I believe it is an established maxim in morals that he who makes an assertion without knowing whether it is true or false, is guilty of falsehood; and the accidental truth of the assertion, does not justify or excuse him.


Letter to Allen N. Ford (11 August 1846), reported in Roy Prentice Basler, ed., Abraham Lincoln: His Speeches and Writings (1990 [1946])

Abraham Lincoln Quotes

I believe it is an established maxim in morals that he who makes an assertion without knowing whether it is true or false, is guilty of falsehood;...

I believe it is an established maxim in morals that he who makes an assertion without knowing whether it is true or false, is guilty of falsehood;...

I believe it is an established maxim in morals that he who makes an assertion without knowing whether it is true or false, is guilty of falsehood;...

I believe it is an established maxim in morals that he who makes an assertion without knowing whether it is true or false, is guilty of falsehood;...