The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 11 (of 12): Dresden Edition—MiscellanyIngersoll, Robert Green
Religion
The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 11 (of 12): Dresden Edition—Miscellany
Ingersoll, Robert Green
Free thought
In every country there is a satisfied class--too satisfied to care. They
are like the angels in heaven, who are never disturbed by the miseries
of earth. They are too happy to be generous. This satisfied class asks
no questions and answers none. They believe the world is as it should
be. All reformers are simply disturbers of the peace. When they talk
low, they should not be listened to; when they talk loud, they should be
suppressed.
The truth is to-day what it always has been--what it always will
be--those who feel are the only ones who think. A cry comes from the
oppressed, from the hungry, from the down-trodden, from the unfortunate,
from men who despair and from women who weep. There are times when
mendicants become revolutionists--when a rag becomes a banner, under
which the noblest and bravest battle for the right.
How are we to settle the unequal contest between men and machines? Will
the machine finally go into partnership with the laborer? Can these
forces of nature be controlled for the benefit of her suffering
children? Will extravagance keep pace with ingenuity? Will the workers
become intelligent enough and strong enough to be the owners of the
machines? Will these giants, these Titans, shorten or lengthen the hours
of labor? Will they give leisure to the industrious, or will they make
the rich richer, and the poor poorer?
Is man involved in the "general scheme of things"? Is there no pity, no
mercy? Can man become intelligent enough to be generous, to be just;
or does the same law or fact control him that controls the animal and
vegetable world? The great oak steals the sunlight from the smaller
trees. The strong animals devour the weak--everything eating something
else--everything at the mercy of beak and claw and hoof and tooth--of
hand and club, of brain and greed--inequality, injustice, everywhere.
The poor horse standing in the street with his dray, overworked,
over-whipped, and under-fed, when he sees other horses groomed to
mirrors, glittering with gold and silver, scorning with proud feet the
very earth, probably indulges in the usual socialistic reflections, and
this same horse, worn out and old, deserted by his master, turned into
the dusty road, leans his head on the topmost rail, looks at donkeys in
a field of clover, and feels like a Nihilist.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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