"When you have got an elephant by the hind legs and he is trying to run away, it's best to let him run"

Abraham Lincoln’s vivid metaphor conjures the image of a person in a precarious struggle, clinging to the powerful hind legs of an elephant determined to escape. The scenario immediately communicates a sense of imbalance and futility, a mismatch between human strength and the might of an elephant, which easily conveys the broader idea of the human tendency to attempt control over situations that are clearly beyond one’s capacity to contain or direct.

Letting go, in Lincoln’s illustration, becomes an act of wisdom rather than weakness, a recognition of the powerful forces at play and a willingness to yield when resistance only leads to harm or chaos. The elephant, with its unmatched strength and size, symbolizes problems or situations that outscale the individual, organizations, or even nations, issues whose momentum and power are so great that efforts to restrain them are not just ineffective, but potentially dangerous. The futility of holding on mirrors the folly of stubbornness, especially when it becomes clear that neither resources nor energy can change the direction of events.

Lincoln’s language advocates discernment between the situations deserving dogged perseverance and those that call for strategic retreat. Wisdom comes from knowing when to persist and when to release one’s grip for the sake of safety, sanity, and survival. The image warns against the human inclination to be overly controlling or prideful, highlighting the importance of humility and flexibility. Sometimes, letting go prevents worse consequences, physical injury in the literal scenario, or personal and collective ruin in the figurative one. Recognizing our limits does not diminish human strength; rather, it preserves it for more worthy, winnable battles.

By painting resistance as both risky and unproductive, Lincoln subtly encourages adaptability, suggesting true strength lies not in senseless struggle but in the courage to accept reality, make prudent choices, and move forward with wisdom gained from experience.