Was there ever a greater man? Really, I think not. He was to oratory and freethinking, what Ayn Rand was to philosophy--two of the most incredible geniuses ever to walk our planet; extolling us to leave the preachers of Force and Superstition for an heroic vision of a moral man...an upright, dignified, elevated, and righteous humanity.
Because of men like Col. Ingersoll braving the hysterical and despicable attacks of the superstitious "faithful", society gained the strength to keep the State (mostly) separated from the woefully ignorant and misguided. So the entire world in many respects owes many thanks to the genius and moral perfection of Col. Ingersoll for the freedoms and rights we enjoy today, yesterday--and hopefully tomorrow.
One could never imagine the great Ingersoll or the great Ayn Rand, cursing fig trees or believing in demons as the cause of leprosy!!
infidels.org
"Nothing was, nothing could be, further from Mr. Ingersoll than deceit, indirection or double-dealing. He was the very soul of truth, of honor, and of candor. He was, indeed, a modern Bayard, "a knight without fear and without reproach." His escutcheon was unstained, and never in any court was his veracity impeached, or his professional honor successfully assailed. He was high-soled, high-minded, high-acting and incapable of a grovelling thought, or a mean or low initiative. His professional antagonists, everywhere encountered, admitted that he always fought in the open and were often surprised at the large admissions and generous concessions he made. His clients sometimes quaked as they feared he was giving away their case. He was not. The outcome proved that his method was the highest art, the wisest wisdom..."
PRINCELY GENEROSITY
"He extended to young lawyers and students of the law a most encouraging hand. He liked young men. He helped them by counsel, by opening doors of opportunity, and with pecuniary aid. Many a new-fledged attorney and many an aged, stranded one "on his uppers," as he would say, went from his presence with a gladder heart and fuller pocket. A hundred dollar bill was a frequent gift from his open hand, to say not a word of the thousands scattered in larger and smaller sums. He gave his advice freely to hundreds, -- especially to the widow, the poor and defenseless, and tried many a case to a happy conclusion, not only without a fee, but himself paying all costs and disbursements.
As a matter of fact, he was seldom richly remunerated in the celebrated cases undertaken by him. The Star Route trials cost him more than he received in actual compensation. He cared too little for money to insist even on his rights. His office books were filled with accounts never collected, with charges never paid, and yet this did not cheek the flow of his extravagant generosity. He loved to give. He was princely in giving. In one case where a thirty-thousand dollar fee came to him he instantly gave half of it to a young assistant to whom two or three thousand dollars would have been an ample and satisfactory return for the service rendered. In another case, on receiving a fee of fifteen thousand dollars, he immediately wrote a cheek for one third of the amount to the friend who had simply urged his selection as the best lawyer for the case. The unexpected gift enabled this friend to lift a mortgage that had long encumbered her home." |
