Abraham Lincoln

“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.”

“Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves; and under the rule of a just God, cannot long retain it.”

“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.”

“Concede that the new government of Louisiana is only to what it should be, as the egg is to the fowl; we shall sooner have the fowl by hatching the egg than by smashing it.”

“We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain - that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom - and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

“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.”

“These men ask for just the same thing, fairness, and fairness only. This, so far as in my power, they, and all others, shall have.”

“If I were to try to read, much less answer, all the attacks made on me, this shop might as well be closed for any other business.”

“I believe this government cannot endure permanently, half slave and half free.”

“I go for all sharing the privileges of the government, who assist in bearing its burdens. Consequently, I go for admitting all whites to the right of suffrage, who pay taxes or bear arms (by no means excluding females).”

“That our government should have been maintained in its original form from its establishment until now is not much to be wondered at. It had many props to support it through that period, which now are decayed and crumbled away. Through that period, it was felt by all to be an undecided experiment; now, it is understood to be a successful one.”

“He who would be no slave must consent to have no slave. Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves and, under a just God, cannot long retain it.”

“When you have got an elephant by the hind legs and he is trying to run away, it's best to let him run.”

“It was that which gave promise that in due time the weights should be lifted from the shoulders of all men, and that all should have an equal chance. This is the sentiment embodied in that Declaration of Independence.”

“The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next.”

“I never had a policy; I have just tried to do my very best each and every day.”

“No man has a good enough memory to be a successful liar.”

“If this is coffee, please bring me some tea; but if this is tea, please bring me some coffee.”

“The highest art is always the most religious, and the greatest artist is always a devout person.”

“Tact is the ability to describe others as they see themselves.”

“If there is anything that a man can do well, I say let him do it. Give him a chance.”