Lincoln's Use of The Bible

"The Bible is the king's best copy, the magistrate's best rule, the housewife's best guide, the servant's best directory, and the best companion of youth." In a log cabin at Nolin's Creek, Hardin County, Kentucky, the boy breathed the first breath of life. Hope's anchor hung on a slender string, if we are to measure by the child's home surroundings. But his birthplace possessed a soul; for a home with a good book in it has a soul. This book was the Bible. It mastered his manners, molded his mind, made mighty his manhood, and gave to America the matchless man. In the Bible he found the truth for the ills of men, the secret for the solution of life's perplexing problems, the boon for the best beaten path, the succor for the suffering, the calmest comforts for the dying, and the faithful friend when foes are near and other friends so far away. We shall speak of what others have said concerning Lincoln's use of the Bible; what he himself said of it; the use he made of it; and the influence of the Scriptures on his life and literature.