The story of
Lincoln's life is happily too familiar to need retelling here,
but some of the elements in his growth in the mastery of speech
may at least be summarized.
Lincoln had a slow, tireless mind, capable of intense
concentration. It was characteristic of him that he rarely took
notes when trying a law case, saying that the notes distracted
his attention. When his partner Herndon was asked when Lincoln
had found time to study out the constitutional history of the
United States, Herndon expressed the opinion that it was when
Lincoln was lying on his back on the office sofa, apparently
watching the flies upon the ceiling. This combination of bodily
repose with intense mental and spiritual activity is familiar to
those who have studied the biography of some of the great
mystics. Walter Pater pointed it out in the case of Wordsworth.
In recalling the poverty and restriction of Lincoln's boyhood and
his infrequent contact with schoolhouses, it is well to remember
that he managed nevertheless to read every book within twenty
miles of him.
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