I will follow my logic, no matter where it goes, after it has consulted with my heart. If you ever come to a conclusion without calling the heart in, you will come to a bad conclusion.
In all ages, hypocrites, called priests, have put crowns upon the heads of thieves, called kings.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote critiques the hypocrisy of religious and political authority, suggesting that those who are seen as virtuous often support corrupt leaders.
Robert Green Ingersoll's quote highlights the hypocrisy that has persisted throughout history, where individuals or institutions that present themselves as moral authorities (hypocrites) in the form of priests, endorse and legitimize those who commit acts of thievery or corruption (the kings). This statement serves to challenge the moral integrity of both religious and political figures, pointing out the incompatibility between their proclamations of virtue and the reality of their actions.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech addressing the importance of accountability among leaders.
More from Robert Green Ingersoll
All quotes βIf the guardians of society, the protectors of 'young persons,' could have had their way, we should have known nothing of Byron or Shelley. The voices that thrill the world would now be silent.
The religion that has to be supported by law is without value, not only, but a fraud and a curse. The religious argument that has to be supported by a musket is hardly worth making.
There is no slavery but ignorance.
In all ages the people have honored those who dishonored them. They have worshiped their destroyers; they have canonized the most gigantic liars, and buried the great thieves in marble and gold. Under the loftiest monuments sleeps the dust of murder.
I believe that there is something far nobler than loyalty to any particular man. Loyalty to the truth as we perceive it - loyalty to our duty as we know it - loyalty to the ideals of our brain and heart - is, to my mind, far greater and far nobler than loyalty to the life of any particular man or God. . . .
Similar quotes
The idea of sustainability can imply there is one perfect, unchanging future, if only we could work out how to get there. Resilience might be more useful, in that it assumes a dynamic environment and that perfection is impossible. You need to design systems to accommodate failure rather than eliminate it. By trying to be perfect, many visions of sustainability are quite brittle
Freedom is a very great reality, but it means above all things, freedom from lies.
Many of us saw religion as harmless nonsense. Beliefs might lack all supporting evidence but, we thought, if people needed a crutch for consolation, where's the harm? September 11th changed all that.
To the best of my judgment, I have labored for, and not against, the Union. As I have not felt, so I have not expressed any harsh sentiment towards our Southern brethren. I have constantly declared, as I really believed, the only difference between them and us is the difference of circumstances.
Whatever you may be sure of, be sure of this, that you are dreadfully like other people.
To see a man fearless in dangers, untainted with lusts, happy in adversity, composed in a tumult, and laughing at all those things which are generally either coveted or feared, all men must acknowledge that this can be from nothing else but a beam of divinity that influences a mortal body.