Read the passage. excerpt from “a house divided” a speech by abraham lincoln “a house divided against itself cannot stand.” i believe this government cannot endure, permanently, half slave and half free. i do not expect the union to be dissolved—i do not expect the house to fall—but i do expect it will cease to be divided. it will become all one thing, or all the other. what does the house symbolize? the united states as a whole the entire world a government building abraham lincoln’s home