Could he have been using a figure of speech—not literally meaning that he held it in his hands? My bet is yes.
By this idiot's standards, the Gideon Society would all be liars too for handing out New Testaments which they claim were written by the apostles of Jesus Christ.
Perhaps he “beheld” the speech with his eyes, that’s if a speech can be held or beheld 200 years after it was given. He could have held the draft of the speech I suppose. Which makes me wonder did Lincoln lie a Gettysburg when he said “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, . . .
I’m inclined to agree with that!