nation. Ye compass sea and land to make one prose-
lyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold
more the child of hell than yourselves. — Woe unto
you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay
tithe of mint, and anise, and cumin, and have omit-
ted the weightier matters of the law, judgment,
mercy, and faith; these ought ye to have done, and
not to leave the other undone. Ye blind guides!
which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. Woe
unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye
make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter;
but within, they are full of extortion and excess. —
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for
ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed ap-
pear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead
men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also
outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within
ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.”
Dark and terrible as is this picture, I hold it to be
strictly true of the overwhelming mass of professed
Christians in America. They strain at a gnat, and
swallow a camel. Could any thing be more true of
our churches? They would be shocked at the propo-
sition of fellowshipping a SHEEP-stealer; and at the
same time they hug to their communion a MAN-
stealer, and brand me with being an infidel, if I
find fault with them for it. They attend with Phari-
saical strictness to the outward forms of religion, and
at the same time neglect the weightier matters of
the law, judgment, mercy, and faith. They are al-
ways ready to sacrifice, but seldom to show mercy.
They are they who are represented as professing to
love God whom they have not seen, whilst they hate
their brother whom they have seen. They love the
heathen on the other side of the globe. They can
pray for him, pay money to have the Bible put into
his hand, and missionaries to instruct him; while
they despise and totally neglect the heathen at their
own doors.
Such is, very briefly, my view of the religion of
this land; and to avoid any misunderstanding, grow-
ing out of the use of general terms, I mean by the
religion of this land, that which is revealed in the
words, deeds, and actions, of those bodies, north and
south, calling themselves Christian churches, and yet
in union with slaveholders. It is against religion, as
presented by these bodies, that I have felt it my
duty to testify.
I conclude these remarks by copying the following
portrait of the religion of the south, (which is, by
communion and fellowship, the religion of the
north,) which I soberly affirm is “true to the life,”
and without caricature or the slightest exaggeration.
It is said to have been drawn, several years before
the present anti-slavery agitation began, by a north-
ern Methodist preacher, who, while residing at the
south, had an opportunity to see slaveholding mor-
als, manners, and piety, with his own eyes. “Shall
I not visit for these things? saith the Lord. Shall not
my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?”
A PARODY
“Come, saints and sinners, hear me tell
How pious priests whip Jack and Nell,
And women buy and children sell,
And preach all sinners down to hell,
And sing of heavenly union.
“They’ll bleat and baa, dona like goats,
Gorge down black sheep, and strain at motes,
Array their backs in fine black coats,
Then seize their negroes by their throats,
And choke, for heavenly union.
“They’ll church you if you sip a dram,
And damn you if you steal a lamb;
Yet rob old Tony, Doll, and Sam,
Of human rights, and bread and ham;
Kidnapper’s heavenly union.
“They’ll loudly talk of Christ’s reward,
And bind his image with a cord,
And scold, and swing the lash abhorred,
And sell their brother in the Lord
To handcuffed heavenly union.
“They’ll read and sing a sacred song,
And make a prayer both loud and long,
And teach the right and do the wrong,
Hailing the brother, sister throng,
With words of heavenly union.
“We wonder how such saints can sing,
Or praise the Lord upon the wing,
Who roar, and scold, and whip, and sting,
And to their slaves and mammon cling,
In guilty conscience union.
“They’ll raise tobacco, corn, and rye,
And drive, and thieve, and cheat, and lie,
And lay up treasures in the sky,
By making switch and cowskin fly,
In hope of heavenly union.
“They’ll crack old Tony on the skull,
And preach and roar like Bashan bull,
Or braying ass, of mischief full,
Then seize old Jacob by the wool,
And pull for heavenly union.
“A roaring, ranting, sleek man-thief,
Who lived on mutton, veal, and beef,
Yet never would afford relief
To needy, sable sons of grief,
Was big with heavenly union.
“‘Love not the world,’ the preacher said,
And winked his eye, and shook his head;
He seized on Tom, and Dick, and Ned,
Cut short their meat, and clothes, and bread,
Yet still loved heavenly union.
“Another preacher whining spoke
Of One whose heart for sinners broke:
He tied old Nanny to an oak,
And drew the blood at every stroke,
And prayed for heavenly union.
“Two others oped their iron jaws,
And waved their children-stealing paws;
There sat their children in gewgaws;
By stinting negroes’ backs and maws,
They kept up heavenly union.
“All good from Jack another takes,
And entertains their flirts and rakes,
Who dress as sleek as glossy snakes,
And cram their mouths with sweetened cakes;
And this goes down for union.”
Sincerely and earnestly hoping that this little book
may do something toward throwing light on the
American slave system, and hastening the glad day
of deliverance to the millions of my brethren in
bonds — faithfully relying upon the power of truth,
love, and justice, for success in my humble efforts
— and solemnly pledging my self anew to the sacred
cause, — I subscribe myself,
FREDERICK DOUGLASS
LYNN, MASS., APRIL 28, 1845. THE END