Abraham Lincoln Portrait

The 150 Best Abraham Lincoln Quotes: Timeless Wisdom from America's Greatest President

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) stands as one of America's most revered and influential leaders, a man whose words continue to resonate through the corridors of history and into the hearts of people worldwide. Rising from humble beginnings in a one-room log cabin in Kentucky to become the 16th President of the United States, Lincoln's journey embodies the very essence of the American dream and the power of perseverance.

Lincoln's presidency was defined by the most tumultuous period in American history—the Civil War—during which he demonstrated extraordinary leadership, moral courage, and an unwavering commitment to the principles of freedom and equality. His Emancipation Proclamation freed millions from slavery, while his vision of a "government of the people, by the people, for the people" redefined democracy itself.

What makes Lincoln's words so enduring is their foundation in deep moral conviction, practical wisdom, and an abiding faith in the better angels of human nature. His speeches and writings reveal a mind that could grasp both the grand sweep of history and the intimate struggles of individual souls. Whether addressing a divided nation or offering personal advice, Lincoln spoke with a clarity and compassion that transcended his era.

Beyond his political achievements, Lincoln was a masterful communicator who understood the power of language to heal, inspire, and unite. His quotes reveal a complex thinker who balanced idealism with pragmatism, humor with gravity, and unwavering principles with political necessity. From his famous debates with Stephen Douglas to the immortal words of the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln's eloquence helped shape not just American identity but humanity's understanding of justice and democracy.

In this comprehensive collection, we've gathered 150 of Lincoln's most profound and inspiring quotes, organized by theme to help you explore different facets of his wisdom. Whether you're seeking guidance on leadership, perseverance, democracy, or personal character, these timeless words offer insights that remain remarkably relevant in our contemporary world.

Democracy and Government

"Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
"Democracy is the government of the people, by the people, for the people."
"A house divided against itself cannot stand."
"Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves."
"The ballot is stronger than the bullet."
"Elections belong to the people. It's their decision."
"No man is good enough to govern another man without that other's consent."
"The best way to destroy an enemy is to make him a friend."
"A government of the people must be built upon a foundation of the people."
"Public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it nothing can succeed."

Freedom and Equality

"Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves."
"As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy."
"If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong."
"A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free."
"I have always thought that all men should be free; but if any should be slaves, it should be first those who desire it for themselves, and secondly those who desire it for others."
"Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally."
"In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free."
"The shepherd drives the wolf from the sheep's throat, for which the sheep thanks the shepherd as his liberator, while the wolf denounces him for the same act as the destroyer of liberty."
"Stand with anybody who stands right. Stand with him while he is right and part with him when he goes wrong."
"Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves; and under the rule of a just God, cannot long retain it."

Leadership and Character

"I am naturally anti-slavery. If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong."
"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."
"Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing."
"I do the very best I know how—the very best I can; and I mean to keep on doing so until the end."
"Stand with anybody who stands right. Stand with him while he is right and part with him when he goes wrong."
"I am a slow walker, but I never walk back."
"The best way to predict the future is to create it."
"Whatever you are, be a good one."
"I don't like that man. I must get to know him better."
"My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side."

Perseverance and Determination

"I am a slow walker, but I never walk back."
"The path was worn and slippery. My foot slipped from under me, knocking the other out of the way, but I recovered and said to myself, 'It's a slip and not a fall.'"
"I will prepare and some day my chance will come."
"Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other one thing."
"The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time."
"I do the very best I know how—the very best I can; and I mean to keep on doing so until the end."
"That some achieve great success, is proof to all that others can achieve it as well."
"Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle."
"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."
"I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have."

Wisdom and Learning

"I don't think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday."
"Books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren't very new after all."
"I don't like that man. I must get to know him better."
"Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe."
"The best way to predict the future is to create it."
"I will prepare and some day my chance will come."
"You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today."
"The things I want to know are in books; my best friend is the man who'll get me a book I ain't read."
"My best friend is a person who will give me a book I have not read."
"Upon the subject of education, not presuming to dictate any plan or system respecting it, I can only say that I view it as the most important subject which we as a people can be engaged in."

Justice and Morality

"I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice."
"Stand with anybody who stands right. Stand with him while he is right and part with him when he goes wrong."
"Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it."
"The true rule, in determining to embrace, or reject any thing, is not whether it have any evil in it; but whether it have more of evil, than of good."
"With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right."
"I am naturally anti-slavery. If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong."
"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 it is an established maxim in morals that he who makes an assertion without knowing whether it is true or false, is guilty of falsehood; and the accidental truth of the assertion, does not justify or excuse him."
"The Almighty has His own purposes."
"Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally."

Unity and Reconciliation

"A house divided against itself cannot stand."
"We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies."
"The best way to destroy an enemy is to make him a friend."
"With malice toward none, with charity for all."
"We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection."
"A drop of honey catches more flies than a gallon of gall."
"I destroy my enemies when I make them my friends."
"Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?"
"We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth."
"Let us strive on to finish the work we are in. Let us do nothing through passion and ill temper."

Faith and Providence

"My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side."
"The Almighty has His own purposes."
"I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go."
"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."
"I can see how it might be possible for a man to look down upon the earth and be an atheist, but I cannot conceive how a man could look up into the heavens and say there is no God."
"God must love the common man, he made so many of them."
"I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man."
"Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other."
"Intelligence, patriotism, Christianity, and a firm reliance on Him who has never yet forsaken this favored land, are still competent to adjust in the best way all our present difficulty."
"That this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom."

Human Nature and Relationships

"I don't like that man. I must get to know him better."
"A drop of honey catches more flies than a gallon of gall."
"He has a right to criticize, who has a heart to help."
"The better part of one's life consists of his friendships."
"I destroy my enemies when I make them my friends."
"Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be."
"You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time."
"If you look for the bad in people expecting to find it, you surely will."
"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt."
"No man has a good enough memory to be a successful liar."

Success and Achievement

"Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other one thing."
"That some achieve great success, is proof to all that others can achieve it as well."
"The best way to predict the future is to create it."
"Whatever you are, be a good one."
"Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle."
"I will prepare and some day my chance will come."
"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."
"I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have."
"Important principles may, and must, be inflexible."
"Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe."

Truth and Honesty

"No man has a good enough memory to be a successful liar."
"I believe it is an established maxim in morals that he who makes an assertion without knowing whether it is true or false, is guilty of falsehood."
"You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time."
"I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true."
"Stand with anybody who stands right. Stand with him while he is right and part with him when he goes wrong."
"Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it."
"I believe that to have interfered as I have done in behalf of His despised poor, was not wrong, but right."
"Important principles may, and must, be inflexible."
"If I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one?"
"Honest conviction is my courage; the Constitution is my guide."

Compassion and Mercy

"I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice."
"With malice toward none, with charity for all."
"The shepherd drives the wolf from the sheep's throat, for which the sheep thanks the shepherd as his liberator."
"He has a right to criticize, who has a heart to help."
"Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?"
"I am naturally anti-slavery. If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong."
"As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master."
"In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free."
"God must love the common man, he made so many of them."
"The better part of one's life consists of his friendships."

War and Peace

"We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies."
"The best way to destroy an enemy is to make him a friend."
"With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds."
"Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away."
"If we do not make common cause to save the good old ship of the Union on this voyage, nobody will have a chance to pilot her on another voyage."
"We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth."
"Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other."
"Let us do nothing through passion and ill temper."
"The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present."
"We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country."

Legacy and Future

"That this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom."
"Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
"We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth."
"The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion."
"We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country."
"The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time."
"You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today."
"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."
"Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure."
"It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us."

Final Ten - Ultimate Wisdom

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."
"Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves."
"I am a slow walker, but I never walk back."
"Whatever you are, be a good one."
"A house divided against itself cannot stand."
"I destroy my enemies when I make them my friends."
"My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side."
"With malice toward none, with charity for all."
"Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
"I do the very best I know how—the very best I can; and I mean to keep on doing so until the end."

The Enduring Legacy of Lincoln's Words

Abraham Lincoln enduring legacy

These 150 quotes from Abraham Lincoln represent more than mere historical artifacts—they embody the enduring principles that have guided America through its darkest hours and continue to inspire leaders and citizens around the world. Lincoln's words carry special weight because they were forged in the crucible of national crisis, when the very survival of the United States hung in the balance.

What makes Lincoln's wisdom so timeless is its grounding in fundamental human values that transcend political parties, geographical boundaries, and historical epochs. His commitment to equality, justice, and human dignity speaks to universal aspirations that resonate as strongly today as they did during the Civil War era. When Lincoln declared that "government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth," he articulated a vision of democracy that continues to inspire freedom movements worldwide.

Lincoln's approach to leadership offers profound lessons for contemporary leaders in all fields. His ability to combine unwavering moral conviction with pragmatic flexibility, to show strength through compassion, and to unite rather than divide, provides a masterclass in principled leadership. His famous observation that "nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power" remains one of the most incisive comments ever made about leadership and human nature.

Perhaps most remarkably, Lincoln's words demonstrate the power of language to heal, inspire, and transform. His speeches and writings show how carefully chosen words can bridge divides, comfort the grieving, and call forth the better angels of our nature. In an era of polarized discourse and inflammatory rhetoric, Lincoln's example reminds us that true leadership lies not in stoking division but in finding common ground and shared purpose.

The relevance of Lincoln's wisdom extends far beyond politics and government. His insights about character, perseverance, learning, and human relationships offer guidance for anyone seeking to live with purpose and integrity. His belief that "I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true" provides a moral compass for navigating difficult decisions, while his conviction that "the best way to destroy an enemy is to make him a friend" offers a practical approach to conflict resolution.

As we face contemporary challenges—political polarization, social inequality, global conflicts, and moral confusion—Lincoln's words provide both inspiration and practical guidance. They remind us that democracy requires constant vigilance and active participation, that freedom is a precious gift that must be protected and extended to all, and that our highest calling is to serve something greater than ourselves.

Lincoln's legacy challenges each of us to consider how we might contribute to the "unfinished work" of building a more perfect union. His life and words demonstrate that ordinary people, through extraordinary commitment to principle and service, can change the course of history. In our own time, as in his, the question remains: Will we heed his call to ensure that "government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth"?

The answer lies not in our words alone, but in our actions—in our daily choices to stand with those who stand right, to extend charity to all, and to work tirelessly for the cause of human freedom and dignity that Lincoln held so dear.

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