Directions: Delve deeply to understand the correlation between the poem "Holy Willie's Prayer" and how Lincoln viewed religion and politics. Make use of the websites below the poem to help in translating what is difficult Scottish dialect in the poem.
Primary and Secondary SourcesPoet Robert Burns
Abraham Lincoln was also drawn to the poetry of Scotland's Robert Burns. When asked to provide a special toast to for the celebratory anniversary of Burns' birth, Lincoln wrote in a memorandum dated January 25, 1865, "I can not frame a toast to Burns. I can say nothing worthy of his generous heart and transcending genius. Thinking of what he has said, I can not say anything which seems worth saying."
Source: Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln Lincoln had a special affinity for the Burns' poem "Holy Willie's Prayer" which historian Fred Kaplan attributes to Burns' emphasis on combining "political idealism with humanistic realism." In his book, Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer, Kaplan felt that Lincoln was able to connect with the folksy style Burns had in dealing with the common man. Both men grew up in very poor circumstances, but still felt, as Kaplan states, that "poverty did not prevent [man] from being equal to a king." The whole concept of a powerful, governing body or individual, would still not be able to squelch even the "humblest dweller." Kaplan provides an overall narrative that Lincoln was so invested in the philosophies of Burns that they became his religion in many respects and reflected his "hostility to the fundamentalism dominating nineteenth-century American Protestantism." In short, Lincoln subscribed to many of the questioning theories Burns' presented when it came to God and religion.
Source: Kaplan, Fred. Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer. New York: HarperCollins, 2008. (69-70) In his book, Honor's Voice: The Transformation of Abraham Lincoln, Douglas L. Wilson states that "an important point of affinity for Lincoln was Burns' religious skepticism, which seems to have mirrored his own." Wilson further explains that many of Lincoln's associates, such as James Matheny, were "shocked" about Lincoln's skepticism. Matheny even blamed Robert Burns for turning Lincoln into an infidel. The scathing satire of "Holy Willie's Prayer" was one of the aspects of the poem that Lincoln liked most.
Source: Wilson, Douglas L. Honor's Voice: The Transformation of Abraham Lincoln. New York: Random House, 1998. Print. (75-76) In the text below, Lincoln is trying to clarify his stance on religion and Christianity. As you read, note what he says and what is left unsaid. To the Voters of the Seventh Congressional District.
FELLOW CITIZENS: A charge having got into circulation in some of the neighborhoods of this District, in substance that I am an open scoffer at Christianity, I have by the advice of some friends concluded to notice the subject in this form. That I am not a member of any Christian Church, is true; but I have never denied the truth of the Scriptures; and I have never spoken with intentional disrespect of religion in general, or of any denomination of Christians in particular. It is true that in early life I was inclined to believe in what I understand is called the “Doctrine of Necessity” ---that is, that the human mind is impelled to action, or held in rest by some power, over which the mind itself has no control; and I have sometimes (with one, two or three, but never publicly) tried to maintain this opinion in argument. The habit of arguing thus however, I have, entirely left off for more than five years. And I add here, I have always understood this same opinion to be held by several of the Christian denominations. The foregoing, is the whole truth, briefly stated, in relation to myself, upon this subject. I do not think I could myself, be brought to support a man for office, whom I knew to be an open enemy of, and scoffer at, religion. Leaving the higher matter of eternal consequences, between him and his Maker, I still do not think any man has the right thus to insult the feelings, and injure the morals, of the community in which he may live. If, then, I was guilty of such conduct, I should blame no man who should condemn me for it; but I do blame those, whoever they may be, who falsely put such a charge in circulation against me. July 31, 1846. A. LINCOLN. Source: Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln Additional information on Lincoln and Robert Burns:
David James Harkness and R. Gerald McMurtry, Lincoln’s Favorite Poets |
Holy Willie's Prayer
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O Thou, who in the heavens does dwell,
Who, as it pleases best Thysel', Sends ane to heaven an' ten to hell, A' for Thy glory, And no for ony gude or ill They've done afore Thee! I bless and praise Thy matchless might, When thousands Thou hast left in night, That I am here afore Thy sight, For gifts an' grace A burning and a shining light To a' this place. What was I, or my generation, That I should get sic exaltation, I wha deserve most just damnation For broken laws, Five thousand years ere my creation, Thro' Adam's cause? When frae my mither's womb I fell, Thou might hae plunged me in hell, To gnash my gums, to weep and wail, In burnin lakes, Where damned devils roar and yell, Chain'd to their stakes. Yet I am here a chosen sample, To show thy grace is great and ample; I'm here a pillar o' Thy temple, Strong as a rock, A guide, a buckler, and example, To a' Thy flock. O Lord, Thou kens what zeal I bear, When drinkers drink, an' swearers swear, An' singin there, an' dancin here, Wi' great and sma'; For I am keepit by Thy fear Free frae them a'. But yet, O Lord! confess I must, At times I'm fash'd wi' fleshly lust: An' sometimes, too, in wardly trust, Vile self gets in: But Thou remembers we are dust, Defil'd wi' sin. O Lord! yestreen, Thou kens, wi' Meg - Thy pardon I sincerely beg, O! may't ne'er be a livin plague To my dishonour, An' I'll ne'er lift a lawless leg Again upon her. Besides, I farther maun avow, Wi' Leezie's lass, three times I trow - But Lord, that Friday I was fou, When I cam near her; Or else, Thou kens, Thy servant true Wad never steer her. Maybe Thou lets this fleshly thorn Buffet Thy servant e'en and morn, Lest he owre proud and high shou'd turn, That he's sae gifted: If sae, Thy han' maun e'en be borne, Until Thou lift it. Lord, bless Thy chosen in this place, For here Thou hast a chosen race: But God confound their stubborn face, An' blast their name, Wha bring Thy elders to disgrace An' public shame. Lord, mind Gaw'n Hamilton's deserts; He drinks, an' swears, an' plays at cartes, Yet has sae mony takin arts, Wi' great and sma', Frae God's ain priest the people's hearts He steals awa. An' when we chasten'd him therefor, Thou kens how he bred sic a splore, An' set the warld in a roar O' laughing at us; - Curse Thou his basket and his store, Kail an' potatoes. Lord, hear my earnest cry and pray'r, Against that Presbyt'ry o' Ayr; Thy strong right hand, Lord, make it bare Upo' their heads; Lord visit them, an' dinna spare, For their misdeeds. O Lord, my God! that glib-tongu'd Aiken, My vera heart and flesh are quakin, To think how we stood sweatin', shakin, An' piss'd wi' dread, While he, wi' hingin lip an' snakin, Held up his head. Lord, in Thy day o' vengeance try him, Lord, visit them wha did employ him, And pass not in Thy mercy by 'em, Nor hear their pray'r, But for Thy people's sake, destroy 'em, An' dinna spare. But, Lord, remember me an' mine Wi' mercies temp'ral an' divine, That I for grace an' gear may shine, Excell'd by nane, And a' the glory shall be thine, Amen, Amen! |