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
The slave-breeders and slave-traders, are a small, odious and detested class, among you; and yet in politics, they dictate the course of all of you, and are as completely your masters, as you are the master of your own negroes.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote critiques the influence of a morally reprehensible class on society and politics.
Abraham Lincoln's quote highlights the paradox of political power held by a minority group that profits from an abhorrent practice, slavery. It emphasizes that while this group is despised by the majority, they wield significant control over societal decisions, illustrating the moral implications of political dynamics and ethical responsibility within a community.
Themes
SlaveryPoliticsPowerMoralityInjustice
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion on the legacy of slavery in America.
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
Similar quotes
All that glisters is not gold; Often have you heard that told: Many a man his life hath sold But my outside to behold: Gilded tombs do worms enfold.
William ShakespeareRead
Serious sport has nothing to do with fair play. It is bound up with hatred, jealousy, boastfulness, disregard of all rules and sadistic pleasure in witnessing violence. In other words, it is war minus the shooting.
George OrwellRead
Then it was as if I suddenly saw the secret beauty of their hearts, the depths of their hearts where neither sin nor desire nor self-knowledge can reach, the core of their reality, the person that each one is in God's eyes. If only they could see themselves as they really are. If only we could see each other that way all the time, there would be no more war, no more hatred, no more cruelty, no more greed . . . I suppose the big problem would be that we would fall down and worship each other.
Thomas MertonRead
What should move us to action is human dignity: the inalienable dignity of the oppressed, but also the dignity of each of us. We lose dignity if we tolerate the intolerable.
Dominique De MenilRead
This be my pilgrimage and goal Daily to march and find The secret phrases of the soul, The evangels of the mind.
John DrinkwaterRead
Every fairy tale had a bloody lining. Every one had teeth and claws.
Alice HoffmanRead