09/25/2025
Abraham Lincoln is often apocryphally credited with the saying, “A compass will point you north, but it gives no advice about the swamps, deserts, and chasms you’ll encounter along the way.” Lincoln was a surveyor in his youth, and this line was attributed to him in the Daniel Day-Lewis film. The proverb has merit: no matter how carefully you try, you cannot walk through a forest—or anywhere—in a perfectly straight line....
Abraham Lincoln is often apocryphally credited with the saying, “A compass will point you north, but it gives no advice about the swamps, deserts, and chasms you’ll encounter along the way.” Lincol…
