Lincoln’s 2nd Inaugural Address: “With Firmness in the Right as God Gives Us to See the Right”

“With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”

–Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address (March 4, 1865).

Like a lot of Americans, I’m sure, my favorite Lincoln quote is the closing stanza (above) from his Second Inaugural Address.

lincoln2But it’s the more obscure second clause, not the famous first (“With malice towards none, with charity for all”), that I find more provocative.

Humility vs. Hubris

Why does Lincoln append, “as God gives us to see the right,” to his declarative “with firmness in the right?”

My take:  because it makes explicit the primary role of humility, and admits the possibility of doubt and human error.

Humble nations don’t skirt war when it’s unavoidable.

But, they wage war soberly and efficiently, with a sense of mission combined with compassion and respect for life (“malice towards none, with charity for all”).

Contrast that mindset with ISIS suicide bombings and beheadings.

How does one reconcile Lincoln’s appeal to humility with the sometimes unavoidable need to right wrongs — and indeed wage brutal war, as Lincoln’s generals (especially Grant and Sherman) did?

I think the starting point, at least, can be found in another famous quote:

“Anybody can become angry – that is easy. But to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way – that is not within everybody’s power and is not easy.”

–Aristotle

See also, “A Financial Gettysburg Address:  Redeeming the Crash.

About the author

Ross Kaplan has 19+ years experience selling real estate all over the Twin Cities. He is also a 12-time consecutive "Super Real Estate Agent," as determined by Mpls. - St. Paul Magazine and Twin Cities Business Magazine. Prior to becoming a Realtor, Ross was an attorney (corporate law), CPA, and entrepreneur. He holds an economics degree from Stanford.

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