Inspirational Quotations by Abraham Lincoln (#671)

Today marks the birthday of Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), one of the most recognized political leaders of all time.

Not much is known about the early life of the 16th President of the United States. Lincoln was born in a log cabin to a poor family, lost his mother at nine, completed just one year of traditional schooling, spent his youth in Indiana, and did manual labor until he was 21.

Lincoln pursued self-education by reading books on grammar and rhetoric and joined a debate society. At age 27, after years of private study of law, he obtained a license to practice and eventually became one of Illinois’s ablest lawyers. Lincoln also worked his way through the Illinois State Legislature and got elected to the US House of Representatives. He gained popularity for his down-to-earth wit, integrity, and opposition to the institution of slavery.

Lincoln’s leadership during the Civil War held the country together through the worst moral, constitutional, and political crisis in its history. Amidst the War, at his second inauguration, Lincoln addressed the nation with his famous words, “With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds … .” John Wilkes Booth, an actor who had heard Lincoln speak at his second inauguration, fatally shot him just six weeks later at Ford’s Theater in Washington D.C.

Lincoln is arguably the most admired President of the United States. He was famous for his compassionate nature, gentle spirit, and great oratory. His iconic 1863 Gettysburg Address is revered for its reaffirmation of a major founding principle of the United States: that all humans are born equal. To this day, this speech remains a model of ideological rhetoric and oratorical simplicity:

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal … We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Inspirational Quotations by Abraham Lincoln

Perhaps a man’s character was like a tree, and his reputation like its shadow; the shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.
—Abraham Lincoln (American Head of State)

When I get ready to talk to people, I spend two thirds of the time thinking what they want to hear and one third thinking about what I want to say.
—Abraham Lincoln (American Head of State)

With the catching ends the pleasures of the chase.
—Abraham Lincoln (American Head of State)

You can’t escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.
—Abraham Lincoln (American Head of State)

I believe each individual is naturally entitled to do as he pleases with himself and the fruit of his labor, so far as it in no wise interferes with any other man’s rights.
—Abraham Lincoln (American Head of State)

In times like the present men should utter nothing for which they would not willingly be responsible through time and in eternity.
—Abraham Lincoln (American Head of State)

No men living are more worthy to be trusted than those who toil up from poverty.
—Abraham Lincoln (American Head of State)

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.
—Abraham Lincoln (American Head of State)

Every man is proud of what he does well; and no man is proud of what he does not do well. With the former, his heart is in his work; and he will do twice as much of it with less fatigue. The latter performs a little imperfectly, looks at it in disgust, turns from it, and imagines himself exceedingly tired. The little he has done, comes to nothing, for want of finishing.
—Abraham Lincoln (American Head of State)

Do not worry; eat three square meals a day; say your prayers; be courteous to your creditors; keep your digestion good; exercise; go slow and easy. Maybe there are other things your special case requires to make you happy, but my friend, these I reckon will give you a good lift.
—Abraham Lincoln (American Head of State)

Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?
—Abraham Lincoln (American Head of State)

To believe in the things you can see and touch is no belief at all; but to believe in the unseen is a triumph and a blessing.
—Abraham Lincoln (American Head of State)

Truth is generally the best vindication against slander.
—Abraham Lincoln (American Head of State)

I shall try to correct errors when shown to be errors; and I shall adopt new views so fast as they shall appear to be true views.
—Abraham Lincoln (American Head of State)

A man watches his pear tree day after day, impatient for the ripening of the fruit. Let him attempt to force the process, and he may spoil both fruit and tree. But let him patiently wait, and the ripe fruit at length falls into his lap.
—Abraham Lincoln (American Head of State)

Wanting to work is so rare a merit that it should be encouraged.
—Abraham Lincoln (American Head of State)

Determine that the thing can and shall be done, and then we shall find the way.
—Abraham Lincoln (American Head of State)

When I do good I feel good, when I do bad I feel bad, and that’s my religion.
—Abraham Lincoln (American Head of State)

There’s no honorable way to kill, no gentle way to destroy. There is nothing good in war. Except its ending.
—Abraham Lincoln (American Head of State)

The shepherd drives the wolf from the sheep’s throat, for which the sheep thanks the shepherd as his liberator, while the wolf denounces him for the same act as the destroyer of liberty.
—Abraham Lincoln (American Head of State)

Every blade of grass is a study; and to produce two, where there was but one, is both a profit and a pleasure.
—Abraham Lincoln (American Head of State)

The better part of one’s life consists of his friendships.
—Abraham Lincoln (American Head of State)

I must study the plain physical facts of the case, ascertain what is possible, and learn what appears to be wise and right.
—Abraham Lincoln (American Head of State)

Everybody likes a compliment.
—Abraham Lincoln (American Head of State)

I am a slow walker, but I never walk backwards.
—Abraham Lincoln (American Head of State)

We hope all danger may be overcome; but to conclude that no danger may ever arise would itself be extremely dangerous.
—Abraham Lincoln (American Head of State)