owards other nations. They
could, for instance, make slaves of the nations round about;--they
could take usury of them;--they could despoil them by war, and they
could do a variety of things in relation to the people of other
nations which would have been robbery, fraud, murder, and so on, if
done by Jews to Jews. Thus the idea that that is property which the
law makes property, is of divine origin.

"Take now the case of the Israelites in their exodus from Egypt; they
were positively enjoined by the Divine command to borrow of their
Egyptian neighbors their various costly jewelries, not with the idea
of returning them, but of appropriating them permanently to their own
benefit.

"David, who was a man after God's own heart, did not regard it robbery
to obtain from the Priest the shew-bread itself, although to do so he
deceived the Priest by telling that which, under other circumstances,
would be called a lie. It was essential to his life--to his support.
It was not therefore criminal to tell the falsehood in order to obtain
the bread. Now, it is upon this very principle that your government
and all civil governments employ diplomatic agents, in order to secure
by adroitness and craftiness commercial and other advantages; and it
is upon the same principle that we pirates justify our proceedings. It
is essential to the support and maintenance of our people; and there
is as much in the Scriptures to warrant our stratagems to decoy
vessels and get the benefit of their cargoes, as for your government
to obtain advantages by diplomatic adroitness. We must have a living.

"But you say we not only rob but murder. But as all appropriations of
others' possessions are not essentially robbery, so all killing is not
essentially murder. If you will look into the Book of Judges, xiv. 19,
you will find that the taking of spoil even by violence and bloodshed,
is not necessarily a crime--is not necessarily robbery and murder. It
is the case of Samson when he had to give thirty changes of raiment to
those who had expounded his riddle. It is said: "And the Spirit of the
Lord came upon him, and he went down to Askelon and slew thirty men of
them, and took their spoil, and gave change of garments unto them
which expounded the riddle." Now, notice this particularly, that
Samson did all this under the influence of God's Spirit. And you will
remember that Paul in Hebrews mentions Samson with special
commendation.

"Now, if Samson, and Davi