Art & Inspiration Blog

Creating the new Post Conceptual Art Essence Portrait of Abraham Lincoln was an exceptional experience. The humanity and goodness of the man seemed to permeate the images I used for reference as well as my own. Like when a reading  good book, I lingered at the end, almost unwilling to end the “encounter”.

As a part of the Essence Portrait series I am creating portraits of selected American presidents and heroes. I use the Ten Commandments, the original letters of the words of Exodus 20 for each and every stroke. This honors the office of the president, as the chief executive administers the federal laws. The Ten Commandments are widely acknowledged as being the basis for the laws of the USA and also of most of the free word.

There is nothing that I can write in this blog that is wiser or more revealing about Abraham Lincoln than his own words that live on.

Some of his quotes below will surprise you. They are familiar, but you may not recognize that they originated with Lincoln.  Some of the quotes reveal his sense of humor and wit.  Most are wise and wonderful.

Abraham Lincoln- Ten Commandments

By Judy Rey Wasserman

Strokes: Exodus 20

Abraham Lincoln Quotes:

• If I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one?
• Surely God would not have created such a being as man, with an ability to grasp the infinite, to exist only for a day! No, no, man was made for immortality.
• The highest art is always the most religious, and the greatest artist is always a devout person.
• A friend is one who has the same enemies as you have.
• If you look for the bad in people expecting to find it, you surely will.
• A house divided against itself cannot stand.
• Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.
• The people will save their government, if the government itself will allow them.
• No man is good enough to govern another man without that other’s consent.
• All my life I have tried to pluck a thistle and plant a flower wherever the flower would grow in thought and mind.
• It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues.
• Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be.
• Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.
• My dream is of a place and a time where America will once again be seen as the last best hope of earth.
• Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?
• As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy.
• Y ou can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.
• America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.
• Don’t interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties.
• Public opinion in this country is everything.
• Don’t worry when you are not recognized, but strive to be worthy of recognition.
• Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty , and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
• Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth.
• How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn’t make it a leg.
• I care not much for a man’s religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it.
• I do not think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday.
• The ballot is stronger than the bullet.
• I do the very best I know how – the very best I can; and I mean to keep on doing so until the end.
• To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men.
• The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time.
• T hings may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.
• Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.
• That some achieve great success, is proof to all that others can achieve it as well.
• I destroy my enemies when I make them my friends.
• I do not think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday.
• I do the very best I know how – the very best I can; and I mean to keep on doing so until the end.
• I don’t know who my grandfather was; I am much more concerned to know what his grandson will be.
• I don’t like that man. I must get to know him better.
• I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice.
• I hope to stand firm enough to not go backward, and yet not go forward fast enough to wreck the country’s cause.
• I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him.
• I never had a policy; I have just tried to do my very best each and every day.
• I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.
• To stand in silence when they should be protesting makes cowards out of men.
• I walk slowly, but I never walk backward.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 11th, 2010 at 1:47 am and is filed under Art & Inspiration, Tolerance, Freedom & Peace. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.