19th Century
The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 1
“The Destroyer Of Weeds, Thistles And Thorns Is A Benefactor, Whether He Soweth Grain Or Not.”
In Twelve Volumes, Volume I.
Lectures
1901
The Dresden Publishing Co.
To Eva A. Ingersoll, my wife, a woman without superstition, this volume is dedicated. For the love of God.
Contents
- The Gods (1872)
- Humboldt (1869)
- Thomas Paine (1870)
- Individuality (1873)
- Heretics and Heresies (1874)
- The Ghosts (1877) — with preface
- The Liberty of Man, Woman, and Child (1877)
- About Farming in Illinois (1877)
- What Must We Do to Be Saved? (1880) — with preface; eleven sections
About this volume
This first volume of the Dresden Edition collects nine of Ingersoll’s most important lectures, spanning 1869 to 1880 — the period during which he established himself as the foremost voice of American freethought.
The lectures range from sustained philosophical arguments against theism (“The Gods,” “What Must We Do to Be Saved?”) to biographical tributes (“Humboldt,” “Thomas Paine”), defenses of individual liberty (“Individuality,” “The Liberty of Man, Woman, and Child”), and historical critiques of religious persecution (“Heretics and Heresies,” “The Ghosts”). The collection concludes with a surprising and charming address on farming.