One spoke to the cold, calculating side of the British nation, which asks “if the new idea will pay?” The other spoke to the infinite side of human nature--the side which asks, first of all, “is it right? is it just? is it humane?” Wherever these two great men appeared, the people assembled in thousands.
From his autobiography, Douglass describes the contrasting rhetorical styles of British reformers Richard Cobden and John Bright and their appeal to different aspects of human nature.
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The laws which determine the destinies of individuals and nations are impartial and eternal.
I believed I should get enough to eat at Covey’s, even if I suffered in other respects, and this to a hungry man is not a prospect to be regarded with indifference.
The anti-slavery platform had performed its work, and my voice was no longer needed.