"I have no prejudice against the Southern people. They are not to blame for the institution of slavery among them. They are in the condition of a man with a wen on his neck. It is an excrescence, but y…"

"I have no purpose directly or indirectly to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so."

"I am rather inclined to silence, and whether that be wise or not, it is at least more unusual nowadays to find a man who can hold his tongue than to find one who cannot."

"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man."

"It is not merely for to-day, but for all time to come that we should perpetuate for our children's children this great and free government, which we have inherited from our fathers."