I am like a man so busy in letting rooms in one end of his house, that he can't stop to put out the fire that is burning the other.
Abraham LincolnRead
Extemporaneous speaking should be practised and cultivated. It is the lawyer's avenue to the public.
Interpretation
Extemporaneous speaking is essential for lawyers to effectively communicate with the public.
Abraham Lincoln emphasizes the importance of extemporaneous speaking for lawyers, highlighting that it is a vital skill for engaging with the public. By practicing and cultivating this ability, lawyers can better express their arguments and connect with their audience, fulfilling their role as advocates and communicators in society.
In practice
During a public speaking workshop, a trainer might quote Lincoln to emphasize the need for impromptu speaking skills.
I am like a man so busy in letting rooms in one end of his house, that he can't stop to put out the fire that is burning the other.
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.
Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.
How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg.
For it has been said, all that a man hath will he give for his life; and while all contribute of their substance the soldier puts his life at stake, and often yields it up in his country's cause. The highest merit, then is due to the soldier.
And having thus chosen our course, without guile, and with pure purpose, let us renew our trust in God, and go forward without fear, and with manly hearts.
The true teacher defends his pupils against his own personal influence. He inspires self-trust. He guides their eyes from himself to the spirit that quickens him. He will have no disciples.
The aim of totalitarian education has never been to instill convictions but to destroy the capacity to form any.
Nothing is so well learned as that which is discovered.
One of the biggest ways to level the playing field is to give all young people the same context on what opportunities are out there. And that means touching on some of the questions that are a little taboo in society: How much money do you make? What are your stresses? What would you do differently if you could?
You can't teach people anything. You can only draw out.
There is a temperate zone in the mind, between luxurious indolence and exacting work; and it is to this region, just between laziness and labor, that summer reading belongs.
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