Lincoln Quotes

[L Verge]

I have been a big fan of the actor Tom Selleck from early days and admit to being somewhat addicted to his current program, Blue Bloods. This past Friday's episode involved a young female police officer whose actions placed the reputation of the NYPD in jeopardy, and Selleck (in his role as Police Commissioner) had to decide what action to take against her.

In making his decision to terminate her, Selleck supposedly read a quote from Abraham Lincoln that basically said that, when a limb of a tree is diseased, one cuts off the limb to save the tree. Does anyone know if this is a true Lincoln quote or the words of a good script writer?

There was a second part as to what to do if the tree itself is diseased, but I can't remember what it was. I was too busy cogitating on the implication of those words if they really did come from Lincoln -- the man who refused to let the "diseased" limb (i.e. the Confederacy) of the Union be cut off to fend for itself.