Phil Orenstein

Abraham Lincoln’s Ten Guidelines

1.  You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
2. You cannot help small men by tearing down big men.
3.  You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
4.  You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
5.  You cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich.
6.  You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income.
7.  You cannot further the brotherhood of men by inciting class warfare.
8.  You cannot establish security on borrowed money.
9.  You cannot build character and courage by taking away man’s  initiative and independence
10. You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could  and should do for themselves.

Quotes From Abraham Lincoln

“Let reverence for the laws be breathed by every American mother to the lisping babe that prattles on her lap; let it be taught in schools, in seminaries, and in colleges; let it be written in primers, spelling books, and in almanacs; let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, and enforced in courts of justice.  And, in short, let it become the political religion of the nation.”

“When I left Springfield, I asked the people to pray for me; I was not a Christian.  When I buried my son – the severest trial of my life – I was not a Christian.  But when I went to Gettysburg, and saw the graves of thousands of our soldiers, I then and there consecrated myself to Christ.”

“It is the eternal struggle between these two principles – right and wrong – throughout the world.  They are the two principles that have stood face to face from the beginning of time; and will ever continue to struggle.  The one is the common right of humanity and the other the divine right of kings.  It is the same principle in whatever shape it develops itself.  That eternal world-wide struggle between right and wrong that runs through all human history.”

“Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it.”

“In regard to this Great Book (the Bible), I have only to say that it is the best gift which God has given to man.  All the good from the Saviour of the world is communicated to us through this Book.  But for this Book we could not know right from wrong.”

“I am glad to know I have your sympathy and prayers.  In the very responsible position in which I happen to be placed, being a humble instrument in the hands of our Heavenly Father, as I am and as we all are to work out His great purposes, I have desired that all my works and acts be according to His will and that it might be so, I have sought his aid.”