![]() ![]() It was the logical side of language-the principles of order as these reflect patterns of thought or the external world-that appealed to him. Spelling as he had to learn it (separate from etymology) is more arbitrary than logical. Some claimed to remember his gift for spelling, a view that our manuscripts disprove. Lincoln not only read aloud, to think his way into sounds, but also wrote as a way of ordering his thought … He loved the study of grammar, which some think the most arid of subjects. The spare quality of Lincoln’s prose did not come naturally but was worked at. ![]() It is no greater exaggeration to say that all modern political prose descends from the Gettysburg Address … Hemingway claimed that all modern American novels are the offspring of Huckleberry Finn. Lincoln’s remarks anticipated the shift to vernacular rhythms which Mark Twain would complete twenty years later. It was made obsolete within a half hour of the time when it was spoken. Everett’s talk was given at the last point in history when such a performance could be appreciated without reservation. Lincoln’s speech at Gettysburg worked several revolutions, beginning with one in literary style. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us-that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion-that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain-that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom-and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.Įdward Everett, who famously spoke for two hours prior to Lincoln's brief remarks, wrote a thank-you note to the president remarking on the eloquence of his words. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.īut, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate-we can not consecrate-we can not hallow-this ground. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. Nicolay reprints President Lincoln's impromptu remarks:įour score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Lincoln showed himself only long enough to utter the few commonplace excuses which politeness required." The crowd persisted in calling him out, but Mr. With material so abundant, and enthusiasm so plentiful, a serenading party soon organized itself to call on prominent personages for impromptu speeches, and of course the President could not escape. "After the usual supper hour the streets literally swarmed with visitors, and the stirring music of regimental bands and patriotic glee-clubs sounded in many directions. ![]() "Except during its days of battle the little town of Gettysburg had never been so full of people," he wrote. Nicolay set the scene in Gettysburg the night before the now-famous speech. One of my favorite retrospectives was published back in 1894 in The Century Magazine, where John G. It has been celebrated by successive generations of Americans ever since. One-hundred and fifty years ago today, Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address. ![]()
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