Robert Green Ingersoll
Robert Green Ingersoll
Robert Green "Bob" Ingersollwas an American lawyer, a Civil War veteran, political leader, and orator of the United States during the Golden Age of Free Thought, noted for his broad range of culture and his defense of agnosticism. He was nicknamed "The Great Agnostic"...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionLawyer
Date of Birth11 August 1833
CountryUnited States of America
atheist doe world
I cannot see why we should expect an infinite God to do better in another world than he does in this.
children doe my-children
And why does this same God tell me how to raise my children when he had to drown his?
atheism doe needs
If there be an infinite Being, he does not need our help - we need not waste our energies in his defense.
people literature doe
To know that the Bible is the literature of a barbarous people, to know that it is uninspired, to be certain that the supernatural does not and cannot exist - all this is but the beginning of wisdom.
abuse doe argument
Epithets are not arguments. Abuse does not persuade.
facts doe christ
If we are immortal, it is a fact of nature, and that fact does not depend on bibles, on Christs, priest, or creeds.
religion immortal-soul doe
Our hope of immortality does not come from any religions, but nearly all religions come from that hope.
mind religion doe
As a matter of fact, no one knows that God exists and no one knows that God does not exist. To my mind there is no evidence that God exists - that this world is governed by a being of infinite goodness, wisdom and power, but I do not pretend to know.
air eyes liberty light love lungs soul
What light is to the eyes -- what air is to the lungs -- what love is to the heart, liberty is to the soul of man.
birthday courage blessed
It is a blessed thing that in every age some one has had the individuality enough and courage enough to stand by his own convictions.
men heaven ignorant
The few took advantage of the ignorant many. They pretended to have received messages from the Unknown. They stood between the helpless multitude and the gods. They were the carriers of flags of truce. At the court of heaven they presented the cause of man, and upon the labor of the deceived they lived.
applause enemies gain multitude passions power prejudices
They who gain applause and power by pandering to the mistakes, the prejudices and passions of the multitude are the enemies of liberty.
destroy devise fought genius gift mind time voltaire weapon wonderful
Voltaire made up his mind to destroy the superstition of his time. He fought with every weapon that genius could devise or use. He was the greatest of all caricaturists, and he used this wonderful gift without mercy.
against good matter rascals stand testimony
A good character, like a Gibraltar, will stand against the testimony of all the rascals in the universe, no matter how they assail it. It will stand, and it will stand firmer and grander the more it is assaulted.