The Wit and Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln: A Book of Quotations

by Abraham Lincoln, Bob Blaisdell (Editor)

From the most eloquent of American presidents, nearly 400 astute observations on subjects ranging from women to warfare: "Bad promises are better broken than kept"; "Marriage is neither heaven nor hell; it is simply purgatory"; "Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally."

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, Philosophy, Humor, Civil War, American History

90 pages, Paperback

Published August 8, 2005

About the author

Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth president of the United States from 1861, led during the Civil War, and emancipated slaves in the south in 1863; shortly after the end, John Wilkes Booth assassinated him.

Abraham Lincoln, an American lawyer, politician, and man, served until 1865. Lincoln defended the American constitutional nation, defeated the insurgent Confederacy, abolished, expanded the power of the Federal government, and modernized the economy.
A mother bore him into poverty in a log cabin in Kentucky, and parents reared on the frontier, primarily in Indiana. He educated as a lawyer in Whig party, joined legislature, and represented Illinois. In 1849, he returned to his successful law practice in Springfield, Illinois.

The Kansas–Nebraska act in 1854 opened the territories, angered him, and caused him to re-enter politics. He quickly joined the new Republican Party. He reached a national audience in the campaign debates against Stephen Arnold Douglas for Senate in 1858. Lincoln ran in 1860 and swept the north to gain victory. Other elements viewed his election as a threat and from the nation began seceding. During this time, the newly formed Confederate of America began seizing Federal military bases. A little over one month after Lincoln assumed, Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina. Following the bombardment, Lincoln mobilized forces to suppress the rebellion and restored.

Lincoln, a moderate, navigated a contentious array of factions with friends and opponents from the Democratic Party and Republican Party. His allies, the Democrats, and the radical Republicans, demanded harsh treatment of the Confederates. He exploited mutual enmity of the factions, carefully distributing political patronage, and appealed to the American people. Democrats, called "Copperheads," despised Lincoln, and some irreconcilable pro-Confederate elements went so far as to plot. People came to see his greatest address at Gettysburg as a most influential statement of American national purpose. Lincoln closely supervised the strategy and tactics in the effort, including the selection of generals, and implemented a naval blockade of the trade. He suspended habeas corpus in Maryland and elsewhere, and averted British intervention by defusing the Trent Affair. He issued the proclamation, which declared free those "in rebellion." It also directed the Navy to "recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons" and to receive them "into the armed service." Lincoln pressured border to outlaw, and he promoted the thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which abolished, except as punishment for a crime.
Lincoln managed his own successful re-election campaign. He sought to heal the torn nation through reconciliation. On April 14, 1865, just five days after the Confederate surrender at Appomattox, he attended a play at theater of Ford in Washington, District of Columbia, with Mary Todd Lincoln, his wife, when Confederate sympathizer fatally shot him. People remember Lincoln as a martyr and a national hero for his time and for his efforts to preserve and abolish. Popular and scholarly polls often rank Lincoln as the greatest president in American history.

Reviews

[H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fairly comprehensive book of Lincoln’s quips, and excerpts from speeches and letters. The book is conveniently divided into sections as follows:

 AMERICA AND LIBERTY
 EDUCATION AND ADVICE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
 FAMILY AND FRIENDS
 HIS LIFE AND CHARACTER: CHILDHOOD TO DEATH
 LAW AND THE CONSTITUTION
 POLITICS AND POLITICIANS
 THE PRESIDENCY
 RELIGION, MORALITY, AND HUMAN FRAILTY
 SECESSION
 SLAVERY AND THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION
 STORY-TELLING AND SPEECH-MAKING
 THE WAR AND HIS GENERALS
 WOMEN AND MARRIAGE

From the section, America and Liberty, here are typical quotations.

“The resources, advantages, and powers of the American people are very great, and they have, consequently, succeeded to equally great responsibilities. It seems to have devolved upon them to test whether a government established on the principles of human freedom can be maintained against an effort to build one upon the exclusive foundation of human bondage.”

“The world has never had a good definition of the word liberty, and the American people, just now, are much in want of one. We all declare for liberty; but in using the same word we do not all mean the same thing. With some the word liberty may mean for each man to do as he pleases with himself, and the product of his labor; while with others the same word may mean for some men to do as they please with other men, and the product of other men’s labor. Here are two, not only different, but incompatible things, called by the same name—liberty. And it follows that each of the things is, by the respective parties, called by the two different and incompatible names—liberty and tyranny.”

I believe, for those who want to know and/or understand the man better, this is an easy and efficient way to grasp more of his character and personality. It’s an easy book to take up and read something on a particular point and feel satisfied about doing so.

Having just read Rise to Greatness https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... this was a helpful companion to show me the arc of his thoughts and some of the origins of the great man’s humility and bottomless compassion.

I found Lincoln's self-observation to ring true: “I am slow to learn and slow to forget that which I have learned. My mind is like a piece of steel, very hard to scratch anything on and almost impossible after you get it there to rub it out.”

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Received this a a present for Christmas from Beth. I'll bet she didn't think I'd actually read it cover to cover! Anyway, it has some humorous and thoughtful quotations - some I'd read before and others that were new - that shed light on what an exceptional president. I doubt we'll ever elect someone with as much humility, compassion, and forgiveness since, in our cynical world, those qualities make someone "weak". I'd take Lincoln's "weakness" any day over what characterizes most of our elected asses today.

[Lesley Looper · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting collection of things Lincoln spoke or wrote. One thing I learned is that the Thanksgiving holiday was started when Lincoln was in office.

[Shadin Pranto · Rating 3 out of 5]

' Common looking people are the best in the world; that is the reason the Lord makes so many of them.'

'no man is good enough to govern another man without that other’s consent. '

'A man who denies to other men equality of rights is hardly worthy of freedom; but I would give even to him all the rights which I claim for myself.'

Near eighty years ago we began by declaring that all men are created equal; but now from that beginning we have run down to the other declaration, that for some men to enslave others is a “sacred right of self-government.” These principles cannot stand together. They are as opposite as God and Mammon; and whoever holds to the one must despise the other.
—Speech, Peoria, Illinois, October 16, 1854 [HSW]

Stand with anybody that stands right. Stand with him while he is right and part with him when he goes wrong.
—Speech, Peoria,

[Anu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful remedy for the Lincoln hangover I had since reading the “Team of Rivals”. Grouped into themes, the book has some marvellous anecdotes and quotes from Lincoln that are funny, inspiring and endearing.

[Cory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bought an early edition of this book- it is one of my favorite books of all time. He is the most eloquent president in the history of the US.

[Nicki Elson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of Lincolnisms - quotes & anecdotes - and the perfect souvenir from the Lincoln Library & Museum in Springfield, IL. However, I wish the anecdotes section had been arranged chronologically rather than alphabetically (based on random titles given to the stories).

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite a few of these quotes are from speeches and debates Lincoln had through the years of his political life. Truly one of the great speakers in American history. Definitely recommended

[Taffy · Rating 5 out of 5]

My hubby bought this book for me when he and our Scouter boy were at Gettysburg. Love it!
I'm kinda cheating on this review because I haven't finished the book. I plan to leave it on my nightstand and randomly pick it up and enjoy Lincoln's wisdom. And wit.
He was an amazing man!

Rating: G

Page 69 test:
""OLD BUCK" PASSES THE BUCK
As the term of the fifteenth President wound down to its end, James Buchanan wrestled with the insurmountable problem of avoiding war. Many of his own cabinet members were open Southern sympathizers.
"Old Buck," as Buchanan was once affectionately referred to by his friends, had expected his presidential term to cap a distinguished career in public service-as a senator, secretary of state, and minister to the Court of St. James in London. Instead, he found his reputation crumbling in the final year of his term. The ordeal had visible aged Buchanan.
As Buchanan rode down in the presidential carriage from the executive Mansion to the Capitol for the inauguration ceremonies, he said to President-elect Lincoln:
"If you are as happy coming into this office, as I am in leaving it, you are the happiest man in America."

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book focuses more on the wisdom - though there's a fair amount of Lincoln's wry sense of humor, there's more that reflects his passionate hatred of slavery and his powerful sense of justice and empathy for his fellow human beings. I've always admired Abraham Lincoln, while recognizing that he was an imperfect man with some of the failings of his time and some of his own; I have always been awed by the sheer emotional strength he showed in carrying on for those four years of the Civil War because he saw it as necessary and right, despite his grief over the death of his own son and the deaths of many, many other people's sons, despite being at times widely reviled and nearly alone in believing in his cause, and despite his own struggle with what would today be recognized as major clinical depression.
The only reason I am not giving this book five stars is that it's so short, only 90 pages. I'm sure enough material could be found to make it much longer without any sense of it being padded or overdone.

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun to look at Lincoln as our first humorist.
36: Capital has it rights, which are as worthy of protection as any other rights.

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

[TL *Humaning the Best She Can* · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely little volume, Lincoln was a complex yet simple man at the same time... If that makes sense :)

If I could go back in time and visit one person, it'd be him

This has been re-read many times and will continue to be :) (guessing on year)

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please my review on Amazon.com under C. Wong. Thank you.

[Dwight T · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love quotations and like Samuel Clemens, Abraham Lincoln made many statements that in turn became great quotes.

[Michael Percy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the third of the Dover "Wit and Wisdom" series I have read, following on from Poor Richard (Benjamin Franklin) and Mark Twain. While the latter two were certainly witty in the humorous sense of the word, its use in relation to Lincoln is one more of quick intelligence, sans humour.

There are many familiar quotes in this book, two at least from popular culture. The first from Bob Dylan's "Talkin' World War III Blues" (p. 29):

You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time (29 May 1856).

The other quote is from Saving Private Ryan, a letter of condolence to a Mrs Lydia Bixby. Lincoln believed that Bixby had lost five sons in the war. The book suggests this was what Lincoln believed at the time, but it was a mistake - she had lost two (p. 78). I decided to delve into this a little more.

While there is much controversy about the actual letter, ranging from opinions that the wording of the letter is greater than the Gettysburg Address, to that it wasn't written by Lincoln but by his assistant personal secretary, John Hay.

What is even stranger is that Bixby may well have been a Confederate sympathiser and operated a house of ill repute! Still, that doesn't take away from Lincoln's eloquence.

There isn't much in the way of humour other than a mild form of self-deprecating humility. My favourite story about Lincoln is his decision to grow a beard, based on the suggestion of an 11 year-old girl, Grace Bedell, in a letter of 15 October 1860 (p. 14). My great, great grandfather, James Beasley Percy, born in 1866 near Armidale, wore the same beard.

But there is one thing that Lincoln was famous for, not so much what he wrote but what he didn't send. On 14 July 1863, Lincoln wrote a scathing letter to General George G. Meade for letting Robert E. Lee's forces escape following the Battle of Gettysburg (p. 86). Lincoln referred to these as "hot letters" to let off steam. I suppose it is easier not to post a letter, much less so with a "flaming" email!

While quotes are easy to come by on the internet, and not all are adequately attributed, I find reading the "Wit and Wisdom" series useful in that the quotes are themed around important events or activities. Reading a person's thoughts, letters, and speeches in this way provides a richer idea of the trials and tribulations they faced, rather than the glossy bits that are seen in a simple meme or online quote.

Lincoln appears to be much more serious than Twain or Poor Richard. Indeed, responding to a cabinet minister wondering why Lincoln was reading a humorous book (p. 44), Lincoln replied:

With all the fearful strain that is upon me night and day, if I did not laugh I should die.

And he was under enormous strain. In responding to a reported death threat, Lincoln remarked on 4 April 1865 (p. 16):

I cannot bring myself to believe that any human being lives who would do me any harm.

Alas, there was, but the rest is history.

[Zach]

The Wit and Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln is a brief, yet varied collection of thoughts from Lincoln. 

Here are two favorites:


"As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy. Whatever differs from this, to the extent of the difference, is not democracy."

 (Note, August 1858)


"That the Constitution gives the President a negative on legislation, all know; but that this negative should be so combined with platforms and other appliances as to enable him and, in fact, almost compel him to take the whole of legislation is what we object to [. . .] and is what constitutes the broad distinction between you and us." 

(Speech in the US House of Representatives, July 27, 1848)

[Henrik Haapala · Rating 5 out of 5]

“A capacity and taste for reading gives access to whatever has already been discovered by others. It is the key, or one of the keys, to the already solved problems. And not only so, it gives a relish and facility for successfully pursuing the yet unsolved ones.” p.7

“Yours of the 24th asking “the best mode of obtaining a thorough knowledge of the law” is received. The mode is very simple, though laborious and tedious. It is only to get the books, and read, and study them carefully... work, work, work, is the main thing.” p.7

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting, though superficial, look at the sixteenth president through various quotations. The collection of aphorisms and direct quotes offer a more personal view of the man as he must have been to speak to, much like one would know a neighbor or someone with whom they are casually acquainted. That's worthwhile, and the collection itself is decent and covers a wide gamut of different topics, but I was left wanting to better understand the context and thinking behind the quotes.

[Greg Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got it as a birthday gift and read it for funsies. Not all sections are created equal but it's all good; the quotes and focus of the first few sections are more digestible and less dense, while the two sections before the addresses aren't as compelling as they should be. Lots of very applicable wisdom, if subject to its time.

[Sarah Main · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all, I hate this cover, and I’ve thrown away the dust jacket on my copy. Luckily, the contents of this book are much better than the covering. I didn’t know Lincoln was so funny. From making fun of his own face in a debate to continually being exasperated by McClellan, his quips as well as his wise words were a joy to read. I learned much.

[Erik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just what you'd expect: the greatest hits of Lincoln quotes plus some you haven't heard before. I would have appreciated more of his wit, especially in storytelling, but for the price, this book delivers good value.

[Valerie Sherman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bought this while husband was drunk on Lincoln worship in Springfield, IL (as ya do). Cute but sometimes repetitive and often proffered with the editor's political agenda. 5 stars for Lincoln himself, 2-3 stars for the editing and organization.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fine but it is hard to give these kind of books any more than three stars. The author seemingly adds very little (which is great) so you end up ranking the quality of the quotes, not the book.

[JP · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great source of inspiration and topics to reflect on.

[Mo Johari]

Good book for reading because it invites you to deep wisdom and thoughtful consideration.

[Peter Wolfley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only qualm with this great collection of Lincoln’s writings and sayings is that the Gettysburg address is not included. Abe was something else. It’s hard to believe such a person ever existed.

[Holli · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great way to get to know Abraham Lincoln better - through his own words.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this tiny book of quotes. Perfect for anyone, especially history buffs.

[Michael Cawley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable collection of sayings, stories, wit, and wisdom of Abraham Lincoln

[Sally Andrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some wit. Some wisdom. All good. Just like Abe.