In fiction and poetry, an allusion is usually used to refer to a cultural touchstone—a myth, a famous painting. In argument that still can hold true, but speakers and writers need to choose allusions not only for their broad cultural relevance, but also for their appeal to a specific audience. Thus, a historical allusion might resonate with one community, while a sports allusion might be effective for another audience, and a pop culture reference might work where a historical allusion would otherwise fall flat.

Understanding his audience well, President Abraham Lincoln used a series of biblical allusions in his second inaugural address to urge unity between the North and South at the end of the Civil War:

Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God’s assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men’s faces, but let us judge not, that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered. That of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes. “Woe unto the world because of offenses; for it must needs be that offenses come, but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh.”

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Given that citizens of both sides revered the Bible and worshipped the Christian God, Lincoln’s allusions emphasized the need for Americans to seek similar beliefs that outweighed differences.