Robert G. Ingersoll

Who was Robert G. Ingersoll?

Robert Green "Bob" Ingersoll was a lawyer, a Civil War veteran, political leader, and orator of United States during the Golden Age of Freethought, noted for his broad range of culture and his defense of agnosticism. He was nicknamed "The Great Agnostic".

Famous Quotes:

• Anger is a wind which blows out the lamp of the mind.
• Justice should remove the bandage from her eyes long enough to distinguish between the vicious and the unfortunate.
• When the will defies fear, when duty throws the gauntlet down to fate, when honor scorns to compromise with death -- that is heroism.
• 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.
• Love is the only bow of life's dark cloud. It is the Morning and Evening Star. It shines upon the cradle of the babe, and sheds its radiance upon the quiet tomb. It is the Mother of Art, inspirer of poet, patriot, and philosopher. It is the air and light of every heart, builder of every home, kinder of every fire on every hearth, It was the first dream of immortality. It fills the world with melody. Love is the magician, the enchanter, that changes worthless things to joy, and makes right royal kings of common clay.
• Happiness is the only good. The time to be happy is now. The place to be happy is here. The way to be happy is to make others so.
• He stands erect by bending over the fallen. He rises by lifting others.
• The destroyer of weeds, thistles, and thorns is a benefactor whether he soweth grain or not.
• Happiness is not a reward -- it is a consequence. Suffering is not a punishment -- it is a result.
• Surely there is grandeur in knowing that in the realm of thought, at least, you are without a chain; that you have the right to explore all heights and depth; that there are no walls nor fences, nor prohibited places, nor sacred corners in all the vast expanse of thought...