126 APPENDIX. [sect. 



The present Moral Condition of the Natives of South 

 Africa. 



"For the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of 

 cruelty." — Ps. lxxiv. 20. 



"They became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart 

 was darkened." — Rom. i. 21. 



Real heathenism is the same in principle and practice in 

 every age and country of the world. We have had an ap- 

 palling spectacle and realization of these in the late Sepoy 

 atrocities in India ; and in some revolting episodes of the 

 Chinese war. 



The picture of heathen faith and practice given by St 

 Paul, in Rom. i. ; and iii. 10 — 18, applies with equally for- 

 cible truth to the heathen in the present day, as it did to 

 the Greeks and Romans of his own. With reference to 

 South Africa, there might be this difference, that its native 

 inhabitants are uncivilized, while those to whom the Apostle 

 refers were highly cultivated as to intellect and the arts of 

 life. But whatever differences exist as to outward con- 

 dition, yet spiritually speaking, all heathen are dark, and 

 utterly alienated from God. 



Missionaries and others returning from India tell us of 

 the painfully exciting and yet deadening influence of hea- 

 thenism on the soul. Dr Livingstone, after his nine weeks 

 tour with Sekeletu, although he was treated by all with 

 great kindness and consideration, thus speaks of such in- 

 tercourse : " Yet to endure the dancing, roaring and sing- 

 ing, the jesting, anecdotes, grumbling, quarrelling and 

 murdering of these children of nature, seemed more like a 

 severe penance than anything I had before met with in the 

 course of my missionary duties. I took thence a more in- 

 tense disgust at heathenism than I had before, and formed 

 a greatly elevated opinion of the latent effects of missions 



