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The excerpt represents the core issue or deciding factor on which you must meditate, and is drawn from The Boys' Life of Abraham Lincoln by Helen Nicolay: could not succeed at that without a better education. It was the
same problem that has confronted millions of young Americans
before and since. In his case there was no question which he
would rather be--the only question was what success he might
reasonably hope for if he tried to study law.
Before his mind was fully made up, chance served to postpone, and
in the end greatly to increase his difficulty. Offut's successors
in business, two brothers named Herndon, had become discouraged,
and they offered to sell out to Lincoln and an acquaintance of
his named William F. Berry, on credit, taking their promissory
notes in payment. Lincoln and Berry could not foresee that the
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