With all his catholicity of sentiment and charity of spirit, Dr. Ryerson was a man of strong convictions, and he always had the courage of his convictions as well. When it came to a question of principle he was as rigid as iron. Then he planted himself on the solid ground of what he believed to be right, and said, like Fitz James:
"Come one, come all! this rock shall fly,
From its firm base, as soon as I."
Dr. Ryerson's controversies were for great principles, not for personal interests. Hence no rancour, no bitterness disturbed his relations with his antagonists. Even his old and sturdy foe, Bishop Strachan, after his controversy was over, became his personal friend....
Such benefactors of his kind and of his country, as Dr. Ryerson, deserve to be held in lasting and grateful remembrance. His imperishable monument, it is true, is the school system which he devised.
To future generations of Canadian youth the career of Dr. Ryerson shall be an inspiration and encouragement. With early educational advantages far inferior to those which he has brought within the reach of every boy and girl in the land, what a noble life he lived, what grand results he achieved! One grand secret of his success was his tireless industry. As a boy he learned to work—to work hard—the best lesson any boy can learn—and he worked to the end of his life. He could not spend an idle hour. The rule of his life was "no day without a line," without something attempted—something done.... Over a score of times he crossed the Atlantic on official duties. He often turned night into day for purposes of work and study; and on the night before making his famous three-hours' speech on University Administration before the Committee of the Legislature in 1860, he spent the whole night long in the study of the documents and papers on the subject—to most men a poor preparation for such a task.
But again we remark his moral greatness was his noblest trait—his earnest piety, his child-like simplicity, his Christ-like charity, his fidelity to duty, his unfaltering faith. Not his intellectual greatness, not his lofty statesmanship, not his noble achievements are his truest claim upon our love and veneration—but this—
"The Christian is the highest style of man."
The Rev. Dr. Dewart, in the Christian Guardian, of February 22nd, 1882, says:—The simple announcement that Dr. Egerton Ryerson is dead, will awaken sorrow and regret in many Canadian homes.... For several years of his early life he faithfully bore all the hardships and privations of the pioneer work of that day, being for a time missionary to the Indians of the Credit Mission—a circumstance to which he often referred with peculiar satisfaction. His keen and vigorous refutation of the misrepresentations of the Methodists and other bodies by the then dominant Church party, led by the late Bishop Strachan, revealed to his own, and other Churches, his rare gifts as a powerful controversial writer. From that time forward for many years, his pen was used with powerful effect, in defence of equal religious rights and privileges for all Churches.... Dr. Ryerson was longer and more prominently associated with the interests of Methodism in Canada than any other minister of our Church. His life covers and embraces all but the earliest portion of the history of our Church in this country.
But it is his work as an educationist that has made him most widely known, and upon which his fame most securely rests.... The office of Chief Superintendent of Education for Upper Canada was not a new one; but the vigorous personality of Dr. Ryerson lifted it into a prominence and importance in public estimation that had never belonged to it before. For thirty-two years he continued to discharge the duties of this high office with a broad intelligence and rare executive ability, which have for all time stamped his name and influence on the educational system of his country. He was not a mere administrator, acting under the orders of the Government of the day. He was the leader of a great educational reform.... Changes of Government made no change in his department. Such was the estimate which the Ontario Government took of his public services that on his resignation, in 1876, his full salary was continued till the time of his death, and after his death the Legislature made a grant of $10,000 to his widow. It is not too much to say that among the gifted men whom Canada delights to honour, not one has left a more permanent impression for good on the future of our country than Egerton Ryerson.
He was large-minded and liberal in his views on all subjects. Though strong in his attachment to Methodism he was no sectarian, but cherished the most liberal and kindly feeling toward all sincere Christians. He was an able controvertialist, and in the heat of conflict dealt heavy blows at his opponents; but when the battle was over he retained no petty spite toward his late antagonists. His controversial pamphlets are numerous, and mostly relate to current events with which he was in some way associated. Though a man of war, from his youth engaging in many conflicts, religious and political, Dr. Ryerson's last years were eminently tranquil. He had outlived the bitterness of former times, and in a sincere and honoured old age possessed in a high degree the respect and good feeling of men of all parties. During these later years he produced his most important contributions to literature, viz., his "Loyalists of America," and "Chapters on the History of Canadian Methodism." His Educational Reports are also valuable treasuries of facts relating to public education.