The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 4 (of 12), Dresden Edition Quotes

“Religion can never reform mankind because religion is slavery. It is far better to be free, to leave the forts and barricades of fear, to stand erect and face the future with a smile. It is far better to give yourself sometimes to negligence, to drift with wave and tide, with the blind force of the world, to think and dream, to forget the chains and limitations of the breathing life, to forget purpose and object, to lounge in the picture gallery of the brain, to feel once more the clasps and kisses of the past, to bring life's morning back, to see again the forms and faces of the dead, to paint fair pictures for the coming years, to forget all Gods, their promises and threats, to feel within your veins life's joyous stream and hear the martial music, the rhythmic beating of your fearless heart. And then to rouse yourself to do all useful things, to reach with thought and deed the ideal in your brain, to give your fancies wing, that they, like chemist bees, may find art's nectar in the weeds of common things, to look with trained and steady eyes for facts, to find the subtle threads that join the distant with the now, to increase knowledge, to take burdens from the weak, to develop the brain, to defend the right, to make a palace for the soul. This is real religion. This is real worship”
― Robert Green Ingersoll, The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. IV

“The hands that help are better far than lips that pray.”
― Robert Green Ingersoll, The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. IV

“The real question is, can we prevent the ignorant, the poor, the vicious, from filling the world with their children?”
― Robert G. Ingersoll, The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 4 (of 12), Dresden Edition: Lectures

“To accomplish this there is but one way. Science must make woman the owner, the mistress of herself. Science, the only possible savior of mankind, must put it in the power of woman to decide for herself whether she will or will not become a mother.”
― Robert G. Ingersoll, The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 4 (of 12), Dresden Edition: Lectures

“Lewis Meggleton had given himself out as the last and the greatest of the prophets, having power to save or damn.”
― Robert G. Ingersoll, The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 4 (of 12), Dresden Edition: Lectures

“We also know that the Old Testament asserted the existence of witches. According to that Holy Book, Jehovah was a believer in witchcraft, and said to his chosen people: "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.”
― Robert G. Ingersoll, The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 4 (of 12), Dresden Edition: Lectures

“All this is true, and if it were all, how beautiful, how touching, how glorious it would be. But it is not all. There is another side.”
― Robert G. Ingersoll, The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 4 (of 12), Dresden Edition: Lectures

“That he attacked the religion of his time because it was cruel. That this excited the hatred of those in power, and that Christ was arrested, tried and crucified. For many centuries this great Peasant of Palestine has been worshiped as God.”
― Robert G. Ingersoll, The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 4 (of 12), Dresden Edition: Lectures

“but if there is the smallest seed of good in any human heart, let kindness fall upon it until it grows, and in that way I know, and so do you, that the world will get better and better day by day.”
― Robert G. Ingersoll, The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 4 (of 12), Dresden Edition: Lectures

“Every flower that gives its fragrance to the wandering air leaves its influence on the soul of man. The wheel and swoop of the winged creatures of the air suggest the flowing lines of subtle art. The roar and murmur of the restless sea, the cataract's solemn chant, the thunder's voice, the happy babble of the brook, the whispering leaves, the thrilling notes of mating birds, the sighing winds, taught man to pour his heart in song and gave a voice to grief and hope, to love and death.”
― Robert G. Ingersoll, The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 4 (of 12), Dresden Edition: Lectures

“Environment is a sculptor—a painter. If we had been born in Constantinople, the most of us would have said: "There is no God but Allah, and Mohammed is his prophet." If our parents had lived on the banks of the Ganges, we would have been worshipers of Siva, longing for the heaven of Nirvana. As a rule, children love their parents, believe what they teach, and take great pride in saying that the religion of mother is good enough for them. Most people love peace. They do not like to differ with their neighbors. They like company. They are social. They enjoy traveling on the highway with the multitude. They hate to walk alone.”
― Robert G. Ingersoll, The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 4 (of 12), Dresden Edition: Lectures