But the very contempt and scorn, the systematic and extravagant disparagement of which I was the object, served, perhaps, to magnify my few merits, and to render me of some account, whether deserving or not.
In his autobiography, Douglass observes how the intense scorn and disparagement he faced inadvertently amplified his message and presence.
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For the moment the northern lamb was transformed into a lion, and his roar was terrible.
He was called upon not merely to administer the government, but to decide, in the face of terrible odds, the fate of the Republic.
Knowledge unfits a child to be a slave.” I instinctively assented to the proposition, and from that moment I understood the direct pathway from slavery to freedom.