Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations. 1989.
Abraham Lincoln (180965)
1. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. 2. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. 3. You cannot help small men up by tearing big men down. 4. You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. 5. You cannot lift the wage-earner up by pulling the wage-payer down. 6. You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income. 7. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred. 8. You cannot establish sound social security on borrowed money. 9. You cannot build character and courage by taking away a mans initiative and independence. 10. You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.
Erroneously attributed to ABRAHAM LINCOLN. Since the 1940s these Ten Points attributed to Lincoln have been widely reprinted. They have appeared in such places as magazines, Christmas cards, and the Congressional Record. The Library of Congress and Lincoln scholars believe that any connection made between Lincoln and the Ten Points is spurious.