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If Any Should Be Slaves, It Should Be First Those Who Desire It For Themselves, And Secondly, Those Who Desire It For Others
-Abraham Lincoln
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If Any Should Be

Abraham Lincoln
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If Any Should Be Slaves, It Should Be First Those Who Desire It For Themselves, And Secondly, Those Who Desire It For Others

Understanding the Quote: "if any should be slaves, it should be first those who desire..."

This quote by Abraham Lincoln reflects deeply on the theme of desire. It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under Desire, Firsts, Slave, 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 desire and firsts. 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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Topic
Desire
Firsts
Slave
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Giving
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Appearance
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Army
Men
Land
As Our Case Is New, So We Must Think Anew, And Act Anew.
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Action
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When I Do Good, I Feel Good. When I Do Bad, I Feel Bad. That's My Religion.
Inspirational
Positive
Religious
I Think I Stand Where That Man Stands.
Men
Thinking
Atheism
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Business
Fighting
Men
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Motivational
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Men
Pockets
Titles
Love Is The Chain Whereby To Bind A Child To Its Parents.
Family
Children
Parenting
It Is Not 'is God On My Side', But 'am I On God's Side'.
Sides
Almost Every Thing, Especially Of Governmental Policy, Is An Inseparable Compound Of The Two [good And Evil].
Two
Government
Evil
In The Early Days Of The World, The Almighty Said To The First Of Our Race "in The Sweat Of Thy Face Shalt Thou Eat Bread"; And Since Then, If We Except The Light And The Air Of Heaven, No Good Thing Has Been, Or Can Be Enjoyed By Us, Without Having First Cost Labour.
Work
Sweat
Light
There Has Never Been But One Question In All Civilization-how To Keep A Few Men From Saying To Many Men: You Work And Earn Bread And We Will Eat It.
Work
Men
Civilization
Tis Better People Think You A Fool, Then Open Your Mouth And Erase All Doubt.
Thinking
People
Doubt
I Hope To Stand Firm Enough To Not Go Backward, And Yet Not Go Forward Fast Enough To Wreck The Country's Cause.
Hope
Country
Wrecks
The Damnest Scoundrel That Ever Lived, But In The Infinite Mercy Of Providence... Also The Damnest Fool.
Fool
Infinite
Mercy
Our Political Problem Now Is, "can We As A Nation Continue Together Permanently - Forever - Half Slave And Half Free?"
Political
Together
Half
The World Has Never Had A Good Definition Of The Word Liberty
Civil War
Liberty
World
Without Divine Assistance I Can Not Succeed; With It I Can Not Fail.
Spiritual
Succeed
Failing
I Do But Quote From One Of Those Speeches When I Declare That "i Have No Purpose, Directly Or Indirectly, To Interfere With The Institution Of Slavery In The States Where It Exists. I Believe I Have No Lawful Right To Do So, And I Have No Inclination To Do So."
Believe
Purpose
Slavery
I Do Not Doubt That Our Country Will Finally Come Through Safe And Undivided. But Do Not Misunderstand Me... I Do Not Rely On The Patriotism Of Our People... The Bravery And Devotion Of The Boys In Blue... (or) The Loyalty And Skill Of Our Generals... But The God Of Our Fathers, Who Raised Up This Country To Be The Refuge And Asylum Of The Oppressed And Downtrodden Of All Nations, Will Not Let It Perish Now. I May Not Live To See It... I Do Not Expect To See It, But God Will Bring Us Through Safe.
Loyalty
Country
Father
You Can Have Anything You Want, If You Want It Badly Enough.
Inspirational
Positive
Confidence
My Politics Are Short And Sweet, Like The Old Woman's Dance.
Sweet
Politics
Short And Sweet
The Evacuation Of Petersburg And Richmond, And The Surrender Of The Principal Insurgent Army, Give Hope Of A Righteous And Speedy Peace Whose Joyous Expression Can Not Be Restrained. In The Midst Of This, However, He, From Whom All Blessings Flow, Must Not Be Forgotten. A Call For A National Thanksgiving Is Being Prepared, And Will Be Duly Promulgated.
Religious
Army
Blessing
The Probability That We May Fail In The Struggle Ought Not To Deter Us From The Support Of A Cause We Believe To Be Just.
Inspirational
Motivational
Perseverance
Force Is All Conquering, But It's Victories Are Short Lived.
Life
War
Humor
Men Are Not Flattered By Being Shown That There Has Been A Difference Of Purpose Between The Almighty And Them. To Deny It, However, In This Case, Is To Deny That There Is A God Governing The World. It Is A Truth Which I Thought Needed To Be Told; And As Whatever Of Humilation There Is In It, Falls Most Directly On Myself, I Thought Others Might Afford For Me To Tell It.
Religious
Fall
Men
It Is Much Easier To Ride A Horse In The Direction It Is Going.
Horse
Politics
Easier
Let Reverence For The Laws, Be Breathed By Every American Mother, To The Lisping Babe, That Prattles On Her Lap - Let It Be Taught In Schools, In Seminaries, And In Colleges; Let It Be Written In Primmers, Spelling Books, And In Almanacs; Let It Be Preached From The Pulpit, Proclaimed In Legislative Halls, And Enforced In Courts Of Justice.
Mother
Book
School
I Have Simply Tried To Do What Seemed Best Each Day, As Each Day Came.
Life
Trying
President
I Do The Very Best I Can, I Mean To Keep Going. If The End Brings Me Out All Right, Then What Is Said Against Me Won't Matter. If I'm Wrong, Ten Angels Swearing I Was Right Won't Make A Difference.
Positive
Peace
Mean
The Man Does Not Live Who Is More Devoted To Peace Than I Am. None Who Would Do More To Preserve It.
Men
Doe
He Man
Life May Not Always Be A Bed Of Roses. All Of Us Are Aware Of This Fact. There Are Numerous Times In Life When We Have To Face Disappointments. These Quotes And Sayings Surely Do Inspire And Help Us To Look Forward And Enjoy The New Pathways Coming Our Way. These Quotes Also Lend A Different Perspective To Life, Which Makes Moving Forward Not A Very Difficult Task.i Hope To Stand Firm Enough To Not Go Backward, And Yet Not Go Forward Fast Enough To Wreck The Country's Cause.
Country
Disappointment
Moving
Trusting In Him, Who Can Go With Me, And Remain With You And Be Every Where For Good, Let Us Confidently Hope That All Will Yet Be Well. To His Care Commending You, As I Hope In Your Prayers You Will Commend Me, I Bid You An Affectionate Farewell.
Religious
Prayer
Farewell
It Has Been Said Of The World's History Hitherto That Might Makes Right. It Is For Us And For Our Time To Reverse The Maxim, And To Say That Right Makes Might.
Inspirational
World
Might
To Ease Another’s Heartache Is To Forget One’s Own.
Love
Humble
Helping Others
The Leading Rule For A Man Of Every Calling Is Diligence; Never Put Off Until Tomorrow What You Can Do Today.
Christian
Men
Calling
Prohibition... Goes Beyond The Bounds Of Reason In That It Attempts To Control A Man's Appetite By Legislation And Makes A Crime Out Of Things That Are Not Crimes... A Prohibition Law Strikes A Blow At The Very Principles Upon Which Our Government Was Founded.
Weed
Men
Blow
Neither Party Expected For The War, The Magnitude, Or The Duration, Which It Has Already Attained. Neither Anticipated That The Cause Of The Conflict Might Cease With, Or Even Before, The Conflict Itself Should Cease.
War
Party
Duration
No Man Has A Good Enough Memory To Be A Successful Liar.
Honesty
Memories
Liars
As The Patriots Of Seventy-six Did To The Support Of The Declaration Of Independence, So To The Support Of The Constitution And Laws, Let Every American Pledge His Life, His Property, And His Sacred Honor;-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
Father
Character
Relying, As I Do, Upon The Almighty Power, And Encouraged As I Am By These Resolutions Which You Have Just Read, With The Support Which I Receive From Christian Men, I Shall Not Hesitate To Use All The Means At My Control To Secure The Termination Of This Rebellion, And Will Hope For Success.
Christian
Religious
Mean
Young Man, If God Gives Me Four Years More To Rule This Country, I Believe It Will Become What It Ought To Be-what Its Divine Author Intended It To Be-no Longer One Vast Plantation For Breeding Human Beings For The Purpose Of Lust And Bondage. But It Will Become A New Valley Of Jehoshaphat, Where All The Nations Of The Earth Will Assemble Together Under One Flag, Worshipping A Common God, And They Will Celebrate The Resurrection Of Human Freedom.
Country
Believe
Men
I Cannot Bring Myself To Believe That Any Human Being Lives Who Would Do Me Any Harm.
Believe
Harm
Humans
The Strength Of A Nation Lies In The Homes Of Its People.
Lying
Home
People
People Are Just As Happy As They Choose To Be.
People
The Things I Want To Know Are In Books; My Best Friend Is The Man Who'll Get Me A Book I Ain't Read.
Motivational
Friendship
Sarcastic
It Has Been Said That One Bad General Is Better Than Two Good Ones, And The Saying Is True If Taken To Mean No More Than That An Army Is Better Directed By A Single Mind, Though Inferior, Than By Two Superior Ones At Variance And Cross-purposes With Each Other.
Taken
Mean
Army
I Have Always Believed That A Good Laugh Was Good For Both The Mental And Physical Digestion.
Laughing
Digestion
Belief
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
With Firmness In The Right, As God Gives Us To See The Right.
Military
Giving
Civil War
Much Is Being Said About Peace; And No Man Desires Peace More Ardently Than I. Still I Am Yet Unprepared To Give Up The Union Fora Peace Which, So Achieved, Could Not Be Of Much Duration.
Peace
Giving Up
Men
Do The People Of The South Really Entertain Fears That A Republican Administration Would, Directly, Or Indirectly, Interfere With Their Slaves, Or With Them, About Their Slaves? If They Do, I Wish To Assure You, As Once A Friend, And Still, I Hope, Not An Enemy, That There Is No Cause For Such Fears.
People
Civil War
Enemy
I Can Only Say That I Have Acted Upon My Best Convictions, Without Selfishness Or Malice, And That By The Help Of God I Shall Continue To Do So.
God
Selfishness
Helping
God Bless The Soldiers And Seamen, With All Their Brave Commanders.
Religious
Brave
Soldier
You Cannot Build Character And Courage By Taking Away People's Initiative And Independence. You Cannot Help People Permanently By Doing For Them What They Could And Should Do For Themselves.
Character
People
Independence
I Have Always Hated Slavery, I Think As Much As Any Abolitionist.
Thinking
Abolition Of Slavery
Civil War
My Father Taught Me To Work; He Did Not Teach Me To Love It.
Love
Motivational
Fathers Day
This Is A World Of Compensations; And He Who Would Be No Slave, Must Consent To Have No Slave.
Would Be
World
Slavery
I Am For Those Means Which Will Give The Greatest Good To The Greatest Number.
Inspirational
Mean
Numbers
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