Josiah Royce Quotes

There is no disputing that Lincoln was a great man.

For me, Lincoln is like just a handful of people - a Gandhi, or a Picasso, or a Martin Luther King Jr. - who is an original and captures something essential.

The name of Abraham Lincoln is imperishable.

If I have to be typecast, I'd like it to be as Abraham Lincoln.

I think we have reason to thank God for Abraham Lincoln. With all his deficiencies, it must be admitted that he has grown continually.

There's no one who I believe has ever captured the soul of America more profoundly than Abraham Lincoln has.

I don't [even] know the number of books on Abraham Lincoln. Ten thousand, twelve thousand? I have seen various numbers. It seems like every generation is always trying to come to terms with Lincoln.

It didn't occur to me that it was possible to breathe life into Abraham Lincoln.

We all remember Abraham Lincoln as the leader who saved our Union. Founder of the Republican Party.

My feeling about him is that the America that we have today, the freedoms we enjoy and the privileges we have, are really the reflection of Abe Lincoln's convictions, his vision, and his toughness.

Lincoln is a religion in this country. He is a sacred icon. Millions of people make money selling Lincoln. He is an industry.

Abe Lincoln is my favorite president of all time - and he pulls off that top hat pretty well.

Words about Lincoln fill a small but ever-growing library.

Lincoln was the Twain of our politics.

THIS dust was once the Man, / Gentle, plain, just and resolute—under whose cautious hand, / Against the foulest crime in history known in any land or age, / Was saved the Union of These States.

Lincoln, the Man of the People

He raised his hands, not to strike, but in benediction. Lincoln was the grandest figure of the fiercest civil war. He is the gentlest memory of our world.

I suppose I've been interested in Abraham Lincoln for almost as long as I can remember. My first Lincoln book was the Classics Illustrated comic book version of the life of Lincoln, and with that, I was hooked.

Abraham Lincoln truly inspired me. It wasn’t just the freeing of the slaves, he kept the Union together. Some people even forget that today. What I think inspired me was the fact that in spite of being the president of the United States he retained a certain down-to-earth quality. He never got to be a big shot, and he cared about people.

There are so many books out about Abraham Lincoln out now because it's the bicentennial of his birth. I've known a lot about the Civil War, but I'm just getting more into it.

Out of the west came Lincoln, and all that he had he gave to the preservation of the Union that had been bought so dearly and was falling to pieces.

I think Obama is going to go down as one of our greatest presidents because what this guy has done and has tried to do, and over the kind of opposition that I don't know if Lincoln had, except he had to go to war. This speaks so brilliantly of Obama and the way he conducts himself. I think he is already one of our greatest presidents.

Our Southern brethren have done grievously, they have rebelled and have attacked their father's house and their loyal brothers. They must be punished and brought back, but this necessity breaks my heart.

Lincoln is such an iconic figure in American history. He seems to reflect so many elements of American culture that we consider essential, whether it's the self-made man, the frontier hero, the politician who tries to act in a moral way as well as in a political way, Honest Abe. His career raises these questions that are still with us, the power of the federal government vis-à-vis the states, the question of race in American life, can we be a society of equals? There are so many issues central to Lincoln's career that are still part of our society one hundred and fifty years later.

I admire Lincoln enormously and I think what's interesting about Lincoln is how he changes, it's not that he held the same view throughout his life.