Kindness can be selfish
and that's okay —
Abraham Lincoln says so
SOLERA DIAMOND VALLEY | MAY 2024 19
LISTEN - CARE - SHARE
Submitted by Linda Weiss Resident
at marvelous President Abraham Lincoln, freer of slaves and moral
giant, was not so saintly that he would only commit kind acts for their
own sake. In this little story published in 1898, Lincoln and his friend
Colonel E.D. Baker were on a train discussing selfishness in doing good or
evil. As the train passed over a bridge they saw an old razor-back sow on
the bank of the swamp making a terrible noise because her pigs had got
stuck and were in danger of drowning. Lincoln asked for the train to be
stopped, ran to the swamp, and pulled the piglets out of the mud. When
he returned his friend said: "Now, Abe, where does selfishness come in
in this little episode?" Abraham Lincoln replied: "Why, bless your soul,
Ed, that was the very essence of selfishness. I would have had no peace of
mind all day had I gone on and le that suffering old sow worrying over
those pigs. I did it to get peace of mind don't you see?"
J. E. Gallaher, Best Lincoln Stories – Tersely Told
