Lincoln’s Story
On February 12, 1809, Abraham Lincoln was born in a farmer’s family. When he was a child, his family was very poor and he had no chance to go to school. He followed his father to cultivate and work in the western wilderness every day. He himself said: "When I entered school in my life, the total time was less than one year." But Lincoln was diligent and studious, and asked others for advice whenever he had the opportunity. He had no money to buy paper or pens, so he always had a book in his arms when he was herding cattle, chopping firewood, or digging in the ground. When he was resting, he gnawed on hard, cold bread and read with relish. At night, he often read until late at night under the small oil.
When he grew up, Lincoln left his hometown and went out to make a living alone. He worked all kinds of jobs, including day laborers, sailors, store clerks, rural postmen, land surveyors, and gravity work such as logging and splitting wood. No matter what he does, he is very responsible, honest and trustworthy.
When he was a teenager, he worked as a clerk in a village grocery store. Once, a customer paid a few cents more and ran more than ten miles to get the money back. Another time, he found that he had given a customer two taels of tea leaves, so he ran several miles to deliver the tea leaves to that customer's home. He was honest, studious, and humble, and was loved by those around him wherever he went.
In 1834, the 25-year-old Lincoln was elected as an Illinois Congressman and began his political career. In 1836, he passed the examination and became a lawyer.
After becoming a lawyer, he was very famous in the local area because he was proficient in law and eloquent. Many people came to him to help with lawsuits. But there is one condition for him to defend the client, that is, the client must be a just party. Many poor people had no money to pay him for his services, but as long as they told Lincoln: "I am just, please help me seek justice." Lincoln would defend him for free.
Once, a very wealthy man asked Lincoln to defend him. After listening to the client's statement, Lincoln found that the man was falsely accusing a good man, so he said, "I'm sorry, but I can't defend you because your behavior is unjust."
The man said: "Mr. Lincoln, I just want to ask you to help me fight this unjust lawsuit. As long as I win the case, you can pay me whatever you want."
Lincoln said seriously: "Just use a little court defense. Your case is easy to win, but the case itself is unfair. If I took your case, when I stood in front of the judge and spoke, I would say to myself: 'Lincoln, you are lying. Lies can only be spoken out loud when you lose your conscience. I can't lose my conscience and it's impossible to tell lies. So, please ask someone else. I don't have the ability to serve you."
That's it. After hearing this, the man said nothing and left Lincoln's office silently