Abraham Lincoln Speeches (part 2):-

Lincoln speeches were the natural expression of great mind. Once he was called upon to speak extempore; his speech was so enthralling that the reporter drop their pens and watched him with all absorbing attention. The famous Gettysburg address was delivered by him without any elaborate preparation. He jotted down a few notes on his way to the field of Gettysburg. His speech on memorable occasion stands as a lasting testimony to his genius and moral stature. it is marvel of brevity, simplicity and direct utterance the democratic ideals of Americans history have been enunciated with such clarity and conviction that we feel that they could not have been expressed in any other words.

Lincoln conquered all the difficulties that came in his way by dint of those extraordinary gifts that God had bestowed on him. His fellow men were once questioned why they trusted him. They reply that it was because of his common sense. These shallow observers did not realize that Lincoln’s common sense was a part of his genius which enabled him to get to heart of things by tearing out of pith and discarding all that was unimportant and accidentally.

As Lincoln had not received literary and philosophical education he expressed himself in natural and direct manner without any artificial graces. So far as intellectual depth and inside were concerned he was at par with great master mind in the field of oratory. But when it came to expression, he spoke like an ordinary man without any ornate frills so that he might not go beyond understanding of the common people. His speeches drive their strength from the truth and sincerity of their thought content rather than from any deliberately cultivated style.

A great man has three essential features- a powerful intellect, a resolute will and a lofty purpose. Abraham Lincoln had all three qualities in an abundant measure. But the quality which basically contributed to his greatness was the nobility of his character and the loftiness of his aim. It is something rudely remarked that all great men are unprincipled. The noble sprit and integrity of Abraham Lincoln’s character are enough to contradict this sweeping statement.