Abraham Lincoln

Two Letters Of Consolation From Abraham Lincoln

Quintus Curtius History , ,

Abraham Lincoln’s literary powers were a product of his life experiences and his innate abilities.  From a young age, his exposure to tragedy had been personal and continuous.  The death of his mother, the death of Ann Rutledge, and various other hardships had given him an acute sensitivity to the meaning of loss.  In the writing of letters of consolation, Lincoln was able to harness these sentiments and express them in ways that gave specific tragedies a timeless and almost cosmic significance.  We have already here discussed the famous Bixby Letter.  Two other letters of consolation from Lincoln’s hand, much less well-known, merit our attention as models of compassion and heartfelt sympathy. 

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The Bixby Letter

Quintus Curtius History , ,

Those who have seen the movie Saving Private Ryan (1998) will recall a scene where the actor playing General George Marshall reads to his staff an eloquent and moving letter of condolence written by President Abraham Lincoln to a Mrs. Lydia A. Bixby during the Civil War.  This justly famous epistle, now known as the Bixby Letter, is reproduced below.  Who will protest at our quoting it in full here? 

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Whether A Man Can Change, And How He May Change

Quintus Curtius Thought , , ,

Can a man change, or are his personality traits so fixed that external circumstances are incapable of adjusting them in any significant way?  This is a question that finds enthusiastic advocates for both answers.  The cynics–or as they prefer to be called, the “realists”–tell us that personality does not change.  Our knowledge contracts and expands, but the core of our being remains immutable.  We may become more polished in our presentations, or more adept at concealing our intentions, but in the end it is still the same old “us.”  We are here, and we have not changed.

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The Right To Evolve

Quintus Curtius Thought , ,

Anyone who has ever cleaned out his basement or attic has certainly come across writings or photos from earlier years.  We are likely to wince upon reading things we wrote ten, fifteen, or twenty years ago, to the same degree that we shake our heads in bewilderment at seeing old photos of ourselves.  This is because our minds, and our consciousness, does not remain fixed and unmoved as we age; they are not like the Rock of Gibraltar.  The things we believe when we were younger are not going to be the same things we believe as we get older.  This is natural and predictable; only a fool would refuse to change his views as he aggregates years and worldly experience.

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Revealing Anecdotes On The Character Of Abraham Lincoln

Quintus Curtius Biography, History , ,

We have earlier stated that anecdotes often reveal more about a man’s thinking and character than might a long recounting of his deeds.  About Abraham Lincoln many stories have been told, some no doubt apocryphal, others not.  I will present here a few true anecdotes that most readers are not likely to be familiar with; they shed revelatory light on Lincoln’s character, and how his leadership gifts were powerful in their own understated way.

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The Overcoat Of Alexander H. Stephens

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Ulysses S. Grant relates the following anecdote in his memoirs.

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