--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I can only say that I have acted upon my…" description: "\"I can only say that I have acted upon my best convictions, without selfishness or malice, and that by the help of God I shall continue to do so.\" — Abr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f93/abraham-lincoln-88_conviction_i-can-only-say-that-i-have-acted-upon-my_1053435.png" --- # I can only say that I have acted upon my best convictions… ![“I can only say that I have acted upon my best convictions, without selfishness or malice, and that by the help of God I shall continue to do so.” quote by Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f93/abraham-lincoln-88_conviction_i-can-only-say-that-i-have-acted-upon-my_1053435.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f93/abraham-lincoln-88_conviction_i-can-only-say-that-i-have-acted-upon-my_1053435.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f93/abraham-lincoln-88_conviction_i-can-only-say-that-i-have-acted-upon-my_1053435.png) > “I can only say that I have acted upon my best convictions, without selfishness or malice, and that by the help of God I shall continue to do so.” [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. He acted according to his deepest principles, free of selfish motives, trusting divine guidance to continue. **In simple terms:** Acted on convictions with humility and faith. Key Takeaway Stay true to principles, seek higher guidance. Themes integrity faith principles Mood reflective determined Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal decisions - leadership - ethical dilemmas Key Concepts moral conviction spiritual trust Questions to Reflect On - What convictions guide your toughest choices? - How do you balance humility with confidence? A Different Perspective Human nature can be self‑interested, challenging pure altruism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conviction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conviction/) [Convictions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/convictions/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Malice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/malice/) [Selfishness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfishness/) [Sincerity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sincerity/) ## Related quotes > [“Science with belief acted the best.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-leela-pandey/science-with-belief-acted-the-best/) [Abhishek Leela Pandey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-leela-pandey/) > [Let the people on both sides keep their self-possession, and just as other clouds have cleared away in due time, so will this, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/let-the-people-on-both-sides-keep-their-self-possession-and-just-as/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [And the dream that our mind had sketched in haste Shall others continue, but never complete. For none upon earth can achieve his scheme;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/and-the-dream-that-our-mind-had-sketched-in-haste-shall-others/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“And I don't care what anybody says; I like doing it, and it's what I shall continue to do”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/and-i-don-t-care-what-anybody-says-i-like-doing-it-and-it-s-what-i/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [So long as I remain alive and well I shall continue to feel strongly about prose style, to love the surface of the earth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/so-long-as-i-remain-alive-and-well-i-shall-continue-to-feel-strongly/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [I shall not cease learning while I live, nor when I arrive in the spirit-world… and when I again receive my body, I shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigham-young/i-shall-not-cease-learning-while-i-live-nor-when-i-arrive-in-the/) [Brigham Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brigham-young/) > [We shall continue to work for a Middle East that is free of strife and violence, living in harmony without the threat of terrorism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosni-mubarak/we-shall-continue-to-work-for-a-middle-east-that-is-free-of-strife/) [Hosni Mubarak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosni-mubarak/) > [As long as the cheques carry on coming in, and I'm enjoying my work, I shall continue acting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcshane/as-long-as-the-cheques-carry-on-coming-in-and-i-m-enjoying-my-work-i/) [Ian McShane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcshane/) > [“I shall continue to do what I think is right, whether anybody likes it or not.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/i-shall-continue-to-do-what-i-think-is-right-whether-anybody-likes-it/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [ We have no solution... You \[Palestinians\] shall continue to live like dogs, and whoever wishes may leave, and we will see where this process… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moshe-dayan/we-have-no-solution-you-palestinians-shall-continue-to-live-like-dogs/) [Moshe Dayan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moshe-dayan/) > [I shall continue to exist. I may assume other disguises, other forms, but I shall try to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/i-shall-continue-to-exist-i-may-assume-other-disguises-other-forms/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [Our Creator shall continue to dwell above the sky, and that is where those on earth will end their thanksgiving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/our-creator-shall-continue-to-dwell-above-the-sky-and-that-is-where/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [I've always wanted to take up work that my heart is convinced about. And I shall continue to do so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sakshi-tanwar/i-ve-always-wanted-to-take-up-work-that-my-heart-is-convinced-about/) [Sakshi Tanwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sakshi-tanwar/) > [I will burn, but this is a mere event. We shall continue our discussion in eternity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-servetus/i-will-burn-but-this-is-a-mere-event-we-shall-continue-our-discussion/) [Michael Servetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-servetus/) > [I shall continue to invent new anti-slavery programmes around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-batstone/i-shall-continue-to-invent-new-anti-slavery-programmes-around-the/) [David Batstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-batstone/) ## 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 Conviction quotes > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [Once you pull the trigger, you've got to throw balls aggressively and with conviction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-smith/once-you-pull-the-trigger-you-ve-got-to-throw-balls-aggressively-and/) [Alex Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-smith/) > [I've been around in public life for a long time. I think people know what I stand for. They know that I have strong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-turnbull/i-ve-been-around-in-public-life-for-a-long-time-i-think-people-know/) [Malcolm Turnbull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-turnbull/) > [“Desert are you, deluge are you, in a crowd of fakes, only truth is you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/desert-are-you-deluge-are-you-in-a-crowd-of-fakes-only-truth-is-you/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [For a successful revolution it is not enough that there is discontent. What is required is a profound and thorough conviction of the justice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-r-ambedkar/for-a-successful-revolution-it-is-not-enough-that-there-is-discontent/) [B. R. Ambedkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-r-ambedkar/) > ['Peace on earth, good will toward men' - democracy must cling to that message. For it is my deep conviction that democracy cannot live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/peace-on-earth-good-will-toward-men-democracy-must-cling-to-that/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [No physiologist who calmly considers the question in connection with the general truths of his science, can long resist the conviction that different parts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/no-physiologist-who-calmly-considers-the-question-in-connection-with/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [ Beneath everything else, North and West, there ran a profound, unvoiced, almost subconscious conviction that the \[American\] nation was going to go on growing-in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-catton/beneath-everything-else-north-and-west-there-ran-a-profound-unvoiced/) [Bruce Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-catton/) > [Nor would anybody suspect. If was one thing all people took for granted, was conviction that if you feed honest figures into a computer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/nor-would-anybody-suspect-if-was-one-thing-all-people-took-for/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [When you fight to give your family bread, that's not passion anymore: that's conviction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoel-romero/when-you-fight-to-give-your-family-bread-that-s-not-passion-anymore/) [Yoel Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoel-romero/) > [If you know the differences between an oak and a poplar, a spruce and a pine, down to the needles... you are able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-allen-lawson/if-you-know-the-differences-between-an-oak-and-a-poplar-a-spruce-and/) [T. Allen Lawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-allen-lawson/) > [We need the conviction to be able to think for ourselves and to take action outof our own sense of responsibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senora-roy/we-need-the-conviction-to-be-able-to-think-for-ourselves-and-to-take/) [Senora Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senora-roy/) > [The law of England has established trial by judge and jury in the conviction that it is the mode best calculated to ascertain the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bentham/the-law-of-england-has-established-trial-by-judge-and-jury-in-the/) [Jeremy Bentham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-bentham/) > [If you are going to flip something, you must have the courage of your convictions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/if-you-are-going-to-flip-something-you-must-have-the-courage-of-your/) [Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/) > [We embark unhesitatingly on the path, in a direction that is absolutely right and urgent, supported by everyone, in the knowledge that this path…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yehudi-menuhin/we-embark-unhesitatingly-on-the-path-in-a-direction-that-is/) [Yehudi Menuhin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yehudi-menuhin/) [Browse all 2,157 Conviction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conviction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I can only say that I have acted upon my best convictions, without selfishness or malice, and that by the help of God I shall continue to do so.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Abraham Lincoln" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-can-only-say-that-i-have-acted-upon-my-best-convictions-without/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Conviction" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-can-only-say-that-i-have-acted-upon-my-best-convictions-without/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f93/abraham-lincoln-88_conviction_i-can-only-say-that-i-have-acted-upon-my_1053435.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f93/abraham-lincoln-88_conviction_i-can-only-say-that-i-have-acted-upon-my_1053435.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f93/abraham-lincoln-88_conviction_i-can-only-say-that-i-have-acted-upon-my_1053435.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I can only say that I have acted upon my best convictions, without selfishness or malice, and that by 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 can only say that I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-can-only-say-that-i-have-acted-upon-my-best-convictions-without/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-can-only-say-that-i-have-acted-upon-my-best-convictions-without/#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 } } ] } ```