A contest had been going on in my mind for years, between the clear consciousness of right and the plausible errors of superstition; between the wisdom of manly courage, and the foolish weakness of timidity.
Douglass describes in his autobiography the prolonged internal conflict between moral conviction and the psychological effects of oppression.
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It had no interest in recognizing or preserving any of the ties that bind families together or to their homes.
It was perhaps better for the country and for mankind that the good man could not know the end from the beginning.
I wished it was possible I could remain small all my life, knowing that the sooner I grew large the shorter would be my time to remain with them.