What does this quote mean?

“Let us stand by our duty, fearlessly and effectively.”

Once a moral and political conclusion has been reached, Lincoln argues that intimidation and evasive compromise should not displace the duty that follows from that judgment.

Source note: Cooper Union Address, February 27, 1860. The sentence appears in Lincoln’s closing argument about opposing slavery’s spread and should not be detached into a context-free command about every disputed duty.

“To see what is right and not to do it is want of courage.”

Recognizing the right course is incomplete if fear or convenience prevents a person from acting on that judgment.

Source note: The Analects of Confucius, James Legge’s public-domain English translation; Book II connects moral recognition with the courage required for action.

“I shall obey God rather than you.”

Socrates presents moral and philosophical duty as more binding than compliance with pressure from political authority.

Source note: Apology, Jowett translation; Socrates says he would continue practicing philosophy even if acquittal were conditioned on silence.

“These are the times that try men's souls.”

Crisis reveals commitment because principles become costly to maintain precisely when fear, fatigue, and uncertainty make retreat easier.

Source note: Opening of The American Crisis No. I; Paine addresses perseverance during a difficult stage of the American Revolution.

“Let us have faith that right makes might.”

Lincoln reverses the idea that power establishes right, arguing that moral judgment should guide sustained political action rather than treating strength or intimidation as proof of justice.

Source note: Cooper Union Address, February 27, 1860, closing passage. Lincoln is defending Republican opposition to the extension of slavery into federal territories; the line retains that antislavery political context.

“It is not the critic who counts.”

Participation matters more than detached fault-finding when achievement requires risk, effort, mistakes, and responsibility for an outcome.

Source note: Citizenship in a Republic, commonly called the Man in the Arena speech; Roosevelt contrasts action with spectatorship.