Things Lincoln never said

[schilit]

"My best friend is a person who will give me a book I have not read."

This (apparent) Lincoln quote is included in one of the articles in the latest edition of the Lincoln Herald.

I am not familiar with a legitimate source for this quote. Does anyone know of one?

I came across the quote:

"Denny, he'd say, the things I want to know is in books. My best friend's the man who' ll git me one." [1]

[1] Atkinson, Eleanor. The Boyhood of Lincoln. United States, Doubleday, Page 23, 1910. http://t.ly/JkSF

This is likely from a first hand account by Dennis Hanks, a cousin of Lincoln's mother, told to the author Eleanor Atkinson (https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/217169525.pdf) page 12.

[RJNorton]

Welcome to the forum, Bill, and thank you very much!

[LincolnMan]

I see the following quote often. Is it a real Lincoln quote? What is the source?

“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.“

[RJNorton]

Bill, I once talked to Dr. Tom Schwartz about quote verification, and it was Tom's opinion that the Fehrenbachers' book, Recollected Words of Abraham Lincoln, is the second best resource after The Collected Works. I could not find the quote you asked about in either source.

Dr. Schwartz used to be the Illinois State Historian. Now he is the director of the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library & Museum in West Branch, Iowa.

[LincolnMan]

Ah, so it stands unverified! Very interesting. Thanks Roger.

[LincolnMan]

I passed your information in Roger to an interested person, Roger.
I have to say that my gut told me that the quote didn’t really sound like Lincoln. I felt it was “iffy” - and still do. I like the quote- but just am not sure it belongs to Mr. Lincoln.

[LincolnMan]

This has surfaced on the internet; did Lincoln say or write? I doubt it:

Rules of living
Don't worry, eat three square meals a day,say your prayers, be courteous to your creditors, keep your digestion good,steer clear of biliousness,exercise, go slow and go easy. May be there are other things that your special case requires to make you happy, but my friend, these, i reckon, will give you a good life.

[Dave B]

Doesn't sound like Lincoln. Especially the "go slow and go easy" part.

[RJNorton]

Bill, I do not see this quote in any source I own. The Internet is loaded with quotes which Abraham Lincoln never said, and I think this is one of them.

[LincolnMan]

Thanks Roger. I had to make sure. I came across it several times.