Frederick Douglass, the Orator - Monroe County Library System

Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County · Historic Monographs Collection
LIFE OF FREDERICK DOUGLASS. ii^
and much of his wonted eloquence and fire. But
my chief ground of satisfaction is that its delivery—perhaps
I ought to say its publication, for I
should not have noticed the speech but for that—
furnishes an occasion for bringing before the
friends of my enslaved people one phase of the
great struggle going on in America between slavery
and freedom, which I deem both interesting
and important.
# # # # # # #
" I stand by all I said, and more than all I said,
in the speech in Dr. Anderson's church. But
enough of this; I proceed to the discussion.
Much will be gained at the outset if we fully and
clearly understand the real question under discussion.
Indeed, nothing is or can be understood
till this is understood. Things are often confounded
and treated as the same, for no better
reason than that they resemble each other, even
while they are in their nature and character
totally distinct and even directly opposed to each
other. The jumbling of things is a sort of dustthrowing
which is often indulged in by small men
who argue for victory rather than for truth.
Thus, for instance, the American government
and the American constitution are spoken of in
a manner which would naturally lead the hearer
to believe that the one is identical with the other;
when the truth is, they are as distinct in charaq-