It's my experience that folks who have no vices have generally very few virtues." - Meaning and context.">
According to The Inner Life of Abraham Lincoln (1867) by F. B. Carpenter, Lincoln quoted this as having been said to him by a fellow-passenger in a stagecoach. See also "Washington during the War", Macmillan's Magazine 6:24 (May 1862)

It's my experience that folks who have no vices have generally very few virtues.

— Abraham Lincoln

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "It's my experience that folks who have no vices have generally very few virtues." in the context of "According to The Inner Life of Abraham Lincoln (1867) by F. B. Carpenter, Lincoln quoted this as having been said to him by a fellow-passenger in a stagecoach. See also "Washington during the War", Macmillan's Magazine 6:24 (May 1862)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Abraham Lincoln" (Posthumous attributions: Soon after his death, Lincoln became popular as a "wise man" to whom quotations were often attributed, and attributions without specific contemporary sources should be viewed skeptically. These attributions are arranged chronologically.) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed February 05, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Abraham Lincoln

About Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln, a self-taught lawyer and politician, steered the United States through its most tumultuous period, the Civil War. His unwavering commitment to preserving the Union and abolishing slavery forever altered the course of American history and enshrined him as a champion of equality and justice.