Eulogy, of the Late Hon. Wm. Jay ... Delivered on the Invitation of the Colored Citizens of New York City

Rochester: A. Strong & Co, 1859. 32pp. 8vo. Publisher's wrappers. Dampstained. 32pp. 8vo. "On Thursday evening, 12 May 1859, a large audience gathered at New York City’s Shiloh Presbyterian Church to honor the memory of William Jay, aprominent judge, author, and abolitionist, who had died on 14 October 1858. 'This was peculiarly, though not exclusively, a meeting ofcolored citizens,' reported Frederick Douglass’ Paper. 'Whites were present, and were interested in its proceedings; but the proposal to hold, and the preliminary work for holding it, belong alone to the colored citizens of New York. . . . The proceedings . . . were dignified, simple, (truncated) and every way suited to the character of the occasion.' The Committee on Arrangements—Dr. James McCune Smith. Professor Charles Reason. and John Peterson—chose the Reverend Henry H. Garnet to preside. Douglass, the principal speaker, delivered the eulogy. In its coverage of the event. Douglass‘s newspaper emphasized that 'in what Frederick Douglass has had to say of the life and labors of Judge Jay, he wishes to be understood as speaking for his people as well as for himself. The address owes its chief significance to this fact.” The eulogy greatly pleased Jay’s son John, who later assisted Douglass in having it published in pamphlet form" (https://frederickdouglasspapersproject.com/item/8931).

"...The power exerted by some men after death is far greater than in life, and it frequently happens that to expose the faults of departed great men, is a much higher and more commanding duty than to extol their virtues. Wrong and injustice to the living are remarkably disposed to conceal themselves from the light of truth, under the overshadowing examples of the great among the dead. Examples of this sort are abundant in all the ages, and our own among the number. Thus, while JEFFERSON wrote that all men are created equal, and are entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and while WASHINGTON fought for the principle which JEFFERSON wrote down, both JEFFERSON and WASHINGTON are to-day quoted in proof that colored people have no rights that white people are bound to respect. The fact that these great men were slaveholders, is triumphantly cited as sanctioning the idea of property in man. Their anti-slavery declarations are less potent for good than their pro-slavery examples have been made for evil. From a careful survey of the life and works of Mr. JAY, no fear need be entertained that we will get the advantage over good by means of his memory. If he had faults, they were to his whole character like the spots on the resplendent orb of day, not to be seen by the ordinary means of vision.
As we walk under the light of this glorious orb, never thinking of any possible speck upon its surface, but thanking God for the brilliant illumination, so let us accept gratefully the shining example of the late Honorable WM. JAY. He has taught us the great purposes of life. He has taught us how to live; he has taught us how to die..." Lib. Co. Afro-Americana 3228. Not in Blockson (Inventory #: 372444)