In this collage of Lincoln, a fragment of Rembrandt’s etching
Christ Healing the Sick is placed in proximity to Lincoln’s
face. Lincoln was known as “Old Abe” and “Father Abraham.” The
latter sobriquet reminds us of the romance that many nineteenth-
century Americans had with the Israelites and their prophets, a
romance that influenced the names, dress and speech of the time.
Although Lincoln was not an orthodox Christian, his comments and
speeches often alluded to the language and poetry of the Bible.
He spoke for human rights and individual worth with a voice that
was pragmatic, moral, democratic and poetic. He is known for his
acts of compassion and even extreme tenderness. Joshua Speed,
Lincoln’s first friend in Springfield, who married my wife’s
relative, Fanny Henning, and whose brother became Lincoln’s
campaign manager, gives an eye witness account. The Speed story
reminds us of Lincoln’s much noted compassion. Conceptual
feelings concerning compassion and individual worth arising from
facts and myths a