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
I believe this Government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Lincoln argues that a nation cannot survive divided between freedom and enslavement.
In this quote, Abraham Lincoln emphasizes the inherent contradiction in a society that allows both slavery and freedom to coexist. He suggests that such a division is unsustainable and that a clear resolution must be reached, either abolishing slavery or ensuring freedom for all, to maintain the integrity and existence of the nation.
Themes
GovernmentFreedomSlaveryDivisionUnity
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech on civil rights, one might use this quote to highlight the importance of equality.
More from Abraham Lincoln
All quotes →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.
Abraham LincolnRead
Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.
Abraham LincolnRead
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.
Abraham LincolnRead
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.
Abraham LincolnRead
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.
Abraham LincolnRead
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I've never seen a sincere white man, not when it comes to helping black people. Usually things like this are done by white people to benefit themselves. The white man's primary interest is not to elevate the thinking of black people, or to waken black people, or white people either. The white man is interested in the black man only to the extent that the black man is of use to him. The white man's interest is to make money, to exploit.
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There are so many ways of being despicable it quite makes one’s head spin. But the way to be really despicable is to be contemptuous of other people’s pain.
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It is a terrible, an inexorable, law that one cannot deny the humanity of another without diminishing one's own: in the face of one's victim, one sees oneself.
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