Home » Quotes » 27 Awesome Robert Green Ingersoll Quotes

27 Awesome Robert Green Ingersoll Quotes

Robert Green Ingersoll was a political leader as well a veteran of the Civil War. He is most known for his views on religion and the world, which gained him his nickname as “The Great Agnostic”. Here is a great collection of some of his favorite quotes.

“A great man does not seek applause or place; he seeks for truth; he seeks the road to happiness, and what he ascertains, he gives to others.”

“A great man is a torch in the darkness, a beacon in superstition’s night, an inspiration and a prophecy.”

“Anger is a wind which blows out the lamp of the mind.”

“Banish me from Eden when you will but first let me eat of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge.”

“Colleges are places where pebbles are polished and diamonds are dimmed.”

“Courage without conscience is a wild beast.”

“Give me the storm and stress of though and action rather than the dead calm of ignorance and faith.”

“Happiness is not a reward – it is a consequence. Suffering is not a punishment – it is a result.”

“Hope is the only bee that makes honey without flowers.”

“Hope is the only universal liar who never loses his reputation for ceracity.”

“I am the inferior of any man whose rights I trample under foot.”

“I would rather live and love where death is king than have eternal life where love is not.”

“In the night of death, hope sees a star, and listening love can hear the rustle of a wing.”

“Insolence is not logic; epithets are the arguments of malice.”

“It is an old habit with theologians to beat the living with the bones of the dead. ”

“Justice should remove the bandage from her eyes long enough to distinguish between the viscous and the unfortunate.”

“Kindness is the sunshine in which virtue grows.”

“Reason, observation, and experience; the holy trinity of science.”

“Religion can never reform mankind because religion is slavery.”

“Taste and love are not the servants of the will. Love is and must be free. It rises from the heart like perfume from a flower.”

“The greatest test of courage on earth is to bear defeat without losing heart.”

“The man who does not do his own thinking is a slave, and is a traitor to himself and to his fellow men.”

“The moment you introduce a despotism in the world of thought, you succeed in making hypocrites.”

“The old lady who said there must be a devil, else how could they make pictures that looked exactly like him, reasoned like a trained theologian — like a doctor of divinity.”

“There is no slavery but ignorance.”

“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.”

“Who can over estimate the progress of the world if all the money wasted in superstition could be used to enlighten, elevate and civilize mankind?”


This great Youtube video shares some of the most interesting details from Ingersoll’s life. Many that people have never heard of.

Thanks for checking out these great Robert Green Ingersoll quotes!

About The Author
Although millions of people visit Brandon's blog each month, his path to success was not easy. Go here to read his incredible story, "From Disabled and $500k in Debt to a Pro Blogger with 5 Million Monthly Visitors." If you want to send Brandon a quick message, then visit his contact page here.