Frederick Douglass, the Orator - Monroe County Library System

Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County · Historic Monographs Collection
29O LIFE OF FREDERICK DOUGLASS.
him, with obstacles like mountains rising before
him at every step, by the sheer force of his character,
by almost superhuman efforts,—for it
seems almost like a miracle now as we look back
over that life,—
" On with toil of heart and knees and hands,
Through the long gorge to the far light he won
His way upward,"
to a place by their side. And there he stands
and will stand; not by sufferance, either, but by
right. Indeed, in view of all the circumstances,
when we remember where he began and where
he ended, what his environments were, and what
he became, he is, it seems to me, the most conspicuous
and shining example of the century of
what ability, and pluck, and character, and hard
work can do to carve out a great and honorable
career, in spite of adverse circumstances. His
example stands colossal, to borrow an expression
from Tennyson, yes, that is the only word that
expresses it, colossal.
Notice in the second place, if you please, the
debt we owe this man. Why should we, as a
race, honor the memory of Frederick Douglass ?
What has he been to us ? What has he done
for us? It is impossible fully to estimate his
services; nor shall I attempt in the limited time
that is at my command this morning to do so.
A few things may be said, however, that will