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
In the ordinary acceptation of the term, I would scarcely have called
Mr. Lincoln a _religious_ man,--and yet I believe him to have been a
sincere _Christian_. A constitutional tendency to dwell upon sacred
things, an emotional nature which finds ready expression in religious
conversation and revival meetings, the culture and development of the
devotional element till the expression of such thought and experience
becomes habitual, were not among his characteristics. Doubtless he
felt as deeply upon the great questions of the soul and eternity as
any other thoughtful man; but the very tenderness and humility of his
nature would not permit the exposure of his inmost convictions, except
upon the rarest occasions, and to his most intimate friends. And yet,
aside from emotional expression, I believe no man had a more abiding
sense of his dependence upon God, or faith in the Divine government,
and in the power and ultimate triumph of Truth and Right in the world.
The Rev. J. P. Thompson, of New York, in an admirable discourse upon
the life and character of the departed President, very justly observed:
“It is not necessary to appeal to apocryphal stories--which illustrate
as much the assurance of his visitors as the simplicity of his
faith--for proof of Mr. Lincoln’s Christian character.” If his daily
life and various public addresses and writings do not show this, surely
nothing can demonstrate it.
Fortunately there is sufficient material before the public, upon which
to form a judgment in this respect, without resorting to apocryphal
resources.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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