The inner life of Abraham Lincoln : $b Six months at the White HouseCarpenter, F. B. (Francis Bicknell)
History
The inner life of Abraham Lincoln : $b Six months at the White House
Carpenter, F. B. (Francis Bicknell)
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 -- Anecdotes; Presidents -- United States -- Anecdotes
“‘But was not Mr. Lincoln a man of great humanity?’ asks a friend at my
elbow, a little angrily; to which I reply, ‘Has not that question been
answered already?’ Let us suppose that it has not. We must understand
each other. What do you mean by humanity? Do you mean that he had
much of human nature in him? If so, I will grant that he was a man of
humanity. Do you mean, if the above definition is unsatisfactory, that
Mr. Lincoln was tender and kind? Then I agree with you. But if you mean
to say that he so loved a man that he would sacrifice truth and right
for him, for love’s sake, then he was not a man of humanity. Do you
mean to say that he so loved man, for love’s sake, that his heart led
him out of himself, and compelled him to go in search of the objects of
his love, for their sake? He never, to my knowledge, manifested this
side of his character. Such is the law of human nature, that it cannot
be all head, all conscience, and all heart at one and the same time in
one and the same person. Our Maker made it so, and where God through
reason blazed the path, walk therein boldly. Mr. Lincoln’s glory and
power lay in the just combination of head, conscience, and heart, and
it is here that his fame must rest, or not at all.
“Not only were Mr. Lincoln’s perceptions good; not only was nature
suggestive to him; not only was he original and strong; not only had
he great reason, good understanding; not only did he love the true
and good--the eternal _right_; not only was he tender and kind,--but,
in due proportion and in legitimate subordination, had he a glorious
combination of them all. Through his perceptions,--the suggestiveness
of nature, his originality and strength; through his magnificent
reason, his understanding, his conscience, his tenderness, and
kindness, his heart, rather than love,--he approximated as nearly as
most human beings in this imperfect state to an embodiment of the great
moral principle, ‘Do unto others as ye would they should do unto you.’
* * * * *
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account