Lincoln is focus of retreat talk

BY KATE BLAIN
ASSISTANT EDITOR

With the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth on the horizon, this seemed like a good time for Thomas Hoffman to lead a retreat on the legendary president.

On Feb. 25 and 26, Mr. Hoffman will do just that, giving presentations on Lincoln at the Dominican Retreat and Conference Center in Niskayuna.

Mr. Hoffman, a New York City lawyer, has been studying the 16th president for decades and owns about 1,500 books on Lincoln.

'Great person'

The president known as "Honest Abe" earned his nickname, the speaker said, noting: "He was not just a great president, but a great person. A lot of his qualities were Christian in nature: humility, compassion."

Mr. Hoffman's presentations are titled, "With Malice Toward None and Charity for All," referring to a line from Lincoln's second inaugural address in 1864: "With malice toward none and charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds."

Tragedies

Mr. Hoffman told The Evangelist that Lincoln was a wounded man himself. Having lost his mother as a child, he later fathered four sons, only one of whom lived to adulthood.

The speaker said that Lincoln also suffered from what would probably be diagnosed today as clinical depression, and that his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, "basically lost her mind" during their marriage and was institutionalized after his assassination.

During many of these tragedies, Lincoln was leading the country as it struggled through the Civil War and its devastating aftermath. It was then, said Mr. Hoffman, that the most important aspects of the president's character were formed: a spirituality not tied to any specific religious denomination, a belief in equality, mercy and forgiveness of enemies.

Anecdote

Mr. Hoffman cited one particular story: A young Civil War soldier whose wife had just died came to the president, asking to go home for her burial.

Lincoln scoffed that it was wartime and troops could not be spared -- adding that the soldier should have asked his general, not the leader of the country.

After the young man left, Lincoln began to feel so guilty about his response that he ended up walking to the soldier's home, apologizing for his behavior and allowing the soldier to go home for the funeral.

"That is a truly Christian man," Mr. Hoffman concluded.

Excited

Mr. Hoffman told The Evangelist he was excited about giving a retreat the year before the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth.

"I'm so grateful I've been given this opportunity," he stated. "All I've done for the past 12 months is think about Abraham Lincoln. I'm 'in the midst' of a special individual."

(Mr. Hoffman immigrated to the U.S. from Hungary in 1952. His interest in America's 16th president was sparked by reading about the Civil War. "I saw how unique [Lincoln] was," he noted. Lincoln "did have shortcomings," he added. He once agreed to participate in a duel, which was illegal and never came to pass; also, he slandered opponents before changing his attitude. The presentations will be held Feb. 25, 7-9 p.m., and Feb. 26, 10 a.m.-noon. The cost is $15. Call 393-4169 or go to www.dslcny.org.)

(02/14/08)