Abraham Lincoln

Without the assistance of the Divine Being, I cannot succeed. With that assistance, I cannot fail.

Source: Farewell Address at Springfield, Illinois, February 11, 1861; Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, Vol. IV

Genuine Lincoln, from the Springfield farewell remarks delivered on departing for Washington. The documented wording is 'Without the assistance of that Divine Being, who ever attended him, I cannot succeed. With that assistance I cannot fail.' The corpus text is a lightly trimmed version of that sentence; the substance and the source event are secure.

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Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing.

Source: Letter to Isham Reavis, November 5, 1855; Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, Vol. II

Genuine Lincoln, from the letter of advice to Isham Reavis, a young man who had asked about studying law. The documented wording is 'Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed, is more important than any other one thing'; the corpus text drops 'other'. I am confident about the letter and the recipient; consider restoring the original wording.

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