"I stopped my horse occasionally, and dismounted and walked. I frequently tried to persuade myself in these intervals that the contents of my Essay could not be true."

u/Zuwxiv describes the epiphany that led Thomas Clarkson to spend his whole life working to abolish the slave trade.

https://old.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1u8hahz/til_it_took_germany_92_years_to_pay_off_the_269/os9c07x/