--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Next to creating a life the finest thing…" description: "\"Next to creating a life the finest thing a man can do is save one.\" — Abraham Lincoln" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0b/abraham-lincoln-88_can-do_next-to-creating-a-life-the-finest-thing_3016754.png" --- # Next to creating a life the finest thing a man can do is… ![“Next to creating a life the finest thing a man can do is save one.” quote by Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0b/abraham-lincoln-88_can-do_next-to-creating-a-life-the-finest-thing_3016754.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0b/abraham-lincoln-88_can-do_next-to-creating-a-life-the-finest-thing_3016754.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0b/abraham-lincoln-88_can-do_next-to-creating-a-life-the-finest-thing_3016754.png) > “Next to creating a life the finest thing a man can do is save one.” [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. Saving a single life is the highest moral achievement, surpassing all else. **In simple terms:** Saving one life is supreme. Key Takeaway Value each life deeply. Themes ethics humanity service Mood inspirational ethical Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - medical field - volunteering - emergency response Key Concepts altruism compassion legacy Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance individual and collective aid? - What responsibilities arise from this view? A Different Perspective Focusing on one may overlook systemic issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creating/) [Creating life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creating-life/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) ## Related quotes > [Life is the finest secret. So long as that remains, we must all whisper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/life-is-the-finest-secret-so-long-as-that-remains-we-must-all-whisper/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [There ain't no doubt in my mind that love is the finest thing around](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-taylor/there-ain-t-no-doubt-in-my-mind-that-love-is-the-finest-thing-around/) [James Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-taylor/) > [I always consider what I am doing at the moment the finest thing in my life. I find there's more happiness that way than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-moorehead/i-always-consider-what-i-am-doing-at-the-moment-the-finest-thing-in/) [Agnes Moorehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-moorehead/) > [I always thought I was the finest thing around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-anderson/i-always-thought-i-was-the-finest-thing-around/) [Anthony Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-anderson/) > [The finest thing about a hobby is that you can't do any pretending about it. You either like it or you don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-draper/the-finest-thing-about-a-hobby-is-that-you-can-t-do-any-pretending/) [Dorothy Draper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-draper/) > [O, Heart, remember thee That Man is none, Save One.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coventry-patmore/o-heart-remember-thee-that-man-is-none-save-one/) [Coventry Patmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coventry-patmore/) > [There's nothing the world loves more than a ready-made description which they can hang on to a man, and so save themselves all trouble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/there-s-nothing-the-world-loves-more-than-a-ready-made-description/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“If a man can save himself, there is no need for a Saviour.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/if-a-man-can-save-himself-there-is-no-need-for-a-saviour/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“Even In Life, The Finest Things Are Also Worth Screening”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/delene-douse/even-in-life-the-finest-things-are-also-worth-screening/) Delene Douse > [Life's finest hour is when we do good things to nameless people without expecting to remember our acts of kindness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-s-finest-hour-is-when-we-do-good-things-to-nameless-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One of life's finest things is enjoying your food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daisy-lowe/one-of-life-s-finest-things-is-enjoying-your-food/) [Daisy Lowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daisy-lowe/) > [“The finest thing in the world is knowing how to belong to oneself. Michel de Montaigne”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-stevens/the-finest-thing-in-the-world-is-knowing-how-to-belong-to-oneself/) Laurie Stevens > [You can tell him he can have up on it, I aint tryin and girl you the finest thing up in here I aint…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/webbie/you-can-tell-him-he-can-have-up-on-it-i-aint-tryin-and-girl-you-the/) Webbie > [Democracy, disciplined and enlightened, is the finest thing in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/democracy-disciplined-and-enlightened-is-the-finest-thing-in-the-world/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [When I was playing I never wished I was doing anything else. I think being a professional athlete is the finest thing a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-gibson/when-i-was-playing-i-never-wished-i-was-doing-anything-else-i-think/) [Bob Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-gibson/) ## 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 Can do quotes > [Changes before your eyes, things you can do and things you can't. My attitude is always let it keep rolling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terrence-malick/changes-before-your-eyes-things-you-can-do-and-things-you-can-t-my/) [Terrence Malick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terrence-malick/) > [The happy medium is television. And if you find a good suitor, you can do it for years. With movies, you roll the dice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-campbell/the-happy-medium-is-television-and-if-you-find-a-good-suitor-you-can/) [Bruce Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-campbell/) > [If I had a million dollars, I just wouldn't just completely set back. I'd have to get out there and show my face to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muddy-waters/if-i-had-a-million-dollars-i-just-wouldn-t-just-completely-set-back-i/) [Muddy Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muddy-waters/) > [Anybody can be Prince Charming one day a year, with the dinner and the flowers and all that. But you know what impresses me?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-howard/anybody-can-be-prince-charming-one-day-a-year-with-the-dinner-and-the/) [Ryan Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-howard/) > [And if the mind thinks with a believing attitude one can do amazing things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/and-if-the-mind-thinks-with-a-believing-attitude-one-can-do-amazing/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [The amount of things you can do with a kettlebell is unsurpassed by any other training equipment - dumbbells, resistance machines, free weights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laird-hamilton/the-amount-of-things-you-can-do-with-a-kettlebell-is-unsurpassed-by/) [Laird Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laird-hamilton/) > [It's nice when you've done enough movies that you can do your own anthology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lithgow/it-s-nice-when-you-ve-done-enough-movies-that-you-can-do-your-own/) [John Lithgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lithgow/) > [If people don't have their own vision, all they can do is 'sign-up' for someone else's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-senge/if-people-don-t-have-their-own-vision-all-they-can-do-is-sign-up-for/) [Peter Senge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-senge/) > [The one thing that flies in the face of all human history and experience, is that the government can do a superior job than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cook/the-one-thing-that-flies-in-the-face-of-all-human-history-and/) [James Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cook/) > [...what I can do is offer myself, wholehearted and present, to walk with the people I love through the fear and the mess. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauna-niequist/what-i-can-do-is-offer-myself-wholehearted-and-present-to-walk-with/) [Shauna Niequist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shauna-niequist/) > [Whether that's speaking up in your job or asking for a promotion or saying, 'I think I can do that.' Using your voice in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-shriver/whether-that-s-speaking-up-in-your-job-or-asking-for-a-promotion-or/) [Maria Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-shriver/) > [The average ordinary citizen can do a lot of different things when it comes to the climate crisis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-bender/the-average-ordinary-citizen-can-do-a-lot-of-different-things-when-it/) [Lawrence Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-bender/) > [A professional is a man who can do his job when he doesn't feel like it. An amateur is a man who can't do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agate/a-professional-is-a-man-who-can-do-his-job-when-he-doesn-t-feel-like/) [James Agate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agate/) > [The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, as it pleases him, for he can do all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/the-lord-gives-and-the-lord-takes-away-as-it-pleases-him-for-he-can/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [I'm not an educated man. I only know what I'm told, and I'm not told that much; I have no frame of reference for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/i-m-not-an-educated-man-i-only-know-what-i-m-told-and-i-m-not-told/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) Browse all 5,673 Can do quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Next to creating a life the finest thing a man can do is save one.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Abraham Lincoln" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-to-creating-a-life-the-finest-thing-a-man-can-do-is-save-one/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Can do" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-to-creating-a-life-the-finest-thing-a-man-can-do-is-save-one/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0b/abraham-lincoln-88_can-do_next-to-creating-a-life-the-finest-thing_3016754.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0b/abraham-lincoln-88_can-do_next-to-creating-a-life-the-finest-thing_3016754.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0b/abraham-lincoln-88_can-do_next-to-creating-a-life-the-finest-thing_3016754.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Next to creating a life the finest thing a man can do is save one.” — 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": "Next to creating a life the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-to-creating-a-life-the-finest-thing-a-man-can-do-is-save-one/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-to-creating-a-life-the-finest-thing-a-man-can-do-is-save-one/#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 } } ] } ```