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Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865

"Speeches and Letters of Abraham Lincoln, 1832-1865"

[Cries of "No! No!"] Let us stick to it, then; let us stand firmly
by it, then.
It may be argued that there are certain conditions that make necessities
and impose them upon us, and to the extent that a necessity is imposed
upon a man, he must submit to it. I think that was the condition in
which we found ourselves when we established this government. We had
slaves among us; we could not get our Constitution unless we permitted
them to remain in slavery; we could not secure the good we did secure,
if we grasped for more; but, having by necessity submitted to that much,
it does not destroy the principle that is the charter of our liberties.
Let that charter stand as our standard.
My friend has said to me that I am a poor hand to quote Scripture. I
will try it again, however. It is said in one of the admonitions of our
Lord, "Be ye [therefore] perfect even as your Father which is in heaven
is perfect." The Saviour, I suppose, did not expect that any human
creature could be perfect as the Father in heaven; but He said: "As your
Father in heaven is perfect, be ye also perfect.


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