Looking for the most inspiring Abraham Lincoln quotes? Discover the wisdom and timeless leadership of America’s 16th president through his most memorable words. Abraham Lincoln quotes capture the essence of freedom, perseverance, and equality, offering guidance on leadership, justice, and personal growth. Whether you’re searching for motivation, historical insight, or just a deeper understanding of Lincoln’s legacy, these quotes provide powerful lessons that remain relevant today. Explore this collection of Abraham Lincoln quotes to find inspiration for every aspect of life, from overcoming adversity to championing human rights.
- 1. “Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.”
- 2. “Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.”
- 3. “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.”
- 4. “Most folks are about as happy as they make their minds up to be.”
- 5. “No man has a good enough memory to be a successful liar.”
- 6. “Human action can be modified to some extent, but human nature cannot be changed.”
- 7. “Love is the chain to lock a child to its parent.”
- 8. “There are no bad pictures; that’s just how your face looks sometimes.”
- 9. “You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry.”
- 10. “Common looking people are the best in the world: that is the reason the Lord makes so many of them.”
- 11. “Tact: the ability to describe others as they see themselves.”
- 12. “He has a right to criticize, who has a heart to help.”
- 13. “A farce or comedy is best played; a tragedy is best read at home.”
- 14. “Upon the subject of education… I view it as the most important subject which we as a people can be engaged in.”
- 15. “For people who like that kind of a book, that is the kind of book they will like.”
- 16. “I am rather inclined to silence… it is at least more unusual nowadays to find a man who can hold his tongue than to find one who cannot.”
- 17. “I want it said of me by those who knew me best, that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow.”
- 18. “I don’t like that man. I must get to know him better.”
- 19. “When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.”
- 20. “You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.”
- 21. “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.”
- 22. “Leave nothing for tomorrow which can be done today.”
- 23. “Adhere to your purpose, and you will soon feel as well as you ever did.”
- 24. “And in the end, it is not the years in your life that count, it’s the life in your years.”
- 25. “What is to be, will be, and no prayers of ours can arrest the decree.”
- 26. “Let every American… swear by the blood of the Revolution, never to violate the laws of the country.”
- 27. “I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have controlled me.”
- 28. “I know not how to aid you, save in the assurance… that you can not fail, if you resolutely determine, that you will not.”
- 29. “I have not permitted myself… to conclude that I am the best man in the country.”
- 30. “I have stepped out upon this platform that I may see you, and that you may see me.”
- 31. “The demon of intemperance ever seems to have delighted in sucking the blood of genius and of generosity.”
- 32. “This is a world of compensations; and he who would be no slave, must consent to have no slave.”
- 33. “Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves.”
- 34. “As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy.”
- 35. “In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free.”
- 36. “You think slavery is right and should be extended, while we think slavery is wrong and ought to be restricted.”
- 37. “The one victory we can ever call complete will be that one which proclaims that there is not one slave or one drunkard on the face of God’s green earth.”
- 38. “All I ask for the negro is that if you do not like him, let him alone.”
- 39. “The ballot is stronger than the bullet.”
- 40. “I cannot make it better known than it already is that I strongly favor colonization.”
- 41. “Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can.”
- 42. “The love of property and consciousness of right and wrong have conflicting places in our organization.”
- 43. “What is conservatism? Is it not adherence to the old and tried, against the new and untried?”
- 44. “Elections belong to the people. It’s their decision.”
- 45. “When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That’s my religion.”
- 46. “Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital.”
- 47. “Property is the fruit of labor… is a positive good in the world.”
- 48. “I can make a General in five minutes, but a good horse is hard to replace.”
- 49. “My father taught me to work but not to love it.”
- 50. “We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies.”
- 51. “The mystic chords of memory… will yet swell the chorus of the Union when again touched by the better angels of our nature.”
- 52. “If we have no friends, we have no pleasure; and if we have them, we are sure to lose them.”
- 53. “My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.”
- 54. “I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice.”
- 55. “Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.”
- 56. “Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”
- 57. “I am in favor of animal rights as well as human rights.”
- 58. “Towering genius disdains a beaten path. It seeks regions hitherto unexplored.”
- 59. “There is no grievance that is a fit object of redress by mob law.”
- 60. “If you are resolutely determined to make a lawyer of yourself, the thing is more than half done already.”
- 61. “The greatest fine art of the future will be the making of a comfortable living from a small piece of land.”
- 62. “I expect to maintain this contest until successful, or till I die, or am conquered.”
- 63. “A capacity, and taste, for reading, gives access to whatever has already been discovered by others.”
- 64. “I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true.”
- 65. “I walk slowly, but I never walk backward.”
- 66. “Whatever you are, be a good one.”
- 67. “Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?”
- 68. “You have to do your own growing no matter how tall your grandfather was.”
- 69. “Bad promises are better broken than kept.”
- 70. “War at the best, is terrible, and this war of ours, in its magnitude and in its duration, is one of the most terrible.”
- 71. “Now, as to the young men. You must not wait to be brought forward by the older men.”
- 72. “Don’t interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties.”
- 73. “I am rather inclined to silence, and whether that be wise or not, it is at least more unusual nowadays to find a man who can hold his tongue than to find one who cannot.”
- 74. “Leave nothing for tomorrow which can be done today.”
- 75. “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.”
- 76. “When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.”
- 77. “You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.”
- 78. “I want it said of me by those who knew me best, that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow.”
- 79. “I don’t like that man. I must get to know him better.”
- 80. “The ballot is stronger than the bullet.”
- 81. “Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can.”
- 82. “The love of property and consciousness of right and wrong have conflicting places in our organization.”
- 83. “Elections belong to the people. It’s their decision.”
- 84. “When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That’s my religion.”
- 85. “Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital.”
- 86. “Property is the fruit of labor.”
- 87. “I can make a General in five minutes, but a good horse is hard to replace.”
- 88. “My father taught me to work but not to love it.”
- 89. “We are not enemies, but friends.”
- 90. “The mystic chords of memory will yet swell the chorus of the Union when again touched by the better angels of our nature.”
- 91. “If we have no friends, we have no pleasure.”
- 92. “My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.”
- 93. “I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice.”
- 94. “Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.”
- 95. “Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”
- 96. “I am in favor of animal rights as well as human rights.”
- 97. “Towering genius disdains a beaten path.”
- 98. “There is no grievance that is a fit object of redress by mob law.”
- 99. “If you are resolutely determined to make a lawyer of yourself, the thing is more than half done already.”
- 100. “The greatest fine art of the future will be the making of a comfortable living from a small piece of land.”
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