"Whatever you are, be a good one." ~Abraham Lincoln

On People
On Character
On Success
On Freedom
On Unity
On Hope
On Providence

On People ...

"I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crises. The great point is to bring them the real facts."

"I have never studied the art of paying compliments to women; but I must say that if all that has been said by orators and poets since the creation of the world in praise of women were applied to the women of America, it would not do them justice for their conduct during this war. I will close by saying, God bless the women of America!"

"It is difficult to make a man miserable while he feels worthy of himself and claims kindred to the great God who made him."

"We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."

On Character ...

"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."

"Force is all-conquering, but its victories are short-lived."

"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."

"Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can. As a peacemaker the lawyer has superior opportunity of being a good man. There will still be business enough."

"You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today."

"It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues."

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."

"It often requires more courage to dare to do right than to fear to do wrong."

On Success ...

"I will prepare and some day my chance will come."

"If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend six sharpening my axe."

"Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing."

"The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time

"Success is going from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm."

"You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot help the wage-earner by pulling down the wage-payer. You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves."

"You can have anything you want if you want it badly enough.You can be anything you want to be, do anything you set out to accomplish if you hold to that desire with singleness of purpose."

On Freedom ...

"Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally."

"No man is good enough to govern another man without that other's consent."

On Unity ...

"With malice toward none, with charity for all, ... let us strive on to finish the work we are in, ...to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."

On Hope ...

“You cannot now believe that you will ever feel better. But this is not true. You are sure to be happy again. Knowing this, truly believing it, will make you less miserable now.”

On Providence ...

"Without the assistance of the Divine Being who ever attended him, I cannot succeed. With that assistance I cannot fail."

copyright 2009 Michleen Collins, www.Michleen-Collins.com