The lives of Washington and Henry Clay, which Lincoln borrowed from neighbors in the wilderness, and devoured by the light of the cabin fire, inspired his life.

In his early manhood he read Paine's "Age of Reason," and Volney's "Ruins," which so influenced his mind that he wrote an essay to prove the unreliability of the Bible.

These two books nearly unbalanced his moral character.

But, fortunately, the books which fell into his hands in after years corrected this evil influence.

The trend of many a life for good or ill, for success or failure, has been determined by a single book.