Robert Ingersoll Quotes
Most popular Robert Ingersoll Quotes
Every science has been an outcast.
An honest God is the noblest work of man.
The man who finds a truth lights a torch.
Courage without conscience is a wild beast.
We are not accountable for the sins of Adam.
In the republic of mediocrity, genius is dangerous.
Anger is the wind that blows out the light of reason.
This book was, and is, the true transcript of a soul.
Anger is a wind which blows out the lamp of the mind.
Hope is the only bee that makes honey without flowers.
Religion has not civilized man, man has civilized religion.
Few rich men own their own property. The property owns them.
Only the very ignorant are perfectly satisfied that they know.
Give to every human being every right that you claim for yourself.
Reason, Observation, and Experience — the Holy Trinity of Science.
Give to every other human being every right that you claim for yourself.
In nature there are neither rewards nor punishments — there are consequences.
The greatest test of courage on the earth is to bear defeat without losing heart.
It is an old habit with theologians to beat the living with the bones of the dead.
Every man who expresses an honest thought is a soldier in the army of intellectual liberty.
The time to be happy is now, the place to be happy is here, the way to be happy is to make others so.
Art creates an atmosphere in which the proprieties, the amenities, and the virtues unconsciously grow.
A great man is a torch in the darkness, a beacon in superstition's night, an inspiration and a prophecy.
An infinite God ought to be able to protect Himself, without going in partnership with State Legislatures.
After all, the true civilization is where every man gives to every other, every right that he claims for himself.
Every child should be taught that useful work is worship and that intelligent labor is the highest form of prayer.
Men are not superior by reason of the accidents of race or color. They are superior, who have the best heart, the best brain.
When the will defies fear, when duty throws the gauntlet down to fate, when honor scorns to compromise with death—this is heroic.
Intellectual liberty is the air of the soul, the sunshine of the mind, and without it, the world is a prison, the universe is a dungeon.
God has always resembled his creators. He hated and loved what they hated and loved and he was invariably found on the side of those in power.
![Anger blows out the lamp of the mind. In the examination of a great and important question, every one [sic] should be serene, slow-pulsed and calm. - Robert Ingersoll quote.](/img/q/18/26018A-anger-blows-out-the-lamp-of-mind-examination-great-important-robert-ingersoll.png)
Anger blows out the lamp of the mind. In the examination of a great and important question, every one [sic] should be serene, slow-pulsed and calm.
If a man would follow, today, the teachings of the Old Testament, he would be a criminal. If he would follow strictly the teachings of the New, he would be insane.
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.
If by any possibility the existence of a power superior to, and independent of, nature shall be demonstrated, there will then be time enough to kneel. Until then, let us stand erect.
Nothing discloses real character like the use of power. It is easy for the weak to be gentle. Most people can bear adversity. But if you wish to know what a man really is, give him power. This is the supreme test.
There is something wrong in a government where they who do the most have the least. There is something wrong when honesty wears a rag, and rascality a robe; when the loving, the tender, eat a crust, while the infamous sit at banquets.
Religion supports nobody. It has to be supported. It produces no wheat, no corn; it ploughs no land; it fells no forests. It is a perpetual mendicant. It lives on the labours of others, and then has the arrogance to pretend that it supports the giver.
Reason, Observation, and Experience—the Holy Trinity of Science—have taught us that happiness is the only good; that the time to be happy is now, and the way to be happy is to make others so. This is enough for us. In this belief we are content to live and die.
When a man really believes that it is necessary to do a certain thing to be happy forever, or that a certain belief is necessary to ensure eternal joy, there is in that man no spirit of concession. He divides the whole world into saints and sinners, into believers and unbelievers, into God's sheep and Devil's goats, into people who will be glorified and people who are damned.
Reason, Observation, and Experience—the Holy Trinity of Science.
In nature there are neither rewards nor punishments—there are consequences.
