江斯頓是林肯繼母的兒子,他來信向林肯借錢,林肯以此信回复了他。

你向我借八十塊錢,我覺得目前最好不要借給你。好幾次我幫助你之後,你都說"現在我們的生活可以好過了",但是時隔不久,你又面臨了同樣的困境。現在,只能說明你自己有問題。是什麼問題呢?我想我知道。你不是個懶漢,但多少有點遊手好閒。自從我上次看見你,就懷疑你沒有認真工作過一天。你不太過討厭工作,但卻不賣勁幹活，唯一的原因是你覺得你並不能從中獲益多少。

所有的問題都緣於你那浪費時間的惡習。改掉這種習慣對你來說很重要,而對你的兒女則更加重要。這是因為他們的人生之路還很長,在沒有養成閒散的習慣之前,尚可加以制止。這比養成之後再糾正要容易得多。

現在你需要些現錢;我建議你去工作,去找個出薪顧人的老板,為他"賣力地"工作。

讓你爸爸和你的幾個兒子去應付家裡春播和秋收的事吧,你自己去做些最掙錢的工作,再用你的工資抵債。為了使你的勞動獲得好的酬金,我現在答應你,從今天到五月一號,只要你工作掙到一塊錢或是償還了一塊錢的債,我就再給你一塊錢。

這樣的話,如果你每月掙十塊錢,你可以從我這兒再得到十塊錢,那麼你一個月就能掙二十塊錢。我不是說讓你到聖路易或加利福尼亞州的鉛礦、金礦去,而是讓你在離家近的地方找個最掙錢的工作 ― 就在柯爾斯縣境內。

如果你現在願意這樣做,很快就能還清債務。更好的是,你會養成不再欠債的好習慣。但是,如果我現在幫你還了債,明年你又會負債累累。你說,你願意用你在天堂的席位換來七八十塊錢。這麼說,你把你在天堂的席位看得太廉價了。其實,照我說的去做,保證你工作四五個月就能掙到那七八十塊錢。你又說,如果我借錢給你,你願意把田產抵押給我;若是將來你還不清錢,那田地就當歸我所有 ―

胡說八道!假如現在你有田地都無法生存,將來沒有田地又怎麼存活呢?你一向對我很好,我現在也沒有對你無情無義,相反,如果你肯採納我的建議,你會發現,對你來說,這比八個八十塊錢還值!

摯愛你的哥哥

亞•林肯

(1848年12月24日)

Your request for eighty dollars, I do not think it best to comply with now. At the various times when I have helped you a little, you have said to me, "We can get along very well now," but in a very short time I find you in the same difficulty again. Now this can only happen by some defect in your conduct. What that defect is, I think I know. You are not lazy, and still you are an idler. I doubt whether since I saw you, you have done a good whole day's work, in any one day. You do not very much dislike to work, and still you do not work much, merely because it does not seem to you that you could get much for it.

This habit of uselessly wasting time, is the whole difficulty; it is vastly important to you, and still more so to your children, that you should break this habit. It is more important to them, because they have longer to live, and can keep out of an idle habit before they are in it, easier than they can get out after they are in.

You are now in need of some ready money; and what I propose is, that you shall go to work, "tooth and nail, "for somebody who will give you money for it.

Let father and your boys take change of your things at home ― prepare for a crop, and make the crop, and you go to work for the best money wages, or in discharge of any debt you owe, that you can get. And to secure you a fair reward for your labor, I now promise you that for every dollar you will, between this and the first of May, get for your own labor either in money or in your own indebtedness, I will then give you one other dollar.

By this, if you hire yourself at ten dollars a month, from me you will get ten more, making twenty dollars a month for your work. In this, I do not mean you shall go off to St. Louis, or the lead mines, or the gold mines, in California, but I mean for you to go at it for the best wages you can get close to home ― in Coles County.

Now if you will do this, you will soon be out of debt, and what is better, you will have a habit that will keep you from getting in debt again. But if I should now clear you out, next year you will be just as deep in as ever. You say you would almost give your place in Heaven for $70 or $80. Then you value your place in Heaven very cheaply, for I am sure you can with the offer I make you get the seventy or eighty dollars for four or five month's work. You say if I furnish you the money you will deed me the land, and if you don't pay the money back, you will deliver possession ― Nonsense! If you can't now live with the land, how will you then live without it? You have always been kind to me, and I do not now mean to be unkind to you. On the contrary, if you will but follow my advice, you will find it worth more than eight times eighty dollars to you.

Affectionately

You brother

A. Lincoln