The Sacred Fire (act Iv, Scene 2)

(Abraham Lincoln and his wife, Mary, at home.)

Mary Lincoln: Abe, why are you so sad? Is anything special bothering you? It is time for us to go to the theatre. People are waiting for

Abraham Lincoln: I know, I know.

Mary Lincoln: Then what is tormenting your soul at this unexpected hour?

Abraham Lincoln: I feel that I have so much to do for our country, yet I have done nothing.

Mary Lincoln: Don't be a fool! What other President can equal you? From a log cabin to the White House. Unbelievable! A very short time after you became President the Civil War began. Sadness and determination became your immediate friends. It is you and you alone who led the fight to protect the Union and to end slavery. And you succeeded. What can compare with your Gettysburg address: "... government of the people, by the people, and for the people!'

Abraham Lincoln: It was not your husband who spoke those divine words, but God Himself who spoke those words in and through me. I was just an instrument of His.

Mary Lincoln: I do believe it. But He didn't choose me or anybody else to be His instrument. God found in you His supremely chosen instrument. But come, Abe, let us go to the theatre. People are waiting for us.

Abraham Lincoln: Alas, I am also waiting for my country to know and feel that I have done the right thing by ending slavery. Let us go.