The captain, by no means would not ‘resolve’ to trust ‘heathen’.

This scene occurs immediately after Oroonoko is betrayed into slavery. I speak not this to move belief, but to show you how you mistake, when you imagine that he who will violate his honour will keep his word with his gods.” Therefore, turning from him with a disdainful smile, he refused to answer him, when he urged him to know what answer he should carry back to his captain, so that he departed without saying any more (Behn 104). ‘Tis done so secretly, and deferred so long: while the man of no honour suffers every moment the scorn and contempt of the honester world, and dies every day ignominiously in his fame, which is more valuable than life. However, punishments hereafter are suffered by one’s self and the world takes no cognizance whether this God have revenged ’em, or not. “Let him know, I swear by my honour which to violate would not only render me contemptible and despised by all brave and honest men, and so give myself perpetual pain, but it would be eternally offending and displeasing all mankind harming, betraying, circumventing, and outraging all men. “Is that all the obligation he has to be just to his oath?” replied Oroonoko. However, they told him, the difference of their faith occasioned that distrust: for the captain had protested to him upon the word of a Christian, and sworn in the name of a great God which if he should violate, he would expect eternal torment in the world to come. Oroonoko then replied he was very sorry to hear that the captain pretended to the knowledge and worship of any gods, who had taught him no better principles than not to credit, as he would be credited. This was delivered to the still doubting captain, who could not resolve to trust a heathen, he said, upon his parole, a man that had no sense or notion of the God that he worshiped. This explication paper looks into the hero that Oroonoko was and the knowledge of slave masters that slavery was utterly wrong.

Greater part of this novel does not give a direct meaning and the reader has to have a keen eye to understand what the writer meant. Behn employs literature widely by use of literal elements like symbolism, metaphor, tone and personification among others. Oroonoko, written by Aphra Behn, is a story dealing mainly with slavery traversing from Africa to Europe where slave trade dominated.

Aphra behn oroonoko full text