By general law, life and limb must be protected; yet often a limb must be amputated to save a life, but a life is never wisely given to save a limb.

lincoln uses the terms life and limb to symbolize the:

constitution and the concept of slavery

constitution and concept of war

confederate forces and the union

union and the northern forces

The correct answer is: constitution and the concept of slavery.

Although Lincoln was never a self-proclaimed abolitionist, he held a personal view that slavery is anti-human, but he also held a political view that it was an unconstitutional practice. Still, as the president of all U.S. citizens (many of whom were anti-abolitionists and slave owners), he had to be very careful. He never advocated the outright and sudden abolition of slavery, as he was aware of all the consequences. Instead, he advocated a gradual change.