In the way our Fathers originally left the slavery question, the institution was in the course of ultimate extinction, and the public mind rested in the belief that it was in the course of ultimate extinction . . . . All I have asked or desired anywhere, is that it should be placed back again upon the basis that the Fathers of our government originally placed it upon.

Woe unto the world because of offenses; for it must needs be that offenses come, but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh.

You can’t make a weak man strong by making a strong man weak

Extemporaneous speaking should be practised [sic] and cultivated. It is the lawyer's avenue to the public. However able and faithful he may be in other respects, people are slow to bring him business if he cannot make a speech. And yet there is not a more fatal error to young lawyers than relying too much on speech-making. If any one, upon his rare powers of speaking, shall claim an exemption from the drudgery of the law, his case is a failure in advance.

What I do say is, that no man is good enough to govern another man, without that other's consent. I say this is the leading principle - the sheet anchor of American republicanism.

If any should be slaves, it should be first those who desire it for themselves, and secondly, those who desire it for others

I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live up to what light I have.