Frederick Douglass, the Orator - Monroe County Library System

Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County · Historic Monographs Collection
25O LIFE OF FREDERICK DOUGLASS.
from the " southern institution " (as slavery was
called), throws us all in the shade.' 'Ah,' she
replied,' the iron has entered his soul, and he
knows the wrongs of slavery subjectively; the
rest of you speak only from an objective point of
view.'
" He used to preach a sermon in imitation of
the Methodist clergy, from the text, * Servants,
obey your masters,' which the people were
never tired of hearing. Often, after he had
spoken an hour, shouts would go up from all
parts of the house, * Now, Douglass, give us the
sermon.' Some of our literary critics pronounced
that the best piece of satire in the English
language.
" The last time I visited his home in Anacostia
I asked him if he ever had the sermon printed.
He said,' No.' ' Could you reproduce it?' said I.
He said, * No, I could not bring back the old
feeling if I tried, and I would not if I could.
The blessings of liberty I have so long enjoyed,
and the many tender friendships I have with the
Saxon race on both sides of the ocean, have
taught me such sweet lessons of forgiveness that
the painful memories of my early days are almost
obliterated, and I would not recall them.'
"As an orator, writer, and editor, Douglass
holds an honored place among the gifted men of
his day. As a man of business and a public