Things Lincoln never said

[LincolnMan]

That's what I thought. Too bad- it's quite humorous!

[Eva Elisabeth]

Wouldn't match that he "ate what was set before him, making no complaint"...(as his stepmother said).

[Gene C]

I do not have the book by Fehrenbacher, does anyone know about the authenticity of this quote?

“I can see how it might be possible for a man to look down upon the earth and be an atheist, but I cannot conceive how a man could look up into the heavens and say there is no God.”
― Abraham Lincoln

[RJNorton]

I believe the source of the quote is Gilbert J. Greene. This particular quote is not in the Fehrenbachers' book. The one quote from Greene that they do carry is given a "D."

[Rob Wick]

Gene,

The problem with this quote is that while it's all around the Internet, there is no source listed for it. Fehrenbacher doesn't mention it (at least not in the quotes under the subject of "God" in the index). I went to the Collected Works and put in the words "atheist," atheism" and ath* which is a Boolean search term that would bring up all forms of the word and nothing appeared. Putting in the word "God" however, brought up (as one might expect) a number of references. This quote sounds to me like something a Kiwanis or Rotarian speaker said at a meeting once and it became sourced to Lincoln, like so many other quotes. I say no.

Best
Rob

I posted before I saw Roger's post on Gilbert J. Greene. That further makes it suspect to me.

[LincolnMan]

I don't think it has been mentioned here but back in Jan. 2016 Gov. Kasich attributed to Lincoln one one of the "10 Cannots" in an interview with Chris Wallace. This same mistake was made by Ronald Reagan in 1992.

[LincolnMan]

Seen on twitter: "When your weave is on point, your life is on point." RuPaul
Somehow I don't think Lincoln said that. Lol.

[LincolnMan]

Yes, RuPaul attributed that to Lincoln! Obviously tongue in cheek.

[LincolnMan]

I'm at work and looking Lincoln quotes on Twitter again. This quote is there:

There's no honorable way to kill, no gentle way to destroy. There is nothing good in war. Except its ending.

Without being able to verify this- I highly suspect this is something Lincoln never said-lol.

[RJNorton]

Right, Bill.

According to this web page...

http://webcenters.netscape.compuserve.co...ln/lincoln

...this was said by an actor playing Abraham Lincoln in an episode of "Star Trek." Lincoln himself never said this.

[Angela]

*ahem* it is with limited pride that I can confirm this.
Having added "The Savage Curtain" to my video library some years back, this quote is from Star Trek (but that doesn't necessarily mean it was invented by them - I always placed it with Sherman for some reason...)
Here is the full text from that episode:
"One matter further, gentlemen. We fight on their level. With trickery, brutality, finality. We match their evil. I know, James. I was reputed to be a gentle man. But I was commander in chief during the four bloodiest years of my country's history. I gave orders that sent a hundred thousand men to their death at the hands of their brothers. There is no honourable way to kill, no gentle way to destroy. There is nothing good in war except its ending. And you are fighting for the lives of your crew.
KIRK: Your campaign, Mister President."

[LincolnMan]

So that's where it came from! Good to know.

[LincolnMan]

Another one: "If this country is ever demoralized, it will come from trying to live without work."

I suspect Lincoln is the most misquoted person in history.

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But don't quote me on that

[wcvet6]

Thanks for verifying that non-use of the word by Lincoln!

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Boy, that Robert Todd connection really muddles things up!

perhaps Lincoln picked up the word from hay and decided to try it out in the Bixby lette.r Lincoln loved learning and knew the power of words.

[ELCore]

Another one: "If this country is ever demoralized, it will come from trying to live without work."

Some of the misquotes seem to me to be a bowdlerization or (for lack of a better term) dumbing-down of actual quotes. That one reminds me of the following: "No country can sustain, in idleness, more than a small percentage of its numbers. The great majority must labor at something productive." (September 30, 1859; "Address to the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society, Milwaukee"; Speeches and Writings, Volume II, page 98; Collected Works, Volume III, page 479; originally in Milwaukee Sentinel, October 1, 1859.)