The Function And Place Of Conscience In Relation To The Laws Of Men; A Sermon For The Times (Thomas McClintock Signed Copy)

Crosby & Nichols, Boston, 1850; First Edition; 8vo (5 1/2" x 9"), 40 pages; printed wraps. Impassioned speech condemning the recently passed federal Fugitive Slave Law, delivered at Boston’s Melodeon Theater, Sunday, September 22, 1850 by celebrated reformer Theodore Parker who, although an ordained Unitarian minister, later rejected much of Unitarian theology and dedicated himself to Transcendentalism, becoming a leading figure in the movement. Parker’s views were wont to create considerable conflict in both religious and secular circles, as here where he advocates the murder of officers of the law by their captured fugitive slaves as justifiable under the guise of self-defense. The editor of the Boston Pilot in response was quick to point out that while slavery is an acknowledged evil, homicide as a remedy does nothing but unleash anarchy, and is hardly in keeping with Christian or otherwise accepted moral principles, further adding that Parker’s propensity for theological hair splitting is typical of how "fanatics are always prone to strain at gnats while they swallow camels." Parker’s doctrinal turnings had long caused strife among Unitarian clergy and laity, prompting the Boston Association of Congregational Ministers in 1843 to ask for his resignation. He refused, but his controversial theological and sociological opinions preserved him as an irritant for years to come. Signed in the top front margin by prominent 19th c. Quaker abolitionist Thomas McClintock (1792-1876), founding member of the New York Anti-Slavery Society, whose home in Waterloo, NY is today preserved as a National Historic Park. Very Good. A few miniscule edge chips of the front and rear wraps, soft vertical crease, sewings tight, text clean and bright with no foxing. A rare and historic item.