Bibliography of Thomas Wolfrum, Attorney at Law, Certified Family Law Specialist, Walnut Creek, California Divorce Lawyer | Areas of Practice include Family Law, Divorce, Collaborative Law, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Contracts, Adoption, Alimony & Spousal Support, Child Support, Children’s Rights, Custody & Visitation, Domestic Violence & Neglect, Juvenile Law, Paternity, and Prenuptial Agreements

I have always enjoyed good speeches and good quotations. Speeches and quotations often help me organize my thoughts.

My favorite American speechwriter is Abraham Lincoln. I find much to admire about Lincoln. Lincoln wrote his best speeches himself, editing his drafts over and over.

I especially enjoy what Lincoln wrote just before and during the Civil War. One of the reasons I enjoy this segment of Lincoln’s writings is divorce is often a private Civil War. Lincoln’s writings show a man who tried to avoid war because of the horrors of war. War leaves many people hors de combat.

The following quotation from his Second Inaugural Address given March 4, 1865 is hauntingly applicable to human relations today:

“With malice toward none; with 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; to care for him who shall have born the battle, and for his widows, and his orphan – to do all which may achieve and cherish a just, and a lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.”

Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address March 4, 1865

[Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House April 9, 1865. Lincoln was assassinated 6 days later, April 15, 1865.]

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"My joy was boundless. I had learnt the true practice of law. I had learnt to find out the better side of human nature and to enter men's hearts. I realized that the true function of a lawyer was to unite parties riven asunder. The lesson was so indelibly burnt into me that a large part of my time during the twenty years of my practice as a lawyer was occupied in bringing about private compromises of hundreds of cases. I lost nothing thereby--not even money, certainly not my soul."

M.K. Gandhi

I enjoy collecting proverbs and old sayings from around the world. They reveal unique attitudes and cultures while being amusing, witty and insightful. Here are a few of my favorites:

“Dig the well long before you are thirsty.” Chinese

“If you cannot catch a fish, do not blame the sea.” Greek

“Trust in God, but tie your camel.” Persian

“If you blow into the fire, expect sparks to land in your eye.” German

“Fault denied is twice committed.” French

“Never send a chicken to bring home a fox.” Irish

“Do not hit the fly that lands on the tiger’s head.” Chinese

“When one has no needle, thread is of little use.” Japanese

“The sky is the same color wherever you go.” Persian

“When the ship has sunk, everyone knows how she could have been saved.” Italian

“The ox has no defense against flies.” Chinese

“The road of bye-and-bye leads to the house of never.” Spanish.

“The longer the explanation, the bigger the lie.” Chinese.

“A team of horses well matched plough straight furrows, unmatched teams plough in circles.” German