Abraham Lincoln

“Lincoln Was In Every Respect Moderate”

Posted on December 2, 2015 Updated on December 2, 2015

But Lincoln was in every respect moderate, whereas in one point Grant was the reverse. By his inclination, from time to time, to put his reserved and comparatively passive nature under the influ- ence of liquor, he showed that his character was not so well balanced as Lincoln’s, and he thus ruined his youth, while later this weakness postponed the public recognition of his successes. In Lincoln, who much excelled Grant in culture, force of mind, and philosophical grasp, the excess of unutilized energies manifested itself as spiritual preeminence, which brought him forth out of obscurity, and enforced recognition. For Lincoln, too, imagination, which Grant lacked, provided an infallible key to the understanding of his fellows, and became a guiding force. That was why, while Grant was only able to get into touch with Lincoln through personal contact, Lincoln was able to discern Grant’s abilities from afar, and, in the decisive year now beginning, to single him out from among all the other generals. Had it not been for Lincoln’s powers of imagination and judgment, Grant would never have gone forward to victory, and would never have become a popular hero.

By Emil Ludwig,”Abraham Lincoln: And the Times that Tried His Soul” ,Ludwig-373-14