... [Slave] trade : is the most shocking violation of the law of nature, has a direct tendency to diminish : liberty, and makes every dealer in it a tyrant, from the director of an African company to the petty chapman [peddler]:. It is a clear truth, that those who every day barter away other men's liberty will soon care little for their own.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Slave trade violates natural law and reduces liberty. Those who trade others' freedom will soon lose their own.
- In plain terms
- Trading people for profit destroys liberty for everyone.
- What can you take from it?
- Trading freedom destroys it for all.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Can freedom be traded?
- Who is responsible for liberty?
Another view
It assumes moral consequences are immediate and inevitable.
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