What Made Lincoln Great?

What made Abraham Lincoln one of the greatest, if not the greatest, President of the United States. 

His father was a ne’er-do-well; his mother died when he was nine; his childhood was marked by neglect and deprivation. This background would suggest failure, not success.

I don’t know what distinguished Lincoln from others but I can guess. 

I suppose are these are the traits that allowed Lincoln to standout amongst his peers: 

• Strong character traits such as honesty and the cardinal virtues. 
• The ability to manage disruptive emotions—anger, pessimism and cynicism. 
• The art of getting along with people from the rich to the poor, from leader to common man, from supporter to critic. 
• Productive action—belief in himself and his ability to accomplish his goals. 
• A sense of humor during stressful and pleasant times and the ability to laugh at himself. 
• A consummate desire to learn. 
• Lincoln read the Bible and Aesop’s Fables so often that they affected his manner of talking and his method of thinking.  
• He wore out a borrowed copy of the Life of Washington by Parson Weems.  
• Perhaps his richest find was Scott’s Lessons containing speeches of Cicero, Demosthenes and Shakespeare’s characters.  He would walk back and forth in the woods repeating passages.  
• He studied the book until he could recite long poems and speeches by heart. 
•  Lincoln devoured books throughout his life.  Biographies.  Humor.  History.  Law.  
• During the Civil War Lincoln spent hours reading.  
• Many times, he would read passages from Shakespeare to his cabinet, personal secretary and visiting dignitaries and friends.  

Yes, more than any other factor, the books Lincoln read molded his character and enabled him to withstand the agony of outrageous fortune. Rather than founding his self-worth on the opinions of others, Lincoln lived by an internal light implanted by enduring character traits formulated by reading.