All creation is a mine, and every man a miner. The whole earth, and all within it, upon it, and round about it, including himself ... are the infinitely various "leads" from which, man, from the first, was to dig out his destiny.

Thus let bygones be bygones. Let past differences, as nothing be.

To secure to each laborer the whole product of his labor, or as nearly as possible, is a worthy object of any good government.

I am a little uneasy about the abolishment of slavery in this District of Columbia.

I intend no modification of my oft-expressed wish that all men everywhere could be free.

Young man, if God gives me four years more to rule this country, I believe it will become what it ought to be-what its Divine Author intended it to be-no longer one vast plantation for breeding human beings for the purpose of lust and bondage. But it will become a new Valley of Jehoshaphat, where all the nations of the earth will assemble together under one flag, worshipping a common God, and they will celebrate the resurrection of human freedom.

The best way to get rid of your enemies is to make them your friends.