Human soul Quote by Abraham Lincoln
![“He [Stephen Douglas] is blowing out the moral lights around us, when he contends that whoever wants slaves has a right to hold them; that he is penetrating, so far as lies in his power, the human soul, and eradicating the light of reason and the love of liberty, when he is in every possible way…” quote by Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/85e/abraham-lincoln-88_human-soul_he-stephen-douglas-is-blowing-out-the-mo_512193.jpg)
“He [Stephen Douglas] is blowing out the moral lights around us, when he contends that whoever wants slaves has a right to hold them; that he is penetrating, so far as lies in his power, the human soul, and eradicating the light of reason and the love of liberty, when he is in every possible way preparing the public mind, by his vast influence, for making the institution of slavery perpetual and national.”
About This Quote
Source Speech: Lincoln–Douglas Debates, 1858
Lincoln argues that pro‑slavery rhetoric erodes moral clarity, reason, and liberty, shaping public opinion to sustain slavery.
In simple terms: Pro‑slavery arguments damage moral reason and liberty.
Key Takeaway
Guard reason and liberty against moral blindness.
Themes
morality
politics
freedom
Mood
serious
determined
Type
political
historical
When to use this quote
- political speeches
- legislative debates
- public education
- activism
Key Concepts
slavery
public opinion
moral philosophy
Questions to Reflect On
- How does moral rhetoric influence policy?
- What safeguards protect liberty?
A Different Perspective
The argument may oversimplify complex economic and social factors.
![“Senator [Stephen] Douglas is of world-wide renown. All the anxious politicians of his party, or who have been of his party for years past, have been looking upon him as certainly, at no distant day, to be the President of the United States. They have seen in his round, jolly, fruitful face, post…” quote by Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ad4/abraham-lincoln-88_anxious_senator-stephen-douglas-is-of-world-wide_2804348.jpg)
![“I affect no contempt for the high eminence he [Senator Stephen Douglas] has reached. So reached, that the oppressed of my species,might have shared with me in the elevation, I would rather stand on that eminence, than wear the richest crown that ever pressed a monarch's brow.” quote by Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/0d1/abraham-lincoln-88_ambition_i-affect-no-contempt-for-the-high-eminen_2296058.jpg)
![“Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then [these?], any man might instantly use what another had invented; so that the inventor had no special advantage from his own invention. The patent system changed this…” quote by Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/449/abraham-lincoln-88_adoption_next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in_1828.jpg)
![“Organized religion has a part in the evolution of personal religion. It is the material upon which personal religion is grafted, but the process of grafting must be individual. Every human soul must, through thought, prayer, and study, cultivate his [sic] own religion to suit himself.” quote by Lily Montagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/7f3/lily-montagu-82141_evolution_organized-religion-has-a-part-in-the-evo_7761.jpg)
![“[W]e must learn to accommodate ourselves to the discovery that some of those cunningly-fashioned instruments called human souls have only a very limited range of music, and will not vibrate in the least under a touch that fills others with tremulous rapture or quivering agony.” quote by George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/9be/george-eliot-84_agony_w-e-must-learn-to-accommodate-ourselves_12409.jpg)
