i gotta rite a 2 pg essay about this quote byt abraham lincoln... "human nature will not change, in any future great natural trial compared with men of this, we shall have as weak and as strong, as silly and as wise, as bad and as good." i have no idea what it means.. and i have to say if i agree or not...
2006-10-15 04:57:51 · 11 answers · asked by bahh 1 in Education & Reference ➔ Quotations
Perhaps the first place to start is by signing off the "fun" parts of the internet, and spending some time researching the quote.
Turn off the TV, also.
2006-10-15 05:00:00 · answer #1 · answered by question_ahoy 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Break each section down to understand what President Lincoln was saying. For the first section, he makes the statement that man is always going to be the same...as far as human nature..the way we act and react ....goes. "In any future great natural trial" is the problems of this age or any other. We can compare the way men acted to the Civil War to the way they react to war with Iraq or North Korea or any other war. "We shall have weak as strong" means that some men will rise up to greatness and be strong in times of adversity, while others will show the weak sides to human nature by their cowardice or anger or bitterness...you can fill in the part of human nature that you feel shows weakness here. Do the same for "silly and wise" and "bad and good." He was breaking down our reactions as man and as a nation. Now, you have to decide if mankind has changed or not since his day and whether you feel that his statement has held true through the test of time or if he was incorrect in his assumption. It's a good writing assignment that blends current events, history, and your ability to know what has happened in man's reaction to times of crisis. It's great that you are getting a chance to put your opinion in with it. Good luck on your writing assignment.
2006-10-15 12:05:18 · answer #2 · answered by DinahLynne 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm not an american, but as far as i can see from reading this he's saying that, man kind has reached a bit of a peak, were not going to evove from here. were as good as your gonna get.
personally i wouldnt agree, i think there are many mutations to come for the human race, in what is a relatively small time in the history of the world we have eveolved from apes to humans, and whats to say that in 2 million years time if were still here on this volatile planet that we wont have grown the ability to fly?
However, Lincoln i think was looking at the short term, or becasue we are at the top of the food chain we have nothing to force us evolve.
You must come to your own conclusions though.
2006-10-15 12:08:04 · answer #3 · answered by Ru B 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think what Abraham Lincoln said, Human Nature will not change, means a style of world [i.e. opinion giving people] of admiring some one on an action for a certain time and after then cursing the same admired person on the same admired action. When 9/11 happens every American was determined for revenge but after the commencement of war and after the action now Bush is under criticism.
The Fourth Caliph of The Prophet MUHAMMAD [SALLA ALLAH-u ALAIH-i WA SALLAM] HAZRAT ALI [RADI ALLAH-u TA-ALA ANHU] once said that
Beware of the World, When it will admire you, It will make you god and accepts you as a divine personality. But when it will criticize you, It will prove you as a devil and it will forget all your goods and your qualities.
I think that the message of Abraham Lincoln was same.
2006-10-15 12:47:02 · answer #4 · answered by Muhammad Faraz Quadri 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Usually you can get the most out of what is said in the first part of the paragraph or quote. In this case, he is saying that people won't change - we will always have just as many stupid people as smart people, strong people as well as weak.
Do you agree with this, or do you believe there are more or less of certain types of people now than there were?
That's my interpretation, anyways.
2006-10-15 12:07:39 · answer #5 · answered by Knathan the Knight 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I disagree. There is clearly a learning curve going on with humanity. The same way children develop from infants to children/teenagers then parents/adults and finally grandparents/elders, so do souls go through these stages, where the wiser souls guide the less mature souls through their stages. Yes, there are the "terrible two's" and the "rebellious teens" but as people learn from each other, we learn to deal with these developmental stages. Even countries are learning to deal with changes -- the U.S. is allies with the parent country of Great Britain previously fought against for independence. With every war, more humanitarian efforts are invested earlier and earlier to meet the needs of the civilians affected. So we are learned to deal with the problems of human nature. So yes, we will always have our weaknesses and our strengths. But no, we do not have to become victim to these problems. We can learn to work together to compensate and correct our shortcomings as a family, as one humanity -- instead of competing like children for the bigger piece of pie. The same way people grow up to be independent adults who can work productively in relationship with one another for the sake of the greater good of the family, nations will collectively learn to do the same for the greater good of the world. In the meantime, the elders are mentoring the parents who are learning to deal with teens and two-year-olds. So yes, there are selfish souls in the world, who cause problems for everyone else; but with the right support, as we see happening more and more, we will all eventually grow out of that immature stage and learn to give and take as equal contributors.
2006-10-19 06:27:23 · answer #6 · answered by emilynghiem 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Why don't you turn it into "your" essay, and give your own interpretation. Just analyse what is written, put it into your own words, and HEY!....... It's quite o.k. to agree AND disagree about Abe's quote. To me personally, the quote means.... as we progress as a society, we as people will never change. I hope this helps, sorry if it doesn't. I tried
2006-10-15 20:40:33 · answer #7 · answered by Garbot 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it means human nature will not change and in the future we will have as many men with the same personality and traits as we do but with different dilemas or problems
2006-10-15 12:07:48 · answer #8 · answered by Nightchild 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's really kind of simple....He's just quoting the differences in every human being...
Like night and day...black and white, up or down, things like that only with people.....
Just write about all the different variety of poeple there are and you should do just fine..
Good luck ! ! !
2006-10-15 12:05:16 · answer #9 · answered by Sweetea 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Please, visit your local library. Arm sure they will be more than happy to help you. I wish I could help you, but I can't.
2006-10-15 12:06:25 · answer #10 · answered by ladyA 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋