Lincon's Eloquence

[samgrant]

Most all of us will admit that Abraham Lincoln had a way with words, no matter what one may think of him as a person or a president or a leader or an enemy.

His most praised words, for their eloquence, are the Gettysburg Address and the 2nd Inaugural speech - there have been several books devoted entirely to just these.

There have also been several collections of quotes, with or without context, usually condensed into one or two sentence 'sound bites'.

This thread is dedicated to any of those of Lincoln's words/phrases which you might have found impressive or persuasive or in whatever way you found that they impressed you as somehow significant to you.

It may be in a simple thing, like his response to Thomas Swan's request for troops: "They can not fly to either place. Let us be vigilant but keep cool." or to those seeking an interview: "It is a matter of no importance to me whether I spend my time with half a dozen of you or with the whole of you, but it is of importance to you. Therefore when you come in, don't stay long."

So if there is something that Lincoln said or wrote that affected you in some important way, please post it here, and give the context/circumstances in which those words were issued.

My initial entry:

"We can succeed only by concert. It is not "Can any of us imagine better?" but "Can we all do better?" Object whatsoever is possible, still the question recurs, "Can we do better?" The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country. Fellow-citizens, we can not escape history. We of this Congress and this Administration will be remembered in spite of ourselves. No personal significance or insignificance can spare one or another of us. The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down in honor or dishonor to the latest generation. We say we are for the Union. The world will not forget that we say this. We know how to save the Union. The world knows we do know how to save it. We, even we here, hold the power and bear the responsibility. In giving freedom to the slave we assure freedom to the free--honorable alike in what we give and what we preserve. We shall nobly save or meanly lose the last best hope of earth. Other means may succeed; this could not fail. The way is plain, peaceful, generous, just--a way which if followed the world will forever applaud and God must forever bless."

- From Lincoln's State of the Union Address (Dec. 1, 1862) in which he makes the case for the Emancipation Proclamation.

[Dred]

A speach he gave in the 1850s was apparently so moving that throughout the 2 hours he was speaking, none of the reporters wrote any of it down. They were too mezmorized by his words. No copy of this speach exists and noboy knows what it was about!

[samgrant]

Originally Posted by Dred

A speach he gave in the 1850s was apparently so moving that throughout the 2 hours he was speaking, none of the reporters wrote any of it down. They were too mezmorized by his words. No copy of this speach exists and noboy knows what it was about!

http://members.aol.com/RVSNorton1/Lincoln63.html

[swheeler]

A very interesting topic. I suppose Lincoln's letter to Horace Greeley for publication (August 22, 1862) has always struck me by its directness and timeliness. Lincoln would issue the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation a month later, I believe in this letter he was preparing the public for the controversial decision:

"My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. 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 save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union..."

Here are a few of my favorite Lincoln documents.

[ole]

Thanks for the link, swheeler, have bookmarked it for later use.

My favorite quote, and I'll ask for someone's help in locating it and presenting it accurately (I'm getting the evil eye as I speak, and will shortly be getting harsh treatment.):

Something in the nature of, "Name one good thing that no one wants for himself."

ole

[swheeler]

Hi Ole,

I think I know which quote you are referring to. It comes from some notes Lincoln wrote in 1854 in preparation for future political speeches against slavery. It can be found in full in the Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, 2:222. Here is the fragment:

"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. So plain that no one, high or low, ever does mistake it, except in a plainly selfish way; for although volume upon volume is written to prove slavery a very good thing, we never hear of the man who wishes to take the good of it, by being a slave himself."

[Dred]

Originally Posted by samgrant

http://members.aol.com/RVSNorton1/Lincoln63.html

Yup, thats the one I wsa thinking about! I'd love to go back in time and listen to that!

[samgrant]

Originally Posted by swheeler

Hi Ole,

I think I know which quote you are referring to. It comes from some notes Lincoln wrote in 1854 in preparation for future political speeches against slavery. It can be found in full in the Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, 2:222. Here is the fragment:

"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. So plain that no one, high or low, ever does mistake it, except in a plainly selfish way; for although volume upon volume is written to prove slavery a very good thing, we never hear of the man who wishes to take the good of it, by being a slave himself."

Or ... from "On Slavery" circa October 1858:

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.

-

[ole]

Apparently, he'd been honing the thought for quite some time:

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.
March 22, 1864 A. LINCOLN

Finally was reminded where I stashed it. Thanks for the background. I wasn't aware that he said or noted the same thing before.

ole