In one of his political speeches, Judge Douglas made use of the
following figure of speech: “As between the crocodile and the negro,
I take the side of the negro; but as between the negro and the white
man--I would go for the white man every time.”
Lincoln, at home, noted that; and afterwards, when he had occasion
to refer to the remark, he said: “I believe that this is a sort of
proposition in proportion, which may be stated thus: ‘As the negro is
to the white man, so is the crocodile to the negro; and as the negro may
rightfully treat the crocodile as a beast or reptile, so the white man
may rightfully treat the negro as a beast or reptile.’”