--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Passion has helped us; but can do so no…" description: "\"“Passion has helped us; but can do so no more. It will in future be our enemy. Reason, cold, calculating, unimpassioned reason, must furnish all the ma..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/088/abraham-lincoln-88_emotion_passion-has-helped-us-but-can-do-so-no-m_3108715.png" --- # Passion has helped us; but can do so no more. It will in… ![“Passion has helped us; but can do so no more. It will in future be our enemy. Reason, cold, calculating, unimpassioned reason, must furnish all the materials for our future support and defence.” quote by Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/088/abraham-lincoln-88_emotion_passion-has-helped-us-but-can-do-so-no-m_3108715.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/088/abraham-lincoln-88_emotion_passion-has-helped-us-but-can-do-so-no-m_3108715.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/088/abraham-lincoln-88_emotion_passion-has-helped-us-but-can-do-so-no-m_3108715.png) > ““Passion has helped us; but can do so no more. It will in future be our enemy. Reason, cold, calculating, unimpassioned reason, must furnish all the materials for our future support and defence.”” [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. Reliance on passion alone is insufficient; rational, unemotional analysis will guide future decisions and defense. **In simple terms:** Passion alone isn’t enough; reason must lead. Key Takeaway Prioritize logical planning over emotional impulse. Themes reason strategy future planning Mood reflective serious Type philosophical strategic When to use this quote - policy making - military strategy - technological development Key Concepts rationalism decision making defense emotional control Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance passion with reason? - When does emotion become a strategic risk? A Different Perspective Passion can still inspire but may cloud judgment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion/) [Enemy Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy-reason-3663842/) [Fallacies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fallacies/) [Helped Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helped-future-2648047/) [Logic-reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/logic-reason-110433/) [Logical thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/logical-thinking/) [Passion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passion/) [Passion Helped](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passion-helped-1252679/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Reasoning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reasoning/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [To just be consistent and being able to play every time, showing my performance helped me for the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serge-gnabry/to-just-be-consistent-and-being-able-to-play-every-time-showing-my/) [Serge Gnabry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/serge-gnabry/) > [Fear is the most powerful enemy of reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/fear-is-the-most-powerful-enemy-of-reason/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [...if men are to be ruled, then the enemy is reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/if-men-are-to-be-ruled-then-the-enemy-is-reason/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Stories helped me unite parts of my existence that might otherwise have seemed irrevocably split by geography and time. And stories helped me find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/stories-helped-me-unite-parts-of-my-existence-that-might-otherwise/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > ['The Dog Whisperer' to me is a show that had a passion, and it helped me save relationships.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-millan/the-dog-whisperer-to-me-is-a-show-that-had-a-passion-and-it-helped-me/) [Cesar Millan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-millan/) > [I came to Mumbai to participate in a dance reality show and thought that could be my ticket to Bollywood. Gradually, I discovered that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanya-malhotra/i-came-to-mumbai-to-participate-in-a-dance-reality-show-and-thought/) [Sanya Malhotra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanya-malhotra/) > [Passion has overthrown tyrants and freed prisoners and slaves. Passion has brought justice where there was savagery. Passion has created freedom where there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/passion-has-overthrown-tyrants-and-freed-prisoners-and-slaves-passion/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [“Imagination does not breed insanity. Exactly what does breed insanity is reason. Poets do not go mad; but chess-players do. Mathematicians go mad, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/imagination-does-not-breed-insanity-exactly-what-does-breed-insanity/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“But I seem to recall that you can rub the outside of an apple until it shines without ever eradicating the worm within.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-baratz-logsted/but-i-seem-to-recall-that-you-can-rub-the-outside-of-an-apple-until/) [Lauren Baratz-Logsted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-baratz-logsted/) > [“Mr. Dawkins' assertions are self-refuting- ie. Actual infinity vs. potential infinity easily makes the most reasonable argument for theism and a Deity. Now, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-alan-woods/mr-dawkins-assertions-are-self-refuting-ie-actual-infinity-vs/) [R. Alan Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-alan-woods/) > [“Religions build theories about the world and then prevent them from being tested. Religions provide nice, appealing, and comforting ideas, and cloak them in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/religions-build-theories-about-the-world-and-then-prevent-them-from/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Logic is cheap, however some people are broke.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-mcewen/logic-is-cheap-however-some-people-are-broke/) [Lori McEwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-mcewen/) > [“The arrow of time obscures memory of both past and future circumstance with innumerable fallacies, the least trivial of which is perception.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashim-shanker/the-arrow-of-time-obscures-memory-of-both-past-and-future/) [Ashim Shanker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashim-shanker/) > [At least half of the popular fallacies about economics come from assuming that economic activity is a zero-sum game, in which what is gained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/at-least-half-of-the-popular-fallacies-about-economics-come-from/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Since the time of Plato and Aristotle philosophers have had an interest in taking note of common fallacies in reasoning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randal-marlin/since-the-time-of-plato-and-aristotle-philosophers-have-had-an/) [Randal Marlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randal-marlin/) ## 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 Emotion quotes > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-action-that-helps-us-manifest-our-divine-nature-more-and-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Of course I like you. It's because I like you I don't wanna be with you. It's a complicated emotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlin/of-course-i-like-you-it-s-because-i-like-you-i-don-t-wanna-be-with/) [Marlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlin/) > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [“Emotion as well as reason belongs to the very stuff of history.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-smalley/emotion-as-well-as-reason-belongs-to-the-very-stuff-of-history/) [Beryl Smalley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-smalley/) > [It definitely helps to have the acting experience going into singing, because when you're singing, you have to portray the emotion you were feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-newman/it-definitely-helps-to-have-the-acting-experience-going-into-singing/) [Ryan Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-newman/) > [It is not my intention to explain Turkey, its culture and its problems. My literature has a universal concern: I want to bring people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/it-is-not-my-intention-to-explain-turkey-its-culture-and-its-problems/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [For me, the term "psychotherapy" is limiting. It implies that we work with mind and emotions, but excludes the body and pays scant attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-diamond/for-me-the-term-psychotherapy-is-limiting-it-implies-that-we-work/) [Jed Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-diamond/) > [People are disturbed not by things but by the view they take of them. They may forget what you said, but they will never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/people-are-disturbed-not-by-things-but-by-the-view-they-take-of-them/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [There cannot be any communication except through form. If there is no form, you cannot create emotion in the spectator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-resnais/there-cannot-be-any-communication-except-through-form-if-there-is-no/) [Alain Resnais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-resnais/) > [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [ Music \[is\] the third rail of life. You grabbed it to shock yourself out of the dull drag of hours. To feel something. To… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-hill/music-is-the-third-rail-of-life-you-grabbed-it-to-shock-yourself-out/) [Joe Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-hill/) > [“What if each time you experienced an emotion, you acknowledged it, accepted it, and became curious about its message for you (instead of trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vironika-tugaleva/what-if-each-time-you-experienced-an-emotion-you-acknowledged-it/) [Vironika Tugaleva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vironika-tugaleva/) > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [Many humanists have argued that happiness involves a combination of hedonism and creative moral development; that an exuberant life fuses excellence and enjoyment, meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/many-humanists-have-argued-that-happiness-involves-a-combination-of/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) [Browse all 7,204 Emotion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Passion has helped us; but can do so no more. It will in future be our enemy. Reason, cold, calculating, unimpassioned reason, must furnish all the materials for our future support and defence.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Abraham Lincoln" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/passion-has-helped-us-but-can-do-so-no-more-it-will-in-future-be-our/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Emotion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/passion-has-helped-us-but-can-do-so-no-more-it-will-in-future-be-our/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/088/abraham-lincoln-88_emotion_passion-has-helped-us-but-can-do-so-no-m_3108715.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/088/abraham-lincoln-88_emotion_passion-has-helped-us-but-can-do-so-no-m_3108715.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/088/abraham-lincoln-88_emotion_passion-has-helped-us-but-can-do-so-no-m_3108715.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Passion has helped us; but can do so no more. It will in future be our enemy. Reason, cold, calculating…” — 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": "“Passion has helped us; but can...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/passion-has-helped-us-but-can-do-so-no-more-it-will-in-future-be-our/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/passion-has-helped-us-but-can-do-so-no-more-it-will-in-future-be-our/#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 } } ] } ```