What does this quote mean: "Why is this thus? And what is the reason for this thusness?
In the movie 'Lincoln', Abraham Lincoln portrayed by Daniel Day-Lewis says this to Representative Ashley:
"Why for instance is this thus, and what is the reason for this thusness."
What does that even mean?
Merriam-Webster simply defines thusness as
the condition of being thus
So in his rhetorical way of speaking, Lincoln meant:
Why is this (situation) thus (in such a state), and what is the reason for this thusness (for this state).