At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed. Oh! had I the ability, and could I reach the nation's ear, I would today pour out a fiery stream of biting ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm, and stern rebuke. -- The justification of slavery has one last hope. Supporters argue that it could be God's will. Douglass refutes the argument with simple logic. "That which is inhuman cannot be divine." Like Descartes, Douglass cannot accept that a benevolent God would condone such barbarism.