, Adin Augustus Ballou,” also a 
 large volume of 650 pages entitled “Practical Chris- 
 tian Socialism," an exposition of the principles involved 
 in that science, and a presentation of methods by which 
 this principle could be illustrated in the actual life of 
 communities, states and nations. He was also the com- 
 piler of “The Hopedale Hymn Book” and the author of 
 “The Monitorial Guide” to be used in social religious 
 meetings and elsewhere, as an aid to devotion and the 
 higher life of the sons and daughters of men. The 
 number of tracts, pamphlets, etc., of a religious and re- 
 formatory character that came from his pen at irregu- 
 lar intervals, as occasion or inclination suggested, be- 
 ginning early in life and continuing almost to the end, 
 was large and not easily estimated, no record of them 
 having been preserved. 
 
 Adin Ballou was twice married. First to Abigail 
 Sayler, of Smithfield, R. I., in 1822. She bore him two 
 children, a son who died in childhood, and a daughter 
 still living, the wife of Rev. William S. Heywood, a 
 Unitarian minister of Dorchester, Mass. The mother 
 
244 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE AUTHOR 
 
 died in 1829, and the husband married, second, Lucy 
 Hunt, of Milford, Mass. She had two children, sons, 
 the older of whom, Pearly Hunt, died when two years 
 and three months old ; the other, Adin Augustus, richly 
 endowed by nature with qualities of mind, heart and 
 character, which, as he grew in years, won the love, the 
 confidence and the admiration of all who knew him, 
 and gave promise of eminent usefulness and a most 
 honorable career in the world, was in the bloom of 
 opening manhood stricken with a fatal disease which, 
 in a few days, put an end to his mortal existence, to the 
 unutterable sorrow of his family and a host of devoted 
 and appreciative friends. 
 
 Mr. Ballou passed away on the 5th of August, 1890, 
 at the advanced age of eighty-seven years, three months 
 and fifteen days. His wife, with whom he had lived 
 in tender, sacred companionship more than sixty years, 
 survived him but a year and two days, dying August 
 7, 1891, aged seventy years, nine months and eight 
 days. 
 
 Mr. Ballou’s faith in non-resistance, or radical peace 
 principles, never gave way nor faltered as long as he 
 'ived, but grew stronger and more assured with every 
 passing year; and, while health and strength permitted, 
 he expounded, defended and promulgated those princi- 
 ples, as far as possible, by the agency of the printing 
 press and in public addresses, whenever opportunity 
 offered or occasion seemed to require. In 1865 he 
 presided over the meeting in Boston at which “the 
 Universal Peace Union” was organized ; and, though 
 feeling obliged to decline the permanent presidency 
 of the new association, made an able, eloquent and 
 most admirable speech in support of its declared prin- 
 ciples and objects, with which he was in most hearty 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE AUTHOR 245 
 
 sympathy and accord; as he continued to be to the 
 end of his days : retaining his membership in it, speak- 
 ing from time to time at its meetings, contributing to 
 its funds, and otherwise giving it the countenance and 
 support which he felt it so richly deserved. He appre- 
 ciated the grand and noble work it was doing, under 
 the direction of its honored president, his valued 
 friend, Mr. Alfred H. Love, and efficient Board of 
 Managers, for the advancement of the cause in which 
 he had such profound interest, and for the promotion 
 of which he had labored with untiring devotion and 
 zeal during the greater portion of his long and con- 
 stantly active life. 
 
246 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 PART II 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 THE HIGHER PATRIOTISM AND ITS RE- 
 LATION TO THE CAUSE OF 
 UNIVERSAL PEACE. 
 
 By Rev. William S. Heywood, 
 
 DORCHESTER, MASS. 
 
 “It is not that I love country less but humanity more 
 that ... I plead the cause of a higher and truer 
 Patriotism .” — Charles Sumner. 
 
 “There is no Patriotism so coherent and mighty as 
 that which stands conformed to the boundless Brother- 
 hood of the Gospel. That Gospel makes all human 
 slaughter fratricidal .” — 'Mishop F. D. Huntington. 
 
 The essentially wicked and reprehensible character 
 of the great War System of the world, as it has ex- 
 isted and displayed itself in all past ages, is revealed 
 not only in the more open and violent manifestations 
 of its devastating power but in the subtle, malarious 
 influence it has diffused through almost every depart- 
 ment of human experience. While it has disturbed 
 the otherwise quiet and orderly processes of domestic, 
 social and civil life, destroyed the fruits of human 
 genius and toil accumulated through long generations, 
 laid waste cities and provinces without number, armed 
 men with deadly weapons and sent them forth to man- 
 gle and destroy their fellow-men, strewn fair and fer- 
 tile fields with the ghastly bodies of the dying and the 
 dead, drenched the earth again and again with human 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 247 
 
 blood, and multiplied many fold the agonies and tears 
 of mankind, it has also woefully perverted the better 
 instincts of the human heart, demoralized most griev- 
 ously both private and public character, corrupted the 
 fountains of human thought, and vitiated the very airs 
 that nourish and renew the vital energies of the world. 
 The pages of literature, which is the proper treasure- 
 house of culture, refinement, virtue and piety, have 
 been debased and polluted by it, and history, which 
 should be a trustworthy record of humanity’s progress 
 from the earliest known date and the causes thereof, 
 with the method of their operation, has, for the most 
 part, been one long-drawn-out book of Chronicles, tell- 
 ing of the marshaling and going forth of armies and 
 navies, of battles and sieges, of defeats suffered and 
 victories won, while the great intellectual, moral and 
 spiritual forces and agencies, ordained of God for the 
 enlightenment, elevation and redemption of the race, 
 have been either wholly unrecognized and unrecorded 
 or remanded to a subordinate place in the classification. 
 
 Moreover, under the satanic enchantment of the in- 
 iquitous system, the ordinary forms of human speech 
 have been grossly perverted or robbed of their highest 
 meaning, words and phrases being misused or inter- 
 preted by the light of its baleful fires, and so made 
 to beguile the unthinking mind and minster to its own 
 unhallowed purposes and aims. Thus courage, heroism, 
 honor, patriotism, words of intrinsic worth and power, 
 are not infrequently disassociated from the common 
 virtues or duties of life where they justly belong, 
 forming as they do an essential part of a well-balanced 
 character, and where they find ample field for laud- 
 able and even glorious exemplification, and are em- 
 ployed to represent distinctively soldierly attributes, 
 
248 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 martial prowess and valor, as their chief and most 
 signal if not only worthy mode of expression. That is, 
 with many people, blinded by the deceitful glamor of 
 militarism to the true significance of the terms named, 
 the qualities they stand for are of little account, save 
 as displayed mid scenes of mortal combat and drip 
 with the blood of wounded and slaughtered men. Even 
 such grandly important words as right, duty, responsi- 
 iblity, are often despoiled of their intrinsic moral qual- 
 ity by the same deceitful sorcery and given a merely 
 conventional or political meaning, expressive only of 
 fealty to the existing civil order or system of govern- 
 ment, irrespective of its form, character or require- 
 ments, be they just or unjust, righteous or wicked, 
 when tested by the eternal standards of ethics and 
 religion. In this way an idol of purely human manu- 
 facture is “exalted above all that is called God,” and 
 made an object of supreme allegiance in place of the 
 infinite One whose right it is to rule and to whom all 
 such allegiance is forever due — an act of gross impiety 
 if not of blasphemy. It is. to rescue these terms from 
 the misconception and abuse to which they have thus 
 been subjected in popular estimation that I take the 
 last and chiefest of them, Patriotism, which in some 
 proper sense may be understood as representing the 
 others, and make it the special theme of consideration 
 on the present occasion. 
 
 What we dignify by the name Patriotism, defined in 
 our dictionaries as love of country, is, I take it, a 
 native instinct or sentiment of the human heart, the 
 spontaneous outcome of impulses or affections that 
 antedate all nurture and training, of whose beginning 
 memory preserves no record, and of whose existence 
 philosophy offers no explanation, except that it is an 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 249 
 
 original part of the constitution of man. It is natural 
 for one to feel the pulsations of this instinct or senti- 
 ment in the breast; and so, being of an elementary 
 character and not a creation of art or tradition, it has 
 the merit of universality, is not of local or temporary 
 manifestation, characterizes no one class or condition 
 of people, knows no distinction of race, color or nation- 
 ality. It exists more or less active among the rude 
 tribes of the forest ; it is found a ruling motive among 
 the most civilized of the children of men. It mani- 
 fested itself in the remotest periods of history; it was 
 never more in evidence than it is today, under all skies, 
 wherever human beings dwell. 
 
 “Man, through all ages of revolving time — 
 Unchanging man, in every varying clime, 
 
 Deems his own land of every land the pride 
 Beloved by heaven o’er all the world beside.” 
 
 The ancient Jews thought that Canaan was most 
 highly favored of Jehovah and Mt. Zion, around which 
 their history and their piety revolved, nearest His 
 throne. The Greeks of old regarded their Olympus the 
 dwelling place of the gods, and hence the choicest spot 
 beneath the stars. So the early Romans felt that their 
 great empire was nobler than all others and their capital 
 city the grandest in the world. . In more modern times 
 the German sings praises to his fatherland; the French- 
 man exults in the charms of his native valleys and 
 vine-clad hills, under whatsoever government he lives ; 
 the storm-swept mountains of Switzerland have an 
 unsurpassed grandeur for those dwelling perpetually 
 in their presence; and the subjects of Victoria’s widely 
 extended rule, consider their own Albion, as they do 
 her Majesty, worthy of profound esteem. The Lap- 
 lander, whose home is amid scenes of never-failing 
 
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 snow and ice, can with difficulty be lured to more genial 
 latitudes, while the American Indian, driven from the 
 wilds of his childhood and youth by the white man's 
 greed or otherwise, sighs and pants for his familiar 
 hunting grounds and the regions, desolate as they may 
 be, where the bones of his ancestors are laid. And are 
 you and I lacking this, same impulsive .sentiment ? Do 
 we pay no spontaneous tribute of the heart to the land 
 in which we were born and within whose boundaries it 
 is our privilege to live, to work, to share the manifold 
 blessings of existence, to serve our Maker and our 
 fellow-men — - 
 
 “Land of the Pilgrim’s pride, land where our fathers died,” 
 
 and so on ? Who does not feel an honest delight at the 
 thought of this country of ours, vast in extent, wonder- 
 ful in the variety, beauty and grandeur of its scenery, 
 rich in resources and possibilities ; with its marvelous 
 history, its sublime ideals of liberty, justice and human- 
 ity, its institutions of religion, education and charity ; 
 with its great and good men arid women who have lived 
 and are living to make the world better and to bring 
 in the kingdom of heaven? Despite' her errors, follies 
 and sins, her inhumanities and perfidies — not few nor 
 far between, God knows ; notwithstanding these things, 
 not to be justified, condoned or palliated, who does not 
 feel impelled when thoughts of his country and all it 
 represents come trooping through his mind, to exclaim 
 in grateful gladness, “O land of mine, America, with 
 all thy faults, I love thee still.” 
 
 Regarding Patriotism in the light thus thrown upon 
 it, as a native instinct of the human heart, and there- 
 fore to be not only innocently but joyfully exercised 
 and employed, I am free to confess that I can not sym- 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 251 
 
 pathize with the distrust which some over-scrupulous 
 peace men and women cherish towards it, and certainly 
 not with that feeling of opposition and reprobation 
 with which it is contemplated by the great Russian 
 reformer, Count Tolstoy, who characterizes it as “a 
 terrible evil and supersition.” “The great sorrow of 
 my old age,” he says, “is that I have not succeeded in 
 communicating to my brethren the truth, which I feel 
 with the same evidence that I feel the light of the sun, 
 that Patriotism must lead to lies, violence and murder ; 
 and not only to the loss of material well-being, but to 
 the grossest moral depravation.” “I think it is one of 
 the most dreadful delusions of the world.” 
 
 For reasons already indicated, I count this a distorted 
 view of the subject, as unphilosophical and false to 
 human nature and to history as it is unsatisfactory and 
 misleading. It is based, it seems to me, not upon a 
 comprehensive study of the subject, but upon some of 
 its lowest and most reprehensible manifestations; upon 
 those acts of deceit, oppression and cruelty which, in 
 the name and under the guise of Patriotism, have been 
 perpetrated in his own and other lands, in times of both 
 peace and war.. Just as Dr. Johnson, beholding the 
 chicanery, fraud, corruption and iniquity practiced in 
 his day with the same pretext, was moved to. declare 
 that “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.” 
 
 And not only is Patriotism to be regarded as an in- 
 nate impulse or endowment of human nature, but as 
 one of the strongest and most commanding of its capa- 
 bilities, urging to the greatest sacrifices, to the most 
 heroic endeavors, to the grandest achievements. What 
 have not men dared, what have they not done under 
 the inspiration and motive power of this inborn pas- 
 sion, roused from its constitutional lethargy to energetic 
 
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 action, for the accomplishment of some real or sup- 
 posed-to-be lofty purpose or object! This has been 
 illustrated in times of war, when, at the sound of the 
 trumpet, men, under a sense of loyalty to their country, 
 have rushed forth at the risk of life and of all that 
 made life dear to them, to defend her against a foreign 
 foe or maintain her standing before the world. It has 
 been illustrated no less in times of peace, when other 
 men, who never doffed a soldier's garb or wore 
 shoulder-straps, like Sir Thomas Moore, Milton, Wil- 
 berforce and Gladstone across the sea, and Adams, 
 Sumner, Giddings and Phillips in our own land, have 
 foregone a thousand delights and suffered obloquy, 
 detraction, poverty, and sometimes imprisonment and 
 death, for freedom’s sake and the perpetuity of those 
 ideas and institutions upon which the well-being of 
 their county and of its people depended. 
 
 But while this love of country is a native and divinely 
 appointed instinct or force of human nature it is not 
 necessarily self-regulative and praiseworthy in its 
 diversified promptings and manifestations, as already 
 intimated. In common with all other human capabil- 
 ities it needs guidance, restraint, wise and righteous 
 control. Like a mountain stream, which may be pure, 
 healthful, invigorating at its source, it is liable to 
 become so devitalized, so charged with deleterious, 
 foreign elements in its onward flow as to hinder rather 
 than help the truer life of men — as to become a bane 
 and not a blessing to society and the world. Channing, 
 one of the earliest and most clear-sighted champions of 
 the cause of peace in the United States, speaking of 
 Patriotism, says, ‘‘It is a natural and generous impulse 
 of human nature to love the country that gave us 
 birth.” “But this sentiment often degenerates into a 
 
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 253 
 
 narrow, partial, exclusive attachment, alienating us 
 from other branches of the human family and instiga- 
 ting to aggression on other States. In ancient times 
 this principle developed with wonderful energy and 
 sometimes absorbed every other sentiment.” And he 
 might have added that it not infrequently has over- 
 mastered and trampled in the dust every consideration 
 of justice and the eternal right, the most imperative 
 dictates of reason and humanity. 
 
 ‘‘Patriotism as existing among certain of the Greeks,” 
 says the brilliant essayist and statesman, Macaulay, 
 "‘turned kingdoms into gangs of robbers, whom mutual 
 fidelity rendered more dangerous, gave a character of 
 peculiar atrocity to war, and generated the worst of 
 political evils, the tyranny of nation over nation.” To 
 the Roman of the time of the Caesars the empire was 
 the most important, as it was in a material sense the 
 most powerful of dynasties, and it claimed the right 
 as it made the attempt to subjugate and absorb all other 
 nations, vanquishing their armies on the field of battle 
 and bringing commanders and chieftains, potentates 
 and kings home to the imperial city as trophies of its 
 victorious mi»ht. These other nations in his estimation 
 were of no account, save as they could be made to 
 increase its wealth, extend its dominion, add to its 
 glory. In many of the so-called Commonwealths of 
 antiquity and of the medieval ages, in which there was 
 some professed regard for liberty, Patriotism, like 
 liberty itself, was often made a pretext for assaults 
 noon the inborn rights of mankind, for adopting and 
 enforcing measures that stifled thought and free dis- 
 cussion, corrupted the administration of justice, sacri- 
 ficed the well-being of the many to the ambition of the 
 
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 few, and crushed the hopes of aspiring multitudes 
 under the iron heel of arbitrary power. 
 
 This same spirit is, alas, still abroad in the world, 
 carrying on its direful work under the same alluring 
 disguise. It is to be found, not among ignorant, de- 
 graded, so-called heathen nations alone, but among 
 nations claiming to be pre-eminently civilized and 
 Christian. Ay, sometimes in the name of civilization 
 and Christianity as well as of Patriotism does that fell 
 spirit sound the tocsin of aggressive war, summon 
 minions from the peaceful and beneficent pursuits of 
 life, equip them and send them forth by land and sea 
 to engage in the work of human butchery ; showing 
 thereby how closely allied the foremost of nations in 
 our own time may be to those benighted peoples of 
 bygone days whose tyrant chieftains, impelled by the 
 greed of empire or of gain, were every ready 
 
 “To wade through slaughter to a throne 
 And shut the gates of mercy on mankind.” 
 
 This was signally illustrated in the case of the war 
 between this country of ours and Mexico occurring 
 within the memory of some of us here present, as 
 needless, as unjustifiable and wicked a conflict at arms 
 as was ever waged since time began, inaugurated, as 
 it was, and carried through for the indisputable pur- 
 pose of strengthening the slave power in the national 
 councils and of thereby perpetuating on American soil 
 a system of oppression and outrage, “one hour of 
 which,” Thomas Jefferson said,“ was fraught with more 
 misery than whole ages of that which our fathers rose 
 in rebellion to oppose.” And yet it was a war waged 
 ostensibly for the purpose of promoting the honor 
 and glory of the country and therewith also the welfare 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 255 
 
 and happiness of mankind. The Governor of my own 
 State, an honored deacon of an evangelical ( ?) church, 
 issued a proclamation calling upon the young men of 
 the Commonwealth to enlist as volunteers in the 
 country’s service and go forth across the continent to 
 kill or to be killed, in the name of '‘Patriotism and 
 Humanity” — words easily suborned to beguile the 
 common mind and to soften, if not sanctify, the enor- 
 mities incident to the systematic slaughter of man by 
 the hands of his fellowman. 
 
 The devout Governor, who personally believed the 
 conflict with Mexico to be wrong, was deluded and 
 thrown off his moral base, by the often prevailing 
 fallacy that when a country is engaged in a war all 
 loyal citizens are bound to render it free and hearty 
 support, whatever may be the merits or demerits of 
 the strife; and that under such circumstances Patriot- 
 ism can be shown in no other way. As was said by a 
 soldier of the Civil War, prominent afterward in pub- 
 lic affairs: “It is conceit for any man to think he can 
 serve his country in any way but in the ranks.” In 
 other words, no one can be a true lover of his country 
 while an armed conflict is going on, except he approve, 
 uphold and aid the government under whose auspices it 
 is waged. And this the real patriot will cheerfully do, 
 irrespective of any scruples he may have concerning 
 the rightfulness of war in general or the particular 
 war in hand. Under the same prepossession the Nezv 
 York Independent, a religious journal of advanced 
 views, soon after the opening of hostilities with Spain 
 two years or more ago, besought those of its readers 
 who believed “the war wicked and unnecessary to join 
 with us in support of the government in fighting it 
 quickly to the.end.” That is, fling your ideas of right 
 
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 and wrong to the winds, abandon your principles, tram- 
 ple conscience under foot, and unite with others in 
 what you believe to be a scheme of iniquity, if so be it 
 a foolish or sinful administration of public affairs 
 demands it. From all such counselors, religious or 
 otherwise, we may say in the words of the Liturgy, 
 “Good Lord, deliver us.” Such Patriotism, I have no 
 hesitation in pronouncing both false and immoral, and 
 such loyalty to country, treason to God, as I shall show 
 later on. 
 
 And not only is that Patriotism false and misleading 
 which thus seeks to hide, palliate or justify the evils 
 of the great war system, or of some special war — a war 
 perchance of invasion and conquest inaugurated by 
 unscrupulous leaders and urged on by the baser ele- 
 ments of the political arena and by morally deceptive 
 religious teachers, on the ground that it is the work 
 of the government and that the patriot will stand by 
 the government in such a case — but that Patriotism 
 also is false and misleading, yea, and dangerous as well, 
 which is blinded by the glamour of military display and 
 achievement to various forms of personal vice and 
 crime existing beneath a soldier’s uniform or within an 
 army encampment ; or which by some impious leger- 
 demain converts a man of unclean and disorderly life 
 into a hero or a saint upon enlisting as a soldier in his 
 country’s service — his enlistment papers being counted 
 a sufficient passport to the realms of bliss, and an 
 honorable discharge from military duty the guarantee 
 of an abundant entrance into the heavenly kingdom. 
 
 The distinguished orator at Harvard University a 
 few weeks ago, Hon. William Everett, LL.D., in a 
 brilliant and brave address upon the subject I am now 
 discussing, speaks of the immorality which is often 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 25 7 
 
 lost to sight or duly atoned for by assuming a military 
 costume, in terms worthy of remembrance. “If a 
 monarch,” he says, “a statesman, a soldier, stands forth 
 pre-eminent in exalting the name or extending the 
 boundaries of his country, he is a patriot, and that is 
 enough. Such a leader may be as perjured and blas- 
 phemous as Frederic or as brutal and stupid as his 
 father ; he may be as faithless and mean as Marlbor- 
 ough or as dissolute and bloody as Julius Caesar; he 
 may trample on every right of independent nations and 
 drive his countrymen to the shambles like Napoleon ; 
 he may be as corrupt as Walpole or as wayward as 
 Chatham ; he may be destitute of every spark of cul- 
 ture, or prostitute the gifts of the Muses to the basest 
 ends ; he may have, in short, all manner of vices and 
 defects, but if he is true to his country, if he is her 
 faithful standard-bearer, if he strives to set her and 
 keep her high above her rivals, he is right, a worthy 
 patriot. And if he seem lukewarm in her cause, if, 
 however wise and good he may be in all other relations, 
 he fails to work with all his heart and soul to maintain 
 her position among the nations, he must be stamped 
 with failure if not with a curse.” 
 
 Such conceptions of Patriotsim and all of kindred 
 nature are gross perversions of the true meaning of 
 the word — a prostitution of it to base and unhallowed 
 uses. Readiness to enlist in the army of a country 
 and to go forth and help fight her battles is no proof 
 or token of patriotism. Thousands of men are thus 
 ready and eager to enlist and to fight, whose hearts 
 never felt one honest throb of real love for their 
 country, whose minds never cherished one earnest 
 purpose to further their country's well-being, who 
 never spent one solitary moment in striving to know 
 
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 in what their country's real honor (Consisted or how 
 they could most effectively promote it. And thousands 
 there are in every army corps of such ignoble, degraded, 
 shameless lives, that it might be truly said that the 
 best service they could personally render their country 
 would be to go out of it on some hazardous venture 
 in far-away lands, where they could work the least 
 possible harm to the common weal. Patriotism in any 
 proper sense can not be made a shield for criminality 
 and guilt or an expiation for offenses of any sort 
 against the moral law. Nor is it to be identified with 
 bellicosity or the fighting spirit, whatever form it may 
 assume. “Patriotism,” said Starr King, “is not that 
 pugilistic passion which estimates glory by battlefields, 
 weighs national worth by vigor of muscle, and culls 
 the anthology of its bloody traditions into a sort of 
 pirate’s own book, by which its brutal appetite is nour- 
 ished.” Yet it is by multitudes of people so regarded. 
 “The fighting man,” it has been truly remarked, “the 
 man of desperate deeds, the captain of the bloody 
 deck and riddled rigging, is the patriot of popular 
 song,” as it is of many a favorite story. From the 
 martial standpoint— the standpoint of war — Patriotism 
 that is of any account must drip with human blood. 
 
 “But it is sometimes said,” observes the before 
 quoted Charming, “that war kindles patriotism” ; that 
 “by fighting for his country one learns to love it.” But 
 he adds, “the patriotism which is cherished by war is 
 ordinarily false and spurious, a vice and not a virtue, 
 a scourge to the world, a narrow, unjust passion, which 
 aims to exalt a particular State on the humiliation or 
 destruction of other States.” And if we may judge by 
 the history of the war system, as it has existed from 
 time immemorial, and by the influence of the military 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 259 
 
 spirit wherever it has prevailed to any extent, the 
 patriotism engendered and nurtured amid scenes of 
 violence and carnage has wrought more harm than good 
 to national welfare, and been, as a rule, a menace 
 rather than a protection to the higher interests of the 
 people. 
 
 And while Patriotism in its better aspects derives no 
 significance nor force from the spirit of belligerence 
 with which it is so often associated and is never to be 
 confounded with mere militarism in any of its mani- 
 festations, it is not, on the other hand, what is repre- 
 sented by the flamboyant rhetoric and spread-eagle 
 oratory frequently displayed on the Fourth of July 
 and like occasions, nominally observed for a patriotic 
 purpose. It is more than this — more than a glorifica- 
 tion of the fathers, more than a rehearsal of heroic 
 deeds, more than fulsome praise of national resources, 
 wealth, power, achievement, or possibility. It is more 
 than pronouncing the Shibboleth of some political 
 party, manipulating conventions, ratifying nominations, 
 or celebrating any victories of election day. Let us 
 take heed lest we be led astray by the clangor of mere 
 words or by the false meaning that popular opinion or 
 the excitement of an hour or a day or any form of 
 sophistry may put into words ; lest “we crown that 
 which is only a blind passion as a lofty emotion and 
 clothe with the robes of duty what is little more than 
 a superstition.” 
 
 True Patriotism, as distinguished from that which is 
 false and deceitful, is love of country for what it really 
 stands for, in its own distinctive character and in the 
 life of the world. As an enlightened, refined senti- 
 ment, flavored, so to say, with morality and religion, it 
 is love of country for that in it which is worthy of 
 
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 regard and commendation ; for that which makes it a 
 living factor in the development, elevation, and perfect- 
 ing of humanity. In this land of ours, true Patriotism, 
 while recognizing and appreciating its material re- 
 sources, advantages, blessings of whatever sort, will 
 prize it, rejoice in it, and honor it chiefly for its intel- 
 lectual, moral, social, civil, and religious characteristics : 
 for the tokens of Providential favor that illumine so 
 many pages of its history, for the lofty character of the 
 brave adventurers, who, as the representatives of an 
 advancing civilization, first peopled its shores and laid 
 the foundation of its various and manifold institutions, 
 for the great ideas of justice, equity, and freedom 
 promulgated to the world from its high places, for 
 what has been accomplished within its borders in the 
 way of realizing a better domestic, social, and civil 
 order for all classes and conditions of people, for what 
 has here been done through the agency of its more 
 Christlike men and women and in other ways to build 
 up the kingdom of heaven on the earth. 
 
 And such a Patriotism will manifest itself, not so 
 much in the politician's arts, in the resolutions of cau- 
 cuses and conventions, in glowing sentences, or idle 
 boasting or impassioned appeals, or noisy demonstra- 
 tions of any sort, as in personal integrity, in fidelity to 
 the great trusts of life, in a noble type of manhood and 
 womanhood, in loyalty to that law of eternal rectitude 
 which alone can honor, adorn, and save a State as it 
 can an individual soul. It will display itself in purified 
 homes and the right ordering of domestic life, in a 
 cherished spirit of conciliation and brotherhood, in the 
 maintenance of kindly and helpful relations with all 
 sorts and conditions of people, in practical endeavors to 
 uplift, benefit and redeem the more dependent, unfor- 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 261 
 
 tunate and needy classes of society — to remedy the 
 abuses, harmonize the differences, lessen the inequali- 
 ties, and overcome the evils of the existing social order, 
 in striving to exemplify in all the affairs and relations of 
 life the principles, precepts, and spirit of the gospel of 
 Christ. It will show itself in independence of thought 
 and action upon all important concerns, in refusing to 
 be the tool or the victim of tricksters and demagogues, 
 in exposing the chicaneries and iniquities of unscrupu- 
 lous aspirants for office, in protesting against the 
 wrongs of public as well as private life, in resisting all 
 solicitations to go with the multitude to do evil, in dis- 
 obeying unrighteous requirements even though made by 
 the government itself, and in maintaining the suprem- 
 acy of the right, good and true over all legislative 
 enactments, State policies, and national decretals what- 
 soever. 
 
 But passing from these generalizations, I am moved 
 to make certain affirmations based upon the divine 
 order of the world which a true and enlightened Pa- 
 triotism will recognize and be governed by as essential 
 to a proper and rightful development or expression of 
 national life. 
 
 1. The first is that the well-being, prosperity and 
 happiness of a nation is indissolubly associated with 
 the well-being, prosperity and happiness of all classes 
 of its population and their corresponding unity, har- 
 mony and kindly co-operation. There can be no well- 
 assured national good, no ideal national life, no un- 
 sullied national honor, where any considerable number 
 of people are subject to the evils of ignorance, poverty, 
 vice and crime, or are enslaved by bad habits and be- 
 sotted by debauchery and excess. And no nation is 
 really worthy of admiration in which gross and start- 
 
262 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 ling inequalities of circumstance, condition and oppor- 
 tunity exist; as between the rich and poor, the educated 
 and uneducated, the refined and the vulgar, the so-called 
 higher and lower elements of society. Nor can a nation 
 he ideally prosperous and happy, or free from threat- 
 ening ills, in which class distinctions assume a hostile 
 and virulent form, or where envy, jealousy, ill-will or 
 other spirit of alienation and distrust disturbs otherwise 
 harmonious relations and engenders bitterness and 
 wrath between man and man or between party and 
 party ; in social circles, in industry, business, politics 
 or religion. Differences of opinion and of action there 
 may be, there must be, except the individuality of men 
 be destroyed, which would be a dire calamity — but all 
 differences must be shared and exercised in the spirit 
 of true liberty, without intolerance and persecution, 
 each granting to others the rights claimed for himself, 
 and all striving together for the common good of all. 
 Fraternity, co-operation, harmony, are the watchwords 
 of an orderly, happy community, tewn, State, nation, 
 world. 
 
 2. A second important consideration regulating the 
 expression or overt action of true Patriotism is that 
 o: e’s country is but a single member of an extended 
 brotherhood of countries, each and all having a place in 
 the Providential plan of the world and a part to play in 
 the great drama of human life on the earth. As a legit- 
 imate deduction from this proposition, it follows that 
 the several countries constituting this brotherhood, like 
 the different classes or circles in any one of them, have 
 certain common interests and rights entitled to mutual 
 respect, and certain common obligations to be sacredly 
 regarded and faithfully met ; and that between those 
 countries there should be nurtured the feeling of fra- 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 263 
 
 ternal sympathy, helpfulness and goodwill. This makes 
 all international jealousy, enmity, wrath and war not 
 only derogatory to the character of the particular 
 nations concerned, but perilous to the highest good of 
 the entire fraternity of nations. The scorr, contempt, 
 hostility, sometimes shown by citizens of c ne country 
 towards those of another is no proof of pure Patriotism 
 but of the lack of it ; as a man who hates his neighbor’s 
 children can have no pure love for his own. Such 
 scorn, contempt, hostility, is but the outcome of national 
 conceit, egotism, bigotry, as offensive to a profound 
 sense of justice and honor in a Commonwealth or em- 
 pire as in an individual, and as full of mischief and 
 peril. National selfishness, like personal selfishness, is 
 the grave of all true nobleness and renown ; it festers 
 with the germs of decay and death. 
 
 And the practical recognition of this fact of the 
 brotherhood of nations opens out naturally into the 
 larger fact of the brotherhood of the human race ; 
 the special love of one’s country under divine tuition 
 growing into that love for all men, without which we 
 are told upon good authority there can be no real love 
 of God. So that without depreciating or limiting one’s 
 affection for the land in which he lives or his desire or 
 ability to serve its highest good, he may say in all 
 honesty, as did one of America’s noblest philanthro- 
 pists, “My country is the world and my countrymen 
 are all mankind.” In the spirit of this broader, more 
 inclusive interpretation of the word Patriotism may 
 men and nations dwell together in unity, in friendli- 
 ness and in peace, mutual helpers of each other in all 
 things pertaining to their enduring progress and glory, 
 each striving with all and all with each for the uni- 
 versal good, the ultimate “federation of the world.” 
 
264 
 
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 3. And once more I observe that Patriotism of the 
 higher order recognizes and regards the great funda- 
 mental fact of the universe that there is a law superior 
 to all human enactments or decrees — a moral govern- 
 ment of the world, supreme over all human interests 
 and concerns, to which not alone the common personal 
 affairs of men must he made subject, hut all social, 
 civil, national and international affairs as well; the 
 greatest no less than the least of them. A nation with- 
 out the consciousness of such a law, “whose seat is 
 the bosom of God and whose voice is the harmony of 
 the world,” without a living sense of loyalty to such a 
 government, on the part of its rulers and the great 
 mass of its people, is a nation doomed, a nation rushing 
 upon the thick bosses of the buckler of the Almighty. 
 It is a dictum not from the Scripture records alone, hut 
 from the council chamber of the eternities, that comes 
 ringing through all the corridors of time, saying, 
 “Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach 
 to any people.” How slow are men to learn the sacred 
 lesson that “whatsoever a man (or a nation) soweth 
 that shall he (or it) also reap;” that no one individual, 
 though he be King or President, and no body of men, 
 though it be a Legislature or Parliament, can annul 
 the statutes of the great Framer of all worlds, make a 
 wrong thing right, or stay the operations of that retri- 
 butive Justice which holds all rational, responsible 
 beings in all possible conditions under all possible rela- 
 tions amenable to its own solemn, unescapable opera- 
 tions and behests. 
 
 These things being so, the intelligent patriot shapes 
 his thought and conduct accordingly. True to its per- 
 manent interests he refuses to be a party or lend sup- 
 port to whatever he sees or believes to be wrong in 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 265 
 
 his country's counsels, in its governmental policy, or 
 in any department of the public service. The younger 
 Pitt, whom Macaulay termed “the greatest master of 
 parliamentary government the world has ever seen, ’ 
 resigned his place as Prime Minister of England, rather 
 than violate his conscience in breaking faith with the 
 Catholics of Ireland. Granville Sharpe, the patriarch 
 of -British Abolitionists, gave up his position in the 
 government of the kingdom rather than lend support 
 in any way to the war against the American colonies in 
 1776, deeming it unjust and therefore detrimental to 
 the public welfare. It was no lack of Patriotism that 
 prompted the action of these men, but the impulse of 
 the highest type of Patriotism. They were better 
 patriots by far than the monarch and members of 
 Parliament whose policy they opposed. Who were 
 the more worthy to be called patriots in this country 
 before the Civil War, the Abolitionists, who, seeing 
 the giant iniquity that was destroying the liberties of 
 the people and threatening the life of the nation, sought 
 to have it put away by legitimate means and without 
 violence and the effusion of blood, or their proslavery 
 detractors, in and out of office, who, by a blind and 
 wicked policy, brought on the strife at arms, causing 
 the Republic to totter in her accustomed seat and the 
 Southland to be strewn with the dead bodies of more 
 than half a million of her sons? 
 
 No true patriot shuts his eyes to his country’s follies, 
 crimes, abominations, or withholds his testimony 
 against them, whatever be the sacrifice or risk. Much 
 less does he palliate them, apologize for them, or setk 
 to shield them from the rebuke and condemnation 
 which are their righteous due. Nor does he adopt or 
 give currency, repute and weight to such maxims as 
 
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 “My country, however bounded,” “My country, right 
 or wrong,” “My country, my whole country, and noth- 
 ing but my country,” maxims born of the war spirit, 
 and employed chiefly in war time to pervert the judg- 
 ment of men and help on war’s bloody work. No 
 thoughtful, high-minded patriot is deceived and led 
 astray by them. They are morally indefensible, wicked, 
 atheistic. They dethrone God; they ignore, set at 
 naught, bring into contempt, the everlasting law ; they 
 deserve only censure and unqualified reprobation at 
 the hands of all who reverence truth, justice and the 
 eternal right. 
 
 And now let us consider what relation true Patriot- 
 ism sustains to the great cause of Peace, whose inter- 
 ests this gathering represents, and whose triumph 
 it is designed to advance. That it is exceedingly cordial 
 and intimate has been already indicated. Every con- 
 sideration offered in exposition of such Patriotism, of 
 its essential nature and character, of its workings in 
 human history, of what it suggests, inspires and seeks 
 to accomplish, is in singular and happy accord with 
 the principles, purposes, methods and hopes of the 
 friends of Peace, appeals directly to their sympathy 
 and judgment, and commends itself to their approval, 
 confidence and regard. The cause of Peace is emphat- 
 ically the cause of the Republic ; and the welfare of the 
 Republic is largely dependent upon the development 
 and ascendency among its citizens of that type of 
 personal character and the prevalence of that spirit of 
 friendliness, co-operation and harmony which it is the 
 special purpose of the Peace movement to engender 
 and make dominant in public as well as in private life. 
 
 As a matter of fact, true Patriotism and the Peace 
 cause operate along similar lines to one and the same 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 267 
 
 transcendent end; along lines of justice, mercy, love, 
 towards mutual good will, unity, solidarity in the state 
 and nation, and towards the final enfranchisement and 
 pacification of the world. There is ample room for 
 illustrating in detail this likeness of the two to each 
 other — of showing their many points of correspond- 
 ence, if not their absolute identity ; and even that in 
 many particulars. Certainly the Peace cause recognizes 
 and emphasizes the three fundamental truths or prin- 
 ciples of civic order just now stated, the acknowledged 
 supremacy of which has been declared to be essential 
 to true and enlightened Patriotism — truths or princi- 
 ples that need no further elaboration or enforcement. 
 
 True Patriotism and the cause of Peace correspond 
 in desiring and seeking to enhance the enduring great- 
 ness of a country and in the conception of what that 
 greatness is — of its real nature and character. And 
 this has never been set forth in more eloquent and 
 impressive language than by the distinguished philan- 
 thropist and statesman, Charles Sumner, in his splen- 
 did oration upon “The True Grandeur of Nations.” 
 “War,” he says, “is utterly and irreconcilably incon- 
 sistent with true greatness.” “That consists in imi- 
 tating as near as possible for finite man the perfection 
 of an infinite Creator; above all, in cultivating those 
 highest perfections, Justice and Love.” “The true 
 greatness of nations is in those qualities which consti- 
 tute the greatness of the individual. It is not to be 
 found in extent of territory, nor in vastness of popula- 
 tion, nor in wealth ; not in fortifications, nor armies, 
 nor navies; not in the phosphorescent glare of fields of 
 battle, nor in Golgothas, though covered with monu- 
 ments that kiss the clouds. For all these are creatures 
 
268 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 and representatives of qualities in our nature unlike 
 anything in God.” 
 
 “Nor is the greatness of nations to be found in the 
 triumphs of the intellect alone — in literature, learning, 
 science or art. These may widen the sphere of its 
 influence ; they may adorn it, but they are only its 
 accessories. The polished Greeks — the world’s masters 
 in language and thought, and the commanding Romans, 
 overawing the earth with their power, were little more 
 than splendid savages; and the age of Louis XIV., 
 spanning a long period of worldly magnificence, was 
 degraded by immoralities that can not be mentioned 
 without a blush, and by deeds of injustice not to be 
 washed out by the tears of all the recording angels of 
 heaven. The true grandeur of humanity is in moral 
 elevation, sustained, enlightened and decorated by the 
 intellect of man. And the truest tokens of this 
 grandeur are the diffusion of the greatest happiness 
 to the greatest number, and that Godlike justice which 
 controls the relations of the State to other States and 
 to all the people under its care.” It is national greatness 
 thus delineated that the true patriot and the friend of 
 Peace conjointly seek to honor and enhance. 
 
 Such greatness will command the approval and admi- 
 ration of all noble souls, not alone by the sublime 
 qualities that characterize it, but by the extent and 
 splendor of its achievements. It will be not simply 
 a latent and inappreciable force in the world — an 
 abstract idea for the student of political economics — 
 but an active energy in human life and history, making 
 the nation, illustrating it a mighty factor in the problem 
 of human uplifting and redemption. We are hearing 
 just now a great deal about the part which the United 
 States is coming to play in the great drama of human 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESTSTANCE 
 
 269 
 
 affairs by reason of her recent military and naval 
 exploits. “The war with Spain,” says Governor 
 Adams, of Colorado, “makes our country a world 
 power.” Other purblind politicians and half-fledged 
 patriots are saying the same thing, and the responding 
 populace rend the air with shouts of applause thereat. 
 To such persons, ignorant of the philosophy of history 
 as they are of ethical principles and agencies, this great 
 American nation was of little account in the world until 
 within two or three years. But now, since San Juan 
 and Manila, we, her people, are somebody ; we can 
 take our place among other nations and defy them all ; 
 we can whip all creation ; no foreign, old-time dynasty 
 will henceforth dare to tread on the toes of our vener- 
 able Uncle Sam or insult the dignity of his imperial 
 majesty. The watchwords henceforth are to be, 
 “Hands off” and “Beware.” 
 
 So some people talk. But such talk is cheap — too 
 cheap for serious consideration, and as vicious as it is 
 cheap. It is the glorification of brute force and 
 national pugilism. It is the exaltation of might over 
 right, of military prowess over justice and humanity. 
 It is the boast of the braggart, the swaggerer, the prize- 
 fighter; not an expression of true valor, of lofty states- 
 manship, of clear-seeing philosophy. It makes the 
 United States the chief bully among the nations — a 
 distinction not to be proud of and not to be coveted. 
 This vain and shameful braggardism was so well stated 
 and elucidated a year or more ago by Rev. Dr. Jeffer- 
 son, of Broadway Tabernacle, New York City, in a 
 sermon from the text “And the devil taketh him up 
 into an exceedingly high mountain,” etc., that I venture 
 to quote a brief passage : 
 
 "Men are everywhere exulting in the notion that we, 
 
270 ' 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 as a nation, have become a great world-power. We 
 amounted to nothing before the victory at Manila. 
 He is a Rip Van Winkle of an American who had to 
 be aroused from sleep by a cannon shot to learn that 
 the United States has been a world-power for years. 
 How did she become such? By her army? No. By 
 her navy? No. By dabbling in diplomacy? No. By 
 colonies and dependencies? No. But by tbe culture 
 of the arts of peace, by building schools, colleges,, 
 churches; by developing free institutions. 
 
 We have not fooled away our time in drilling men to 
 kill each other. We have not squandered our money 
 on armies and navies.” “America is not isolated. Her 
 spirit for years has walked up and down the earth. 
 Where is there a land her influence has not reached? 
 
 Her ideas have touched the hearts of men 
 under every sun. . . . She is a power already 
 in the evolution of the race. And yet some men never 
 knew it till a gun was fired at Manila. ... A 
 great naval power — a great military power ! In many 
 a circle these are phases to conjure with. A great 
 Christian power to my ears sounds much better !” As 
 it does, I apprehend to the ears of both peace men and 
 true patriots — to the ear of God and his holy angels. 
 A great power for justice, righteousness, brotherhood, 
 peace, throughout the earth. So may she be. 
 
 So indeed let us hope and pray that she may be. For 
 it is in the way suggested that our beloved country is 
 to act a noble part on the stage of history and serve 
 humanity’s highest good in the years to come. Not like 
 Rome of old by making other nations tremble at the 
 mention of her name, not by conquests at arms on 
 distant battle-fields, not by subjugating weaker prov- 
 inces and compelling them to bow to her imperial sway. 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 271 
 
 Not by elevating her standards on foreign soil and 
 refusing to take them down again, however unright- 
 eously they may have been set up ; but by her procla- 
 mation of the principles of civil and religious liberty, 
 by her championship of the inborn rights of mankind, 
 by her ideals of freedom made real within her own 
 borders, by the light of her example of righteous self- 
 government shining forth to illume the benighted por- 
 tions of the globe, by the contagion of an honorable, 
 just, humane national life, by the prosperity, virtue and 
 happiness of all classes of her population, by her insti- 
 tutions of learning, charity and religion, by her sympa- 
 thy for and hospitality to down-trodden and oppressed 
 peoples struggling after liberty and a better life, by 
 her missionaries and heralds of Christian faith going 
 forth in the spirit of the Master into all the world to 
 preach the Gospel of love to God and man and to wage 
 holy warfare against human folly, ignorance, sin and 
 shame, not with carnal weapons but with spiritual, 
 which are mighty through God to the pulling down of 
 the strongholds of the adversary and to the achieve- 
 ment of a final victory for the true, the beautiful and 
 the good throughout the earth. 
 
 True Patriotism in this land of ours supplements and 
 reinforces the cause of Peace in vigorously resisting 
 the growing militarism which is dominating to a large 
 extent the policy of the national government, corrupt- 
 ing the high standards of public life and exalting brute 
 force to the place in common esteem which properly 
 belongs to reason, the judicial sense, and the spirit of 
 brotherhood. Two and a half years ago, under the 
 pretext of delivering -the inhabitants of the island of 
 Cuba from the cruel tyranny of Spain, the baser ele- 
 ments of the political arena and the jingoists of the 
 
272 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 press throughout the country roused the latent war- 
 spirit of the people at large from th*e repose of a 
 generation to an intensity that overruled their calmer 
 judgment and more humane feeling and that inaugu- 
 rated a new regime in the administration of national 
 affairs full of mischiefs and portents of coming ill. 
 As a result the army of the United States has been 
 multiplied fourfold, with a fair prospect of indefinite 
 increase under the infatuation created by the widely 
 prevailing greed of gain and of empire in our borders. 
 An army is in its very nature a despotism, and, ex- 
 tended beyond the limits of a national police force, a 
 menace to the Republic and to that freedom and inde- 
 pendence for which the Republic, true to its ideals and 
 the principles of its founders, stands ; a menace to all 
 forms of popular government. This is shown in the 
 history of the ancient and mediaeval Commonwealths,, 
 as it is in the experience of the French nation since 
 it last assumed the name and form of Democracy. 
 Again and again has* the government established by 
 Thiers, Hugo, Favre, and. other actors in the revolu- 
 tion of 1870 come near to shipwreck by reason of the 
 arbitrary spirit, and the imperialistic tendencies, the 
 malign influence of the army. Washington clearly 
 apprehended danger from this source to the political 
 edifice he helped to raise, and in his Farewell Address 
 warned his fellow-countrymen against “overgrown 
 inilitary establishments, which,” he said, “under any 
 form of government are inauspicious to liberty, and 
 which are to be regarded as particularly hostile to 
 Republican liberty.” True Patriotism to-day, among 
 wise, prophetic men, as in the person of the “Father 
 of his country,” views the rapid increase of these 
 liberty-imperilling establishments with deep solicitude 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 273 
 
 and even alarm, and protests against them accordingly. 
 Moreover, such establishments and their accessories 
 are highly prejudicial to the well-being of the great 
 mass of the people of a country, especially of the 
 industrial classes — the honest yeomanry. We have but 
 to look at continental Europe for indisputable proof of 
 this. The army equipments there, which have doubled 
 within thirty years, are maintained at immense cost, 
 necessitating a system of taxation which reduces the 
 populace to a condition of extreme poverty and degra- 
 dation, a condition provocative of unrest and disorder, 
 and well calculated to generate Nihilism, Anarchism, 
 and all forms of violent upheaval and bloody outbreak. 
 If our land is to avoid social and civil tumult and con- 
 vulsions in days to come, she must guard assiduously 
 against the causes that produce them, chiefest of 
 which is an oppressive militarism, as experience in the 
 countries alluded to demonstrates. Clear-seeing, high- 
 minded patriots among us see the impending peril, and 
 join must heartily with the friends of Peace, in de- 
 manding a halt in the military activities of the time, 
 a suppression of the prevailing war spirit for the sake 
 of the Republic, of the people generally, and of the 
 cause of freedom in the world at large. 
 
 In conclusion, I am moved to affirm that true Patriot- 
 ism and the Peace Cause are singularly coincident in 
 deprecating and condemning unqualifiedly the war now 
 (1900) being carried on by the United States govern- 
 ment against the people of the Philippine Islands, and 
 the policy of the national administration in respect to 
 the same. The latter bases its verdict upon those fun- 
 damental principles of morality, justice, brotherhood, 
 love, of which it is the practical expression ; the former 
 upon those fundamental principles of civil and religious 
 
274 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 liberty on which the American Republic was founded 
 and for which it has ever stood before the nations. 
 Those principles are distinctly set forth in the Decla- 
 ration of Independence, the Magna Charta of that type 
 of national life which this country represents. The 
 issuance of that instrument marked an epoch in the 
 social and civil evolution of the race; it was a new 
 departure in the march of humanity to its final earthly 
 destiny. On that instrument and on the great truths 
 it enunciated the national edifice has been built; by it 
 has the national character been shaped, and under its 
 inspiration and guidance whatever is most signal and 
 praiseworthy in the national career has been achieved. 
 
 But the governmental policy in regard to the Philip- 
 pine war is in open contravention of the spirit and 
 affirmations of the Declaration ; a denial of its claims, 
 an abandonment of what has been most distinctive in 
 the national life. It is a virtual repudiation of the 
 work of the nation’s founders ; a return to old world 
 ideals, doctrines, practices, methods of administration. 
 It is a surrender of America and the West to Europe 
 and the East. It is a re-adoption of the statecraft 
 wl ich the pilgrim and the Puritan dared the perils of 
 the sea and the greater perils of the wilderness to 
 escape. It is playing the part of George III. and Lord 
 North over again in their dealings with the American 
 colonies one hundred and twenty-five years ago ; 
 attempting to subjugate and render submissive to a 
 foreign power a people who, like our revolutionary 
 fathers, are striving for liberty and independence. It 
 may be called the onward march of democratic ideas, 
 but it bears all the insignia of imperialism and what 
 that term stands for in the philosophy of government 
 and the history of nations. It may be called “benevo- 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 275 
 
 lent assimilation,” but it is of the same nature and 
 character as “criminal aggression,” and no shuffle of 
 words can make it otherwise. It is practically a war 
 of invasion and conquest, such as has been waged from 
 time immemorial under the barbarous, tyrannical 
 assumption that “might makes right.” It puts the 
 nation into the same category and reduces it to the 
 same plane with the dynasties of the old world, ena- 
 bling them to say to it in scornful derision, “Aha! thou 
 didst set thyself up as vastly wiser and better than we 
 were, and so our light and our example ; but now, how 
 art thou fallen and become as one of us !” Wise states- 
 men see this and deplore it, while the demoralized poli- 
 tician, the devotee of brute force, and the unthinking 
 multitude, drunk with the wine of militarism or infat- 
 uated with the lust for dominion, are oblivious to the 
 gravity of the situation and to the direful consequence 
 which it assuredly portends. 
 
 But there is a moral and humanitarian aspect of the 
 case, more serious, if possible, than the political. How 
 did this war with the Filipinos come to be ? Two years 
 ago they were our friends and we were theirs. Now the 
 two are deadly enemies. Two years ago we solicited 
 their aid as allies in overcoming the forces of Spain 
 at Manila with the assurance, if not open promise, 
 that, if successful, they should have their independence. 
 They gladly acceded to our request. Yet no sooner 
 was Spain conquered, and conquered by their help, 
 than our arms were turned against them, under the 
 demand of absolute subjection to our authority to 
 which they owed no allegiance, with no regard for 
 their inborn rights, but with scornful refusal to listen 
 to their repeated appeals in behalf of such rights. And 
 from that day to this the United States government 
 
276 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 has been fighting and attempting to conquer them as 
 miscalled rebels and insurgents. The treatment of 
 them is as gross, unjustifiable and base an act of 
 perfidy as the annals of nations records. Rev. Mr. 
 Chadwick, of Brooklyn, says : “The colonial history 
 of Spain contains no such atrocious piece of treachery 
 as the Filipinos have suffered at the hands of this 
 country.’’ It is to be believed that they have been sub- 
 jected to more outrage, cruelty, loss of blood and life 
 under eighteen months of United States domination 
 in and about Manila than under eighteen years of 
 Spanish misrule ; to the nation’s lasting dishonor and 
 unutterable shame. 
 
 Such being the case, both Patriotism and the cause of 
 Peace enter a solemn protest against the whole pro- 
 ceeding, and demand an immediate cessation of hos- 
 tilities. They cry aloud, amid the impending gloom 
 and clash of resounding arms, for a return to the prin- 
 ciples of the Declaration of Independence, to the prin- 
 ciples of justice and humanity, upon which the safety, 
 prosperity and glory of the Republic rests, and in which 
 lies th? hope of the downtrodden and oppressed of all 
 lands and climes to the ends of the earth. 
 
 Unfortunate, however, and deplorable as is the con- 
 dition into which our beloved country has been brought 
 at this period of her history, and forbidding as is the 
 outlook in many directions, yet may we not despair. 
 A way out of the encompassing darkness will, in the 
 good providence of God, be opened, and new light will 
 in due time, I doubt not, illumine the pathway of the 
 Republic and gladden all our hearts. “The wrath of 
 man shall praise Him, and the remainder of wrath 
 will Pie restrain.” Recovering from this fearful lapse 
 towards barbarism and escaping the perils incident 
 
CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 277 
 
 thereto; instructed it may be and purified by the expe- 
 rience and invested with new power of accomplish- 
 ment, the nation will go forward more rapidly than 
 before to the attainment of that destiny which I can 
 but believe is her inalienable birthright — a destiny 
 worthy' of her origin, of her lofty ideals, of her history, 
 of her opportunities and of her possibilities ; sublime 
 in itself and unspeakably beneficent for mankind. A 
 destiny it is, as I contemplate it, of universal liberty, 
 not of license; of justice to all men, not of oppression 
 and outrage to any ; of noble ideas, not of barbarous 
 maxims and immoral sophistries; of healthful growth 
 and normal development of resources and character, 
 not of foreign invasions and enforced annexations ; of 
 peace and good will, and not of war. A destiny of 
 lifting up fallen races, of educating benighted tribes, 
 of regenerating sinful peoples, of leading other nations 
 and the world in the grand march of humanity to its 
 divinely ordained, ultimate estate of universal liberty, 
 righteousness, brotherhood, harmony and happiness. 
 In the faith and hope that such is the transcendently 
 glorious mission of this country of ours in the years 
 to come, the part she is to hereafter play in the great 
 drama of human existence upon the earth, we can most 
 sincerely salute her in the inspiring verse of the elder 
 President Dwight, of Yale College: 
 
 ‘Columbia, Columbia, to glory arise, 
 
 Thou queen of the world and child of the skies ! 
 Thy genius commands thee : with rapture behold. 
 While ages on ages thy splendors unfold. 
 
 Thy reign is the last and noblest of time, 
 
 Most fruitful thy soil, most inviting thy clime ; 
 
 Let the crimes of the East ne’er encrimson thy name, 
 Be freedom and Virtue and knowledge thy fame. 
 
278 
 
 CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE 
 
 “To conquest and slaughter let Europe aspire. 
 
 Whelm nations in blood and wrap cities in fire ; 
 
 Thy heroes the rights of mankind shall defend, 
 
 And triumph shall crown them and glory attend. 
 
 A world is thy realm ; for a world be thy laws 
 Enlarged as thine empire and just as thy cause; 
 
 On freedom’s broad basis that empire shall rise, 
 
 Extend with the years and dissolve with the skies. 
 
 “Thy fleets to all regions thy power shall display, 
 
 The nations admire thee and ocean obey; 
 
 Each shore to thy glory shall tribute unfold, 
 
 And the East and the South yield their spices and gold. 
 As the dayspring unbounded thy splendor shall flow, 
 And earth’s smaller kingdoms before thee shall bow, 
 While the ensigns of union, in triumph unfurled, 
 
 Hush the tumult of war and bring peace to the world.” 
 
Date Doe 
 
J 
 
 170 31S30 
 
 
 
 123503