The Essential Works of Robert G. Ingersoll (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. Freethought Speeches and Essays on Religion, Reason, Liberty, and Secular HumanismBy Robert Green Ingersoll
Length171h 23m
About this audiobook
The Essential Works of Robert G. Ingersoll gathers the most representative speeches, essays, and polemics of America's celebrated "Great Agnostic," revealing a prose style at once forensic, lyrical, and devastatingly lucid. Ranging across religion, civil liberty, science, literature, and human rights, these works belong to the golden age of American public oratory, yet they also anticipate modern secular humanism. Ingersoll's rhetoric combines courtroom precision with Whitmanesque expansiveness, turning skepticism into an art of moral persuasion. Robert Green Ingersoll (1833–1899) was a lawyer, Civil War veteran, political advocate, and one of the most electrifying lecturers of the nineteenth century. His opposition to dogma was shaped by legal training, republican ideals, and the reformist energies of postbellum America. Though he moved among politicians and public intellectuals, he remained most enduringly a defender of intellectual freedom, religious doubt, and humane ethics grounded not in revelation but in reason and compassion. This volume is recommended to readers interested in American intellectual history, freethought, rhetoric, and the secular tradition. It offers not merely historical documents, but enduring arguments for liberty of conscience, tolerance, and the dignity of human inquiry.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- A comprehensive Introduction outlines these selected works' unifying features, themes, or stylistic evolutions.
- A Historical Context section situates the works in their broader era—social currents, cultural trends, and key events that underpin their creation.
- A concise Synopsis (Selection) offers an accessible overview of the included texts, helping readers navigate plotlines and main ideas without revealing critical twists.
- A unified Analysis examines recurring motifs and stylistic hallmarks across the collection, tying the stories together while spotlighting the different work's strengths.
- Reflection questions inspire deeper contemplation of the author's overarching message, inviting readers to draw connections among different texts and relate them to modern contexts.
- Lastly, our hand‐picked Memorable Quotes distill pivotal lines and turning points, serving as touchstones for the collection's central themes.
Audiobook details
GenrePhilosophy
Length171 hrs 23 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateDec 5, 2023
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Introduction
178TOLSTOY AND LITERATURE.
2Introduction
179WOMAN IN POLITICS.
3Historical Context
180SPIRITUALISM.
4Synopsis (Selection)
181PLAYS AND PLAYERS.
5Volume 1
182WOMAN.
Show all chaptersShow less
6THE GODS
183STRIKES, EXPANSION AND OTHER SUBJECTS.
7HUMBOLDT.
184SUNDAY A DAY OF PLEASURE.
8THOMAS PAINE
185THE PARLIAMENT OF RELIGIONS.
9INDIVIDUALITY.
186CLEVELAND'S HAWAIIAN POLICY.
10HERETICS AND HERESIES.
187ORATORS AND ORATORY.*
11THE GHOSTS. (pt. 1)
188CATHOLICISM AND PROTESTANTISM. THE POPE, THE A. P. A., AGNOSTICISM
12THE GHOSTS. (pt. 2)
189WOMAN AND HER DOMAIN.
13WHAT MUST WE DO TO BE SAVED?
190PROFESSOR SWING.
14Volume 2
191SENATOR SHERMAN AND HIS BOOK.*
15PREFACE.
192REPLY TO THE CHRISTIAN ENDEAVORERS.
16SOME MISTAKES OF MOSES. (pt. 1)
193SPIRITUALISM.
17SOME MISTAKES OF MOSES. (pt. 2)
194A LITTLE OF EVERYTHING.
18SOME MISTAKES OF MOSES. (pt. 3)
195IS LIFE WORTH LIVING—CHRISTIAN SCIENCE AND POLITICS.
19SOME REASONS WHY
196VIVISECTION.
20ORTHODOXY.
197DIVORCE.
21MYTH AND MIRACLE.
198MUSIC, NEWSPAPERS, LYNCHING AND ARBITRATION.
22SHAKESPEARE
199A VISIT TO SHAW'S GARDEN.
23ROBERT BURNS.*
200THE VENEZUELAN BOUNDARY DISCUSSION AND THE WHIPPING-POST.
24ABRAHAM LINCOLN
201COLONEL SHEPARD'S STAGE HORSES.*
25VOLTAIRE.
202A REPLY TO THE REV. L. A. BANKS.
26LIBERTY IN LITERATURE.
203CUBA—ZOLA AND THEOSOPHY.
27THE GREAT INFIDELS.*
204HOW TO BECOME AN ORATOR.
28CONCLUSION.
205JOHN RUSSELL YOUNG AND EXPANSION.
29WHICH WAY?
206PSYCHICAL RESEARCH AND THE BIBLE.*
30ABOUT THE HOLY BIBLE.
207THIS CENTURY'S GLORIES.
31WHY I AM AN AGNOSTIC.
208CAPITAL PUNISHMENT AND THE WHIPPING-POST.
32THE TRUTH.
209EXPANSION AND TRUSTS.*
33CONCLUSION.
210Volume 9
34HOW TO REFORM MANKIND.
211AN ADDRESS TO THE COLORED PEOPLE.
35A THANKSGIVING SERMON.
212SPEECH AT INDIANAPOLIS.
36A LAY SERMON.
213CENTENNIAL ORATION.
37THE FOUNDATIONS OF FAITH.
214BANGOR SPEECH.
38SUPERSTITION.
215COOPER UNION SPEECH, NEW YORK.
39THE DEVIL.
216INDIANAPOLIS SPEECH.
40PROGRESS.
217CHICAGO SPEECH.
41CONCLUSION
218EIGHT TO SEVEN ADDRESS.
42WHAT IS RELIGION?
219HARD TIMES AND THE WAY OUT.
43Volume 5
220SUFFRAGE ADDRESS.
44PREFACE
221WALL STREET SPEECH.
45INGERSOLL'S INTERVIEWS ON TALMAGE. (pt. 1)
222BROOKLYN SPEECH.
46INGERSOLL'S INTERVIEWS ON TALMAGE. (pt. 2)
223ADDRESS TO THE 86TH ILLINOIS REGIMENT.
47INGERSOLL'S INTERVIEWS ON TALMAGE. (pt. 3)
224DECORATION DAY ORATION.
48INGERSOLL'S INTERVIEWS ON TALMAGE. (pt. 4)
225DECORATION DAY ADDRESS.
49THE TALMAGIAN CATECHISM.
226RATIFICATION SPEECH.
50A VINDICATION OF THOMAS PAINE.
227REUNION ADDRESS.
51THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION; INGERSOLL'S OPENING PAPER
228THE CHICAGO AND NEW YORK GOLD SPEECH.
52THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION, BY JEREMIAH S. BLACK.
229Volume 10
53THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION, BY ROBERT G. INGERSOLL.
230ADDRESS TO THE JURY IN THE MUNN TRIAL.
54FAITH OR AGNOSTICISM.
231CLOSING ADDRESS TO THE JURY IN THE FIRST STAR ROUTE TRIAL. (pt. 1)
55THE FIELD-INGERSOLL DISCUSSION.
232CLOSING ADDRESS TO THE JURY IN THE FIRST STAR ROUTE TRIAL. (pt. 2)
56A REPLY TO THE REV. HENRY M. FIELD, D.D.
233OPENING ADDRESS TO THE JURY IN THE SECOND STAR ROUTE TRIAL. (pt. 1)
57A LAST WORD TO ROBERT G. INGERSOLL
234OPENING ADDRESS TO THE JURY IN THE SECOND STAR ROUTE TRIAL. (pt. 2)
58COL. INGERSOLL TO MR. GLADSTONE.
235CLOSING ADDRESS IN SECOND STAR ROUTE TRIAL (pt. 1)
59ROME OR REASON.
236CLOSING ADDRESS IN SECOND STAR ROUTE TRIAL (pt. 2)
60THE CHURCH ITS OWN WITNESS, By Cardinal Manning.
237CLOSING ADDRESS IN SECOND STAR ROUTE TRIAL (pt. 3)
61ROME OR REASON: A REPLY TO CARDINAL MANNING.
238CLOSING ADDRESS IN SECOND STAR ROUTE TRIAL (pt. 4)
62IS DIVORCE WRONG?
239CLOSING ADDRESS IN SECOND STAR ROUTE TRIAL (pt. 5)
63DIVORCE.
240ADDRESS TO THE JURY IN THE DAVIS WILL CASE.
64IS CORPORAL PUNISHMENT DEGRADING?
241ARGUMENT BEFORE THE VICE-CHANCELLOR IN THE RUSSELL CASE.
65Volume 7
242Volume 11
66MY REVIEWERS REVIEWED.
243ADDRESS ON THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT.
67MY CHICAGO BIBLE CLASS.
244TRIAL OF C. B. REYNOLDS FOR BLASPHEMY.
68TO THE INDIANAPOLIS CLERGY.
245GOD IN THE CONSTITUTION.
69THE BROOKLYN DIVINES.
246A REPLY TO BISHOP SPALDING.
70THE LIMITATIONS OF TOLERATION.
247CRIMES AGAINST CRIMINALS.
71A CHRISTMAS SERMON.
248A WOODEN GOD.
72SUICIDE OF JUDGE NORMILE.
249SOME INTERROGATION POINTS.
73IS SUICIDE A SIN?
250ART AND MORALITY.
74AN INTERVIEW ON CHIEF JUSTICE COMEGYS.
251THE DIVIDED HOUSEHOLD OF FAITH.
75A REPLY TO REV. DRS. THOMAS AND LORIMER.
252WHY AM I AN AGNOSTIC?
76A REPLY TO REV. JOHN HALL AND WARNER VAN NORDEN.
253HUXLEY AND AGNOSTICISM.
77A REPLY TO THE REV. DR. PLUMB.
254ERNEST RENAN.
78A REPLY TO THE NEW YORK CLERGY ON SUPERSTITION.
255TOLSTOÏ AND "THE KREUTZER SONATA."
79INTERVIEWS
256THOMAS PAINE.
80THE BIBLE AND A FUTURE LIFE
257THE THREE PHILANTHROPISTS.
81MRS. VAN COTT, THE REVIVALIST
258SHOULD THE CHINESE BE EXCLUDED?
82EUROPEAN TRIP AND GREENBACK QUESTION
259A WORD ABOUT EDUCATION.
83THE PRE-MILLENNIAL CONFERENCE.
260WHAT I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS.
84THE SOLID SOUTH AND RESUMPTION.
261FOOL FRIENDS.
85THE SUNDAY LAWS OF PITTSBURG.*
262INSPIRATION
86POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS.
263THE TRUTH OF HISTORY.
87POLITICS AND GEN. GRANT
264HOW TO EDIT A LIBERAL PAPER.
88POLITICS, RELIGION AND THOMAS PAINE.
265SECULARISM.
89REPLY TO CHICAGO CRITICS.
266CRITICISM OF "ROBERT ELSMERE," "JOHN WARD, PREACHER," AND "AN AFRICAN FARM."
90THE REPUBLICAN VICTORY.
267THE LIBEL LAWS
91INGERSOLL AND BEECHER.*
268REV. DR. NEWTON'S SERMON ON A NEW RELIGION.
92POLITICAL.
269AN ESSAY ON CHRISTMAS.
93RELIGION IN POLITICS.
270HAS FREETHOUGHT A CONSTRUCTIVE SIDE?
94MIRACLES AND IMMORTALITY.
271THE IMPROVED MAN.
95THE POLITICAL OUTLOOK.
272EIGHT HOURS MUST COME.
96MR. BEECHER, MOSES AND THE NEGRO.
273THE JEWS.
97HADES, DELAWARE AND FREETHOUGHT.
274CRUMBLING CREEDS.
98A REPLY TO THE REV. MR. LANSING.*
275OUR SCHOOLS.
99BEACONSFIELD, LENT AND REVIVALS.
276VIVISECTION.
100ANSWERING THE NEW YORK MINISTERS.*
277THE CENSUS ENUMERATOR'S OFFICIAL CATECHISM.
101GUITEAU AND HIS CRIME.*
278THE AGNOSTIC CHRISTMAS
102DISTRICT SUFFRAGE.
279SPIRITUALITY.
103FUNERAL OF JOHN G. MILLS AND IMMORTALITY.*
280SUMTER'S GUN.
104STAR ROUTE AND POLITICS.*
281WHAT INFIDELS HAVE DONE.
105THE INTERVIEWER.
282CRUELTY IN THE ELMIRA REFORMATORY.
106POLITICS AND PROHIBITION.
283LAW'S DELAY.
107THE REPUBLICAN DEFEAT IN OHIO.
284THE BIGOTRY OF COLLEGES.
108THE CIVIL RIGHTS BILL.
285A YOUNG MAN'S CHANCES TO-DAY.
109JUSTICE HARLAN AND THE CIVIL RIGHTS BILL.
286SCIENCE AND SENTIMENT.
110POLITICS AND THEOLOGY.
287SOWING AND REAPING.
111MORALITY AND IMMORTALITY.
288SHOULD INFIDELS SEND THEIR CHILDREN TO SUNDAY SCHOOL?
112POLITICS, MORMONISM AND MR. BEECHER
289WHAT WOULD YOU SUBSTITUTE FOR THE BIBLE AS A MORAL GUIDE?
113FREE TRADE AND CHRISTIANITY.
290GOVERNOR ROLLINS' FAST-DAY PROCLAMATION.
114THE OATH QUESTION.
291A LOOK BACKWARD AND A PROPHECY.
115WENDELL PHILLIPS, FITZ JOHN PORTER AND BISMARCK.
292POLITICAL MORALITY.
116GENERAL SUBJECTS.
293A FEW REASONS FOR DOUBTING THE INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE.
117REPLY TO KANSAS CITY CLERGY.
294Volume 12
118SWEARING AND AFFIRMING.
295PROF. VAN BUREN DENSLOW'S "MODERN THINKERS."
119REPLY TO A BUFFALO CRITIC.
296PREFACE TO DR. EDGAR C. BEALL'S "THE BRAIN AND THE BIBLE."
120BLASPHEMY.*
297PREFACE TO "MEN, WOMEN AND GODS."
121POLITICS AND BRITISH COLUMBIA.
298PREFACE TO "FOR HER DAILY BREAD."
122INGERSOLL CATECHISED.
299PREFACE TO "AGNOSTICISM AND OTHER ESSAYS."
123BLAINE'S DEFEAT.
300PREFACE TO "FAITH OR FACT."
124PLAGIARISM AND POLITICS.
301THE GRANT BANQUET.
125RELIGIOUS PREJUDICE.
302THIRTEEN CLUB DINNER.
126CLEVELAND AND HIS CABINET.
303ROBSON AND CRANE DINNER.
127RELIGION, PROHIBITION, AND GEN. GRANT.
304THE POLICE CAPTAINS' DINNER.
128HELL OR SHEOL AND OTHER SUBJECTS.
305GENERAL GRANT'S BIRTHDAY DINNER
129INTERVIEWING, POLITICS AND SPIRITUALISM.
306LOTOS CLUB DINNER, TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY.
130MY BELIEF.
307MANHATTAN ATHLETIC CLUB DINNER.
131SOME LIVE TOPICS.
308THE LIEDERKRANZ CLUB, SEIDL-STANTON BANQUET.
132THE PRESIDENT AND SENATE.
309THE FRANK B. CARPENTER DINNER.
133ATHEISM AND CITIZENSHIP.
310UNITARIAN CLUB DINNER.
134THE LABOR QUESTION.
311WESTERN SOCIETY OF THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC BANQUET.
135RAILROADS AND POLITICS.
312LOTOS CLUB DINNER IN HONOR OF ANTON SEIDL.
136PROHIBITION.
313LOTOS CLUB DINNER IN HONOR OF REAR ADMIRAL SCHLEY.
137HENRY GEORGE AND LABOR.
314ADDRESS TO THE ACTORS' FUND OF AMERICA.
138LABOR QUESTION AND SOCIALISM.
315THE CHILDREN OF THE STAGE.
139HENRY GEORGE AND SOCIALISM.
316ADDRESS TO THE PRESS CLUB.
140REPLY TO THE REV. B. F. MORSE.*
317THE CIRCULATION OF OBSCENE LITERATURE.
141INGERSOLL ON McGLYNN.
318CONVENTION OF THE NATIONAL LIBERAL LEAGUE.
142TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO ANARCHISTS.
319CONVENTION OF THE AMERICAN SECULAR UNION.
143THE STAGE AND THE PULPIT.
320THE RELIGIOUS BELIEF OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
144ROSCOE CONKLING.
321ORGANIZED CHARITIES.
145THE CHURCH AND THE STAGE.
322SPAIN AND THE SPANIARDS.
146PROTECTION AND FREE TRADE.
323OUR NEW POSSESSIONS.
147LABOR, AND TARIFF REFORM.
324A FEW FRAGMENTS ON EXPANSION.
148CLEVELAND AND THURMAN.
325IS IT EVER RIGHT FOR HUSBAND OR WIFE TO KILL RIVAL?
149THE REPUBLICAN PLATFORM OF 1888.
326PROFESSOR BRIGGS.
150JAMES G. BLAINE AND POLITICS.
327FRAGMENTS.
151THE MILLS BILL.
328SABBATH SUPERSTITION.
152SOCIETY AND ITS CRIMINALS*
329A TRIBUTE TO GEORGE JACOB HOLYOAKE.
153WOMAN'S RIGHT TO DIVORCE.
330AT THE GRAVE OF BENJAMIN W. PARKER.
154SECULARISM.
331A TRIBUTE TO EBON C. INGERSOLL
155SUMMER RECREATION—MR. GLADSTONE.
332A TRIBUTE TO THE REV. ALEXANDER CLARK.
156PROHIBITION.
333AT A CHILD'S GRAVE.
157ROBERT ELSMERE.
334A TRIBUTE TO JOHN G. MILLS.
158WORKING GIRLS.
335A TRIBUTE TO ELIZUR WRIGHT.
159PROTECTION FOR AMERICAN ACTORS.
336A TRIBUTE TO MRS. IDA WHITING KNOWLES.
160LIBERALS AND LIBERALISM.
337A TRIBUTE TO HENRY WARD BEECHER.
161POPE LEO XIII.
338A TRIBUTE TO ROSCOE CONKLING.
162THE SACREDNESS OF THE SABBATH.
339A TRIBUTE TO RICHARD H. WHITING.
163THE WEST AND SOUTH.
340A TRIBUTE TO COURTLANDT PALMER.
164THE WESTMINSTER CREED AND OTHER SUBJECTS.
341A TRIBUTE TO MRS. MARY H. FISKE.
165SHAKESPEARE AND BACON.
342A TRIBUTE TO HORACE SEAVER.
166GROWING OLD GRACEFULLY, AND PRESBYTERIANISM.
343A TRIBUTE TO LAWRENCE BARRETT.
167CREEDS.
344A TRIBUTE TO WALT WHITMAN.
168THE TENDENCY OF MODERN THOUGHT.
345A TRIBUTE TO PHILO D. BECKWITH.
169WOMAN SUFFRAGE, HORSE RACING, AND MONEY.
346A TRIBUTE TO ANTON SEIDL.
170MISSIONARIES.
347A TRIBUTE TO DR. THOMAS SETON ROBERTSON.
171MY BELIEF AND UNBELIEF.*
348A TRIBUTE TO THOMAS CORWIN.
172MUST RELIGION GO?
349A TRIBUTE TO ISAAC H. BAILEY.
173WORD PAINTING AND COLLEGE EDUCATION.
350JESUS CHRIST.
174PERSONAL MAGNETISM AND THE SUNDAY QUESTION.
351LIFE.
175AUTHORS.
352Analysis
176INEBRIETY.*
353Reflection
177MIRACLES, THEOSOPHY AND SPIRITUALISM.
354Memorable Quotes
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