On the record
Long ago it was fixed certain that the day which makes man a slave “takes half his worth away,”--words from the ancient harp of Homer, sounding through long generations.
Source
gutenberg.orgEditor's note · Context
Here, Sumner references a poignant idea from Homer about the dehumanizing effects of slavery.
Share
More from Charles Sumner
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.
Again I repeat, so long as the War System prevails under the sanction of International Law, these painful incongruities will be apparent.
I agree with the Convention in the importance of the new organization; nor do I think there are many candid persons, recognizing morals as the soul of all true politics, who will hesitate in this conclusion.
They are but leaders of the two contending factions into which the Slave Power is divided.
Other voices in this conversation
