The system of servitude, which prevailed in the earlier periods of our
history was not of that unmitigated character that may be supposed. "No
man in those days could prey upon society, unless he were at war with it
as an outlaw--a proclaimed and open enemy. Rude as the laws were, the
purposes of law had not then been perverted;--it had not been made a
craft;--it served to deter men from committing crimes, or to punish them
for the commission;--never to shield notorious, acknowledged, impudent
guilt, from condign punishment. And in the fabric of society, imperfect
as it was, the outline and rudiments of what it ought to be were
distinctly marked in some main parts, where they are now wellnigh
utterly effaced. Every person had his place. There was a system of
superintendence everywhere, civil as well us religious. They who were
born in villainage, were born to an inheritance of labour, but not of
inevitable depravity and wretchedness. If one class were regarded in
some respects as cattle, they were at least taken care of; they were
trained, fed, sheltered, and protected; and there was an eye upon them
when they strayed. None were wild, unless they were wild wilfully, and
in defiance of control. None were beneath the notice of the priest, nor
placed out of the possible reach of his instruction and his care. But
how large a part of your population are, like the dogs of Lisbon and
Constantinople, unowned, unbroken to any useful purpose, subsisting by
chance or by prey; living in filth, mischief, and wretchedness; a
nuisance to the community while they live, and dying miserably at
last!"--_Ibid_.
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