The old “sticks and stones” saying is true but only to a point. Words can hurt, especially when someone is commenting on your physical appearance. That was the case for one man who was born over 200 years ago in the United States. One of the first descriptions of him was “homely and haggard,” and that description was one of the kind ones.

Harsher criticisms included “horrid…ugly and repellent.” Well. That’s blunt. And it seems to have been the general consensus. He looked, one said, like someone drew an overly-exaggerated caricature of a human. Other said that he was “too ugly” to even appear in public. Still others said that the sight of the man’s face was the “object of mirth” and “foolishly comical.”

Add to these descriptions of the man’s face was the fact that he was incredibly awkward in public. His arms and hands seemed to belong to someone else because they were overly large and seemed too long for his body. That made him appear “ape-like” and inhuman. One of the most kind reactions was that of a British man who said he “lacked all that we consider to be debonaire or desirable.”

Now, you’d think such descriptions would cause the poor man to suffer from insecurity and self-doubt, and it did, to a point. However, to his credit, he developed a good sense of humor that fought against those who derided his physical appearance. Someone once accused him of being two-faced, and he is supposed to have responded, “If I had two faces, do you think I’d wear this one?” And another time, he joked that a man once pulled a gun on him and said, “If I ever met a man uglier than me, I’d shoot him.” His reply? “If I’m uglier that you, fire away.”

Yet, the abuse about his appearance never seemed to wane. One friend–yes, friend–said that his head was shaped like a coconut with hair on the top just as uncontrollable as coconut hair. His ears were said to be from someone twice his size. The lips were described as being non-existent. Scraggly sprigs of twine appeared where a normal person’s beard should be. Add to this already funny picture the fact that the man seemed to be covered with moles and warts. His nose was also too big. To complete the picture, a kick from a horse when he was a young man caused one of his eyes to rove independently of the other.

Yet, we don’t remember these descriptions of this man today. In fact, many people today consider this funny face to be the depiction of the prototypical American.

No, we only remember the beautiful heart, the generous nature, and the wonderful leadership of Abraham Lincoln.