Insolence is not logic; epithets are the arguments of malice. Robert G. Ingersoll on epithets
Happiness is not a reward-it is a consequence. Suffering is not a punishment - it is a result. Robert G. Ingersoll on happiness
Surely every human being ought to attain to the dignity of the unit. Surely it is worth while to be one, and to feel that the census of the universe would be incomplete without counting you. Surely there is grandeur in knowing that in the realm of thought you are without a chain; that you have the right to explore all heights and all depths; that there are no walls or fences, or prohibited places, or sacred corners in all the vast expanse of thought; that your intellect owes no allegiance to any being, human or divine; that you hold all in fee, and upon no condition, and by no tenure, whatsoever; that in the world of mind you are relieved from all personal dictation, and from the ignorant tyranny of majorities. Surely it is worth something to feel that there are no priests, no popes, no parties, no governments, no kings, no gods, to whom your intellect can be compelled to pay a reluctant homage. Surely it is a joy to know that all the cruel ingenuity of bigotry can devise no prison, no dungeon, no cell in which for one instant to confine a thought; that ideas cannot be dislocated by racks, nor crushed in iron boots, nor burned with fire. Surely it is sublime to think that the brain is a castle, and that within its curious bastions and winding halls the soul, in spite of all worlds and all beings, is the supreme sovereign of itself. Robert G. Ingersoll on individuality
It is a blessed thing that in every age someone has had the individuality enough and courage enough to stand by his own convictions. Robert G. Ingersoll on individuality
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. Robert G. Ingersoll on liberty