Rhetorical Devices In Lincoln's Speech

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The entirety of Lincoln's speech is based on a specific quote from Matthew 12:25 in the Bible, in which Jesus says, "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand." By doing this, Lincoln hopes to establish credibility in the rest of his speech, because it's basis is the Bible. However, Lincoln does not use the quote in the way that is expected of a straightforward quote from the Bible. The quote could have easily been used to put the message that if the country doesn’t resolve its’ issues on slavery then the country will be consumed by chaos and the country will fall, but Lincoln immediately says that he does not expect or want the Union to end. He makes it seem