The proverbial Abraham Lincoln

"Abraham Lincoln's political and moral stature as a major public figure of the nineteenth century is indisputable and well attested to in his published works. His use of proverbial language added rhetorical prowess to his speeches, letters, proclamations, and memoranda. Both his oral and written communications are replete with metaphorical and colloquial language in the form of proverbs, proverbial expressions, proverbial comparisons, wellerisms, twin formulas, and triads. His effective employment of Biblical and folk proverbs, as well as proverbial phrases, makes him a masterful orator and writer."--BOOK JACKET.