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Common Looking People Are The Best In The World: That Is The Reason The Lord Makes So Many Of Them.
-Abraham Lincoln
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Common Looking People Are

Abraham Lincoln
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Common Looking People Are The Best In The World: That Is The Reason The Lord Makes So Many Of Them.

Understanding the Quote: "common looking people are the best in the world: that is the..."

This quote by Abraham Lincoln reflects deeply on the theme of motivational. It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under Motivational, Success, Humor, the quote offers insight, emotional clarity, and intellectual inspiration to readers worldwide.

Whether you’re a student exploring new ideas, a leader trying to motivate your team, or someone seeking direction in life — this quote provides value. It resonates because it’s more than words — it’s a bridge between experience and wisdom. It shows how Abraham Lincoln interprets life's core challenges and triumphs.

Lessons From the Quote

This quote teaches resilience and focus. It reminds readers that no matter where they stand in life, reflection and self-awareness lead to growth. Each word has meaning, and when studied, it becomes clear how impactful thoughtful language can be.

About Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln is celebrated for insightful thoughts on motivational and success. Their legacy lives on through writings that guide, comfort, and inspire. Discover more on their profile page.

Actionable Takeaways

  • Reflect on how this quote applies to your current life path.
  • Share the message with someone who needs inspiration.
  • Write your thoughts on this quote in a journal or blog post.
  • Use it as a daily affirmation or reminder.

Closing Thoughts

Quotes like this endure because they capture universal truths. They comfort us in solitude and empower us in groups. Carry this quote forward — live by its wisdom, share its message, and keep its essence alive.

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Motivational
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Humor
More From Abraham Lincoln
Most Governments Have Been Based, Practically, On The Denial Of Equal Rights Of Menours Began, By Affirming Those Rights. They Said, Some Men Are Too Ignorant, And Vicious, To Share In Government. Possibly So, Said We; And, By Your System, You Would Always Keep Them Ignorant, And Vicious. We Proposed To Give All A Chance; And We Expected The Weak To Grow Stronger, The Ignorant Wiser; And All Better, And Happier Together.
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I Am Approached With The Most Opposite Opinions And Advice, And That By Religious Men, Who Are Equally Certain That They Represent The Divine Will. ... I Hope It Will Not Be Irreverent For Me To Say That If It Is Probable That God Would Reveal His Will To Others, On A Point So Connected With My Duty, It Might Be Supposed He Would Reveal It Directly To Me... These Are Not, However, The Days Of Miracles ... I Must Study The Plain Physical Facts Of The Case, Ascertain What Is Possible, And Learn What Appears To Be Wise And Right.
Wise
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The People Will Save Their Government, If The Government Itself Will Allow Them.
Sea
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Capital Has Its Proper Place And Is Entitled To Every Protection. The Wages Of Men Should Be Recognized In The Structure Of And In The Social Order As More Important Than The Wages Of Money [interest].
Men
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The Land-grant University System Is Being Built On Behalf Of The People, Who Have Invested In These Public Universities Their Hopes, Their Support, And Their Confidence.
Land
People
Support
Submitted To The Sec. Of War. On Principle I Dislike An Oath Which Requires A Man To Swear He Has Not Done Wrong. It Rejects The Christian Principle Of Forgiveness On Terms Of Repentance. I Think It Is Enough If The Man Does No Wrong Hereafter.
Christian
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I Am A Little Uneasy About The Abolishment Of Slavery In This District Of Columbia.
War
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I Cannot Speak So Confidently About The Fighting Qualities Of The Eastern Men, Or What Are Called Yankees - Not Knowing Myself Particularly To Whom The Appellation Belongs - But This I Do Know - If The Southerners Think That Man For Man They Are Better Than Our Illinois Men, Or Western Men Generally, They Will Discover Themselves In A Grievous Mistake.
Mistake
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I Do Not Allow Myself To Suppose That Either The Convention Or The League, Have Concluded To Decide That I Am Either The Greatest Or The Best Man In America, But Rather They Have Concluded It Is Not Best To Swap Horses While Crossing The River, And Have Further Concluded That I Am Not So Poor A Horse That They Might Not Make A Botch Of It In Trying To Swap.
Change
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Men
As To Your Kind Wishes For Myself, Allow Me To Say I Can Not Enter The Ring On The Money Basis--first, Because, In The Main, It Iswrong; And Secondly, I Have Not, And Can Not Get, The Money. I Say, In The Main, The Use Of Money Is Wrong; But For Certain Objects, In A Political Contest, The Use Of Some, Is Both Right, And Indispensable.
Money
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We Have Been The Recipients Of The Choicest Bounties Of Heaven; We Have Been Preserved These Many Years In Peace And Prosperity; We Have Grown In Numbers, Wealth, And Power As No Other Nation Has Ever Grown.
Thanksgiving
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I Believe The Bible Is The Best Gift God Has Ever Given To Man.
Believe
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We Believe That The Spreading Out And Perpetuity Of The Institution Of Slavery Impairs The General Welfare. We Believe - Nay, We Know, That That Is The Only Thing That Has Ever Threatened The Perpetuity Of The Union Itself.
Believe
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Unions
It Is A Sin To Be Silent When It Is Your Duty To Protest.
Sin
Silent
Duty
Through Their Deeds, The Dead Of Battle Have Spoken More Eloquently For Themselves Than Any Of The Living Ever Could. But We Can Only Honor Them By Rededicating Ourselves To The Cause For Which They Gave A Last Full Measure Of Devotion.
Honor
Battle
Deeds
Kings Had Always Been Involving And Impoverishing Their People In Wars, Pretending Generally, If Not Always, That The Good Of The People Was The Object
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No Organic Law Can Ever Be Framed With A Provision Specifically Applicable To Every Question Which May Occur In Practical Administration. .. No Foresight Can Anticipate Nor Any Document Of Reasonable Length Contain Express Provisions For All Possible Questions.
Law
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I Believe The Bible Is The Best Gift God Has Ever Given To Man. All The Good From The Savior Of The World Is Communicated To Us Through This Book.
Bible
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May The Almighty Grant That The Cause Of Truth, Justice, And Humanity, Shall In No Wise Suffer At My Hands.
Wise
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Slavery Is Founded In The Selfishness Of Man's Nature - Opposition To It Is His Love Of Justice. These Principles Are An Eternal Antagonism; And When Brought Into Collision So Fiercely, As Slavery Extension Brings Them, Shocks And Throes And Convulsions Must Ceaselessly Follow.
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The Legitimate Object Of Government Is To Do For A Community Of People Whatever They Need To Have Done, But Can Not Do At All, Or Can Not So Well Do, For Themselves – In Their Separate, And Individual Capacities.
Government
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I Freely Acknowledge Myself The Servant Of The People, According To The Bond Of Service - The United States Constitution; And That, As Such, I Am Responsible To Them.
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People
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None Seemed To Think The Injury Arose From The Use Of A Bad Thing But From The Abuse Of A Very Good Thing
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Seriously, I Do Not Think I Am Fit For The Presidency.
Self Esteem
Thinking
Self Respect
When Met With A Problem I Always Ask Myself What Is The Right Thing To Do And Then I Do It.
Problem
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We All Declare For Liberty; But In Using The Same Word We Do Not All Mean The Same Thing. With Some The Word Liberty May Mean For Each Man To Do As He Pleases With Himself, And The Product Of His Labor; While With Others, The Same Word Many Mean For Some Men To Do As They Please With Other Men, And The Product Of Other Men's Labor. Here Are Two, Not Only Different, But Incompatible Things, Called By The Same Name - Liberty. And It Follows That Each Of The Things Is, By The Respective Parties, Called By Two Different And Incompatible Names - Liberty And Tyranny.
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I Certainly Know That If The War Fails, The Administration Fails, And That I Will Be Blamed For It, Whether I Deserve It Or Not. And I Ought To Be Blamed, If I Could Do Better. You Think I Could Do Better; Therefore You Blame Me Already. I Think I Could Not Do Better; Therefore I Blame You For Blaming Me.
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May Our Children And Our Children's Children To A Thousand Generations, Continue To Enjoy The Benefits Conferred Upon Us By A United Country, And Have Cause Yet To Rejoice Under Those Glorious Institutions Bequeathed Us By Washington And His Compeers.
Country
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Let Every Man Remember That To Violate The Law, Is To Trample On The Blood Of His Father, And To Tear The Character Of His Own, And His Children's Liberty.
Children
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Every Man's Happiness Is His Own Responsibility.
Responsibility
Men
Every Man
I Never Knew A Man Who Wished To Be Himself A Slave. Consider If You Know Any Good Thing, That No Man Desires For Himself.
Men
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A Nation May Be Said To Consist Of Its Territory, Its People, And Its Laws. The Territory Is The Only Part Which Is Of Certain Durability.
War
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If The Negro Is A Man, Why Then My Ancient Faith Teaches Me That ‘all Men Are Created Equal,' And That There Can Be No Moral Right In Connection With One Man's Making A Slave Of Another.
Men
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A Man's Legs Must Be Long Enough To Reach The Ground.
Men
Long
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The Will Of God Prevails. In Great Contests Each Party Claims To Act In Accordance With The Will Of God. Both May Be, And One Must Be, Wrong. God Cannot Be For And Against The Same Thing At The Same Time. In The Present Civil War It Is Quite Possible That God's Purpose Is Something Different From The Purpose Of Either Party - And Yet The Human Instrumentalities, Working Just As They Do, Are Of The Best Adaptation To Effect His Purpose.
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Every Man Is Said To Have His Peculiar Ambition.
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Men
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I Can Hardly Believe That The South And North Can Live In Peace, Unless We Can Get Rid Of The Negroes ... I Believe That It Would Be Better To Export Them All To Some Fertile Country With A Good Climate, Which They Could Have To Themselves.
Country
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Gratefully Accepting The Proffered Honor, [to Inscribe A New Legal Work To Him] I Give The Leave, Begging Only That The Inscription May Be In Modest Terms, Not Representing Me As A Man Of Great Learning, Or A Very Extraordinary One In Any Respect.
Learning
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Whereas, The Senate Of The United States, Devoutly Recognizing The Supreme Authority And Just Government Of Almighty God, In All The Affairs Of Men And Of Nations, Has, By A Resolution, Requested The President To Designate And Set Apart A Day For National Prayer And Humiliation.
Bible
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Wise Statesmen ... Established These Great Self-evident Truths, That When In The Distant Future Some Man, Some Faction, Some Interest, Should Set Up The Doctrine That None But Rich Men, Or None But White Men, Were Entitled To Life, Liberty And The Pursuit Of Happiness, Their Posterity Should Look Up Again At The Declaration Of Independence And Take Courage To Renew The Battle Which Their Fathers Began.
Wise
Father
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The Union Is Much Older Than The Constitution. It Was Formed In Fact, By The Articles Of Association In 1774. It Was Matured And Continued By The Declaration Of Independence In 1776.
War
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Being President Is Like The Man Who Was Tarred And Feathered And Ridden Out Of Town On A Rail... A Man In The Crowd Asked How He Liked It, And His Reply Was That If It Wasn't For The Honor Of The Thing, He Would Much Rather Walk.
Men
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The Better Angels Of Our Nature
Angel
Civil War
Apocalypse
Everybody Appreciates A Compliment.
Appreciate
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I Hold The Value Of Life Is To Improve One's Condition. Whatever Is Calculated To Advance The Condition Of The Honest, Struggling Laboring Man, So Far As My Judgment Will Enable Me To Judge Of A Correct Thing, I Am For That Thing.
Struggle
Men
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I Am Not In Favor Of Making Voters Or Jurors Of Negroes, Nor Of Qualifying Them To Hold Office.
War
Office
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I Affect No Contempt For The High Eminence He [senator Stephen Douglas] Has Reached. So Reached, That The Oppressed Of My Species,might Have Shared With Me In The Elevation, I Would Rather Stand On That Eminence, Than Wear The Richest Crown That Ever Pressed A Monarch's Brow.
Ambition
Crowns
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As Our Case Is New, So We Must Think Anew, And Act Anew.
Thinking
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You Can Have Anything You Want, If You Want It Badly Enough.
Inspirational
Positive
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Military Necessity Does Not Admit Of Cruelty - That Is, The Infliction Of Suffering For The Sake Of Suffering Or For Revenge, . . . Nor Of Torture To Extort Confessions.
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Let Us Hopethat By The Best Cultivation Of The Physical World, Beneath And Around Us; And The Intellectual And Moral World Within Us, We Shall Secure An Individual, Social And Political Prosperity And Happiness, Whose Course Shall Be Onward And Upward, And Which, While The Earth Endures, Shall Not Pass Away.
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It Is The Man Who Does Not Want To Express An Opinion Whose Opinion I Want.
Men
Doe
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All I Ask For The Negro Is That If You Do Not Like Him, Let Him Alone. If God Gave Him But Little, That Little Let Him Enjoy.
Littles
Enjoy
Asks
The Father Of Waters Again Goes Unvexed To The Sea.
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Sea
With Educated People, I Suppose, Punctuation Is A Matter Of Rule; With Me It Is A Matter Of Feeling. But I Must Say I Have A Great Respect For The Semicolin; It's A Useful Little Chap
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But, Slavery Is Good For Some People! ! ! As A Good Thing, Slavery Is Strikingly Peculiar, In This, That It Is The Only Good Thing Which No Man Ever Seeks The Good Of, For Himself.
Men
People
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That Some Should Be Rich, Shows That Others May Become Rich, And, Hence, Is Just Encouragement To Industry And Enterprise.
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Senator [stephen] Douglas Is Of World-wide Renown. All The Anxious Politicians Of His Party, Or Who Have Been Of His Party For Years Past, Have Been Looking Upon Him As Certainly, At No Distant Day, To Be The President Of The United States. They Have Seen In His Round, Jolly, Fruitful Face, Post Offices, Land Offices, Marshalships, And Cabinet Appointments, Chargeships And Foreign Missions, Bursting And Sprouting Out In Wonderful Exuberance Ready To Be Laid Hold Of By Their Greedy Hands.
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With The Fearful Strain That Is On Me Night And Day, If I Did Not Laugh I Should Die.
Happiness
Smile
Laughter
We Can Succeed Only By Concert. It Is Not 'can Any Of Us Imagine Better?, But 'can We All Do Better?
Succeed
Imagine
Concerts
Character Is Like A Tree And Reputation Like A Shadow. The Shadow Is What We Think Of It; The Tree Is The Real Thing.
Inspirational
Success
Honesty
Let Us Do Nothing Through Passion And Ill Temper.
Passion
Temper
Ill
Everyone Likes A Good Quote - Don't Forget To Share.
God
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To Correct The Evils, Great And Small, Which Spring From Want Of Sympathy And From Positive Enmity Among Strangers, As Nations Or As Individuals, Is One Of The Highest Functions Of Civilization.
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Freedom Is The Last, Best Hope Of Earth.
Freedom
Earth
Lasts
I Told Myself, "lincoln, You Can Never Make A Lawyer If You Do Not Understand What Demonstrate Means." So I Left My Situation In Springfield, Went Home To My Father's House, And Stayed There Till I Could Give Any Proposition In The Six Books Of Euclid At Sight. I Then Found Out What "demonstrate" Means, And Went Back To My Law Studies.
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I Have Just Read Your Dispatch About Sore-tongued And Fatigued Horses, Will You Pardon Me For Asking What The Horses Of Your Army Have Done Since The Battle Of Antietam That Fatigues Anything?
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War
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He Who Represents Himself Has A Fool For A Client
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In The First Place, I Insist That Our Fathers Did Not Make This Nation Half Slave And Half Free, Or Part Slave And Part Free. I Insist That They Found The Institution Of Slavery Existing Here. They Did Not Make It So, But They Left It So Because They Knew Of No Way To Get Rid Of It At That Time.
Father
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If You Are Going To Fight, Don't Let Them Talk You Into Negotiating. But, If You Are Going To Negotiate, Don't Let Them Talk You Into Fighting.
Fighting
Negotiating
Ifs
I'm A Success Today Because I Had A Friend Who Believed In Me And I Didn't Have The Heart To Let Him Down.
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As I Would Not Be A Slave, So I Would Not Be A Master. This Expresses My Idea Of Democracy.
Wisdom
Freedom
Humor
Achievement Has No Color
Color
Racism
Achievement
I Have Been Driven Many Times Upon My Knees By The Overwhelming Conviction That I Had No Where Else To Go. My Own Wisdom And That Of All About Me Seemed Insufficient For That Day.
Motivational
Faith
Attitude
As A Peacemaker The Lawyer Has Superior Opportunity Of Being A Good Man.
Opportunity
Men
Good Man
Committee: A Group Which Succeeds In Getting Something Done Only When It Consists Of Three Members, One Of Whom Happens To Be Sick And Another Absent.
Sick
Succeed
Groups
Life Is Hard But So Very Beautiful
Inspirational
Beautiful
Life Is Hard
I Can Make Brigadier Generals, But I Can't Make Horses.
Horse
War
Civil War
I Could Write Shorter Sermons But When I Get Started I'm Too Lazy To Stop
Writing
Lazy
Sermons
The Government Should Create, Issue, And Circulate All The Currency And Credits Needed To Satisfy The Spending Power Of The Government And The Buying Power Of Consumers. By The Adoption Of These Principles, The Taxpayers Will Be Saved Immense Sums Of Interest. Money Will Cease To Be Master And Become The Servant Of Humanity.
Issues
Government
Adoption
Fondly Do We Hope, Ferverently Do We Pray, That This Mighty Scourge Of War May Speedily Pass Away.
Peace
War
Ubuntu
The Foregoing History May Not Be Precisely Accurate In Every Particular; But I Am Sure It Is Sufficiently So, For All The Uses I Shall Attempt To Make Of It, And In It, We Have Before Us, The Chief Material Enabling Us To Correctly Judge Whether The Repeal Of The Missouri Compromise Is Right Or Wrong.
Judging
Enabling
May
The Greatest Lessons I Have Every Learned Were At My Mother's Knees... All That I Am, Or Hope To Be, I Owe To My Angel Mother.
Mother
Angel
Lessons
Elections Belong To The People. It's Their Decision. If They Decide To Turn Their Back On The Fire And Burn Their Behinds, Then They Will Just Have To Sit On Their Blisters.
Freedom
Fire
Democracies Have
Familiarize Yourself With The Chains Of Bondage And You Prepare Your Own Limbs To Wear Them.
Captivity
Bondage
Limbs
Washington's Is The Mightiest Name Of Earth - Long Since Mightiest In The Cause Of Civil Liberty; Still Mightiest In Moral Reformation. On That Name No Eulogy Is Expected. It Cannot Be. To Add Brightness To The Sun, Or Glory To The Name Of Washington, Is Alike Impossible. Let None Attempt It. In Solemn Awe Pronounce The Name, And In Its Naked Deathless Splendor Leave It Shining On.
Names
Long
Shining
Most Folks Are As Happy As They Make Up Their Minds To Be.
Inspirational
Motivational
Positive
Congressmen Who Willfully Take Action During Wartime That Damages Morale And Undermine The Military Are Saboteurs And Should Be Arrested, Exiled, Or Hung
Military
Saboteurs
Damage
Don't Swap Horses In The Middle Of The Stream.
Horse
Middle
Streams
Sending Armies To Mcclellan Is Like Shoveling Fleas Across A Barnyard, Not Half Of Them Get There.
War
Army
Half
A Good, Real, Unrestrained, Hearty Laugh Is A Sort Of Glorified Internal Massage, Performed Rapidly And Automatically. It Manipulates And Revitalizes Corners And Unexplored Crannies Of The System That Are Unresponsive To Most Other Exercise Methods. With The Fearful Strain That Is On Me Night And Day, If I Did Not Laugh I Should Die.
Laughter
Real
Exercise
The Us Patent System Adds The Fuel Of Interest To The Fire Of Genius In The Discovery And Production Of New And Useful Things
Fire
Discovery
Patents
In Regards To This Great Book [the Bible], I Have But To Say It Is The Best Gift God Has Given To Man. All The Good The Savior Gave To The World Was Communicated Through This Book. But For It We Could Not Know Right From Wrong. All Things Most Desirable For Man's Welfare, Here And Hereafter, Are Found Portrayed In It.
Bible
God
Religious
The Surest Way To Reveal One's Character Is Not Through Adversity But By Giving Them Power.
Character
Adversity
Giving
If There Is A Worse Place Than Hell, I Am In It.
War
Civil War
Hell
I Was Born Feb. 12, 1809, In Hardin County, Kentucky. My Parents Were Both Born In Virginia, Of Undistinguished Families--second Families, Perhaps I Should Say. My Mother, Who Died In My Tenth Year, Was Of A Family Of The Name Of Hanks.... My Father ... Removed From Kentucky To ... Indiana, In My Eighth Year.... It Was A Wild Region, With Many Bears And Other Wild Animals Still In The Woods. There I Grew Up.... Of Course When I Came Of Age I Did Not Know Much. Still Somehow, I Could Read, Write, And Cipher ... But That Was All.
Mother
Father
Writing
Negroes, Like Other People, Act Upon Motives. Why Should They Do Anything For Us, If We Will Do Nothing For Them? If They Stake Their Lives For Us, They Must Be Prompted By The Strongest Motive, Even The Promise Of Freedom. And The Promise Being Made, Must Be Kept.
People
Promise
Made
Teach The Children So It Will Not Be Necessary To Teach The Adults.
Inspirational
Teacher
Children
I Am A Firm Believer In The People. If Given The Truth, They Can Be Depended Upon To Meet Any National Crisis. The Great Point Is To Bring Them The Real Facts.
Inspirational
Wisdom
Truth
Dear Sir: Yours Of The 24th. Asking 'the Best Mode Of Obtaining A Thorough Knowledge Of The Law' Is Received. The Mode Is Very Simple, Though Laborious, And Tedious. It Is Only To Get The Books, And Read, And Study Them Carefully. Begin With Blackstone's Commentaries, And After Reading It Carefully Through, Say Twice, Take Up Chitty's Pleading, Greenleaf's Evidence, & Story's Equity &c. In Succession. Work, Work, Work, Is The Main Thing.
Book
Reading
Simple
I Am Always For The Man Who Wishes To Work.
Work
Men
Wish
Believing Everybody Is Dangerous, But Believing Nobody Is More Dangerous.
Believe
Dangerous
The Mystic Chords Of Memory, Stretching From Every Battle-field, And Patriot Grave, To Every Living Heart And Hearth-stone, All Over This Broad Land, Will Yet Swell The Chorus Of The Union, When Again Touched, As Surely They Will Be, By The Better Angels Of Our Nature. --as Quoted In The River Of Winged Dreams
Dream
Nature
Memories
In Order To Win A Man To Your Cause, You Must First Reach His Heart, The Great High Road To His Reason.
Heart
Men
Winning
I Don't Believe In A Law To Prevent A Man From Getting Rich; It Would Do More Harm Than Good. So While We Do Not Propose Any War Upon Capital, We Do Wish To Allow The Humblest Man An Equal Chance To Get Rich With Everybody Else.
War
Work
Believe
Towering Genius Distains A Beaten Path.
Genius
Path
Beaten
I Hold It To Be A Paramount Duty Of Us In The Free States, Due To The Union Of The States, And Perhaps To Liberty Itself (paradox Though It May Seem) To Let The Slavery Of The Other States Alone; While, On The Other Hand, I Hold It To Be Equally Clear, That We Should Never Knowingly Lend Ourselves Directly Or Indirectly, To Prevent That Slavery From Dying A Natural Death--to Find New Places For It To Live In, When It Can No Longer Exist In The Old.
Hands
Dying
Liberty
I Do Not Think I Could Myself, Be Brought To Support A Man For Office, Whom I Knew To Be An Open Enemy Of, And Scoffer At, Religion.
Men
Thinking
Office
My God! My God! What Will The Country Say?
Country
War
Civil War
One Generation Passeth Away And Another Generation Cometh, But The Earth Abideth Forever.
Law
Land
People
I Want In All Cases To Do Right.
Women
Want
Cases
A Nation That Does Not Honor Its Heroes Will Not Long Endure.
Hero
Long
Honor
The Ant, Who Has Toiled And Dragged A Crumb To His Nest, Will Furiously Defend The Fruit Of His Labor, Against Whatever Robber Assails Him. So Plain, That The Most Dumb And Stupid Slave That Ever Toiled For A Master, Does Constantly Know That He Is Wronged.
Dream
Stupid
Dumb
When I Lay Down The Reins Of This Administration, I Want To Have One Friend Left. And That Friend Is Myself.
Want
Administration
Reins
Am I Not Destroying My Enemies When I Make Friends Of Them?
Friendship
Forgiveness
Peace
If I Could Save The Union Without Freeing Any Slave, I Would Do It; And If I Could Save It By Freeing All The Slaves, I Would Do It; And If I Could Do It By Freeing Some And Leaving Others Alone, I Would Do That. I Have Here Stated My Purpose According To My Official Duty, And I Intend No Modification Of My Oft-expressed Personal Wish That All Men, Everywhere, Could Be Free.
Men
Leaving
Civil War
Nearly All Men Can Stand Adversity, But If You Want To Test A Man's Character, Give Him Power.
Inspirational
Leadership
Wisdom
I Will Prepare And Some Day My Chance Will Come.
Inspirational
Basketball
Opportunity
No Man Who Is Resolved To Make The Most Of Himself Can Spare Time For Personal Contention, Still Less Can He Afford To Take The Consequences, Including The Vitiation Of His Temper And The Loss Of Self Control, Yield To Larger Things To Which You Show No More Than Equal Rights, And Yield To Lesser Ones Though Clearly Your Own, Better Give Your Path To A Dog, Than Be Bitten By Him In Contesting For The Right, Not Even Killing The Dog, Will Cure The Bite
Dog
Time
Loss
Rules Of Living Don't Worry, Eat Three Square Meals A Day,say Your Prayers, Be Courteous To Your Creditors, Keep Your Digestion Good,steer Clear Of Biliousness,exercise, Go Slow And Go Easy. May Be There Are Other Things That Your Special Case Requires To Make You Happy, But My Friend, These, I Reckon, Will Give You A Good Life.
Inspirational
Good Life
Prayer
It Is Better Then, To Save The Work While It Is Begun. You Have Done The Labor; Maintain It - Keep It. If Men Choose To Serve You, Go With Them; But As You Have Made Up Your Organization Upon Principle, Stand By It; For As Surely As God Reigns Over You, And Has Inspired Your Mind, And Given You A Sense Of Propriety, And Continues To Give You Hope, So Surely Will You Still Cling To These Ideas, And You Will At Last Come Back After Your Wanderings, Merely To Do Your Work Over Again.
Work
Men
Organization
Next Came The Patent Laws. These Began In England In 1624; And, In This Country, With The Adoption Of Our Constitution. Before Then [these?], Any Man Might Instantly Use What Another Had Invented; So That The Inventor Had No Special Advantage From His Own Invention. The Patent System Changed This; Secured To The Inventor, For A Limited Time, The Exclusive Use Of His Invention; And Thereby Added The Fuel Of Interest To The Fire Of Genius, In The Discovery And Production Of New And Useful Things.
Country
Science
Men
There Is An Important Sense In Which Government Is Distinctive From Administration. One Is Perpetual, The Other Is Temporary And Changeable. A Man May Be Loyal To His Government And Yet Oppose The Particular Principles And Methods Of Administration.
Loyalty
Men
Important
The Severest Justice May Not Always Be The Best Policy
Justice
May
Prison
This Country, With Its Institutions, Belongs To The People Who Inhabit It. Whenever They Shall Grow Weary Of The Existing Government, They Can Exercise Their Constitutional Right Of Amending It, Or Exercise Their Revolutionary Right To Overthrow It.
Country
Freedom
4th Of July
If Once You Forfeit The Confidence Of Your Fellow-citizens, You Can Never Regain Their Respect And Esteem.
Confidence
Respect
Honesty
I Do The Very Best I Know How - The Very Best I Can; And I Mean To Keep On Doing So Until The End.
Motivational
Niece
Mean
Whether Or Not The World Would Be Vastly Benefited By A Total Banishment From It Of All Intoxicating Drinks Seems Not Now An Open Question. Three-fourths Of Mankind Confess The Affirmative With Their Tongues, And I Believe All The Rest Acknowledge It In Their Hearts.
Believe
Heart
Would Be
I Am Busily Engaged In The Study Of The Bible. I Believe It Is God's Word Because It Finds Me Where I Am.
Bible
Believe
Presidential
Killing The Dog Does Not Cure The Bite.
Dog
Doe
Killing
Familiarize Yourselves With The Chains Of Bondage And You Prepare Your Own Limbs To Wear Them. Accustomed To Trample On The Rights Of Others, You Have Lost The Genius Of Your Own Independence And Become The Fit Subjects Of The First Cunning Tyrant Who Rises Among You.
Rights
Tyrants
Justice
We Meet This Evening, Not In Sorrow, But In Gladness Of Heart.
Heart
Sorrow
Evening
As A General Rule, I Abstain From Reading Reports Of Attacks Upon Myself, Wishing Not To Be Provoked By That To Which I Cannot Properly Offer An Answer.
Book
Reading
Wish
Upon This Subject, The Habits Of Our Whole Species Fall Into Three Great Classes--useful Labour, Useless Labour And Idleness. Of These The First Only Is Meritorious; And To It All The Products Of Labour Rightfully Belong; But The Two Latter, While They Exist, Are Heavy Pensioners Upon The First, Robbing It Of A Large Portion Of It's Just Rights. The Only Remedy For This Is To, As Far As Possible, Drive Useless Labour And Idleness Out Of Existence.
Work
Fall
Class
There Are No Accidents In My Philosophy. Every Effect Must Have Its Cause. The Past Is The Cause Of The Present, And The Present Will Be The Cause Of The Future. All These Are Links In The Endless Chain Stretching From The Finite To The Infinite.
Philosophy
Past
President
The Legalized Liquor Business Is The Tragedy Of Our Civilization. Alcohol Is The Greatest And Most Blighting Curse Of Our Modern Civilization. The Liquor Seller Is Simply And Only A Privileged Malefactor - A Criminal.
Civilization
Alcohol
Tragedy
Study The Constitution. Let It Be Preached From The Pulpit, Proclaimed In Legislatures, And Enforced In Courts Of Justice.
Justice
Politics
Study
Both Read The Same Bible, And Pray To The Same God; And Each Invokes His Aid Against The Other. It May Seem Strange That Any Men Should Dare To Ask A Just God's Assistance In Wringing Their Bread From The Sweat Of Other Men's Faces; But Let Us Judge Not That We Be Not Judged. The Prayers Of Both Could Not Be Answered; That Of Neither Has Been Answered Fully.
Prayer
War
Men
It Will Not Do To Investigate The Subject Of Religion Too Closely, As It Is Apt To Lead To Infidelity.
Life
Atheist
Infidelity
A Day Spent Helping No One But Yourself Is A Day Wasted.
Helping
What Is To Be, Will Be, And No Prayers Of Ours Can Arrest The Decree.
Prayer
Atheism
Decree
[t]he Man Who, In The Concrete Pressure Of A Struggle For National Independence By A Single People, Had The Coolness, Forecast, And Capacity To Introduce Into A Merely Revolutionary Document, An Abstract Truth, Applicable To All Men And All Times, And So To Embalm It There, That To-day, And In All Coming Days, It Shall Be A Rebuke And A Stumbling-block To The Very Harbingers Of Reappearing Tyranny And Oppression.
Block
Struggle
Men
The Demon Of Intemperance Ever Seems To Have Delighted In Sucking The Blood Of Genius And Of Generosity. What One Of Us But Can Call To Mind Some Relative More Promising In Youth Than All His Fellows, Who Has Fallen A Sacrifice To His Rapacity?
Sacrifice
Blood
Generosity
The Trouble With Too Many People Is They Believe The Realm Of Truth Always Lies Within Their Vision.
Truth
Lying
Believe
As The Chief Speaker At The Dedication Of The National Cemetery At The Gettysburg Battlefield, Statesman Edward Everett Wrote To Lincoln: I Should Be Glad If I Could Flatter Myself That I Came As Near To The Central Idea Of The Occasion In Two Hours As You Did In Two Minutes.
Dedication
Ideas
Two
Senator Douglas Holds, We Know, That A Man May Rightfully Be Wiser Today Than He Was Yesterday - That He May Rightfully Change When He Finds Himself Wrong. But Can We, For That Reason, Run Ahead, And Infer That He Will Make Any Particular Change, Of Which He, Himself, Has Given No Intimation?
Running
Men
Yesterday
When I Left Springfield [to Become President] I Asked The People To Pray For Me. I Was Not A Christian. When I Buried My Son, The Severest Trial Of My Life, I Was Not A Christian. But When I Went To Gettysburg And Saw The Graves Of Thousands Of Our Soldiers, I Then And There Consecrated Myself To Christ.
Christian
Son
People
In The End, It's Not The Years In Your Life That Count. It's The Life In Your Years.
Inspirational
Life
Motivational
Be Sure You Put Your Feet In The Right Place, Then Stand Firm.
Motivational
Inspiring
Feet
I Think Slavery Is Wrong, Morally, And Politically. I Desire That It Should Be No Further Spread In These United States, And I Should Not Object If It Should Gradually Terminate In The Whole Union.
Thinking
Desire
United States
The Political Horizon Looks Dark And Lowering; But The People, Under Providence, Will Set All Right.
Dark
People
Political
What Is Conservatism? Is It Not The Adherence To The Old And Tried Against The New And Untried?
Success
Political
Politics
Negro Equality, Fudge!! How Long In The Government Of A God Great Enough To Make And Maintain This Universe, Shall There Continue To Be Knaves To Vend And Fools To Gulp, So Low A Piece Of Demagoguism As This?
War
Government
Long
If We Have No Friends, We Have No Pleasure; And If We Have Them, We Are Sure To Lose Them, And Be Doubly Pained By The Loss.
Loss
No Friends
Pleasure
It's Bad. It's Damned Bad.
War
Civil War
It Is Safe To Assert That No Government Proper Ever Had A Provision In Its Organic Law For Its Own Termination.
Gratitude
Government
Law
Freedom Is Not The Right To Do What We Want, But What We Ought
Freedom
Want
Ought
I Believe It Is An Established Maxim In Morals That He Who Makes An Assertion Without Knowing Whether It Is True Or False, Is Guilty Of Falsehood; And The Accidental Truth Of The Assertion, Does Not Justify Or Excuse Him.
Truth
Lying
Believe
It Is A Pleasure To Be Able To Quote Lines To Fit Any Occasion.
Lines
Able
Fit
You Are Ambitious, Which, Within Reasonable Bounds, Does Good Rather Than Harm.
War
Ambitious
Doe
Nothing New Here, Except My Marrying, Which To Me Is A Matter Of Profound Wonder.
Marriage
Profound
Matter
Among Free Men There Can Be No Successful Appeal From The Ballot To The Bullet.
Successful
Men
Voting
I Can See How It Might Be Possible For A Man To Look Down Upon The Earth And Be An Atheist, But I Cannot Conceive How A Man Could Look Up Into The Heavens And Say There Is No God.
God
Atheist
Humor
If You Understand What You're Doing, You're Not Learning Anything.
Doing You
Ifs
Government, Possessing The Power To Create And Issue Currency And Credit As Money And Enjoying The Right To Withdraw Both Currency And Credit From Circulation By Taxation And Otherwise, Need Not And Should Not Borrow Capital At Interest As A Means Of Financing Government Work And Public Enterprises.
Mean
Government
Issues
I Confess I Hate To See The Poor Creatures Hunted Down But I Bite My Lip And Keep Quiet.
Hate
War
Lips
The People When Rightly And Fully Trusted Will Return The Trust.
Trust
People
Return
I Would Like To Speak In Terms Of Praise Due To The Many Brave Officers And Soldiers Who Have Fought In The Cause Of The War.
War
Brave
Soldier
You Cannot Have The Right To Do What Is Wrong!
Faith Is Not Believing That God Can, But That God Will.
Believe
Gods Will
The Leading Rule For The Lawyer, As For The Man Of Every Other Calling, Is Diligence. Leave Nothing For To-morrow Which Can Be Done To-day.
Happiness
Procrastination
Men
Discourage Litigation. Persuade Your Neighbors To Compromise Whenever You Can. As A Peacemaker The Lawyer Has Superior Opportunity Of Being A Good Man. There Will Still Be Business Enough.
Business
Opportunity
Men
Our Popular Government Has Often Been Called An Experiment. Two Points In It Our People Have Already Settled, The Successful Establishing And The Successful Administering Of It. One Still Remains, Its Successful Maintenance Against A Formidable Internal Attempt To Overthrow It.
Successful
Government
Two
My Wife Is As Handsome As When She Was A Girl, And I...fell In Love With Her; And What Is More, I Have Never Fallen Out.
Girl
Love You
Wife
Now I Confess Myself As Belonging To That Class In The Country Who Contemplate Slavery As A Moral, Social And Political Evil.
Country
Class
Evil
Thoughtful Men Must Feel That The Fate Of Civilization Upon This Continent Is Involved In The Issue Of Our Contest. Among The Most Satisfying Proofs Of This Conviction Is The Hearty Devotion Everywhere Exhibited By Our Schools And Colleges To The National Cause.
Heart
School
Fate
In Those Days, Our Declaration Of Independence Was Held Sacred By All, And Thought To Include All; But Now, To Aid In The Making The Bondage Of The Negro Universal And Eternal, It Is Assailed, And Sneered At, And Construed, And Hawked At, And Torn, Till, If Its Framers Could Rise From Their Graves, They Could Not At All Recognize It.
Independence
Slavery
Sacred
Doubtless You Begin To Understand How Disagreeable It Is To Me To Do A Thing Arbitrarily, When It Is Unsatisfactory To Others Associated With Me.
Arbitration
Disagreeable
Labor Is Prior To, And Independent Of, Capital. Capital Is Only The Fruit Of Labor, And Could Never Have Existed If Labor Had Not First Existed. Labor Is The Superior Of Capital, And Deserves Much The Higher Consideration.
Work
Independent
Labor Day
Any Society That Takes Away From Those Most Capable And Gives To The Least Will Perish.
Giving
Society
Capable
Important Principles May, And Must, Be Inflexible.
Motivational
Honesty
Important
Take All That You Can Of This Book Upon Reason, And The Balance On Faith, And You Will Live And Die A Happier Man. (when A Skeptic Expressed Surprise To See Him Reading A Bible)
Bible
Faith
Book
Our Strife Pertains To Ourselves-to The Passing Generations Of Men-and It Can Without Convulsion Be Hushed Forever With The Passing Of One Generation.
Men
Forever
Generations
One Eighth Of The Whole Population Were Colored Slaves, Not Distributed Generally Over The Union, But Localized In The Southern Part Of It. These Slaves Constituted A Peculiar And Powerful Interest. All Knew That This Interest Was, Somehow, The Cause Of The War.
Powerful
War
Southern
Be Not Deceived. Revolutions Do Not Go Backward.
Revolution
Deceived
Rules For Radicals
Persuasion, Kind, Unassuming Persuasion, Should Be Adopted To Influence The Conduct Of Men. The Opposite Course Would Be A Reversal Of Human Nature, Which Is God's Decree And Can Never Be Reversed.
Men
Opposites
Would Be
Anxiety Beclouds The Future.
Anxiety
Anticipation
Continue To Execute All The Express Provisions Of Our National Constitution, And The Union Will Endure Forever-it Being Impossible To Destroy It, Except By Some Action Not Provided For In The Instrument Itself.
Forever
Unions
Action
Human-nature Will Not Change.
Change
Human Nature
Humans
Elections Belong To The People. It's Their Decision.
Democracies Have
People
Voting
In Regard To This Great Book, I Have But To Say, It Is The Best Gift God Has Given To Man.
Book
Men
Presidential
I Have Got You Together To Hear What I Have Written Down. I Do Not Wish Your Advice About The Main Matterfor That I Have Determined For Myself.
Advice
Wish
Together
I Have Never Had A Feeling Politically That Did Not Spring From The Sentiments Embodied In The Declaration Of Independence.
Spring
Feelings
Independence
You Are Young, And I Am Older; You Are Hopeful, I Am Not- Enjoy Life, Ere It Grow Colder- Pluck The Roses Ere They Rot.
Rose
Hopeful
Enjoy Life
Extemporaneous Speaking Should Be Practised And Cultivated. It Is The Lawyer's Avenue To The Public.
Lawyer
Public Speaking
Should
Singular Indeed The People Should Be Writhing Under Oppression And Injury, And Yet Not One Among Them To Be Found, To Raise The Voice Of Complaint.
Voice
People
Oppression
When I Hear A Man Preach, I Like To See Him Act As If He Were Fighting Bees.
Passion
Fighting
Men
If Any Should Be Slaves, It Should Be First Those Who Desire It For Themselves, And Secondly, Those Who Desire It For Others
Desire
Firsts
Slave
Nobody Has Ever Expected Me To Be President. In My Poor, Lean, Lank Face, Nobody Has Ever Seen That Any Cabbages Were Sprouting Out.
President
Cabbage
Faces
The Leading Rule For A Man Of Every Calling Is Diligence; Never Put Off Until Tomorrow What You Can Do Today.
Christian
Men
Calling
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