--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am not a very sentimental man; and the…" description: "\"I am not a very sentimental man; and the best sentiment I can think of is, that if you collect the signatures of all persons who are no less distinguis..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/848/abraham-lincoln-88_autobiography_i-am-not-a-very-sentimental-man-and-the_929136.png" --- # I am not a very sentimental man; and the best sentiment I… ![“I am not a very sentimental man; and the best sentiment I can think of is, that if you collect the signatures of all persons who are no less distinguished than I, you will have a very undistinguishing mass of names.” quote by Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/848/abraham-lincoln-88_autobiography_i-am-not-a-very-sentimental-man-and-the_929136.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/848/abraham-lincoln-88_autobiography_i-am-not-a-very-sentimental-man-and-the_929136.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/848/abraham-lincoln-88_autobiography_i-am-not-a-very-sentimental-man-and-the_929136.png) > “I am not a very sentimental man; and the best sentiment I can think of is, that if you collect the signatures of all persons who are no less distinguished than I, you will have a very undistinguishing mass of names.” [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. Lincoln humorously suggests that collecting signatures of notable people yields an unremarkable mass, highlighting the futility of fame as a measure of distinction. **In simple terms:** Collecting famous names doesn’t make one special. Key Takeaway Value substance over superficial accolades. Themes humor humility fame identity legacy Mood wry reflective lighthearted Type humor philosophical political When to use this quote - political speeches - personal letters - public statements Key Concepts irony self‑deprecation philosophical Questions to Reflect On - What truly defines distinction? - How does humor affect perception of status? A Different Perspective It may downplay genuine achievements. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Autobiography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autobiography/) [Mass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mass/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Sentimental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentimental/) [Sentimentality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentimentality/) [Sentiments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentiments/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [My father was a deeply sentimental man. And like all sentimental men, he was also very cruel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/my-father-was-a-deeply-sentimental-man-and-like-all-sentimental-men/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [I have finally perfected my signature. It took hours of practicing I decided early on just to write Pippa, not Middleton.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pippa-middleton/i-have-finally-perfected-my-signature-it-took-hours-of-practicing-i/) [Pippa Middleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pippa-middleton/) > [SUCCESS DEFINITION-- WHEN OUR SIGNATURE CHANGES TO AUTOGRAPH ,this marks the success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdul-kalam/success-definition-when-our-signature-changes-to-autograph-this-marks/) [Abdul Kalam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdul-kalam/) > [For me, Modern Warfare 3 's plot makes its signature turn around the bend when Russia invades Europe. As in, all of it. Simultaneously.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yahtzee-croshaw/for-me-modern-warfare-3-s-plot-makes-its-signature-turn-around-the/) [Yahtzee Croshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yahtzee-croshaw/) > [But there's actually a lot of punk bands out there that go out of the norm, use odd time signatures, or a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-barker/but-there-s-actually-a-lot-of-punk-bands-out-there-that-go-out-of-the/) [Travis Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-barker/) > [How do our philosophers act? Do they not inscribe their signatures to the very essays they write on the propriety of despising glory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/how-do-our-philosophers-act-do-they-not-inscribe-their-signatures-to/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [Hip Hop Sisters is going strong. Our signature initiative is #EducateOurMen, whereby we have the pleasure, the enjoyment, as well as having received the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mc-lyte/hip-hop-sisters-is-going-strong-our-signature-initiative-is/) [MC Lyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mc-lyte/) > [...and my signature is drawn in magic markeron the lower right hand corner of the windowso when something passes in the darkit's captured for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-berman/and-my-signature-is-drawn-in-magic-markeron-the-lower-right-hand/) [David Berman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-berman/) > [Ramones or AC/DC are two bands that have managed to keep their signature sound and their signature formula for years and years and album…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-grohl/ramones-or-ac-dc-are-two-bands-that-have-managed-to-keep-their/) [Dave Grohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-grohl/) > [It has always seemed to me that a being coming from another world, with a message of infinite importance to mankind, should at least…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/it-has-always-seemed-to-me-that-a-being-coming-from-another-world/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [I grew up singing Mexican music, and that's based on indigenous Mexican rhythms. Mexican music also has an overlay of West African music, based…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-ronstadt/i-grew-up-singing-mexican-music-and-that-s-based-on-indigenous/) [Linda Ronstadt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-ronstadt/) > [So many signatures for such a small heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/so-many-signatures-for-such-a-small-heart/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Now I have something. In fact, I have posted on the Internet more than Obama has. My birth certificate actually has signatures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orly-taitz/now-i-have-something-in-fact-i-have-posted-on-the-internet-more-than/) Orly Taitz > [An order given in battle, an instruction issued by the master of a sailing ship, a cry for help, are as powerful in modifying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bronislaw-malinowski/an-order-given-in-battle-an-instruction-issued-by-the-master-of-a/) [Bronislaw Malinowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bronislaw-malinowski/) > [If I can get enough signatures, to present an apology to slavery, I will present it to the President. The House of Representatives has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-douglas/if-i-can-get-enough-signatures-to-present-an-apology-to-slavery-i/) [Kirk Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-douglas/) ## More by Abraham Lincoln > [Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. 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 Autobiography quotes > [I think anything that anyone writes thats any good is going to have a lot of autobiography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-adly-guirgis/i-think-anything-that-anyone-writes-thats-any-good-is-going-to-have-a/) [Stephen Adly Guirgis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-adly-guirgis/) > [“I am not and autobiographical writer--one can't be without a solid and explicable self--and read all autobiographical writers with the same curiosity. What kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/i-am-not-and-autobiographical-writer-one-can-t-be-without-a-solid-and/) [Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) > [“Someday, I want to write an unauthorized autobiography of myself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mcmullen-sullivan/someday-i-want-to-write-an-unauthorized-autobiography-of-myself/) [David McMullen-Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mcmullen-sullivan/) > [“As well as writing, 2004 saw my first attempt at wine making: the elixir of life. Unfortunately, my effort tasted more like the elixir…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-briggs/as-well-as-writing-2004-saw-my-first-attempt-at-wine-making-the/) Craig Briggs > [I caught a cold and didn't have time to work on my autobiography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-doucet/i-caught-a-cold-and-didn-t-have-time-to-work-on-my-autobiography/) [Julie Doucet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-doucet/) > [Who ever heard, indeed, of an autobiography that was not (interesting)? I can recall none in all the literature of the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/who-ever-heard-indeed-of-an-autobiography-that-was-not-interesting-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't really think of my essays as being about myself. I know it sounds insane, but I just don't think of them as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sloane-crosley/i-don-t-really-think-of-my-essays-as-being-about-myself-i-know-it/) [Sloane Crosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sloane-crosley/) > [The way I would live my life is: never do something in real life that I would not want to write about in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siddharth-katragadda/the-way-i-would-live-my-life-is-never-do-something-in-real-life-that/) [Siddharth Katragadda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siddharth-katragadda/) > [biography cannot be separated from autobiography: that is, the life written about is inextricably entangled with the life of the biographer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-simon/biography-cannot-be-separated-from-autobiography-that-is-the-life/) Linda Simon > [I think I'm like most novelists in that my books have gotten farther and farther away from autobiography the longer I've been writing them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-i-m-like-most-novelists-in-that-my-books-have-gotten-farther/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [If you wish to understand me at all (and to write an autobiography is only to open a window into one's heart) you must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-melba/if-you-wish-to-understand-me-at-all-and-to-write-an-autobiography-is/) [Nellie Melba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-melba/) > [I want an autobiography without revealing any personal information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-ross/i-want-an-autobiography-without-revealing-any-personal-information/) [Diana Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-ross/) > [I don't like the word 'autobiography.' I rather like the term 'autofiction.' The second you make a script out of the story of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjane-satrapi/i-don-t-like-the-word-autobiography-i-rather-like-the-term/) [Marjane Satrapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjane-satrapi/) > [Because I write fiction, I don't write autobiography, and to me they are very different things. The first-person narrative is a very intimate thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/because-i-write-fiction-i-don-t-write-autobiography-and-to-me-they/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“I don't think anyone could write a completely honest autobiography. I am sure no one could bear to read it: My Past Was An…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/i-don-t-think-anyone-could-write-a-completely-honest-autobiography-i/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) [Browse all 642 Autobiography quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autobiography/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I am not a very sentimental man; and the best sentiment I can think of is, that if you collect the signatures of all persons who are no less distinguished than I, you will have a very undistinguishing mass of names.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Abraham Lincoln" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-am-not-a-very-sentimental-man-and-the-best-sentiment-i-can-think-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Autobiography" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-am-not-a-very-sentimental-man-and-the-best-sentiment-i-can-think-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/848/abraham-lincoln-88_autobiography_i-am-not-a-very-sentimental-man-and-the_929136.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/848/abraham-lincoln-88_autobiography_i-am-not-a-very-sentimental-man-and-the_929136.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/848/abraham-lincoln-88_autobiography_i-am-not-a-very-sentimental-man-and-the_929136.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I am not a very sentimental man; and the best sentiment I can think of is, that if you collect the…” — Abraham Lincoln", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Abraham Lincoln", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I am not a very sentimental...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-am-not-a-very-sentimental-man-and-the-best-sentiment-i-can-think-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-am-not-a-very-sentimental-man-and-the-best-sentiment-i-can-think-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```