Ingersollia: Gems of Thought from the Lectures, Speeches, and Conversations of Col. Robert G. Ingersoll, Representative of His Opinions and BeliefsIngersoll, Robert Green
Religion
Ingersollia: Gems of Thought from the Lectures, Speeches, and Conversations of Col. Robert G. Ingersoll, Representative of His Opinions and Beliefs
Ingersoll, Robert Green
Ingersoll, Robert Green, 1833-1899 -- Quotations
I believe in the gospel of cheerfulness; the gospel of good nature; in
the gospel of good health. Let us pay some attention to our bodies; take
care of our bodies, and our souls will take care of themselves. Good
health! I believe the time will come when the public thought will be so
great and grand that it will be looked upon as infamous to perpetuate
disease. I believe the time will come when men will not fill the future
with consumption and with insanity. I believe the time will come when
with studying ourselves and understanding the laws of health, we will
say we are under obligations to put the flags of health in the cheeks of
our children. Even if I got to Heaven, and had a harp, I would hate to
look back upon my children and see them diseased, deformed, crazed, all
suffering the penalty of crimes that I had committed.
409. The Gospel of Liberty
And I believe, too, in the gospel of liberty,---of giving to others what
we claim. And I believe there is room everywhere for thought, and
the more liberty you give away the more you will have. In liberty
extravagance is economy. Let us be just, let us be generous to each
other.
410. The Gospel of 'Good Living
I believe in the gospel of good living. You cannot make any God happy by
fasting. Let us have good food, and let us have it well cooked; it is
a thousand times better to know how to cook it than it is to understand
any theology in the world. I believe in the gospel of good clothes. I
believe in the gospel of good houses; in the gospel of water and soap.
411. The Gospel of Intelligence
I believe in the gospel of intelligence. That is the only lever capable
of raising mankind. I believe in the gospel of intelligence; in the
gospel of education. The school-house is my cathedral; the universe
is my Bible. Intelligence must rule triumphant. Humanity is the grand
religion. And no God can put a man into hell in another world who has
made a little heaven in this. God cannot make miserable a man who has
made somebody else happy. God can not hate anybody who is capable of
loving his neighbor. So I believe in this great gospel of generosity.
Ah, but they say it won't do. You must believe. I say no. My gospel
of health will prolong life; my gospel of intelligence, my gospel of
loving, my gospel of good-fellowship will cover the world with happy
homes. My doctrine will put carpets upon your floors, pictures upon your
walls. My doctrine will put books upon your shelves, ideas in your mind.
My doctrine will relieve the world of the abnormal monsters born of the
ignorance of superstition. My doctrine will give us health, wealth, and
happiness. That is what I want. That is what I believe in.
412. The Gospel of Justice
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