The quotations of

Robert G. Ingersoll

American lawyer, orator, and politician

1833–1899

25 quotes, most often on Anti-Religion, Freedom and Religion.

I simply claim that what ideas I have, I have a right to express; and that any man who denies that right to me is an intellectual thief and robber. That is all.
The Liberty of Man, Woman and Child (1877)
- Freedom
- Ideas
I would not wish to live in a world where I could not express my honest opinions. Men who deny to others the right of speech are not fit to live with honest men.
The trial of Charles B. Reynolds for blasphemy (1887)
- Freedom
There has never been upon the earth a generation of free men and women. It is not yet time to write a creed.
The Liberty of Man, Woman and Child (1877)
- Freedom
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.
“The Gods” (1876) as published in The Gods and Other Lectures (1879)
- Happiness
- Science
Blasphemy is what an old mistake says of a newly discovered truth.
The trial of Charles B. Reynolds for blasphemy (1887)
- Anti-Religion
- Truth & Lies
The idea of hell was born of ignorance, brutality, fear, cowardice, and revenge.
The Great Infidels (1881)
- Anti-Religion
It seems to me that if there is some infinite being who wants us to think alike he would have made us alike.
The trial of Charles B. Reynolds for blasphemy (1887)
- God
- Thinking
By force you can make hypocrites⁠—men who will agree with you from the teeth out, and in their hearts hate you. We want no more hypocrites.
The trial of Charles B. Reynolds for blasphemy (1887)
- Truth & Lies
Above all things, one should maintain his self-respect, and there is but one way to do that, and that is to live in accordance with your highest ideal.
The trial of Charles B. Reynolds for blasphemy (1887)
- Advice
- Character
The Declaration of Independence is the grandest, the bravest, and the profoundest political document that was ever signed by the representatives of a people.
Centennial Oration (4 July 1876)
- America
- Politics

Most quoted

People A to Z

C. S. Lewis1898–1963151 quotes

Mark Twain1835–1910151 quotes

Benjamin Franklin1706–179098 quotes

Martin Luther King Jr.1929–196884 quotes

Albert Einstein1879–195595 quotes

Dave Barryborn 1947100 quotes