--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Biographies, as generally written, are…" description: "\"Biographies, as generally written, are not only misleading but false... In most instances, they commemorate a lie and cheat posterity out of the truth...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a13/abraham-lincoln-88_lie_biographies-as-generally-written-are-not_976960.png" --- # Biographies, as generally written, are not only misleading… ![“Biographies, as generally written, are not only misleading but false... In most instances, they commemorate a lie and cheat posterity out of the truth.” quote by Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a13/abraham-lincoln-88_lie_biographies-as-generally-written-are-not_976960.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a13/abraham-lincoln-88_lie_biographies-as-generally-written-are-not_976960.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a13/abraham-lincoln-88_lie_biographies-as-generally-written-are-not_976960.png) > “Biographies, as generally written, are not only misleading but false... In most instances, they commemorate a lie and cheat posterity out of the truth.” [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Biographies often distort truth, presenting false narratives that mislead future generations. **In simple terms:** Biographies can be misleading and untrue. Key Takeaway Question sources critically. Themes history truth memory Mood skeptical reflective Type cautionary analytical When to use this quote - academic research - journalism - personal memoirs - family histories Key Concepts historical revisionism ethical storytelling Questions to Reflect On - How can we verify a biography's accuracy? - What responsibilities do biographers have? A Different Perspective Even honest intentions can produce bias. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Biographies Generally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biographies-generally-1913415/) [Commemorate Lie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commemorate-lie-1913417/) [Lie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lie/) [Lie Cheat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lie-cheat-333232/) [Misleading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misleading/) [Misleading False](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misleading-false-1913416/) [Only](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/only/) [Posterity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/posterity/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [Let every American, every lover of liberty, every well wisher to his posterity, swear by the blood of the Revolution, never to violate in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/let-every-american-every-lover-of-liberty-every-well-wisher-to-his/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Few can be induced to labor exclusively for posterity; and none will do it enthusiastically. 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If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/elections-belong-to-the-people-it-s-their-decision-if-they-decide-to/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/all-that-i-am-or-ever-hope-to-be-i-owe-to-my-angel-mother/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [While the people retain their virtue and vigilance, no administration, by any extreme of wickedness or folly, can very seriously injure the government in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/while-the-people-retain-their-virtue-and-vigilance-no-administration/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [I could not have slept tonight if I had left that helpless little creature to perish on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-could-not-have-slept-tonight-if-i-had-left-that-helpless-little/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Let us at all times remember that all American citizens are brothers of a common country, and should dwell together in bonds of fraternal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/let-us-at-all-times-remember-that-all-american-citizens-are-brothers/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [If you wish to be a lawyer, attach no consequence to the place you are in, or the person you are with; but get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/if-you-wish-to-be-a-lawyer-attach-no-consequence-to-the-place-you-are/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [As we keep or break the Sabbath Day we nobly save or meanly lose the last best hope by which man rises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/as-we-keep-or-break-the-sabbath-day-we-nobly-save-or-meanly-lose-the/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Tell the truth and you won't have so much to remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/tell-the-truth-and-you-won-t-have-so-much-to-remember/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [With high hope for the future, no prediction is ventured.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/with-high-hope-for-the-future-no-prediction-is-ventured/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [We know, Southern men declare that their slaves are better off than hired laborers amongst us. How little they know, whereof they speak! There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/we-know-southern-men-declare-that-their-slaves-are-better-off-than/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [I am glad to see that a system of labor prevails under which laborers can strike when they want to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-am-glad-to-see-that-a-system-of-labor-prevails-under-which-laborers/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [I don't like that man. I must get to know him better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-don-t-like-that-man-i-must-get-to-know-him-better/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [In this sad world of ours, sorrow comes to all; and to the young, it comes with bitterest agony because it takes them unawares.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/in-this-sad-world-of-ours-sorrow-comes-to-all-and-to-the-young-it/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [The man does not live who is more devoted to peace than I am. None who would do more to preserve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/the-man-does-not-live-who-is-more-devoted-to-peace-than-i-am-none-who/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) [Explore all 1,437 Abraham Lincoln quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) ## More Lie quotes > [I'm not the sort of person who would want to just lie on the sofa watching TV.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petra-kvitova/i-m-not-the-sort-of-person-who-would-want-to-just-lie-on-the-sofa/) [Petra Kvitova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petra-kvitova/) > [Often in my game as an actor, someone else pays for your travel and there's nothing like being able to lie flat on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ioan-gruffudd/often-in-my-game-as-an-actor-someone-else-pays-for-your-travel-and/) [Ioan Gruffudd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ioan-gruffudd/) > [How wonderful it would be to scatter words as they rise to consciousness, to let them lie where they fall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/how-wonderful-it-would-be-to-scatter-words-as-they-rise-to/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) > [If you read 'Lord of the Rings' and dismiss it as a lie because it has orcs and elves, you're missing the whole point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-tennapel/if-you-read-lord-of-the-rings-and-dismiss-it-as-a-lie-because-it-has/) [Doug TenNapel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-tennapel/) > [I want to show that drama doesn't lie only in blood and destroyed buildings but in daily life, in ordinary human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasmila-zbanic/i-want-to-show-that-drama-doesn-t-lie-only-in-blood-and-destroyed/) [Jasmila Zbanic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasmila-zbanic/) > [The life of a play begins and ends in the moment of performance. 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