Force is all conquering, but it's victories are short lived.

I wish all men to be free. I wish the material prosperity of the already free which I feel sure the extinction of slavery would bring.

We must not promise what we ought not, lest we be called on to perform what we cannot.

I certainly know that if the war fails, the administration fails, and that I will be blamed for it, whether I deserve it or not. And I ought to be blamed, if I could do better. You think I could do better; therefore you blame me already. I think I could not do better; therefore I blame you for blaming me.

Talk to the jury as though your client's fate depends on every word you utter.

The Bible is not my book nor Christianity my profession. I could never give assent to the long, complicated statements of Christian dogma.

In regard to this Great Book, I have but to say, it is the best gift God has given to man.