Honest and brief

Abraham Lincoln, Portland Park Blocks

On the anniversary of Lincoln’s birth, from Gettysburg.com:

“When the cemetery was dedicated on November 19, 1863, less than half the Union battle dead had been removed from their field graves. The principal speaker was the renowned orator, Edward Everett. As was common for the day, his detailed speech lasted for over two hours.

Also on the program was a guest who had been invited to present “a few appropriate remarks” only as an afterthought. President Abraham Lincoln’s delivery of these remarks lasted only two minutes that day. The short length was in such contrast to the Everett allocution that the audience, stunned for a moment, barely reacted. Upon returning to his seat Lincoln remarked to a friend: “That speech won’t scour. It is a flat failure.” To the contrary, the Gettysburg Address has become known as one of the supreme masterpieces of eloquence in the English language. On November 20, Everett wrote Lincoln “I should be glad if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion in two hours as you did in two minutes.”

The 272 words of the Gettysburg Address were formulated with great thought by Lincoln. He wrote the first draft in Washington shortly before November 18 and revised it at the home of David Wills in Gettysburg the night before the dedication.

The speech transformed Gettysburg from a scene of carnage into a symbol, giving meaning to the sacrifice of the dead and inspiration to the living.“

Note to everyone who ever runs or attends a meeting: being able to make your point in less than two hours is a virtue and skill to desire, practice, and celebrate.

“Honest: truthful, trustworthy, done conscientiously, got by fair means”.