What is conservatism? It is not adherence to the old and tried, but against the new and untried? – Abraham Lincoln
The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. – Abraham Lincoln
I was losing interest in politics, when the repeal of the Missouri Compromise aroused me again. What I have done since then is pretty well known. – Abraham Lincoln
There are no accidents in my philosophy. Every effect must have its cause. The past is the cause of the present, and the present will be the cause of the future. All these are links in the endless chain stretching from the finite to the infinite. – Abraham Lincoln