The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll Novel Chapters
List of most recent chapters published for the The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll novel. A total of 512 chapters have been translated and the release date of the last chapter is Apr 02, 2024
Latest Release: Chapter 1 : The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll.Vol. 1.by Robert G. Ingersoll.PREFACE.IN presenting to
The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll.Vol. 1.by Robert G. Ingersoll.PREFACE.IN presenting to the public this edition of the late Robert G.Ingersoll's works, it has been the aim of the publisher to make it worthy of the author and a pleasure to his friends
- 401 They got so much in the way of offering pet.i.tions that Mr. Rerdell being told by Stephen W. Dorsey, upon this route from Pueblo to Greenhorn, to go to work and alter the pet.i.tions, inserted the words "and faster time."As to this pet.i.tion, 7 B, in
- 402 Mr. Ingersoll. He had the impudence then to come here and malign Garfield by saying that upon that statement he would have turned out two members of his Cabinet. That is Mr. Bliss's idea of impudence; and yet, upon the testimony of the same man, he wants
- 403 It is not in the evidence, not a line. Somebody must have told him.Who could have told him? n.o.body, I think, except Mr. Rerdell. Is it possible, then, that Mr. Bliss was afraid that Mr. Dorsey would swear that he took it West? And was he afraid also tha
- 404 So, speaking of these other proposals (the Clendenning proposals) what does Mr. Boone say--the witness for the Government, the very man who got up those proposals, the man who wrote them, the man who wrapped them up, and sealed them? What does he say? "T
- 405 Postmaster-General; every one of you. If you do not know all about this subject, you never will.The Foreman (Mr. Crane). We ought to be good lawyers, too.Mr. Ingersoll. You also ought to be good lawyers, at least on this subject! I do not know that you ha
- 406 Dorsey did everything during all that period. If you are told that, when you are told it remember what I tell you now: that Mr. Boone swears that he did it himself; that he attended to the entire business, and that he was instructed by Dorsey in no partic
- 407 Now, gentlemen, there is no pretence, there is no evidence that every subcontractor did not get the per cent, mentioned in his subcontract, except one, and that was Mr. French, on the route from Kearney to Kent; and the evidence there is that Miner settle
- 408 To John R. Miner, one-sixth; to John M. Peck, one-sixth; and to John W.Dorsey, one-third.From routes in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Was.h.i.+ngton, Oregon, Nevada, and California, to H. M. Vaile, one-third; to John R. Min
- 409 What evidence did the Government offer upon that point? Nothing. Did Mr. Bliss at that time suppose that Mr. Dorsey was chairman of that committee? The records were all here. The Government had plenty of agents to ascertain what the fact was; and yet, wit
- 410 It is also claimed that the persons who sold out--that is to say, John M. Peck and John W. Dorsey--agreed to make the necessary papers that the other parties required. That being so, why should not affidavits have been made in blank? Now, I ask you if the
- 411 And now, in order that we may be perfectly correct, and in order to show, too, how easy it is to be mistaken, Mr. Merrick just said upon that very subject of the books and papers, that while Mr. Dorsey was upon the stand, he asked leave to consult his cou
- 412 The Court. I do not dispute that.Mr. Ingersoll. Now, the next question, gentlemen, is what is meant by corroboration? If you tell a man that he is not a great painter, he does not get angry. He says he does not pretend to paint, or is not a great sculptor
- 413 Gentlemen, is it wonderful that all the people of the West want mails?Do you not know, and do I not know, that the mail is the substantial benefit we get from the General Government? Don't you know that the mail is the pioneer of civilization? Do you
- 414 That he, Rerdell, drew the money himself. And that his entire testimony is absurd, contradictory, and utterly unworthy of credit.Let me say another thing to you, gentlemen, right here. It would be better a thousand times that all the defendants tried in t
- 415 These are the questions, and as we examine them, other questions arise that have to be answered. The first question then is: Who wrote the will of 1866? Whose work is it? When, where and by whom was it done? And I don't want you, gentlemen, to pay an
- 416 Here are hundreds, almost, of witnesses that take the stand and swear that Eddy is the author of that will. He wrote it--every word of it. He negotiated with John A. Davis for it, and I will come to that after a little. And how do they support this will t
- 417 Now, another improbability. All the evidence shows that Judge Davis was a business-like, quiet, methodical, careful, suspicious man, secretive, keeping his business to himself, keeper of his own counsels; and when he did make a will it was sealed; it was
- 418 Sometimes an accident happens in our favor; a piece of that will was torn off this morning. You see the edge there torn off slanting. You see that "o-f"; how much that ink has sunk into that paper. Not the millionth part of a hair. It lies dead
- 419 There they are, all of them related except Swaim and Duckworth and Taylor; and Duckworth, he is in the tie business along with Eddy.There is the family tree. All growing on the same tree, and there is a wonderful likeness in the fruit. Why, that Glasgow h
- 420 And now we come to the word "liberal," is that a hard word to define?Everybody in the world has his notion of what liberal means. Given the circ.u.mstances and the actions of the man, and everyone you meet is ready to decide whether he is libera
- 421 The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll.Vol. 11.by Robert G. Ingersoll.ADDRESS ON THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT.ON the 22d of October, 1883, a vast number of citizens met at Lincoln Hall, Was.h.i.+ngton, D. C., to give expression to their views concerning the decision of
- 422 And he declares that: "The Southern States imposed upon the colored race onerous disabilities and burdens--curtailed their rights in the pursuit of liberty and property, to such an extent that their freedom was of little value, while the colored peop
- 423 Surely the question of citizens.h.i.+p is "national in its character."Surely the question as to what are the rights, privileges and immunities of a citizen of the United States is "national in its character."Unless the declarations and
- 424 "When the wrongful refusal is because of race, color, or previous condition of servitude, Congress can interfere and provide for the punishment of any individual guilty of such refusal."That is the key that unlocks the whole question. Congress h
- 425 "Congress must possess the choice of means, and must be empowered to use any means which are in fact conducive to the exercise of a power granted by the Const.i.tution." U. S. vs. Fisher, 2 Cranch, 358.Again: "The power of Congress to pa.s.
- 426 12. The 14th Amendment provides that all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the States wherein they reside. This is also an affirmation. It is not a prohibitio
- 427 Mr. Reynolds went to Boonton last summer to hold "free- thought" meetings. Announcing his purpose without any flourish, he secured a piece of ground, pitched a tent upon it, and invited the towns-people to come and hear him. It was understood th
- 428 I find in that const.i.tution, in its Eighteenth Section, this: "No person shall ever in this State be deprived of the inestimable privilege of wors.h.i.+ping G.o.d, in a manner agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience; nor under any pretence
- 429 Think of such a law as that, pa.s.sed under a const.i.tution that says, "No law shall abridge the liberty of speech." But you must not ridicule the Scriptures. Did anybody ever dream of pa.s.sing a law to protect Shakespeare from being laughed a
- 430 Suppose we had a statute that whoever scoffed at science--whoever by profane language should bring the rule of three into contempt, or whoever should attack the proposition that two parallel lines will never include a s.p.a.ce, should be sent to the penit
- 431 Imagination, like the atmosphere of spring, woos every seed of earth to seek the blue of heaven, and whispers of bud and flower and fruit.Imagination gathers from every field of thought and pours the wealth of many lives into the lap of one. To the contra
- 432 To violate your conscience--that is blasphemy.The jury that gives an unjust verdict, and the judge who p.r.o.nounces an unjust sentence, are blasphemers.The man who bows to public opinion against his better judgment and against his honest conviction, is a
- 433 In other words, without liberty of thought, no human being has the right to form a judgment. It is impossible that there should be such a thing as real religion without liberty. Without liberty there can be no such thing as conscience, no such word as jus
- 434 If G.o.d is allowed in the Const.i.tution, man must abdicate. There is no room for both. If the people of the great Republic become superst.i.tious enough and ignorant enough to put G.o.d in the Const.i.tution of the United States, the experiment of self-
- 435 Have we not advanced far enough intellectually to deny the existence of chance? Are we not satisfied now that back of every act and thought and dream and fancy is an efficient cause? Is anything, or can anything, be produced that is not necessarily produc
- 436 There are, however, men who pursue crime as a vocation--as a profession--men who have been convicted again and again, and who will persist in using the liberty of intervals to prey upon the rights of others. What shall be done with these men and women?Put
- 437 A WOODEN G.o.d.To the Editor: To-day Messrs. Wright, d.i.c.key, O'Connor, and Murch, of the select committee on the causes of the present depression of labor, presented the majority special report upon Chinese immigration.These gentlemen are in great
- 438 Change it if you will, according to the laws of nations, but on no account excuse a breach of national faith by pretending that we are dishonest for G.o.d's sake.SOME INTERROGATION POINTS.A NEW party is struggling for recognition--a party with leader
- 439 In the days of savagery the strong devoured the weak--actually ate their flesh. In spite of all the laws that man has made, in spite of all advance in science, literature and art, the strong, the cunning, the heartless still live on the weak, the unfortun
- 440 The nude in art has rendered holy the beauty of woman. Every Greek statue pleads for mothers and sisters. From these marbles come strains of music. They have filled the heart of man with tenderness and wors.h.i.+p.They have kindled reverence, admiration a
- 441 It is, however, still insisted that the Bible is inspired in its morality. Let us examine this question.We must admit, if we know anything, if we feel anything, if conscience is more than a word, if there is such a thing as right and such a thing as wrong
- 442 The defenders of the orthodox faith, by this time, should know that the foundations are insecure.They should have the courage to defend, or the candor to abandon. If the Bible is an inspired book, it ought to be true. Its defenders must admit that Jehovah
- 443 North American Review, December, 1889.II.THE Christian religion rests on miracles. There are no miracles in the realm of science. The real philosopher does not seek to excite wonder, but to make that plain which was wonderful. He does not endeavor to asto
- 444 IN the February number of the Nineteenth Century, 1889, is an article by Professor Huxley, ent.i.tled "Agnosticism." It seems that a church congress was held at Manchester in October, 1888, and that the Princ.i.p.al of King's College brough
- 445 The Princ.i.p.al of King's College evidently believes in the necessity of belief. He puts conviction or creed or credulity in place of character.According to his idea, it is impossible to win the approbation of G.o.d by intelligent investigation and
- 446 Into the path of reason, or rather into the highway, Renan was led by Henriette, his sister, to whom he pays a tribute that has the perfume of a perfect flower."I was," writes Renan, "brought up by women and priests, and therein lies the wh
- 447 Renan was a man of most excellent temper; candid; not striving for victory, but for truth; conquering, as far as he could, the old superst.i.tions; not entirely free, it may be, but believing himself to be so. He did great good. He has helped to destroy t
- 448 We are conditioned beings; and if the conditions are changed, the result may be pain or death or greater joy. We can only live within certain degrees of heat. If the weather were a few degrees hotter or a few degrees colder, we could not exist. We need fo
- 449 On the 2d day of November, 1779, there was introduced into the a.s.sembly of Pennsylvania an act for the abolition of slavery. The preamble was written by Thomas Paine. To him belongs the honor and glory of having written the first Proclamation of Emanc.i
- 450 Paine came back to America hoping to spend the remainder of his life surrounded by those for whose happiness and freedom he had labored so many years. He expected to be rewarded with the love and reverence of the American people.In 1794 James Monroe had w
- 451 Mr. B. also said that the price of the article manufactured by him fixed the wages of the persons employed, and that he, Mr. B., was not responsible for the price of the article he manufactured; consequently he was not responsible for the wages of the wor
- 452 By this act it is provided, among other things, that any Chinaman convicted of not being lawfully in the country shall be removed to China, after having been imprisoned at hard labor for not exceeding one year. This law also does away with bail on _habeas
- 453 A fool friend is the sewer of bad news, of slander and all base and unpleasant things.A fool friend always knows every mean thing that has been said against you and against the party.He always knows where your party is losing, and the other is making larg
- 454 CONVERSION OF THE ARCH ATHEIST."Mr. Isaac Loveland, of Sh.o.r.eham, desires us to insert the following:-- "November 27, 1886."Dear Mr. Loveland.--A day or two since, I received from Mr.Hine the exhilarating intelligence that through his lec
- 455 CRITICISM OF "ROBERT ELSMERE," "JOHN WARD, PREACHER," AND "AN AFRICAN FARM."IF one wishes to know what orthodox religion really is--I mean that religion unsoftened by Infidelity, by doubt--let him read "John Ward, Preach
- 456 REV. DR. NEWTON'S SERMON ON A NEW RELIGION.I HAVE read the report of the Rev. R. Heber Newton's sermon and I am satisfied, first, that Mr. Newton simply said what he thoroughly believes to be true, and second, that some of the conclusions at whi
- 457 There is still another side, and that is this: The Freethinker knows that all the priests and cardinals and popes know nothing of the supernatural--they know nothing about G.o.ds or angels or heavens or h.e.l.ls--nothing about inspired books or Holy Ghost
- 458 I also became acquainted with a large number of Jewish people, and I found them like other people, except that, as a rule, they were more industrious, more temperate, had fewer vagrants among them, no beggars, very few criminals; and in addition to all th
- 459 The doctrine of eternal punishment is in perfect harmony with the savagery of the men who made the orthodox creeds. It is in harmony with torture, with flaying alive and with burnings. The men who burned their fellow-men for a moment, believed that G.o.d
- 460 Sun wors.h.i.+p is not only the first, but the most natural and most reasonable of all. And not only the most natural and the most reasonable, but by far the most poetic, the most beautiful.The sun is the G.o.d of benefits, of growth, of life, of warmth,
- 461 The sources of justice were poisoned, and patriotism became the defender of piracy. In the name of humanity mothers were robbed of their babes.Thirty years ago to-day a shot was fired, and in a moment all the promises, all the laws, all the const.i.tution
- 462 No one, so far as I know, asks that men shall be tried by partial and prejudiced jurors, or that judges shall be allowed to disregard the law for the sake of securing convictions, or that verdicts shall be allowed to stand unsupported by sufficient legal
- 463 "Why, Maj. Blank," he said, "come in. I did tell the boy I wouldn't see anybody, but you are more important than the biggest law case in the world."The Colonel's memory had retained the sound of the major's voice, and be
- 464 Moody better than I did before. The other day, in New York, Mr. Moody said that he implicitly believed the story of Jonah and really thought that he was in the fish for three days.When I read it I was surprised that a man living in the century of Humboldt
- 465 The thoughtful man knows that there is not the slightest evidence that these miracles ever were performed. Why should he allow his children to be stuffed with these foolish and impossible falsehoods? Why should he give his lambs to the care and keeping of
- 466 In some of the minor prophets there is now and then a good verse, now and then an elevated thought.You can, by selecting pa.s.sages from different books, make a very good creed, and by selecting pa.s.sages from different books, you can make a very bad cre
- 467 Formerly it was believed that all men were by nature wicked, and that it would be perfectly just for G.o.d to d.a.m.n the entire human race. In fact, it was thought that G.o.d, feeling that he had to d.a.m.n all his children, invented a scheme by which so
- 468 All over Christendom religions are declining. Only children and the intellectually undeveloped have faith--the old faith that defies facts.Only a few years ago to be excommunicated by the pope blanched the cheeks of the bravest. Now the result would be la
- 469 Of course, the critics were denounced from most of the pulpits, and the religious papers, edited generally by men who had failed as preachers, were filled with bitter denials and vicious attacks. The religious editors refused to be enlightened. They fough
- 470 THE Old Testament must have been written nearly two thousand years before the invention of printing. There were but few copies, and these were in the keeping of those whose interest might have prompted interpolations, and whose ignorance might have led to
- 471 2 Ex. xxi, 2-6, 4 Ex, xxiii, 28 And gave all the orders concerning mitres, girdles, and onyx stones, ouches, emeralds, breastplates, chains, rings, Urim and Thummim, and the hole in the top of the ephod like the hole of a habergeon?1 Thirty-seventh. Is th
- 472 Fifty-first. Can we blame the Hebrews for getting tired of their G.o.d?Never was a people so murdered, starved, stoned, burned, deceived, humiliated, robbed, and outraged. Never was there so little liberty among men. Never did the meanest king so meddle,
- 473 The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll.Vol. 12.by Robert G. Ingersoll.PROF. VAN BUREN DENSLOW'S "MODERN THINKERS."IF others who read this book get as much information as I did from the advance sheets, they will feel repaid a hundred times. It is
- 474 No one will blame Mr. Brown or Mr. Jones for not writing like Shakespeare. Should they be blamed for not acting like Christ? We say that a great painter has genius. Is it not possible that a certain genius is required to be what is called "good"
- 475 I HAVE read, this story, this fragment of a life mingled with fragments of other lives, and have been pleased, interested, and instructed. It is filled with the pathos of truth, and has in it the humor that accompanies actual experience. It has but little
- 476 Is it to obey without question, or is it to act in accordance with perceived obligation? Is it something with which intelligence has nothing to do? Must the ignorant child carry out the command of the wise father--the rude peasant rush to death at the req
- 477 Henry M. Taber, the author, has for many years taken great interest in religious questions. He was raised in an orthodox atmosphere, was acquainted with many eminent clergymen from whom he endeavored to find out what Christianity is--and the facts and evi
- 478 Ingersoll rose after the speech of General Pope, to respond to the toast, "The Volunteer Soldiers," a large part of the audience rose with him, and the cheering was long and loud.Colonel Ingersoll may fairly be regarded as the foremost orator of
- 479 In those days, too, they despised music, cared nothing for art; and yet I have lived long enough to hear the world--that is, the civilized world--say that Shakespeare wrote the greatest book that man has ever read. I have lived long enough to see men like
- 480 * The tribute at Delmonico's last night was to the man Grant as a supreme type of the confidence of the American Republic in its own strength and destiny. Soldiers over whose lost cause the wheels of a thousand cannons rolled, and whose doctrines wer
- 481 Spooks and phantoms hover about the undeveloped and diseased, as vultures sail above the dead.Our ancestors had the idea that they ought to be spiritual, and that good health was inconsistent with the highest forms of piety. This heresy crept into the min
- 482 The love-music in Tristan and Isolde is, like Romeo and Juliet, an expression of the human heart for all time. So the love-duet in The Flying Dutchman has in it the consecration, the infinite self-denial, of love. The whole heart is given; every note has
- 483 They commenced making G.o.ds to account for everything that happens; G.o.ds of dreams and G.o.ds of love and friends.h.i.+p, and heroism and courage.Splendid! They kept making more and more. The more they found out in nature, up to a certain point, the mo
- 484 WESTERN SOCIETY OF THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC BANQUET.Chicago, January 31, 1894.* Every soldier of the Army of the Potomac: remembers, the colors that for two years floated over the headquarters of Gen. Meade. Last night when one hundred and fifty men who fo
- 485 So I congratulate you all that you were born in a great nation, born rich; and why do I say rich? Because you fell heir to a great, expressive, flexible language; that is one thing. What could a man do who speaks a poor language, a language of a few words
- 486 And such a man, when he dies--or the friend of such a man, when that man dies--should not imagine that it is a very generous and liberal thing for some minister to say a few words above the corpse--and I do not want to see this profession cringe before an
- 487 "Well, there was nothing in his career of which any one might feel ashamed. He was as irreproachable as you." "Ay, but they might attack you and tell of some devilment you went into before we were married.""Then you better not run
- 488 If we have an interest in the business, I would fight for it. If our cause were a.s.sailed by law, then I say fight; and our cause is a.s.sailed, and I say fight. They will not allow me, in many States of this Union, to testify. I say fight until every on
- 489 LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: While I have never sought any place in any organization, and while I never intended to accept any place in any organization, yet as you have done me the honor to elect me president of the American Secular Union, I not only accept the
- 490 Now, what is a Christian?First. He is a believer in the existence of G.o.d, the Creator and Governor of the Universe.Second. He believes in the inspiration of the Old and New Testaments.Third. He believes in the miraculous birth of Jesus Christ; that the
- 491 I would like to have all corporal punishment abolished, and I would also like to see the money that is given to charity distributed by charity and by intelligence. I hope all these inst.i.tutions will be overhauled.I hope all places where people are prete
- 492 Neither should we forget Wainwright's heroic exploit, as commander of the Gloucester, by which he demonstrated that torpedo destroyers have no terrors for a yacht manned by American pluck. Manila Bay and Santiago both are surpa.s.singly wonderful. Th
- 493 As a rule, the wives of good and generous men are true and faithful.They love their homes, they adore their children. In poverty and disaster they cling the closer. But when husbands are indolent and mean, when they are cruel and selfish, when they make a
- 494 No intelligent minister believes the story of Daniel in the Lion's den, or of the three men who were cast into the furnace, or the story of Jonah. These miracles seem to have done no good--seem to have convinced n.o.body and to have had no consequences.
- 495 The ignorant believer, coa.r.s.e and brutal as he is, is going to heaven.He will be washed in the blood of the Lamb. He will have wings--a harp and a halo.The intelligent and generous man who loves his fellow-men--who develops his brain, who enjoys the be
- 496 GIFT GIVING.--I believe in the festival called Christmas--not in the celebration of the birth of any man, but to celebrate the triumph of light over darkness--the victory of the sun.I believe in giving gifts on that day, and a real gift should be given to
- 497 August 11, 1892. R. G. Ingersoll.The World is Growing Poor.--Darwin the naturalist, the observer, the philosopher, is dead. Wagner the greatest composer the world has produced, is silent. Hugo the poet, patriot and philanthropist, is at rest. Three mighty
- 498 If we had free thought, then we could collect the wealth of the intellectual world. In the physical world, springs make the creeks and brooks, and they the rivers, and the rivers empty into the great sea. So each brain should add to the sum of human knowl
- 499 THE UNTHINKABLE.--It is admitted by all who have thought upon the question that a First Cause is unthinkable--that a creative power is beyond the reach of human thought. It therefore follows that the miraculous is unthinkable. There is no possible way in
- 500 FATE.--Never hurried, never delayed, pa.s.sionless, pitiless, patient, keeping the tryst--neither early nor late--there, on the very stroke and center of the instant fixed.QUIET, and introspective calm come with the afternoon. Toward evening the mind grow