Robert Ingersoll
Robert 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"...
ProfessionPolitician
Date of Birth11 August 1833
ages ashes church fruit lips men priceless sword touch turn
Give the church a place in the Constitution, let her touch once more the sword of power, and the priceless fruit of all ages will turn to ashes on the lips of men
believe ceremonies exercise extend forms highways human leap liberties liberty others preach sacrifice strike
You have no right to erect your tollgate upon the highways of thought. You have no right to leap from the hedges of superstition and strike down the pioneers of the human race. You have no right to sacrifice the liberties of man upon the alters of ghosts. Believe what you may; preach what you desire; have all forms and ceremonies you please; exercise your liberty in your own way but extend to all others the same right.
highways
You have no right to erect your toll-gate upon the highways of thought
contempt destroy devout except held jews others people save sayings showing wished
There are some of his sayings which show him to have been a devout Jew, others that he wished to destroy Judaism, others showing that he held all people except the Jews in contempt and that the wished to save no others, others showing that he wished
age age-and-aging blessed courage individuality stand
It is a blessed thing that in every age someone has had the individuality enough and courage enough to stand by his own convictions
arrogant conceive god impossible jewish thoroughly
It is impossible to conceive of a more thoroughly despicable, hateful, and arrogant being, than the Jewish god
church god happy miserable teaches
That church teaches us that we can make God happy by being miserable ourselves;
hope liar loses reputation suppose truthfully universal veracity
I suppose it can be truthfully said that Hope is the only universal liar who never loses his reputation for veracity
doctrine given heresy minority name powerful weak
Heresy is what the minority believe, it is the real name given by the powerful to the doctrine of the weak
hands help lips pray
The hands that help are holier than the lips that pray
far hands help lips pray
The hands that help are better far than the lips that pray
carefully discredit glory great history omitted religious remarks whatever
The great religious historian, Eusebius, ingenuously remarks that in his history he carefully omitted whatever tended to discredit the church, and that he piously magnified all that conduced to her glory
decent enter entire gave god millions promised single succeeded three time work
A God who gave his entire time for 40 years to the work of converting three millions of people, and succeeded in getting only two men, and not a single woman, decent enough to enter the promised land? (Num
bore fruit heart hell infamy man
All the meanness, all the revenge, all the selfishness, all the cruelty, all the hatred, all the infamy of which the heart of man is capable, grew, blossomed and bore fruit in this one word, Hell