THE CIVIL INSTITUTES OF MOSES, CONTINUED. VII. _Hebrew Servitude._ Servitude existed before Moses. It was no part of the mission of the Hebrew code to _create_ it. Let it be forever admitted that the laws given of God through Moses can not be held responsible for the existence of slavery. They found it existing and proceeded therefore to _modify it_; to soften its more rigid features; to extract its carnivorous teeth; to ordain that the slave _had rights_ which the master and the nation were bound to respect――in short, to tone down the severities of the system from unendurable slavery to very tolerable servitude. * * * * * _By what means was this change wrought?_ What new elements were introduced to abate the severities of real slavery? 1. _Man-stealing was punished with death._ “He that stealeth a man and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death” (Ex. 21: 16). The law as recited in Deut. 21: 7 applies to a man stealing one of his brethren of the children of Israel. As stated in Ex. 21: 16 it is universal, with no limitation. Stealing a _man_ is the crime. I see no reason to doubt that the law was intended to apply to men of every nationality――to men as made in God’s image of whatever nation. This statute struck at the very root of real slavery. Both stealing and selling contemplate property――assume the fact of a property value. The spirit of the law is――Men shall never be degraded into merchandise. Every body knows that all American slavery began with stealing men from Africa and selling them. Servitude, involving a certain right to service and property in service, there might be, despite of this Hebrew law; but real slavery――property in man as distinct from property in his services, there could not be under this law. Moreover, the severity of this penalty must have thrown its shield of protection over the entire system of servitude. It was a very palpable indication of God’s stern displeasure against the whole system of chattelizing human beings.