What is conservatism? Is it not the adherence to the old and tried against the new and untried? – Abraham Lincoln
If once you forfeit the confidence of your fellow-citizens, you can never regain their respect and esteem. – Abraham Lincoln
We must not promise what we ought not, lest we be called on to perform what we cannot. – Abraham Lincoln
Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can. Point out to them how the nominal winner is often a real loser – in fees, expenses, and waste of time. As a peacemaker the lawyer has a superior opportunity of being a good man. There will still be business enough. – Abraham Lincoln
Fiction is a kind of compassion-generating machine that saves us from sloth. Is life kind or cruel? Yes, Literature answers. Are people good or bad? You bet, says Literature. But unlike other systems of knowing, Literature declines to eradicate one truth in favor of another. – George Saunders