Robert Green Ingersoll (1833 – 1899) is often called the most remarkable American most people have never heard of. Yet he is hailed as post-Civil War America’s foremost political speaker and orator…a lawyer and philosopher who crisscrossed the nation after the war lecturing from memory to packed halls for hours, before the arrival of amplification, and did so for 30 years.

Two excellent books on Ingersoll are “Robert Green Ingersoll: A Life” by Frank Smith (Prometheus, 1990) and “American Infidel: Robert G. Ingersoll” by Orvin Larson (The Citadel Press, 1962). In many important respects, Ingersoll was as REAL a promoter of wellness as anyone before, during, or since his time. He is credited with 1,500 speeches, almost always before SRO audiences, most lasting more than two hours, before packed houses and SRO crowds. He spoke without notes (or a teleprompter, not that there’s anything wrong with that). In Chicago in 1876, he addressed a crowd of 50,000. Researchers at the Ingersoll Birthplace Museum believe he was seen and heard by more of his fellow citizens than any other American before the advent of radio and television.

Ingersoll’s philosophy focused on reason, exuberance, and freedom with a repertoire that included Shakespeare, Robert Burns, Thomas Paine, the nature of science, science, religion, superstition, and much more. In an age when public lectures were the dominant form of general entertainment, Ingersoll was the undisputed orator king. Among his best known speeches are “The Gods”, “Ghosts”, “The Bible”, “Humboldt”, “Shakespeare” and “What must we do to be saved?”

Ingersoll was friends with presidents (Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, and Grant), literary giants (including Mark Twain), captains of industry (Thomas Edison, Andrew Carnegie), and leading figures in the arts (Walt Whitman). He was a confidant of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the preacher Henry Ward Beecher, Clarence Darrow, Eugene Debs, Robert La Follette, and all the reformers of his day. Many Americans, however, were surprised by his religious skepticism. However, when he died in 1899, even most of those whose beliefs he criticized were lavish in tribute. The Reverend JT Sunderland wrote that Ingersoll…wounded the hearts not only of the ignorant and narrow, but of many of the most intelligent and open-minded…also put tens of thousands to think for themselves on religious matters. . He had burst the bubbles of many ecclesiastical and theological charades, hypocrisies, pretenses, feigned believers…he was in part responsible for the reawakening of thought and research…which involved the testing of theological premises, a re-examination of the Bible and the refinement of conceptions of God.

In remarks at the unveiling of the Robert Green Ingersoll bust at the birthplace museum on July 6, 2001, Council for Secular Humanism founder Paul Kurtz described Ingersoll as an agnostic and a freethinker. But more than that, he was a secularist. And I think that for the 21st century, the great battle in the world is secularism: the separation of church and state and the recognition that you can lead a good life here and now without needing an afterlife. .

Ingersoll said that happiness is the only good, reason the only torch, justice the only cult, humanity the only religion, and love the only priest.

A recommended way to appreciate this remarkable man and judge for yourself whether he deserves enshrinement as an honorary pioneer of wellness is to read his books and speeches. Here’s a sample (various sources):

* If there is an infinite Being, he does not need our help, we do not need to spend our energies in his defense. God in the Constitution (1870)

* We need men with moral courage to speak and write their true thoughts, and stand firm in their convictions, even to death. Thomas Paine (1870)

* The man who does not think for himself is a slave, and is a traitor to himself and his fellow men. Freedom of man, woman and child

* The doctrine of eternal punishment is in perfect harmony with the savagery of men who made the orthodox creeds. It is in harmony with torture, with being skinned alive, and with burning. Men, who burned their fellow men for a moment, believed that God would burn their enemies forever. Shredded Creeds

* Who can overestimate the progress of the world if all the money wasted on superstition could be used to enlighten, uplift and civilize mankind? Some mistakes of Moses

* (Compare) the benefits of theology and science. When the theologian ruled the world, it was covered with shacks and shacks for the majority, palaces and cathedrals for the few. For almost all the sons of men, reading and writing were unknown arts. The poor were dressed in rags and furs, devouring scabs and gnawing on bones. The day of science has dawned, and the luxuries of a century ago are the necessities of today. Men in the middle ranks of life have more comfort and elegance than the princes and kings of theological times. But above all this, there is the development of the mind. There is more value in the brain of the average man today, of a master mechanic, of a chemist, of a naturalist, of an inventor, than there was in the brain of the world four hundred years ago.

* These blessings did not fall from heaven. These benefits did not fall from the outstretched hands of the priests. They were not found in cathedrals or behind altars, nor were they searched for with holy candles. They were not discovered by the closed eyes of prayer, nor did they come in response to a superstitious plea. They are the children of liberty, the gifts of reason, observation, and experience, and for all of these, man is indebted to man. God in the Constitution

* An infinite God should be able to protect himself, without going into partnership with the Legislatures of the States. Certainly he must not act in such a way that laws become necessary to prevent him from being laughed at. No one thinks of protecting Shakespeare from ridicule by the threat of a fine and imprisonment. Some mistakes of Moses

* The churches are becoming political organizations… It probably won’t be long before the churches will divide as sharply on political as on theological questions; and when that day comes, if there are not enough Liberals to hold the balance of power, this Government will be destroyed. The freedom of man is not safe in the hands of any church. Wherever the Bible and the sword are associated, man is a slave.

* Only a few years ago there was no person too ignorant to respond successfully to Charles Darwin; and the more ignorant he was he, the more cheerfully he undertook the task. Orthodoxy (1884)

* Only the very ignorant are perfectly satisfied to know. For the common man big problems are easy. He has no problem accounting for the universe. He can tell you the origin and destiny of man and the why and what for of things. Liberty in Literature (1890)

* But honest men do not pretend to know; they are candid and sincere; they love the truth; they admit their ignorance, and say: We do not know.

Superstition (1898)

* Work is the only prayer that Nature answers; is the only prayer that deserves an answer: a good, honest and noble job. Closing Arguments, The Trial of CB Reynolds (for blasphemy)

* No man with a sense of humor ever founded a religion. Jonathon Green, Cassell Dictionary of Insulting Quotations

* Is there any intelligent man or woman now in the world who believes in the story of the Garden of Eden? If you find any man who believes it, hit him on the forehead and you will hear an echo. Something is for rent. Orthodoxy (1884)

* I don’t see why we should expect an infinite God to do better in another world than in this one. Response to the Clergy of Indianapolis, The Iconoclast, Indianapolis, Indiana (1882)

* The doctrine that future happiness depends on belief is monstrous. It is the infamy of infamies. The notion that faith in Christ must be rewarded with an eternity of bliss, while reliance on reason, observation, and experience merits eternal pain, is too absurd to be refuted, and can only be relieved by that unhappy mixture. of madness and ignorance called faith. The gods

Believe it or not, a town in Texas was named in honor of Robert Ingersoll. On the official website for what is now Redwater, Texas, these two entries are among the watershed chronology of the city’s history:

* 1875 – The town of Ingersoll is established as a sawmill community and is named Ingersoll after a famous atheist of the day, Robert Ingersoll.

* December 13, 1894 – Ingersoll’s town name was officially changed to Redwater as a result of a revival. They chose the name because almost all the springs and shallow wells in the area had a reddish color.

Well, there you have it: a library of material on reason, exuberance, and freedom. To reflect on happiness, meaning, purpose, ethical living, the common good, and all kinds of REAL well-being, read Ingersoll.

Orvin Larson’s “American Infidel” runs to more than 300 pages, almost all of which are memorable examples of Ingersoll’s eloquence and brilliance. Among my favorites were the remarks delivered on March 30, 1892, in Harleigh Cemetery in Camden, New Jersey, at the funeral of Walt Whitman. Ingersoll was the last speaker to address 3,000 mourners that afternoon. Larson described the scene:

There was an intense silence as Colonel Ingersoll rose, and in those brilliant periods for which he is world famous, he scattered speech flowers on his friend’s ashes. These were the final words of Ingersoll’s speech: “Today we return to Mother Nature, to her embrace and kiss, one of the bravest and sweetest souls that ever lived in human mud… She has lived, she has died and death is less terrible than it was before. Thousands and millions will walk into the dark valley of shadow taking Walt Whitman by the hand. Long after our death, the brave words he has spoken will sound like trumpets to the dying.

Ingersoll once said that while I oppose all orthodox creeds, I have a creed myself: that happiness is the only good, that the place to be happy is here, that the time to be happy is now, and that the way to be happy is to make others happy. He added that help is for the living, hope is for the dead. He said that this creed is somewhat short, but it is long enough for this life, strong enough for this world. If there is another world, when we get there we can make another creed. But this creed will certainly serve for this life.

To learn more about Ingersoll, a TRUE wellness pioneer, look for the Robert Green Ingersoll Birthplace Museum. An excellent introduction is the 18-minute video that can be played on the Birthplace site. Enjoy.