50 Most Powerful Abraham Lincoln Quotes On Life And Success
Last updated on December 27th, 2023 at 11:06 am
“Abraham Lincoln Quote“, by Alvin Trusty, is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0
Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, in Kentucky, the U.S. He served as the 16th president of the United States and became one of the great American leaders. His presidency was dominated by the American Civil War where he succeeded in preserving the Union and brought the emancipation of the slaves. Upon doing that, people called him “The Great Emancipator”. He also strengthened the federal government and helped in modernizing the U.S. economy.
Abraham Lincoln Quotes
“Public opinion in this country is everything.”
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, Speech at Columbus, Ohio [September 16,1859]
“The Father of Waters again goes unvexed to the sea.”
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, Letter to James C. Conkling [August 26,1863]
“What kills the skunk is the publicity it gives itself.”
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, Reminiscences of Abraham Lincoln (1896)
“I do not like that man. I must get to know him better.”
“The severest justice may not always be the best policy.”
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, Veto message, eventually not executed, written as a response to the Second Confiscation Act passed by Congress. (17 July 1862)
“Every one desires to live long, but no one would be old.”
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, Thoughts on Various Subjects from Miscellanies (1711-1726)
“Moral principle is a looser bond than pecuniary interest.”
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, speech, Oct. 1856
“I think the necessity of being ready increases. Look to it.”
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, This was the whole letter he wrote to Governor Andrew Curtin of Pennsylvania, on 8 April 1861. As reported in: Collected Works (1953), vol. 4
“Tact is the ability to describe others as they see themselves.”
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, Speaking of Abraham Lincoln (ed. 1998)
“We meet this evening, not in sorrow, but in gladness of heart.”
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, The Gettysburg Address (ed. Penguin UK, 2009) – ISBN: 9780141956633
“If elected I shall be thankful; if not, it will be all the same.”
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, Abraham Lincoln’s Stories and Speeches (ed. 1896)
“The people when rightly and fully trusted will return the trust.”
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, The Lincoln treasury (ed. 1950)
“The best way to get a bad law repealed is to enforce it strictly.”
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, The Wit & Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln: A Treasury of Quotations, Anecdotes, and Observations (ed. Gramercy, 1999)
“Wanting to work is so rare a merit, that it should be encouraged.”
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, The Lincoln Year Book: Axioms and Aphorisms from the Great Emancipator (ed. Library of Alexandria, 1907) – ISBN: 9781465522597
“We cannot but believe that He who made the world still governs it.”
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, Abraham Lincoln (ed. 1894)
“[Laughter is] the joyous, beautiful, universal evergreen of life.”
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, As quoted in: The Boys’ Life of Abraham Lincoln (1906) by Helen Nicolay
“We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain.”
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, Abraham Lincoln (ed. 1894)
“God bless the soldiers and seamen, with all their brave commanders.”
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, Abraham Lincoln, a Documentary Portrait Through His Speeches and Writings (ed. Stanford University Press, 1977) – ISBN: 9780804709460
“Hold on with a bulldog grip, and chew and choke as much as possible.”
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, Abraham Lincoln (ed. 1894)
“Will springs from the two elements of moral sense and self-interest.”
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, Speech at Springfield, Illinois (26 June 1857)
“What is to be, will be, and no prayers of ours can arrest the decree.”
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, The Lincoln treasury (ed. 1950)
“We shall sooner have the fowl by hatching the egg than by smashing it.”
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, Lincoln’s Inaugurals, Addresses and Letters (Selections) (EasyRead Super Large 18pt Edition) (ed. 2008)
“A woman is the only thing I am afraid of that I know will not hurt me.”
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, The Magazine of history, with notes and queries: Extra number (ed. 1924)
“I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice.”
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, To Joseph Gillespie, in letter from Gillespie to Herald and Torch Light, 15 March 1876
“The only person who is a worse liar than a faith healer is his patient.”
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, Physics and Psychics (1990)
“So you’re the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war!”
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, The Wit & Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln: A Treasury of Quotations, Anecdotes, and Observations (ed. Gramercy, 1999)
“You know I dislike slavery; and you fully admit the abstract wrong of it.”
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, Abraham Lincoln (ed. 1894)
“No man is good enough to govern another man without that other’s consent.”
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, speech, Peoria, Ill., Oct. 16, 1854
“Ready are we all to cry out and ascribe motives when our toes are pinched.”
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, Abraham Lincoln: Speeches & Writings Part 2: 1859-1865: Library of America #46 (ed. Library of America, 1989) – ISBN: 9781598531213
“It is the man who does not want to express an opinion whose opinion I want.”
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, Abraham Lincoln’s Stories and Speeches (ed. 1903)
“You are green, it is true; but they are green also. You are all green alike.”
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, Papers Delivered Before the Members of the Abraham Lincoln Association (ed. 1938)
“He has managed to wring one last spectacular defeat from the jaws of victory.”
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, in Stephen Pile, The Book of Heroic Failures (1979)
“Towering genius disdains a beaten path. It seeks regions hitherto unexplored.”
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, speech, Jan. 27, 1838
“It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues.”
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, The Wit & Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln: A Treasury of Quotations, Anecdotes, and Observations (ed. Gramercy, 1999)
“Property is the fruit of labor; property is desirable; it is a positive good.”
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, Abraham Lincoln’s Stories and Speeches (ed. 1896)
“He can compress the most words into the smallest ideas of any man I ever met.”
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, Abraham Lincoln, the true story of a great life (ed. 1903)
“Talk to the jury as though your client’s fate depends on every word you utter.”
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, The papers of Abraham Lincoln: legal documents and cases (ed. 2008)
“I am for those means which will give the greatest good to the greatest number.”
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, Abraham Lincoln: Selected Speeches and Writings (ed. Library of America, 2009) – ISBN: 9781598531336
“We know nothing of what will happen in future, but by the analogy of experience.”
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, Abraham Lincoln (ed. 1894)
“It’s my experience that folks who have no vices have generally very few virtues.”
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, Six Months at the White House with Abraham Lincoln (1866)
Nitesh Kucchal
Nitesh Kuchhal, an IIM Calcutta graduate, is more than an educator—he's a mentor. With a passion for leadership and entrepreneurship, and travel. He has explored over 20 countries. Beyond teaching, he dives into psychology and discusses social issues. Though he is not a history expert, he enjoys learning about it through books, adding a historical touch to his many interests.
