Complete Lectures of Col. R.G. Ingersoll

by Robert G. Ingersoll

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1881 edition. Excerpt: ...to grow great.--The last Napoleon was not satisfied with being the emperor of the French. He was not satisfied with having a circlet of gold about his head. He wanted some evidence that he had something of value within his head. So he wrote the life of Julius Caesar that he might become a member of the French Academy.--Abraham Lincoln was, in my judgment, in many respects, the grandest man ever President ot the United States. Upon his monument these words should be written: "Here sleeps the only man in the history of the world who, having been clothed with almost absolute power, never abused it except upon the side of mercy."--A government founded upon anything except liberty and justice cannot and ought not to stand. All the wrecks 1 on either side of the stream of time, all the wrecks of the great cities, and all the nations that have passed away--all are a warning that no nation founded upon injustice can etarid. From the sand-enshrouded Egypt, from the marble wilderness of Athens, and from every fallen, crumbling stone of the once mighty Rome, comes a wail, as it were, the cry that no nation founded upon injustice can permanently stand.--I have some excuses to offer for the race to which I belong. My first excuse is that this is not a very good world to raise folks in anyway. It is not very well adapted to raising magnificent people. There's only a quarter of it land to start with. It is three times better fitted for raising fish than folks; and in that one-quarter of land there is not a tenth part fit to raise people on. You can't raise people without a good climate. You have got to have the right kind of climate, and you have got to have certain elements in the soil or you can't raise good people. Do you know that there is only a little zig...

Genres: Nonfiction, Skepticism, Philosophy, Religion, Politics, Classics, Atheism

84 pages, Paperback

First published May 31, 1942

About the author

"On August 11, 1833, was born the greatest and noblest of the Western World; an immense personality, -- unique, lovable, sublime; the peerless orator of all time, and as true a poet as Nature ever held in tender clasp upon her loving breast, and, in words coined for the chosen few, told of the joys and sorrows, hopes, dreams, and fears of universal life; a patriot whose golden words and deathless deeds were worthy of the Great Republic; a philanthropist, real and genuine; a philosopher whose central theme was human love, -- who placed 'the holy hearth of home' higher than the altar of any god; an iconoclast, a builder -- a reformer, perfectly poised, absolutely honest, and as fearless as truth itself -- the most aggressive and formidable foe of superstition -- the most valiant champion of reason -- Robert G. Ingersoll." - Herman E. Kittredge

Robert Green Ingersoll, who became the best known advocate of freethought in the 19th-century, was born in Dresden, N.Y. The son of an impoverished itinerant pastor, he later recalled his formative church experiences: "The minister asked us if we knew that we all deserved to go to hell, and we all answered 'yes.' Then we were asked if we would be willing to go to hell if it was God's will, and every little liar shouted 'Yes!'" He became an attorney by apprenticeship, and a colonel in the Civil War, fighting in the Battle of Shiloh. In 1867, Ingersoll was appointed Illinois' first Attorney General. His political career was cut short by his refusal to halt his controversial lectures, but he achieved national political fame for his thrilling nomination speech for James G. Blaine for president at the national convention of the Republican Party in 1876. Ingersoll was good friends with three U.S. presidents. The distinguished attorney was known and admired by most of the leading progressives and thinkers of his day.

Ingersoll traveled the continent for 30 years, speaking to capacity audiences, once attracting 50,000 people to a lecture in Chicago—40,000 too many for the Exposition Center. His repertoire included 3 to 4-hour lectures on Shakespeare, Voltaire and Burns, but the largest crowds turned out to hear him denounce the bible and religion. He initially settled in Peoria, Illinois, then in Washington, D.C., where he successfully defended falsely accused men in the "Star Route" scandal, the most famous political trial of the 19th century. Religious rumors against Ingersoll abounded. One had it that Ingersoll's son was a drunkard who more than once had to be carried away from the table. Ingersoll wrote: "It is not true that intoxicating beverages are served at my table. It is not true that my son ever was drunk. It is not true that he had to be carried away from the table. Besides, I have no son!"

During the Civil War he was commissioned as Colonel and commander of the 11th Illinois Volunteer Cavalry, and was captured near Corinth, Mississippi. Although soon released, he still made time to treat his Confederate captors to a rousing anti slavery speech.

He hoped for but was never awarded a Cabinet post. The Republicans were afraid of his unorthodox religious views. He was told that he could progress politically if he hid his religious views, but Ingersoll refused on the charge that withholding information from the public would be immoral.

He strongly advocated equal rights for blacks and women. He defended Susan B. Anthony from hecklers when she spoke in Peoria; when every hotel in the city refused to house Frederick Douglass, he welcomed him into his home.

More: https://ffrf.org/news/day/dayitems/it...

http://infidels.org/library/historica...

http://www.robertgreeningersoll.org/8-2/

http://www.positiveatheism.org/tochin...

http://www.philosopedia.org/index.php...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_G...

Reviews

[Cera · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had to go back to the library before I was finished with it, but as it was a very *long* book and somewhat repetitive, I was happy enough with that as an outcome. Ingersoll was a famous agnostic lecturer of the 19th century, a believer in Free Thought (meaning that he held that no matter was too sacred for intellectual inquiry), and a supporter of women's rights. He definitely has his share of Victorian tics -- for example, he argues that no individual of genius has ever been born in a climate without a cold winter -- but he's a funny, angry, outspoken man, and his passionate dedication to the separation of church & state, and his dislike for contemporaries who wished to rewrite the US Constitution to explicitly make the country a "Christian nation" are certainly relevant today.

The repetition in this book comes from the fact that, like any public speaker, Ingersoll had a number of 'set pieces' which he repeated whenever he came upon a particular topic -- I do the same thing myself, while teaching. But as a reader, this means large chunks of each lecture were identical to previous chunks, and it made it slow going despite the humour. I was only 1/4 through, so I might pick it up again someday and read a little more, but it's not a high priority.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read all of Ingersoll's writing and speeches over the course of a few days, so I can't really remember the books apart: I will treat them all as one big entity.

Ingersoll was a magnificent man ahead of his time. Not really because he had the intellectual horsepower to successfully evaluate the truth value of religious claims - since, let's admit it, an intelligent child has enough brain cells to do that -, but because he had the intellectual courage not only to make these evaluations, but also to try to convince people and publicly argue against their bullshit. For that he deserves our adoration.

His thoughts are rather lucid, his arguments are well structured. If you are a theist, and are looking for basic arguments that criticize your beliefs, Ingersoll is a good read. If you are a junior member of the atheist club or are interested in the history of nonbelief, you'll find these things interesting. But even if you are an eye-patched, scarface veteran of the Atheist-Theist Wars, you'll find Ingersoll entertaining, so grab one of his books, listen to one of his speeches, and enjoy.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

I focused on his thoughts on Voltaire.
This was read from the book as published in 1895 by C. P. Farrell. The author warns us that other versions not from this imprint "are spurious, grossly inaccurate, filled with mistakes, horribly printed, and outrageously unjust to me."

Got that Buster?

This lecture book alone justified Ingersoll's statue in Peoria, IL.

[Dansmith1319 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although I've read most of the modern freethinkers, this is my first Ingersoll. Very impressive clarity, argument and prose.

[George · Rating 5 out of 5]

THOUGHT PROVOKING RHETORIC AT ITS BEST.

“Let us propagate morality, unfettered by superstition.”—page 40

“The real end of life is happiness.”—page 22 “The time to be happy is now, …and the place to be happy is here.”—page 146

The Lectures of Col. R. G. Ingersoll, Vol. 2, is a fount of Secular Humanism sound bites. As a collection of actual lectures given, though, it suffers some from the tedium of too-many-times repeated long passages, rants, and tirades; but the lectures on Thomas Paine and Voltaire, by themselves, would merit this collection a 5-star rating.

Recommendation: Very high, but only for the blasphemous heretic in you.

“Hypocrisy has always hated laughter, and always will. Absurdity detests humor and stupidity despises wit.”—page 238 “Voltaire was a man of humor, of good nature, of cheerfulness.”—page 239

Adobe Digital Editions [ePub]; A free ebook from http://manybooks.net/ --287 pages

[Derek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absurdly good, darkly hilarious, and deeply human — reminding me of Twain and Vonnegut at times. It saddens me that someone at one time so famous could have fallen into neigh obscurity.

Ingersoll’s lectures are at times a little repetitious, but if you can get past that, you’ll find a man who champions feminism and free thought. One of the greatest collections of lectures from the Golden Age and simply some of the smartest and most heartfelt writing I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading.

A top book of this year and certainly one of my new favorites. Ingersoll should be read by everyone.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent set of writings for skeptics. Mr. Ingersoll is direct, methodical, and easy to understand.