In hard times by charles dickens, the scene in which the characters discuss the depiction of horses on wallpaper and flowers on carpets is the author's way of showing the absurdity of

And if the clay we are created

The meaning of the word in this sentence is unneeded

The answer is "he was bad enough in all conscience, but the devil himself could not temp him to turn slave-trader. satirical is a synonym for sarcastic. so when the author says that tom walker could not be tempted by the devil he does not literally mean "the devil" but he means that he is too morally upright to become a slave-trader.