Latest Event Updates
Shakspere
There was living in New Salem at that time a ne’er-do-well whose wife had to take in boarders while he fished and played the fiddle and recited poetry. Most of the people in town looked down upon Jack Kelso as a failure. But Lincoln liked him, chummed with him, and was greatly influenced by him. Before he met Kelso, Shakspere and Burns had meant little to Lincoln; they had been merely names, and vague names at that. But now as he sat listening to Jack Kelso reading “Hamlet” and reciting “Macbeth,” Lincoln realized for the first time what symphonies could be played with the English language. What a thing of infinite beauty it could be! What a whirlwind of sense and emotion! Shakspere awed him, but Bobby Burns won his love and sympathy. He felt even a kinship with Burns. Burns had been poor like Lincoln. Burns had been born in a cabin no better than the one that had seen Abe’s birth. Burns too had been a plowboy. But a plowboy to whom the plowing up of the nest of a field-mouse was a tiny tragedy, an event worthy of being caught up and immortalized in a poem. Through the poetry of Burns and Shakspere, a whole new world of meaning and feeling and loveliness opened up to Abraham Lincoln.But to him the most astounding thing of all was this: neither Shakspere nor Burns had gone to college. Neither of them had had much more schooling and education than he. At times he dared to think that perhaps he too, the unschooled son of illiterate Tom Lincoln, might be fitted for finer things. Perhaps it would not be necessary for him to go on forever selling groceries or working as a blacksmith.
From that time on Burns and Shakspere were his favorite authors. He read more of Shakspere than of all other authors put together, and this reading left its imprint upon his style. Even after he reached the White House, when the burdens and worries of the Civil War were chiseling deep furrows in his face, he devoted much time to Shakspere. Busy as he was, he discussed the plays with Shaksperian authorities, and carried on a correspondence regarding certain passages. The week he was shot, he read “Macbeth” aloud for two hours to a circle of friends. The influence of Jack Kelso, the shiftless New Salem fisherman, had reached to the White House. . . .
By Dale Carnegie，“Lincoln, the Unknown” ，Carnegie-029-12
What he likes better than anything else is to stretch himself on the old sofa and read. Shakespeare is continually in his hands, and he quotes out-of-the-way passages from this author. He has several editions of Byron’s “Don Juan”, and they are all freely underlined. He is extremely fond of Burns, and once he reads aloud to his partner one of the Scotsman’s poems. The early poems of young Walt Whitman are also discussed in this office. They make a strong impression on Lincoln ; he takes the book home with him, but promptly brings it back again next day, with the grim remark that it has narrowly escaped being “purified in fire”, for “the women didn’t like it.” Of other new books, he will merely flutter the leaves, let them drop on the floor, close his eyes, and mur- muringly repeat the substance of what he has just been reading.
Ludwig-136-04
“There is no Frigate like a Book,” wrote Emily Dickinson, “to take us Lands away.” Though the young Lincoln never left the frontier, would never leave America, he traveled with Byron’s Childe Harold to Spain and Portugal, the Middle East and Italy; accompanied Robert Burns to Edinburgh; and followed the English kings into battle with Shakespeare. As he explored the wonders of literature and the history of the country, the young Lincoln, already conscious of his own power, developed ambitions far beyond the expectations of his family and neighbors. It was through literature that he was able to transcend his surroundings.
Doris Kearns Goodwin，“Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln”Goodwin-046-30-23
Through Scott’s Lessons in Elocution, he first encountered selections from Shakespeare’s plays, inspiring a love for the great dramatist’s writings long before he ever saw a play.
Doris Kearns Goodwin，“Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln” Goodwin-046-30-24
George Gordon Byron
What he likes better than anything else is to stretch himself on the old sofa and read. Shakespeare is continually in his hands, and he quotes out-of-the-way passages from this author. He has several editions of Byron’s “Don Juan”, and they are all freely underlined. He is extremely fond of Burns, and once he reads aloud to his partner one of the Scotsman’s poems. The early poems of young Walt Whitman are also discussed in this office. They make a strong impression on Lincoln ; he takes the book home with him, but promptly brings it back again next day, with the grim remark that it has narrowly escaped being “purified in fire”, for “the women didn’t like it.” Of other new books, he will merely flutter the leaves, let them drop on the floor, close his eyes, and mur- muringly repeat the substance of what he has just been reading.
Ludwig-136-04
“There is no Frigate like a Book,” wrote Emily Dickinson, “to take us Lands away.” Though the young Lincoln never left the frontier, would never leave America, he traveled with Byron’s Childe Harold to Spain and Portugal, the Middle East and Italy; accompanied Robert Burns to Edinburgh; and followed the English kings into battle with Shakespeare. As he explored the wonders of literature and the history of the country, the young Lincoln, already conscious of his own power, developed ambitions far beyond the expectations of his family and neighbors. It was through literature that he was able to transcend his surroundings.
Goodwin-046-30-23
“Bobby Burns Won His Love And Sympathy”
Before he met Kelso, Shakspere and Burns had meant little to Lincoln; they had been merely names, and vague names at that. But now as he sat listening to Jack Kelso reading “Hamlet” and reciting “Macbeth,” Lincoln realized for the first time what symphonies could be played with the English language. What a thing of infinite beauty it could be! What a whirlwind of sense and emotion! Shakspere awed him, but Bobby Burns won his love and sympathy. He felt even a kinship with Burns. Burns had been poor like Lincoln. Burns had been born in a cabin no better than the one that had seen Abe’s birth. Burns too had been a plowboy. But a plowboy to whom the plowing up of the nest of a field-mouse was a tiny tragedy, an event worthy of being caught up and immortalized in a poem. Through the poetry of Burns and Shakspere, a whole new world of meaning and feeling and loveliness opened up to Abraham Lincoln.
By Dale Carnegie，“Lincoln, the Unknown” ，Carnegie-029-12
What he likes better than anything else is to stretch himself on the old sofa and read. Shakespeare is continually in his hands, and he quotes out-of-the-way passages from this author. He has several editions of Byron’s “Don Juan”, and they are all freely underlined. He is extremely fond of Burns, and once he reads aloud to his partner one of the Scotsman’s poems. The early poems of young Walt Whitman are also discussed in this office. They make a strong impression on Lincoln ; he takes the book home with him, but promptly brings it back again next day, with the grim remark that it has narrowly escaped being “purified in fire”, for “the women didn’t like it.” Of other new books, he will merely flutter the leaves, let them drop on the floor, close his eyes, and mur- muringly repeat the substance of what he has just been reading.
Ludwig-136-04
“There is no Frigate like a Book,” wrote Emily Dickinson, “to take us Lands away.” Though the young Lincoln never left the frontier, would never leave America, he traveled with Byron’s Childe Harold to Spain and Portugal, the Middle East and Italy; accompanied Robert Burns to Edinburgh; and followed the English kings into battle with Shakespeare. As he explored the wonders of literature and the history of the country, the young Lincoln, already conscious of his own power, developed ambitions far beyond the expectations of his family and neighbors. It was through literature that he was able to transcend his surroundings.
Goodwin-046-30-23
“The Influence of Jack Kelso had Reached to the White House”
There was living in New Salem at that time a ne’er-do-well whose wife had to take in boarders while he fished and played the fiddle and recited poetry. Most of the people in town looked down upon Jack Kelso as a failure. But Lincoln liked him, chummed with him, and was greatly influenced by him. Before he met Kelso, Shakspere and Burns had meant little to Lincoln; they had been merely names, and vague names at that. But now as he sat listening to Jack Kelso reading “Hamlet” and reciting “Macbeth,” Lincoln realized for the first time what symphonies could be played with the English language. What a thing of infinite beauty it could be! What a whirlwind of sense and emotion! Shakspere awed him, but Bobby Burns won his love and sympathy. He felt even a kinship with Burns. Burns had been poor like Lincoln. Burns had been born in a cabin no better than the one that had seen Abe’s birth. Burns too had been a plowboy. But a plowboy to whom the plowing up of the nest of a field-mouse was a tiny tragedy, an event worthy of being caught up and immortalized in a poem. Through the poetry of Burns and Shakspere, a whole new world of meaning and feeling and loveliness opened up to Abraham Lincoln.But to him the most astounding thing of all was this: neither Shakspere nor Burns had gone to college. Neither of them had had much more schooling and education than he. At times he dared to think that perhaps he too, the unschooled son of illiterate Tom Lincoln, might be fitted for finer things. Perhaps it would not be necessary for him to go on forever selling groceries or working as a blacksmith.
From that time on Burns and Shakspere were his favorite authors. He read more of Shakspere than of all other authors put together, and this reading left its imprint upon his style. Even after he reached the White House, when the burdens and worries of the Civil War were chiseling deep furrows in his face, he devoted much time to Shakspere. Busy as he was, he discussed the plays with Shaksperian authorities, and carried on a correspondence regarding certain passages. The week he was shot, he read “Macbeth” aloud for two hours to a circle of friends. The influence of Jack Kelso, the shiftless New Salem fisherman, had reached to the White House. . . .
By Dale Carnegie，“Lincoln, the Unknown” ，Carnegie-029-12
“Lincoln Wouldn’t Be Recognized Down In Springfield”
He never owned a razor in his life, and he didn’t visit a barber as frequently as Mrs. Lincoln thought he should. He neglected to groom his coarse, bushy hair, that stood out all over his head like horsehair. That irritated Mary Todd beyond words, and when she combed it, it was soon mussed again, by his bank-book, letters, and legal papers, which he carried in the top of his hat.
One day he was having his picture taken in Chicago, and the photographer urged him to “slick up” a bit. He replied that “a portrait of a slicked-up Lincoln wouldn’t be recognized down in Springfield.”
By Dale Carnegie，“Lincoln, the Unknown” ，Carnegie-070-07
Lincoln never was ashamed of these things —at least he never changed his habits when he came into national prominence, buit his continuance of them did not urlse from affectation. They were natural to him and he was not willing to have one set of manners for Washington and another for the people back In Illinois.
That he was careless of his appearance there was no doubt. When he sat for a photographer he never straightened his tie or smoothed his unkempt hair, but, like Crom-well, told the picture man to take him as he was. He knew that a portrait of a ” slicked up ” Lincoln, as he would have said, would not have been recognized In Springfield, and he didn’t want them to think he was putting on airs because they had elected him to the presidency.
–“Abraham Lincoln’s appearance”
“Always Criticizing her Husband”
She was always complaining, always criticizing her husband; nothing about him was ever right: He was stoopshouldered, he walked awkwardly and lifted his feet straight up and down like an Indian. She complained that there was no spring to his step, no grace to his movements; and she mimicked his gait and nagged at him to walk with his toes pointed down, as she had been taught at Madame Mentelle’s. She didn’t like the way his huge ears stood out at right angles from his head. She even told him that his nose wasn’t straight, that his lower lip stuck out, that he looked consumptive, that his feet and hands were too large, his head too small.
His shocking indifference to his personal appearance grated on her sensitive nature, and made her woefully unhappy. “Mrs. Lincoln,” says Herndon, “was not a wildcat without cause.” Sometimes her husband walked down the street with one trouser leg stuffed inside his boot-top and the other dangling on the outside. His boots were seldom blackened or greased. His collar often needed changing, his coat frequently needed brushing. James Gourly, who lived next door to the Lincolns for years, wrote: “Mr. Lincoln used to come to our house, his feet encased in a pair of loose slippers, and with an old faded pair of trousers fastened with one suspender”-or “gallis” as Lincoln himself called it. In warm weather he made extended trips “wearing a dirty linen duster for a coat, on the back of which the perspiration had splotched wide stains that resembled a map of the continent.” A young lawyer who once saw Lincoln in a country hotel, getting ready for bed, and clad “in a home made yellow flannel night shirt” that reached “halfway between his knees and his ankles,” exclaimed, “He was the ungodliest figure I ever saw.”
He never owned a razor in his life, and he didn’t visit a barber as frequently as Mrs. Lincoln thought he should. He neglected to groom his coarse, bushy hair, that stood out all over his head like horsehair. That irritated Mary Todd beyond words, and when she combed it, it was soon mussed again, by his bank-book, letters, and legal papers, which he carried in the top of his hat.
Carnegie-070-04
“I am not very Strong on Grammar”
In his oral reply to the committee, he said that he would in due time send them a written note, formally accepting the nomination. Late one afternoon, a few days afterward, he being alone in his room in the state house, and I in mine, he called me in his usual cheery way. Handing me a note written in pencil, he said: “That is my reply to the good people whom you brought to my house the other night. I think it is all right, but grammar, you know, is not my strong hold; and as several persons will probably read that little thing, I wish you would look it over carefully and see if it needs doctoring anywhere.” I took the paper and slowly read it through. It was addressed to the Hon. George Ashman. In it was this sentence: “The declaration of principles and sentiments which accompanied your letter meets my approval, and it shall be my care to not violate it, or disregard it, in any part.” Handing the note back to Mr. Lincoln, I said that the language was all strictly correct, with one very slight exception almost too trivial for mention. “Well, what is it?” said he, “I wish to be correct without any exception, however trivial.” Well, then, Mr. Lincoln, I replied, it would, perhaps, be as well to transpose the “to” and “not” in that sentence pointing to the one just quoted. Mr. Lincoln looked at it a moment and said: “Oh, you think I’d better turn those two little fellows end for end, eh?” “Yes,’ I said, “I guess you had” and he did.
Quoted in “Abraham Lincoln; an address”,by Newton Bateman, LL. D. (Galesbvrg, Ill., The Cadmvs clvb, 1899),P29
But when he had to write the formal letter of acceptance, he was troubled in his mind, wondered whether he could write it properly – he who, in twenty-two years of his legal practice, had penned thousands of documents. What does he do today ? He goes with the letter to the superintendent of education and says, “Mr. School-master, here is my letter of acceptance, I am not very strong on grammar, and I wish you to see if it is all right. I wouldn’t like to have any mistakes in it.” The other glanced through the document, and said, “There is only one change I should suggest, Mr. Lincoln. You have written : ‘It shall be my care to not violate or disregard it in any part’; you should have written ‘not to violate.’ Never split an infinitive, is the rule.” Lincoln took the manuscript, regarding it for a moment with a puzzled air. “So you think I better put those two little fellows end to end, do you ? ” he said, as he made the suggested change.
Has ever a king or a president adopted a more charming attitude? Lincoln has not been, like a king in a fairy tale, taken from the plow to rule the people. He is a man over fifty, grown gray-headed in the practice of the law, in business affairs, and in political life. After having made many great speeches to the nation, after years of campaigning, he has been selected to run for the highest office in the land. He knows too that he is fit for the job. But there are little matters that men born to be kings, the Douglases, know all about – the well-ironed coats of the New Yorkers, the well-fitting trousers of the Washington gentlemen. These “little fellows” in grammar that have to “sit” properly like a necktie, have to be “well brushed” like a stovepipe hat. It would be fatal to make a slip here ! Mary, of course, understands about shoes and collars; she can even talk French, but when the question is one of how to word a letter properly, it is better to go to the school-master. Besides, he will know how to keep a still tongue, and even should he gossip, there will be nothing to Lincoln’s discredit. And so the President of tomorrow goes over to an old teacher to ask advice on matters he had not learned in Indiana, for there he had to split rails.
By Emil Ludwig,”Abraham Lincoln: And the Times that Tried His Soul” Ludwig-219-13
“Such are the True Leaders of the Nation”
A poet was the first to understand what was happening here; Bryant wrote, “A poor flatboat-man – such are the true leaders of the Nation!”
By Emil Ludwig,”Abraham Lincoln: And the Times that Tried His Soul” Ludwig-223-01