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THE NEGRO:
WHAT IS HIS ETHNOLOGICAL STATUS?
IS HE THE PROGENY OF HAM? IS HE A DESCENDANT OF ADAM AND EVE? HAS HE A
SOUL? OR IS HE A BEAST IN GOD'S NOMENCLATURE? WHAT IS HIS STATUS AS
FIXED BY GOD IN CREATION? WHAT IS HIS RELATION TO THE WHITE RACE?
BY ARIEL.
"Truth, though sometimes slow in its power, is like itself, always
consistent; and like its AUTHOR, will always be triumphant.
The Bible is true."
SECOND EDITION.
CINCINNATI:
PUBLISHED FOR THE PROPRIETOR.
1867.
(Copyright secured according to law.)
THE NEGRO.
_What is his Ethnological Status? Is he the progeny of Ham? Is he a
descendant of Adam and Eve? Has he a Soul? or is he a Beast, in God's
nomenclature? What is his Status as fixed by God in creation? What is
his relation to the White race?_
The intelligent will see at once, that the question of _slavery_, either
right or wrong, is not involved in this caption for examination: nor is
that question discussed. The points are purely ethnological and
Biblical, and are to be settled alone by the Bible and by concurrent
history, and by facts existing outside of the Bible and of admitted
truth. We simply say in regard to ourself, in this day of partisan
strife, religious and political, that we take no part in any such party
strife, and that it is many years since we cast our last vote. This
much, to prevent evil surmises.
With this understood independence of all parties, we begin by saying,
that the errors and mistakes, in understanding the true position of the
negro, as God intended it to be in his order of creation, are all
traceable to, and arise out of two assumptions. The learned men of the
past and present age, the clergy and others have assumed as true:
1. That the negro is a descendant of Ham, the youngest son of Noah. This
is false and untrue.
2. That the negro is a descendant of, or the progeny of, Adam and Eve.
This is also false and untrue.
These questions, or rather these assumptions, of the learned and
unlearned world, are Biblical, and are to be settled by the Bible alone,
whether they be true or false, and by outside concurrent history--and of
facts known to exist, and admitted to be true by the intelligent, and as
they may serve to elucidate any statement or account given in the Bible.
We shall have frequent use of the term, "logic of facts," and now
explain what we mean by it. It is this: If one sees another with a gun
in his hands, and that he shoots a man and kills him, and the bullet is
found afterward in the dead man's body, that although we did not see the
bullet put into the gun, yet we _know_ by this "logic of facts," that
it was in the gun. It is the strongest evidence of what is true, of any
testimony that can be offered.
It will be admitted by all, and contradicted by none, that we now have
existing on earth, two races of men, the _white_ and the _black_. We beg
here to remind our readers, that when they see the word men, or man,
_italicised_, we do not use it as applying to Adam and his race. But we
may sometimes use these words in the general and accepted sense of them,
but it is only for the purpose of getting before the minds of our
readers, the propositions of the learned of this age, exactly as they
would wish them to be stated. We will now describe, ethnologically, the
prominent characteristics and differences of these two races as we now
find them.
The white race have long, straight hair, high foreheads, high noses,
thin lips, and white skins: the olive and sunburnt color, where the
other characteristics are found, belong equally to the white race.
The negro or black race, are woolly or kinky-headed, low foreheads, flat
noses, thick-lipped, and have a black skin.
This description of the two races is (though not all their differences),
full enough for the fair discussion of their respective stations in
God's order of creation, and will be admitted to be just and true, as
far as it goes, by all candid and learned men. Therefore the reader will
observe, that when either of the terms, _white_, _black_ or _negro_, is
used, referring to race, that we refer to the one or the other, as the
case may be, as is here set forth in describing the two races.
In God's nomenclature of the creation, his order stands thus: 1. Birds;
2. Fowls; 3. Creeping things; 4. Cattle; 5. Beasts; 6. Adam and Eve. We
shall use this, but without any _intended_ disparagement to any, as it
is the _best_ and _highest authority_.
Before proceeding with the examination of the subjects involved in the
caption to this paper, we will for a moment, notice the prevailing
errors, now existing in all their strength, and held by the clergy, and
many learned men, to be true, which are: 1. Ham's name, which they
allege, in Hebrew, means black; 2. The curse denounced against him, that
a servant of servants should he be unto his brethren; and that _this_
curse, was denounced against Ham, for the accidental seeing of his
father Noah naked--that this curse was to do so, and did change him, so
that instead of being long, straight-haired, high forehead, high nose,
thin lips and white, as he then was, and like his brothers Shem and
Japheth, he was from that day forth, to be kinky-headed, low forehead,
thick lipped and black skinned; and that his _name_, and this _curse_,
effected all this. And truly, to answer their assumptions, it must have
done so, or the case would not fit the negro, as we now find him. And
they adduce in proof, that Ham's name in Hebrew (tCHam), means _black_,
the present color of the negro, and that therefore Ham is the progenitor
of the black race. They seem to forget, or rather, they ignore the fact,
that the Bible nowhere says, that such a curse, or that any curse
whatever, was denounced against Ham by his father Noah; but that this
curse, with whatever it carried with it, was hurled at Canaan, the
youngest son of Ham. But it is of little consequence, in the settlement
of these great questions, _which_ was intended, whether Ham or his
youngest son Canaan. But if it be of any value in supporting their
theory, this meaning of Ham's name in Hebrew, in designating _his_ color
to be black, and _black_ it must be, to answer the color of the negro,
then the names of Shem and Japheth should be of equal value, in
determining _their_ color; for each of the brothers received their
respective names a hundred years or more before the flood, and were all
the children of the same father and same mother. Now, if Shem and
Japheth's names do not describe their color (which they do not), upon
what principles of logical philology or grammar, can Ham's _name_
determine his color? How many of this day are there who are called,
black, white, brown, and olive, all of whom are white, and without the
slightest suspicion, that the _name_ indicated the color of their
respective owners. Is it not strange, that intelligent and learned men,
should be compelled to rely on such puerilities, as arguments and truly
supporting such tremendous conclusions? But they say it was his name in
conjunction with the curse, that made him and his descendants the negro
we now find on earth. It is an axiom in logic, that, that which is not
in the constituent, can not be in the constituted. We have seen, that
the making of Ham a negro, is not _in_ the name, which is one of the
constituents, now let us see, if it is in the other constituent, the
_curse_. Now the _curse_ and _name_ changed Ham, if their theory be
true, from a white man, to a black negro. If the curse, were capable of
effecting such results, it is to be found in the word _curse_, and not
in the words, that a servant of servants should he be, as he and his
descendants could, as readily be servants, white as black, and he was
already white, and no necessity to make him black, to be a servant. If
_this_ effect on _Ham_, is to be found in the word _curse_, it will then
be necessary, for the advocates of the assumption, to show, that such
were its _usual_ results, whenever that word was used; for unless such
were its common effects, when used by God himself, by men of God, by
patriarchs and by prophets, then we ask, on what grounds, if any there
be, it is, that they assert, that _it did produce this_ effect, in _this
instance_, by Noah on Ham and his descendants? We do not question or
doubt, that Canaan, was denounced in the curse, pronounced by Noah, that
_he_ should be a servant of servants; but whether Ham or Canaan _alone_
is meant, is not material to the questions at issue, except in this
view; but the advocates of such being its effect, must show, that such,
at least was its effect previous to, and after Noah used it; and if they
fail in this, that necessarily, this part of their argument is also a
total failure. Let us look into the Bible. God cursed our first parents.
Did this curse kink their hair, flatten their skulls, blacken their skin
and flatten their nose? If it did, then Noah was sadly mistaken and
these gentlemen too, in supposing that it was Noah's curse, that
accomplished all this, for it was already done for the whole race--and
long before, by God himself. God cursed the serpent. Did the curse
produce this effect on him? He cursed Cain--did it affect his skin, his
hair, his forehead, his nose or his lips? These curses were all
pronounced by God himself and produced no such effects. But we proceed
and take up the holy men of God, the patriarchs and prophets, and see
what their curses produced. Did the curse of Jacob, produce this effect
on Simeon and Levi? did it produce this effect on the man who would make
a graven image? did it produce this effect on the man who would rebuild
Jericho? did it produce this effect on those, who maketh the blind to
wander out of the way? did it produce this effect on those, who
perverteth the judgment of the stranger, the fatherless and the widow?
_Cum multis aliis._ It did not. But if it did produce this effect in
these cases, then when we read, that Christ died to redeem us from the
curse, are we to understand, that he died to redeem us from a kinky
head, flat nose, thick lips and a black skin? But such curses, never
having produced _such_ effects, when pronounced by God, by patriarch, by
prophet, or by any holy man of God before or since, then we inquire to
know, on what principles of interpretation, grammar or logic it is,
that it can so mean in this case of Noah? There are no words in the
curse, that express, or even _imply_ such effects. Then in the absence
of all such effects, following such curses, and as they are narrated in
the Bible, whether pronounced by God or man; and there being nothing in
the language beside to sustain it, and if true, Ham's posterity must be
shown now, as its truthful witnesses, from this, our day, back to the
flood or to Ham; and which can not be done--and if this can not be done,
then all arguments and assertions, based on such assumptions, that Ham
was the father of the negro or black race, are false; and if false, then
the negro is in _no sense_, the descendant of Ham; and therefore, he
must have been in the ark, and as he was not one of Noah's family, that
he _must_ have entered it in some capacity, or relation to the other
beasts or cattle. For that he did enter the ark is plain from the fact,
that he is now here, and not of the family or progeny of Ham. And no one
has ever suspicioned either Shem or Japheth of being the father of the
negro; therefore he must have come out of the ark, and he could not come
out, unless he had previously entered it; and if he entered it, that he
must have _existed_ before the flood, and that, too, just such negro as
we have now, and consequently not as a descendant of Adam and Eve; and
if not the progeny of Adam and Eve, that he is inevitably a beast, and
_as such_, entered the ark, though having the _form_ of man, and _man_
he is, being so _named_ by Adam. Such is the logic, and such are the
conclusions to which their premises lead, if legitimately carried out;
and by which it is plainly seen, that the position assumed by the
learned of the present and past ages--that the present negroes are the
descendants of Ham, and were _made so_ by his _name_, or by the _curse_
of his father--is false in fact, and but an unwarranted assumption at
best. But while this conclusion is inevitable, it also reveals to us
another sad fact, that the good men of our own race (the white), though
learned and philanthropic, exhibit a weakness, alas! _too_ common in
this our day, that anything they wish to believe or think will be
popular, that it is very easy to convert the greatest _improbabilities_
into the _best_ grounds of their _faith_. The word used by God, used by
patriarch and by prophet, is the _same_ word used by Noah. If the word
thus used by God, and by holy men, did not produce the effect as is
charged by these men, how can the _same_ word, when used by Noah, do it?
And yet, on these assumptions, the faith of more than half the world
seems to be now based. To expose these cobweb fabrics, called by _some_
reason, on this subject, and _Christian_ philanthropy by others, in
which are involved, such tremendous conclusions, for weal or for wo, of
so large a portion of the biped creation, that we feel like apologizing
to our readers, for answering such _learned_ ignorance, blindness or
weakness. But the meaning of Ham's name in Hebrew is not _primarily_
black. Its primary meaning is: 1. Sunburnt; 2. swarthy; 3. dark; 4.
black--and its most _unusual_ meaning.
Having now disposed of these _fancies_, for they are nothing better, of
the effects of Ham's name, and Noah's curse, in making him a negro; and
having examined them, for the purpose of allowing on what flimsy grounds
this mightiest of structures of air-built theories rests, and for _this_
purpose _only_, as what we have said about them is not connected with,
nor germain to the way we intend to pursue, in investigating the
questions forming the caption to this paper. But having now disposed of
them, we take up our own subject. The reader will bear in mind the
description we have given respectively of the white and black races.
The first question to which we now invite attention is: Do the
characteristics which we have given of the white race, belong equally,
to all three of the sons of Noah--Shem, Ham and Japheth, and their
descendants? If they do, then the black race, belong to, and have since
the flood at least, belonged to another and totally different race of
_men_.
Now to our question: Do the characteristics, which we have given of the
white race, belong equally to the three sons of Noah and their
descendants alike? We will begin with Noah himself first. The Bible says
of Noah, that he was perfect in his generation. We will not stop to
criticise the Hebrew translated "generation," for any English scholar on
reading the verse in which it occurs, will see at once, that to make
sense, it should have been _genealogy_. Then Noah was perfect in his
genealogy--he was a preacher of righteousness--he was the husband of one
wife, who was also perfect in her genealogy; by this one wife, he had
three sons, all born about one hundred years before the flood, and all
three of them married, before the flood, to women who were perfect also
in their genealogies. Ordinarily speaking, this little statement of
facts, undenied by all, and undeniable, would settle at least _this_
question, that whatever the color of _one might_ be, the others would be
the same color--if one were black, all would be black--if one were
white, all would be white. Out of this arises the question, what was the
color of these three brothers--were they and their descendants black or
white?
We will begin with Shem, so as to find his race _now_ on earth, to see
if they are white or black. The Bible tells us where he went, and where
his descendants settled, and what countries they occupied, until the
days of our Saviour, who was of Shem's lineage after the flesh. From the
days of the Saviour down to the present day, we see the Jews, the
descendants of Shem, in every country, and see they belong to the white
race, which none will pretend to deny--that they were so before, and
after the flood, and have continued to be so to the present time, is
unquestionably true. We know then, on Biblical authority, with
mathematical certainty, that they are not negroes, either before, at,
nor since the flood, but white.
We next take up Japheth. We know where he went, and what countries his
descendants peopled, with equal certainty and on equal authority--and
all outside concurrent history, equally clearly prove, that Japheth's
descendants peopled Europe, whence they have spread over all the world.
That they too belong to the white race, is also unquestioned, nor
doubted by any that have eyes to see. That they were so before, and at
the flood, and not negroes then, nor since, is equally undoubted and
indisputable. We have not taken the trouble of showing step by step,
where those two brothers went, and what countries they peopled
_seriatim_, because they are admitted by all, learned and unlearned, to
be and to have done just what is here stated in spreading over the
world. It was, therefore, unnecessary to incumber this paper, by proving
that which none disputes. This being so, then two of the three brothers,
are known certainly, to be of the white race, and not of the negro,
either before or after the flood.
We now take up the youngest brother, Ham. The evidence establishing the
fact, that he too, and _his descendants_ belong to the white race, with
long, straight hair, high forehead, high noses and thin lips, is if
_possible still stronger_, than that of either of his brothers; if
indeed anything can, in human conception, be _stronger_ than that, which
is of perfect strength, and if this is true, then Ham can not be the
father of the negro. As in the cases of the other two brothers, the
Bible tells us where Ham, and his descendants went, and what countries
they peopled, and where his race may be found at this day; and which
likewise, all contemporaneous history abundantly testifies, and shows
that they are of the white race, and were so before the flood, and from
the flood continued so, and yet continue so to the _present time_; and
that not one of them, is of the negro race of this day. We will, in
establishing the truths of the above declarations, take up two of Ham's
sons and trace them and their descendants, from the flood to the present
time, and show what they were, and what they are down to this day. These
two sons of Ham, whose posterity we propose to trace, and show that they
_now_ belong to the white race, are Mizraim and Canaan, the second and
the youngest of his sons. The families of all of the sons can be traced
from the flood to the present day, but we presume two are sufficient,
and that they be white; and we have selected Canaan _intentionally_ and
for a purpose that will be seen hereafter. Canaan _was_ denounced by
Noah, that he should be a servant of servants to his brethren, and if it
turns out, in this investigation, as we _know_ it will, that they belong
to the _white race_, it will satisfactorily settle this question, that
the _curse_ of Noah did not make _him_ and his descendants the black
negro we now find on earth, much less Ham, who was not so cursed. The
Bible plainly tells us, that the country now called Egypt, was settled
by Mizraim, the second son of Ham, and was peopled by his descendants;
that Mizraim, the second son of Ham, and grandson of Noah, gave his name
to the country; that they called it the land of Mizraim, and by which
name it is still known, to the present day, by the descendants of its
ancient inhabitants; that they built many magnificent cities on the
Nile--among them, the city of Thebes, one of the largest and most
magnificent in its architecture, and the grandeur of its monuments and
temples, the world ever saw. Its ruins at the present day, are of
surpassing magnificence and grandeur. The city was named Thebes, to
commemorate the Ark, that saved Noah, the grandfather of Mizraim, from
the flood; the name of the Ark in Hebrew, being _Theba_. Then we take it
for granted, all will admit, that what is now called Egypt, was settled
by Mizraim, the son of Ham, and grandson of Noah. The Bible, and outside
concurrent history, abundantly prove that he and his descendants, held,
occupied and ruled over Egypt, and continued in the possession and the
occupancy of the country as such, until long after the Exodus of the
Hebrews, under Moses and Aaron; that Ham's descendants, through
_Canaan_, in the persons of his sons Sidon and Heth, settled Sidon,
Tyre and Carthage. This will not be denied by any intelligent Biblical
student or historian. Sidon itself was named after Canaan's oldest son.
From Egypt in Africa, Mizraim's descendants passed over to Asia, and
settled India, whence they spread over that continent; that great
commerce sprung up between India, etc., and Egypt and connecting
countries, which was carried on by caravans; that Greece and Rome
subsequently, shared largely in this commerce, especially after the
march of Alexander the Great to India, by the caravan route, three
hundred and thirty-two years before our Saviour's birth. This commerce
has continued to our day. All these facts are undeniable, and will be
denied by none acquainted with the Bible and past history. These
descendants, of this maligned Ham, were at, and after the flood, and
continue to be, _to this day_, of the white race, all having long,
straight hair, high foreheads, high noses and thin lips; that they are
so, and as much so as the descendants of the other two brothers, and
possessing all of the same general lineaments--lineaments that so long
as the race shall exist, will be an eternal protest against their being
of the negro race that we now have. But as we intend to show
conclusively that Ham and his descendants were and are white, long,
straight hair, etc., from Noah to the present time, so _plainly_ and so
_positively_ that no fair or candid man can have the least doubt of its
truth, we proceed to state: That we will now give the names of the
country, now called Egypt, beginning with its first settlement by
Mizraim, in regular order down, to enable the Biblical and historical
student to refer readily to the histories of the different epochs, to
detect any error, if we should make one, in tracing Ham's descendants,
down to the present day. In Hebrew it is called Mizraim, in Coptic and
Arabic (the former being now the name of its ancient or first
inhabitants), it is called Misr or Mezr, being spelled in both these
ways by the Arabian and Coptic writers. In Syro-Chaldaic and Hellenic
Greek it is called Aiguptos--and in Latin, AEgyptus. In many of the
ancient Egyptian and Coptic writings it is called _Chimi_, that is, the
land of Ham, and is so called in the Bible, see Psalms cv, 23; cvi, 22,
and other places. The ancient inhabitants now in Egypt, the Copts, are
called the _posterity of Pharaoh_, by the Turks of the _present day_.
The ancient _Hyksos_, or shepherd kings (patriarchs) of the Hebrews, are
sometimes confounded in ancient history, with the descendants of Ham,
being of the same original stock. Egypt has not had a ruler of _its
own_ since the battle of Actium, fought by Augustus Caesar, thirty years
before our Saviour, as God by his prophet had foretold that their own
kings would cease forever to reign over that country. After the battle
of Actium, it became a Roman province, and since that time, it has been
under _foreign_ rule. It now is, and has been governed by the Turks
since 1517.
It appears (see Asiatic Miscel., p. 148, 4to), that Mizraim, the son of
Ham, and his sons (descendants), after settling Egypt, a portion went to
Asia, which was settled by them, and that they gave their names to the
different parts of the country where they settled, and which they
_retain yet_. The names of these sons of Mizraim as given in history are
as follows: Hind, Sind, Zeng, Nuba, Kanaan, Kush, Kopt, Berber and
Hebesh, or Abash. From these children of Ham, we not only readily trace
the present names of the countries, but that of the people also to this
day; that they founded the nations of the Indus, Hindoos, Nubians,
Koptos, Zanzebar, Barbary, Abysinia, the present Turks, is unquestioned
and undoubted, by any intelligent scholar. That they are the white race,
with long, straight hair, etc., is equally unquestionable, and are so
_this day_, and as positively as that Shem and Japheth's descendants are
now white. They first commenced to settle on the Nile in Africa, they
then passed into Asia; and these two continents were principally settled
by them. A portion of Europe (Turkey) is occupied by them--these, too,
have long, straight hair, etc.
A portion of Ham's descendants, through Canaan's sons, Sidon and Heth,
settled Sidon, Tyre, and later, Carthage. Tyre became a great power, and
a city of much wealth and commerce, as we learn by the Bible and other
history. Tyre was eventually overthrown, and her Queen and people fled.
They subsequently built the great city of Carthage, near to where Tunis,
in Africa, is now situated. They were again overthrown and their city
destroyed by Scipio Africanus Secundus, after the battle of Zama. But,
during one of the sieges, the city being invested by the Romans, the
people became hard pressed for provisions, to supply which, they
resolved on building some ships, to run the blockade for provisions. But
after their ships were built, they had no ropes to rig them, nor
anything within the city to make them. In this dilemma, the ladies, the
women of Carthage, to their eternal honor be it spoken, patriotically
stepped forward, and tendered their hair, _their long_ and _beautiful
tresses_, to make the much needed ropes, which was accepted, and a
supply of provisions obtained. Now _how many_, and what _sort_ of ropes
would the kinky-headed negro have furnished, had the inhabitants been
negroes? This noble act of the women of Carthage, is mentioned to their
honor, by Babylonian, Persian, Egyptian, Grecian, Roman and Carthagenian
writers and historians; and yet, we have seen it stated, and stated by
learned modern writers, and who ought to have known better, that
Hannibal, Hamilcar, Asdrubal, etc., the great Carthagenian Generals,
were kinky-headed negroes--that Carthage itself, was a negro city. Why,
the annals of fame do not present such an array of great names, whether
in arts and sciences, and all that serves to elevate and make man noble
on earth, or in the senate, or the field, by any other race of people,
as will compare with those of Ham's descendants. These Carthagenians
were all long and straight haired people. After the fall of Carthage, in
the last Punic War, many of its people passed over subsequently into
Spain, which they held and occupied for centuries, and are known in
history as Saracens. A part of Spain, they held and occupied, until the
reign of Ferdinand and Isabella, when they were expelled. These, too,
had long and straight hair, etc. But to return to that portion of Ham's
descendants through Mizraim. These settled Egypt, India, China, and most
all of Oriental Asia, where they have _continued to live_, and where
_they yet live_, and not one of them is a negro. They all have long,
straight hair, etc., peculiar _only_ to the white race. Not one negro
belongs to _their race_. That this is their history, none will deny.
Ham, the maligned and slandered Ham--Ham who is falsely charged as being
the father of the negro--Ham, the son of the white man Noah--this Ham,
and his descendants, the long and straight haired race, it appears from
history--from _unquestioned_ history--_governed_ and _ruled the world_
from the earliest ages after the flood and for many centuries--and gave
to it, all the arts and sciences, manufactures and commerce, geometry,
astronomy, geography, architecture, letters, painting, music, etc.,
etc.--and that they thus governed the world, as it were, from the flood,
until they came in contact with the Roman people, and then their power
was broken in a contest for the mastery of the world, at Carthage, one
hundred and forty-seven years before A.D., and Carthage fell--but fell,
not for lack of talents in her people, not for lack of orators,
statesmen and generals of the most consummate abilities, but _because_
God had long before determined, that the Japhethic race should govern
the world; and the Roman people were Japheth's children. When Hannibal,
the most consummate general the world ever saw to his day, fought the
battle of Zama, he met a fate similar to that which befel another
equally consummate commander at a later day, on the field of
Waterloo--both became exiles. That Ham's talents, abilities, genius,
power, grandeur, glory, should now be attempted to be _stolen_, and to
be stolen, not by the negro, for he has neither genius or capacity for
_such_ a theft, but stolen by the learned men of this and the past ages,
and thrust upon the negro, who has not capacity to understand, when,
where, or how, he had ever performed such feats of legislation,
statesmanship, government, arts of war and in science. The negro has
been upon the earth, coeval with the white race. We defy any historian,
any learned man, to put his finger on the _history_, the _page_, or even
_paragraph_ of history, showing he has ever done one of these things,
thus done by the children of Ham; or that he has shown, in this long
range of time, a capacity for self-government, such as Ham, Shem and
Japheth. If he has done _anything_ on earth, in _any age_ of the world,
since he has been here, as has been done by the three sons of Noah, in
arts and sciences, government, etc., it surely can be shown; and shown
equally as clear and _unequivocally, when_ and _where he did it_, as
that of Shem, Ham and Japheth can. But such a showing can never be made;
that page of history has never yet been written that records it. On
these subjects, _his history_ is as blank as that of the horse or the
beaver. But we are not yet done with Ham's descendants. The great
Turko-Tartar generals, Timour, Ghenghis Kahn and Tamerlane, the latter
called in history, the scourge of God--the Saracenic general, the
gallant, the daring, the chivalrous, the noble Saladin, he who led the
Paynim forces of Mahomet, against the lion-hearted Richard, in the war
of the Crusades, all, all these were children of Ham. Mahomet himself,
the founder of an empire, and the head of a new religion, made his
kingdom of Ham's descendants, as _all Turks are_: and these all--have
straight, long hair, etc. Those who have read the various histories of
the crusades of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, know that the
Turkish forces then, had long, straight hair, etc., and that it is so
yet with their descendants none doubt--and these were children of Ham.
It will be seen now, how we have taken up one of Ham's sons; that we
have traced him and his descendants from the flood to Egypt, _where they
are still_; that we have traced them across the continent of Africa into
Asia, settling countries as they went; and to the countries still
bearing their names, where they settled, and where they _are yet_; that
we have taken up another son, and traced him and his descendants to
Sidon, Tyre, Carthage, and Spain, and shown that they, too, _without
exception_, were long, straight haired, high foreheads, high noses, thin
lips, and belong to the white race. Not a kinky-headed negro among them.
We have shown that Ham's descendants have led and governed the world,
for twenty-three centuries after the flood to the battle of Actium; that
they gave it, also, the arts and sciences, manufactures and commerce,
etc., etc. There is one discovery, one dye, as old as Tyre itself, and
yet eminently noted--the _Tyrian Purple_--consecrated exclusively to
imperial use. Imperial purple is the synonym of a king, in ancient and
modern history; that we have found these children of the slandered Ham,
and have traced them step by step, as it were, from country to country,
from the days of the flood down to the present day; that _wherever_ we
found them, and _whenever_ found, in any day, of any century from Noah
down to this day, we have found them white, and of the _white race
only_. And we now challenge the production of a single history, or a
single paragraph of history, showing _one_ nation--_one single nation_
or _kingdom_--of kinky-headed, flat-nosed, thick-lipped and
black-skinned negroes, that made such discoveries in arts and sciences,
built such cities, had such rulers, kings, and legislators, such
generals, such commerce, and such manufactures, as Mizraim's people on
the Nile, or as Ham's children in Tyre, in Carthage, in Spain, show that
they had--we defy its production. But we are not yet done with our
proofs about Ham and his descendants being white.
It seems as if God, foreseeing the slander that would, in after ages, be
put, or attempted to be put, on _his son Ham_, by ignorant or designing
men attempting to show that he was the progenitor of the negro race,
directed Mizraim, the second son of Ham, by an interposition of his
power and providence, or by direct inspiration, to put away his dead, by
a process of embalming, the details of which, for the accomplishment of
the object, can be regarded as little, if anything, short of being
miraculous; and by which, we can _now_ look into the faces of the
children of Mizraim, male and female, even at this day, in succeeding
generations, and from the flood; and which _can not be done_ with the
children of Shem and Japheth, about whose identity with the white race
no controversy has ever existed. It was this fact that caused us to say,
that the testimony establishing Ham's identity, as belonging to the
white race, was _stronger_, if possible, than that of either of his
brothers. God foreseeing, as we have said, this atrocious slander, that
would be put on Ham and his posterity, so directed Mizraim, and at once
inspired his mind, that from the first, he appeared to be fully
acquainted with all the necessary ingredients, and how to use them, and
in what proportions, and how many days were to be consumed to perfect
the corpse, that it would be incorruptible, and thereby become and be
_forever_ a testimony of God for Ham, that should speak to the eyes and
senses of all men, in after ages, and proclaiming as they do, to this
day, and from the very time of the flood, and _through each successive
generation from the flood_, that their ancestor, Ham, and they, his
descendants, were like the children of the other brothers, their equal,
in all the lineaments that stamp the race of Adam with the image and
likeness of the Almighty, and belonging to the white race. That these
mummied witnesses of Ham, his dead children, speaking from the tombs of
ages for their father, and proclaiming from the days of the flood as
they do, by each succeeding generation of his buried ones, down to the
present day, and protesting by their long, straight hair, by their high
foreheads, by their high noses, and by their thin lips, now hushed in
silence forever, that the slander, that their father was the progenitor
of the negro, was a _slander most foul_--a slander most _infamous_. Well
might their indignant bodies be so aroused--well might Ham's children,
who have been slumbering for centuries, be so electrified by these foul
aspersions, as to burst their sarcophagii, and tear the cerements of the
grave, and this foul calumny, from their faces at one and the same time
and forever. It looks as if God _intended_, by this overruling or
inspiring of Mizraim, so to embalm his dead, to teach _us_ a lesson,
that there was an _importance_, in being of the white race, _to be
attached to it_, of grander proportions, and of nobler value, than any
earthly, filial or paternal affections that could be symbolized by it.
Millions of these mummied bodies have been exhumed this century, but
_not one_ negro has been found among them. What does this teach? What
value do you place on this testimony prepared and ordained by God
himself, as _his testimony to the worth_ of the _white race_? The
writer of this has seen many of these mummies, but never a negro. He has
assisted in unrolling some, and all had straight, long hair. It was his
fortune, as it happened, to assist in unrolling the body of one
possessing peculiar interest. From the hieroglyphic inscription on the
sarcophagus, it proved to be the body of a young lady, who died in her
seventeenth year, that she was the daughter of the High Priest of On
(the temple of On was situated six miles northeast from the present
Cairo), and that she was an attendant of the princesses of the court of
King Thothmes 3d. This king is recognized and believed to be that
Pharaoh under whom Moses and Aaron brought out the children of Israel
from Egypt. This mummy we assisted in unrolling. The inner wrapping next
to the skin was of what we now call _fine linen cambric_. When this was
removed, the hair on the head looked as though it had but recently been
done up. It was in hundreds of very small plaits, three-ply, and each
from a yard to a yard and a quarter long; and although she had then been
buried 3,338 years, her hair had the _apparent_ freshness as if she had
been dead only a few days or weeks. The face, ears, neck and bosom were
guilded; and so were her hands to above the wrists, and her feet to
above the ankles. Such had been the perfect manner of her embalmment,
that the flesh retained its roundness and fullness remarkably, with fine
teeth, beautiful mouth, and every mark by which we could, at this day,
recognize her as a beautiful lady of the white race. Without
disparagement to our fair country-women, we can say, that a more
beautiful hand, foot and ankle, we never beheld.
Now, what have we proven by this recitement of Bible history--of that of
contemporaneous and concurrent history outside of the Bible--of facts,
facts now existing in the mummied remains of Ham's descendants,
commencing with Mizraim and coming down through centuries since the
flood--of the _yet living nations_, comprised _unquestionably_ of his
descendants, and who, like the descendants of Shem and Japheth, have the
distinctive marks of the white race _alone_, and as clear as either Shem
or Japheth, and that, too, as they _exist now on earth_, and running
back as such from this our day to Noah; and as _distinct_ from the negro
race as that race is now distinct from the children of Japheth? Of that
miraculous intervention of divine power, in causing Mizraim so to embalm
his children, that they should speak from the grave, in attestation of
their being of the white, and not of the negro, race. Why did God
require that _only_ the children of Ham should be embalmed, of all then
on earth? No other nation, as such, then or _since_, embalmed their
dead. Why was it, that the children of Ham alone did this? Except but
for the reason that God, foreseeing the disputes to arise about the
negro, and that Ham would be slandered and held to be the progenitor of
the negro; that, therefore, in vindication of him, as belonging to the
white race, and as an _immortal_ being, and not of the beasts that
perish, God caused these descendants of Ham to embalm their dead, and to
_continue_ doing so for many centuries. No other valid reason can be
assigned, why these people of Mizraim, _alone_ of all the nations of the
earth, did so. There may have been, and doubtless there were, many
reasons with the people, of a private and personal character, inciting
them to do so; but _this_ was _God's reason_, and he chose these
personal considerations of the people, as _his_ means of accomplishing
it.
We have shown conclusively: 1. That Ham's descendants now on earth, in
Egypt, in India, all over Asia, a portion of Africa and Europe
respectively, have, _this day_, long, straight hair, high foreheads,
high noses and thin lips--that they have ever _been_ so; this, all
history in the Bible, and all history outside of the Bible, fully
attest. 2. While, on the other hand, all history tells us (when it says
anything about them), that the negro race is kinky-headed, low forehead,
flat nose, thick lip and black skin; that he has _always_ been so, and
the negro of this day attests that he is so yet; and that, consequently,
he is in _no way_ related to Ham, even by a _curse_, for he is black,
and Ham is white. 3. That the descendants of Shem and Japheth are white,
and have always been white, none dispute. 4. That, having established,
then, that Shem, Ham and Japheth were perfect in their genealogies from
Adam and Eve; that they were the children of one father and one mother;
that they were born about a hundred years before the flood; that their
wives, like themselves, were perfect in their genealogies; that these
brothers and their descendants, as regards their genealogy, were the
perfect equals of each other; that the curse of Noah, even if directed
against Ham, and which it is not, that it is _impossible_ that that
curse could, in any way, make him the father or progenitor of the
present negroes--as no curse denounced by God himself, by patriarch or
by prophet, had ever done so before or since, and there is nothing in
the language used by Noah that covers that idea; that, on the contrary,
the _exact word_ used by Noah, had been before used by God and by
patriarchs, without the slightest suspicion being excited that such was
its effect on the person so cursed; that it was not found in Ham's name,
and that the effort to connect the color of the negro with the meaning
of Ham's name in Hebrew, is a mere _fancy_, not of the strength even of
a cobweb. Now, reader, are these things true? Look into your Bible--look
into contemporaneous and concurrent history--look at existing facts
outside of the Bible, and running from the flood down to the present
day, and hear the prophet of God defiantly ask, Can the Ethiopian change
his skin, or the leopard his spots?--both beasts; and when you have so
looked, you will say, _true_, every word, _indubitably_ true! Then,
what? One word more, before we proceed further. The embalming of Ham's
dead and the Jewish genealogical tables _ceased_ at about the same time,
and by God's interposing power. Each were permitted by God to continue
as _national records_--the one to show the genealogy of Jesus of
Nazareth to be the Messiah, the other to show that Ham was _white_, and
_not_ the progenitor of the negro; and each having accomplished the end
designed, God permitted them to cease, and both ceased about the same
time. Is not this embalming, then, in effect, the direct testimony of
God himself, that Ham and his children were of the white race, and that
there is an _importance in being of the white race_, and which we will
see by and by, and beyond any appreciation ever given to it heretofore?
And is it not equally God's testimony, _ipso facto_, that the negro race
have always existed as we have it now, and as have those of the three
brothers equally always existed, and as we have _them_ now?
But, reader, suppose we admit, for the sake of the argument, that Ham
was black, and that he was made so by the curse of his father Noah--we
say, suppose we were to admit this, then what follows? Ham would have
been just _such a negro_ as we now find on earth--admitted; but then he
would have been the _only_ negro on earth. Where was his negro wife to
be had? He could not propagate the negro race, by a cross with the white
woman; for that would have produced a _mulatto_, and not the negro, such
as we now have. To propagate the negro that we now have on earth, the
_man_ and the _woman_ must both be negroes. Now, where did Ham's negro
wife come from? She did not come out of the ark? She was not on earth?
Do we not see clearly from this statement of facts, that the assumption
of the learned world, even admitting it, destroys itself the moment
that we bring it to the test of facts. Under _no_ view of their
_assumptions_ can the negro we now have on earth be accounted for.
These things being so, now what? We proceed with our subject. It being
shown to be incontestibly true, that the three brothers, Shem, Ham and
Japheth, when they came out of the ark, were _each_ of the white race,
and that they have continued so to the _present day_ in their
posterity--this is incontestible, and being true, it settles _the
question, that Ham is not the progenitor of the negro_, and we must now
look to some other quarter for the negro's origin. As the negro is not
the progeny of Ham, as has been demonstrated, and knowing that he is of
neither family of Shem or Japheth, who are white, straight haired, etc.,
and the negro we have now on earth, is kinky-headed and black, by this
logic of facts we _know, that he came out of the ark_, and is a totally
different race of men from the three brothers. How did he get in there,
and in what station or capacity? We answer, that he went into the ark by
_command of God_; and as he was neither Noah, nor one of his sons, all
of whom were white, then, by the logic of facts, _he could only enter it
as a beast, and along with the beasts_. This logic of _facts_ will not
allow this position to be questioned. But we will state it in another
way equally true, from which the same result must necessarily follow,
that the negro entered the ark _only as a beast_. All candid or uncandid
men will admit that the negro of the _present day_, have kinky heads,
flat nose, thick lip and black skin, and which we have shown is _not_
true of either Shem, Ham or Japheth's progeny of _this day_, and
consequently _it is impossible_ that either of them could be, or could
have been, the progenitor of the negro, at or since the flood, for each
race exists now, the one white and the other black; and then, as it is
impossible to believe that the negro was created at or since the flood,
therefore, he must have been in the ark. This being so, now let us see
what God said to Noah in proof of this position. He told Noah that he
intended to destroy the world by a flood, but that he intended to save
him and his wife, and his three sons and their wives. These were all God
intended to _save_, for _they_ had _souls_ and _beasts have not_. God
told him he must prepare an ark, into which besides his family, he must
also take of _every beast_ after his kind, and all cattle after their
kind, and of every creeping thing that creepeth on the earth, and every
fowl after his kind, and every bird after his sort, and food for their
support. Thus did Noah, and thus by God's command he entered the Ark
with his family. God promised Noah to _save_ him and his family--but God
did not promise to _save_ the _beasts_, etc., although he preserved them
in the ark; but, _besides this preservation_, Noah and his family were
to be _saved_--why, we will see presently. Then, Ham, not being the
father of the negro, the negro must have come out of the ark with the
beasts, and _as one_, for he was _not one of Noah's family_ that entered
it. This is inevitable, and can not be shaken by all the reasonings of
men on earth to the contrary. Now, unless it can be shown that, from
Noah back to Adam and Eve, that in some way this kinky-headed and
black-skinned negro is the progeny of Adam and Eve, and which we know
can not be done, then _again_ it follows, indubitably, that the negro is
not a _human_ being--not being of Adam's race. This point we will now
examine and settle, and then account for the negro being here.