The son of common people, wealth and education had done little for him; but he had in him a true heart, and a world of common sense; and these with industry, good habits, and perseverance, had carried him further and lifted him higher, than the brilliant man with whom he formed such striking contrast.
Reflecting on the contrasting lives of two public figures, Douglass highlights the virtues that lead to true eminence.
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For the moment the northern lamb was transformed into a lion, and his roar was terrible.
This was a new and special revelation, dispelling a painful mystery against which my youthful understanding had struggled, and struggled in vain, to wit, the white man’s power to perpetuate the enslavement of the black man.