Speaking of times of "great crises of nations or of the human race," Mary Baker Eddy says, "It is then that supreme devotion to Principle has especially been called for and manifested."Miscellaneous Writings, p. 176; Sometimes many years pass before the devotion of great leaders, who have stood firmly for the right in times of national crises, is fully appreciated. Time and the development of events then disclose the measure of their greatness.
Those who are able to grasp the meaning of world crises and who are willing to devote their lives to supporting the cause of righteousness have glimpsed the magnitude of Mind, God, and are ready to yield to Mind's demands. Self is submerged in a deep desire for the good of all.
Abraham Lincoln yielded to the touch of Mind and struggled to preserve the Union he believed in. On one occasion he spoke of the place the Constitution and the Union had played in the prosperity of his country. And he said: "There is something back of these, entwining itself more closely about the human heart. That something, is the principle of 'Liberty to all'— the principle that clears the path for all— gives hope to all—and, by consequence, enterprize, and industry to all."Abraham Lincoln: His Speeches and Writings edited by Roy P. Basler (1946 edition), p. 513;
