On the record
The enactment would be a self-evident monstrosity, and therefore to be disobeyed, as if one of the Ten Commandments were reversed so as to read, “Thou shalt kill.” Such extreme cases serve no purpose.
Source
gutenberg.orgThe enactment would be a self-evident monstrosity, and therefore to be disobeyed, as if one of the Ten Commandments were reversed so as to read, “Thou shalt kill.” Such extreme cases serve no purpose.
Here, Sumner compares extreme legal injustices to a reversal of fundamental moral commandments, advocating for disobedience.
Share
More from Charles Sumner
The devices of party can no longer stave it off.
Men are erring and mortal; principles are steadfast and immortal.
It is clear that the only question of present practical interest arises from the usurpations of the Slave Power and the efforts to extend Slavery.
Their existence is a disgrace to civilization; for it implies the common consent of nations to the Arbitrament of War, as regulated by these laws.