RATIONALISM AND SCIENCE 61 



pation sometimes appealed to the general belief 

 in certain rights of man, the principle that a being 

 having human form and human faculties had also 

 certain inherent rights, or the thesis that God had 

 made all men of one blood. This may be re- 

 garded as the rationalist side of their appeal : 

 but they also had resort to arguments of another 

 kind, which were more closely akin to the demon- 

 strations of science. They tried to shew that 

 slavery had in the past worked with pernicious 

 effect on the societies which had adopted it, and 

 was in the countries which upheld it even in our 

 own time working great harm on the character 

 alike of the slave-holder and the slave. Some- 

 times they would take a lower line, and try to shew 

 that in production slave labour was actually less 

 efficient than free labour, and so dearer. 



The controversy in regard to slavery may be 

 said to be now closed. And we are disposed to 

 think that the arguments were all on one side. 

 But a century ago, there were good and wise men 

 who took another view; and they also appealed 

 alike to accepted principles and to history and 

 experience, especially the latter. 



Thus the abolitional movement found means 

 for capturing the three great parts of human 

 nature, will, emotion and intellect. The inner 

 impulse bent the wills of men, especially carrying 

 away in a strong enthusiasm the wills of the 

 leaders of the movement, Wilberforce, Clarkson 

 and the rest. The ethical appeal told especially 



