Chapter 22

Both parties deprecated war; but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive, and the other would accept war rather than let it perish. And the war came.

The prayer of both could not be answered--those of neither have been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes. "Woe unto the world because of offenses! for it must needs be that offenses come; but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh."

If we shall suppose that American slavery is one of those offenses which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to North and South this terrible war as the woe due to those by whom the offense came, shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a living God always ascribe to Him?

Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may soon pass away.

Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn by the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said, "The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether."

With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and for his orphan; to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves, and with all nations.

THE END.

Transcriber's Notes:

Table of Contents Part VI: A section of Tributes beginning on Page 191 is not included in the table. Unchanged.

Table of Contents Part VII: A section called 'Lincoln, The Tender-Hearted' by H. W. Botton should be by H. W. Bolton. Changed.

Table of Contents Part IX: A section called "'Fooling' the People" on page 360 is not included in the table of contents. Unchanged.

Table of Contents Part IX: A section called 'Lincoln's confab with a Committee on Grant's Whisky' is not included in the table of contents. Unchanged.

Page 3: more definite than a similarity of Christain names Typo: Changed to [Christian].

Page 82: answer inpregnable with facts. Spelling of inpregnable is probably correct for that time. Unchanged.

Page 95: buy and exhibit him as a zoological curriosity. Likely misspelling. Changed to curiosity

Page 278: fac-simile Spelled as in original. Unchanged.

Hyphenation appears as either option in original:

careworn/care-worn deathblow/death-blow dooryard/door-yard lifelong/life-long masterpiece/master-piece stepbrother/step-brother