Qass, Book- / BIBLE DEFENCE OF SLAVERY; ORIGIN FORTUNES, AND fflSTORY NEGRO RACE. BY REV. JOSIAH PRIEST, A.M. FIFTH EDITION — STEREOTYPED. GLASGOW, KY., PUBLISHBD BY REV. W. S. BROWN, M.D. 1852. # .P91\ #■ PUBLISHER'S PREFACE. In presenting the following work to the American public, no apologies are offered. We live under a Government which tolerates liberty of thought and freedom of the press, and in this expression of our honest views and feelings upon a subject relating to the general welfare of the country, we are but exercising a right which belongs to every American citizen. Observation and experience has taught us, that no man's opinions and principles pjain favor with the world by empty apologies and useless excuses; but, that they are generally received or rejected, as they should be, according as they possess merit or demerit. It is a pleasing reflection, that the age of proscription for opinion's sake, is past, we trust, never again to return ; and that the unrestricted interchange of thought and sentiment, which is permitted by the liberal genius of m- VI PUBLISHER S PREFACE suspicion upon those time-honored institutions which have commanded the world's admiration, and by which ate secured to us the richest blessings of civil and religious liberty. Is it not time, then, that the South should begin to defend herself against the aggressions of these time-serving votaries of error and fanaticism, and show to the world that her peculiar policy and institutions are in harmony with the genius of republicanism, and the spirit of true Christianity] Believing that such is her true policy, and that this proposition is much more consistent and reasonable, as well as more easily established than its converse, we have been induced to give publicity to the following pages in vindication of Southern rights and institutions. Although we believe that the institution of slavery received " the sanction of the Almighty in the Patriarchal age ;" " that it was incorporated into the only national constitution which ever emanated from God ;" '• that its legality was recognized, and its relative duties regulated by our Saviour, when upon earth ;" that it was established in wisdom, and has been wisely continued through all ages, and handed down to us in mercy; and that the relation of master and servant harmonizes strictly with the best interests of the inferior or African race in particular, in securing to him that protection and support which his native imbecility of intellect disqualifies him from securing for himself; yet do we most cordially reprobate any abuse of the relation by the superior PUBLISHER S PREFACE. VU power, or any undue exercise of authority, by the master over the slave — holding it to be an unwavering, uncom- promising truth, that a fearful retribution is in reservation for all the violators of the wisely-established decrees of God, in this respect. There are certain obligations and duties which every master owes to his slave, that are aS binding and indispensable as are the duties and obligations which he owes to his God, his country, or himself. These discharged, in accordance with the will of high Heaven, and the mere fact of being a slaveholder will not, in our humble judgment, debar a man from an entrance into that " house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." Our individual views on the subject of a national system of colonization, as applicable to the free black population of the United States, may be regarded, at first sight, perhaps, as somewhat novel, and wanting in the essential qualities of age and precedent, or experience ; but the reader may rest assured, that they have been submitted to the inspection of many of our prominent citizens and leading statesmen, and have received their unqualified approval, without exception. The existence of fi'ee blacks in any community, whether free or slave, is universally admitted to be an evil of no minor consideration. Their removal, therefore, is a matter deeply affecting the interests and well-being of both races. Their present number and natural increase, places this beyond the reach of individual enterprise. The resources of the general government must, therefore, be brought VUl PUBLISHER S PREFACE. into requisition in the removal of this, as well as any other evil of a general or national character. How this may be done in this case, in a manner harmonizing with the ti'ue interests of both races, is a theme certainly not unworthy the candid consideration of any American citizen. In the work of Mr. Priest, on the subject of *' Slavery, as it relates to the Negro, or African Race, Examined in the Light of Circumstances, History, and the Holy Scriptures; with an Account of the Black Man's Color, Causes of his State of Servitude, and Traces of his Character, as well in Ancient as in Modern Times, with Strictures on Abolitionism," the reader may confidently expect to find a work of great research and ability — one of deep interest, and well worthy his candid perusal. The author has sought, in the oracles of God, in authentic history, and in the analogies of nature, the key to the mystery of the degradation, through the unchronicled ages of the past, of the negro race. The fact of the inferiority and consequent subordination of the black race to the white, being in accordance with the will of the Supreme Ruler of the universe, is not like a mathematical problem, susceptible of absolute demonstration; yet we think the readers of this work will acknowledge that the author has let in a flood of light upon this deeply interesting subject, through the mist in which ignorance and misguided sympathy has enveloped it. Himself a Northern man, prejudiced, as he admits, in his early PUBLISHEK S TREFACE. IX education, against tlie institution, the conclusion at which he anives, supported as they are by the most powerful train of reasoning, cannot fail to check the suicidal progress of that pseudo-philanthropy, yclept " modern abolitionism." Glasgow, Ky., April 21th, 1850. PREFACE. Than a knowledge of the races and nations of men, who have peopled the globe since it was created, there can be no subject more interesting. With a view to an elucidation of this description, wc present the work before us, in which an attempt is made to give, in some measure, a history of the origin^ character, and fortunes, of the negro portion of mankind. In pursuit of this object we hope there needs no apology, because we have found it necessary to resort to the Holy Scriptures for much important information which relates to our design, as it is well known that those parts of that book which were written by Moses are the eldest writings of the numan race now extant, and relate to the very first opera- tions of the human race after the flood. As corroboratory of the developments of that miraculous book, we have also resorted to ancient and modern history, to travels, narra- tives, &c., which go to aid us in the research. As to the origin of the negro man, we have, in our cogi- tations, recollected several curious opinions relative to the subject, which we have thought proper to present, on account of their wild and extravagant character, as follows : Some have queried, whether the mother of the first negvo man might not have been frightened by some hideous black monster of the antediluvian woods — as in the first ages of the world there were many terrible beasts of the wilderness roaming about, whose races are now extinct. There is one creature which existed theri, and is not yet extinct, whose appearance, in its native haunts, is very frightful to behold ; and this is the black ourang-outang, of which animal there are individuals known to have attained the enormous height IV PREFACj of seven feet, covered entirely with shining black hair. The strange effects of fright on the offspring of mothers, is a well known phenomenon in the physiological history of man. Thus, as some have supposed, the negro race was produced, forming an entire new class of human beings, and distinguished from the nature, color, and character of the parents, by a fright of the mother. Others have seemed to believe, that, in the very first ages of the planet, and long before the creation of Adam, there existed a race of animals, having a resemblance to man, as has the ourang-outang, but of gigantic stature, as well as power, dwelling in communion with other beasts and mon- sters of that time. From this family of animals, it has been supposed that the negro race was derived, and brought for- ward by the continual mutations of nature, passing from one change to another in pursuit of maturity, with all things else, arriving at last to their highest point, as exhibited in the presence of the black or negro nations. It has also been believed, that, at a very early period of time, some community of men have been so situated, in rela- tion to climate, food, and other circumstances, as to have been changed from their original stamp of complexion and character, to that of perfect blacks, thus originating the negro family of man. Some have imagined, that the origin of the race was a disease of the skin, which, being of an incurable nature, formed at length a radical character, and thus produced this people. Many have believed, that there was at first as many fa- thers and mothers created as there are novv different races of men, from whom have descended the red, the white, the black, the brown, and the yellow tribes of the human race, discarding the account given in the Scriptures of there hav- ing been but one pair of human beings created. PREFACE. V Others have imagined, that the mark set upon Cain by the Divine Power, for the crime of homicide, was that of jet, which not only changed the color of his body, but ex tended to the blood and the whole of his physical being, thus originating the negro race, a remnant of which they suppose, by means of some craft, or rather outrode the flood, anchoring on some lofty mountain, subsisting on the float- ing carcasses of the drowned animals till the earth was dried again. Thus many have mused on the subject of the origin of the negro race. But we reject all these schemes as the baseless hallucinations of vissionaries, even the mooted and equally absurb problem that climate, or any other contin- gency, became the origin of that people, and affirm that a cause of an entire different description from all these gave birth to the race, an account of which we shall give in the work. As to the mental character of the black nations, consid- ered collectively, we have found them, in all ages, since their appearance on the earth, of but small account when compared with the other races of men, the red and white. In publishing our opinions, as presented in this work, we have been moved thereto, by the operations of conflicting principles, as held by abolitionists and anli-abolilionists, throughout the entire United States, believing that light was necessary, in order to learn the truth respecting the people in question, namely, the negro race. We are also anxious to ascertain the cause of this class of mankind being enslaved, in the loio and degraded sense of the word. As to the history of the black portion of the human race it has occupied the pens of more writers than one ; on which account we feel that we are not alone in this attempt, and, also, that we have advanced some nexc^ and not uninteresting, VI PREFACE. opinions, with respect to the ti7ne and the occasion of the production of the first negro man. Together with an account of the origin of this people, we have not forgotten to inquire something respecting the native mental abilities of the race, and whether created equal in that and other particulars with other men. We have, also, had something to say about exalting them in this country to political and social equality with the other citi- zens of the United States, and whether, were the whites and blacks to become amalgamatod, it would be a desirable ob- ject, with many other matters of interest. We have found the history of this race somewhat of a difficult character to describe, as it is far more hidden and obscure than the history of either the red or white race ; yet we believe that some progress, in this respect, is made in the work. Thus, with but few prefatory remarks, we submit our opinions, believing that which we have advanced to be in- dubitable, however repugnant to the conceptions of man}', who fancy they see in the negro's mind the germs of a prodigious mental power, notwithstanding all the evidence to the contrary, which has witnessed against them for thous- ands of years, showing that a pall of darkness and obscuri- ty, not occasioned by the acts or the influence of the othei races, has rested on the whole being of this people, induced '97/ a higher power than that of man. As was tlie deep, when nature first was made, And earth's foundations in the waters laid — When darkness reign'd, the reahn of ancient night, When God sent fortli liis Word, and there was light; So is the race of Ham, a darkling sea, Which now invites the truth, that tight may be, O'er which, if we have sent a single raij. Then have we gain'd our aim, and look for day. THE AUTHOR. INDEI. FIRST SECTION. Complexion of the Parents of the Human Race; Kind of earth ilan was made of; Power of the Hebrew Language in giving Names; Adam and Eve both called Adam by the Creator; Com- plexion of the Antediluvians; Curious Chronology of the Holy Seed, from Adam to Jacob, the immediate Head of the Jewish Tribes; The opinions of some that Adam was created black, re- futed; Personal Appearance of Adam and Eve, in Paradise, be- fore the Fall; With many other Curious Matters, 15 SECOND SECTION. Origin of the Negro Race; Argument to ascertain this; Causes of the OTeat varieties of Human Complexion; Doctrine of Climates and Local Causes to produce such varieties refuted; Impossibility of Human Parents producing any other complexion than their own without a miracle; Proofs that white, black and red men are found in the hottest regions of the globe, and have been thus in the same latitudes for thousands of years; No Negroes on the earth till many hundred years after Adam's creation; The pre- cise time of their origin, when and where; No climate forms, or causes the origin of human characters; Birth of the first white man. when and where; No white man on the earth till many hundred years after Adam's creation ; Argument to ascertain this; The Hebrew Language that of Adam, as well as of Noah and the Patriarchs; Meaning of the word Ham; Of Japheth and Shem ; Reasons why Goil produced men of different constitutions and colors than had the first man; Willi many other curious mat- ters, S5 THIKD SECTION. Adaptation of men and animals to the countries and circumstances of their being; Early settlements of the first nations after tha flood; Three races of men, black, red and white, in the family of Noah; Great difference between the formations of the bodies of white men and negroes; reasons why the skulls of black men are thicker than those of the whites; These differences noticed by an- cient Hifitorians; Negroes not as liable to infectious diseases aa Vlll INDEX. ■white men; interesting notice by Herodotus, respecting tbe headj of negro men; Curious formation of their feet; Reasons "why Extraordinary fact respecting the Negro's skin being filled with myriads of little cups of water; The reasoas why; With many other curious matters, 47 FOURTH SECTION. Proof of the existence of the Negro race too near the time of Noah, and in his neighborhood, to allow of the doctrine of climate to have been the cause of this; Remarks of David in the Book of Psalms, on this subject; In the Book of Chronicles on this sub- ject; In the Book of Genesis on this subject; Names of all the sons of Ham, the first Negro; The countries they settled, after the ruin of the Tower of Nimrod; respecting the color of the Egy|)tians; Herodotus's account of this matter, as well as of the color of all Africans of his age; Proofs that they were always black, from the very beginning of their existence; Curious account of the wife of Moses; Proofs of her being a Negress, and of the race of Ham; Statement of the prophet Jeremiah, that Ethiopians were black; If the three sous of Noah were all of the same complex- ion, then follow certain results, fatal to the veracity of the Scrip- tures; Hercules; Was Nimrod the grandson of Noah, and the origin of all the fabled Herculeses of all the early nations; Some curious traditions of African authority, respecting their own ori- gin; With many other curious matters, 54 FIFTH SECTION. The three sons of Noah, all bom more than a hundred years before the Flood, aided in building the Ark; Reasons why the Divine Being produced two new races of men different from Adam; Change of the climates of the Globe eflbcted by the Flood; Beauty of the earth before the Flood; Wife of Ham and tlie wives of the other sons of Noah; Who they were; Respecting straight-haired black men; The cause. Ham, their father having been woolly- headed; Egyptian mummies; One man only between Noah and Adam; Landing of the Ark on a mountain; Noah descends; Plants a vineyard; Drinks new wine; Falls asleep; Ham's con- duct on the occasion; Noah's curse of the whole race of Ham; Description of Mount Ararat; The first tents of Noah; Early settlements at the foot of the mountain; Plate of the family of Noah, showing the different complexions of his sons; Arguments and reasons against the amalgamation of the races at first; Argu- ments that Noah's curse of Ham was God's judicial decree that slavery was thus entailed upon the Negro race; Character of Ham, from his youth till the curse; Argument that the curse was not a aiere prophesy, but a decree judicial, 76 INDEX. VS. SIXTH SECTION. Proofs from the Scriptures, that the curse of Noah upon the race of Ham, as a, judicial act, is indorsed bjthe law of Moses; Compar- ative view of all the orders of servants among the Jews, as the hired Hebrew servant, the bought Hebrew servant, the voluntary Hebrew sei-vant, and the Negro or Canaanite slave; Remarks on the subject of the strangers, of whom the Jeyfsniight take usury, and of whom they might not take asury; Eespecting who the strangers were, who they should not enslave, or use as bondmen; A seeming contradiction in the law on this subject reconciled; Perputuarslaves to be bought of the Negro heathen of old Ca- naan, as directed by the law; Strictures on Abolitionist opinions, respecting the meaning of the law relative to servants; Character of Noah and Lot rescued from abolitionist aspersions; Strictures on the opinions of abolitionists, respecting the word buy, as ap- plied to the purchase of bondmen, in the law of Moses, with other matters of their setting forth; Difference between the condition of Hebrew servants and their Canaanite slaves, with respect to the jubilees, and other matters; Proofs that the Hebrews bought and sold Negro slaves under the sanction of the law — even going to Africa for that purpose; Enslaving of the persons of the Amaiek- ites under the eye of Moses; slaves of the Patriarchs bought with money; A curious query of abolitionists answered; "With many other matters, 106 SEVENTH SECTION Arguments and positions of abolitionists favoring a belief that the Scriptures recognize the negro man as being equal with the other races, in point of blood and otherwise, refuted; Mark of Cain; What it was; No black men or negroes before the flood except one; Difference between the secreting power of the blood of white and negro men; Evidences that the Supreme Being puts a higher estimate on white than on black, as colors or complexions; Con- sent to this difference by tlie blacks themselves, though incident- ally given, according to the accounts of travelers in Africa; A curious argument of abolitioiusts in favor of negro equality re- plied to, with many other interesting matters, . . . " 160 EIGHTH SECTION. Moral and civil character of the negro race; Acts of the negro Sod- omites; Their lewdness,