The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Complete Contents...

(1891.)

I. The Greatest Genius of our World—Not of Supernatural Origin or of Royal Blood—Illiteracy of his Parents—Education—His Father—His Mother a Great Woman—Stratford Unconscious of the Immortal Child—Social Position of Shakespeare—Of his Personal Peculiarities—Birth, Marriage, and Death—What we Know of Him—No Line written by him to be Found—The Absurd Epitaph—

II. Contemporaries by whom he was Mentioned—

III. No direct Mention of any of his Contemporaries in the Plays—Events and Personages of his Time—

IV. Position of the Actor in Shakespeare's Time—Fortunately he was Not Educated at Oxford—An Idealist—His Indifference to Stage-carpentry and Plot—He belonged to All Lands—Knew the Brain and Heart of Man—An Intellectual Spendthrift—

V. The Baconian Theory—

VI. Dramatists before and during the Time of Shakespeare—Dramatic Incidents Illustrated in Passages from "Macbeth" and "Julius Cæsar"—

VII. His Use of the Work of Others—The Pontic Sea—A Passage from "Lear"—

VIII. Extravagance that touches the Infinite—The Greatest Compliment—"Let me not live after my flame lacks oil"—Where Pathos almost Touches the Grotesque—

IX. An Innovator and Iconoclast—Disregard of the "Unities"—Nature Forgets—Violation of the Classic Model—

X. Types—The Secret of Shakespeare—Characters who Act from Reason and Motive—What they Say not the Opinion of Shakespeare—

XI. The Procession that issued from Shakespeare's Brain—His Great Women—Lovable Clowns—His Men—Talent and Genius—

XII. The Greatest of all Philosophers—Master of the Human Heart—Love—

XIII. In the Realm of Comparison—

XIV. Definitions: Suicide, Drama, Death, Memory, the Body, Life, Echo, the World, Rumor—The Confidant of Nature—

XV. Humor and Pathos—Illustrations—

XVI. Not a Physician, Lawyer, or Botanist—He was a Man of Imagination—He lived the Life of All—The Imagination had a Stage in Shakespeare's Brain.

(1878.) Poetry and Poets—Milton, Dante, Petrarch—Old-time Poetry in Scotland—Influence of Scenery on Literature—Lives that are Poems—Birth of Burns—Early Life and Education—Scotland Emerging from the Gloom of Calvinism—A Metaphysical Peasantry—Power of the Scotch Preacher—Famous Scotch Names—John Barleycorn vs. Calvinism—Why Robert Burns is Loved—His Reading—Made Goddesses of Women—Poet of Love: His "Vision," "Bonnie Doon," "To Mary in Heaven"—Poet of Home: "Cotter's Saturday Night," "John Anderson, My Jo"—Friendship: "Auld Lang-Syne"—Scotch Drink: "Willie brew'd a peck o' maut"—Burns the Artist: The "Brook," "Tam O'Shanter"—A Real Democrat: "A man's a man for a' that"—His Theology: The Dogma of Eternal Pain, "Morality," "Hypocrisy," "Holy Willie's Prayer"—On the Bible—A Statement of his Religion—Contrasted with Tennyson—From Cradle to Coffin—His Last words—Lines on the Birth-place of Burns.

(1894.)

I. Simultaneous Birth of Lincoln and Darwin—Heroes of Every Generation—Slavery—Principle Sacrificed to Success—Lincoln's Childhood—His first Speech—A Candidate for the Senate against Douglass—

II. A Crisis in the Affairs of the Republic—The South Not Alone Responsible for Slavery—Lincoln's Prophetic Words—Nominated for President and Elected in Spite of his Fitness—

III. Secession and Civil War—The Thought uppermost in his Mind—

IV. A Crisis in the North—Proposition to Purchase the Slaves—

V. The Proclamation of Emancipation—His Letter to Horace Greeley—Waited on by Clergymen—

VI. Surrounded by Enemies—Hostile Attitude of Gladstone, Salisbury, Louis Napoleon, and the Vatican—

VII. Slavery the Perpetual Stumbling-block—Confiscation—

VIII. His Letter to a Republican Meeting in Illinois—Its Effect—

IX. The Power of His Personality—The Embodiment of Mercy—Use of the Pardoning Power—

X. The Vallandigham Affair—The Horace Greeley Incident—Triumphs of Humor—

XI. Promotion of General Hooker—A Prophecy and its Fulfillment—XII.—States Rights vs. Territorial Integrity—

XIII. His Military Genius—The Foremost Man in all the World: and then the Horror Came—

XIV. Strange Mingling of Mirth and Tears—Deformation of Great Historic Characters—Washington now only a Steel Engraving—Lincoln not a Type—Virtues Necessary in a New Country—Laws of Cultivated Society—In the Country is the Idea of Home—Lincoln always a Pupil—A Great Lawyer—Many-sided—Wit and Humor—As an Orator—His Speech at Gettysburg contrasted with the Oration of Edward Everett—Apologetic in his Kindness—No Official Robes—The gentlest Memory of our World.

(1894.)

I. Changes wrought by Time—Throne and Altar Twin Vultures—The King and the Priest—What is Greatness?—Effect of Voltaire's Name on Clergyman and Priest—Born and Baptized—State of France in 1694—The Church at the Head—Efficacy of Prayers and Dead Saints—Bells and Holy Water—Prevalence of Belief in Witches, Devils, and Fiends—Seeds of the Revolution Scattered by Noble and Priest—Condition in England—The Inquisition in full Control in Spain—Portugal and Germany burning Women—Italy Prostrate beneath the Priests, the Puritans in America persecuting Quakers, and stealing Children—

II. The Days of Youth—His Education—Chooses Literature as a Profession and becomes a Diplomat—In Love and Disinherited—Unsuccessful Poem Competition—Jansenists and Molinists—The Bull Unigenitus—Exiled to Tulle—Sent to the Bastile—Exiled to England—Acquaintances made there—

III. The Morn of Manhood—His Attention turned to the History of the Church—The "Triumphant Beast" Attacked—Europe Filled with the Product of his Brain—What he Mocked—The Weapon of Ridicule—His Theology—His "Retractions"—What Goethe said of Voltaire—

IV. The Scheme of Nature—His belief in the Optimism of Pope Destroyed by the Lisbon Earthquake—

V. His Humanity—Case of Jean Calas—The Sirven Family—The Espenasse Case—Case of Chevalier de la Barre and D'Etallonde—Voltaire Abandons France—A Friend of Education—An Abolitionist—Not a Saint—

VI. The Return—His Reception—His Death—Burial at Romilli-on-the-Seine—

VII. The Death-bed Argument—Serene Demise of the Infamous—God has no Time to defend the Good and protect the Pure—Eloquence of the Clergy on the Death-bed Subject—The Second Return—Throned upon the Bastile—The Grave Desecrated by Priests—Voltaire. A Testimonial to Walt Whitman—Let us put Wreaths on the Brows of the Living—Literary Ideals of the American People in 1855—"Leaves of Grass"—Its reception by the Provincial Prudes—The Religion of the Body—Appeal to Manhood and Womanhood—Books written for the Market—The Index Expurgatorius—Whitman a believer in Democracy—Individuality—Humanity—An Old-time Sea-fight—What is Poetry?—Rhyme a Hindrance to Expression—Rhythm the Comrade of the Poetic—Whitman's Attitude toward Religion—Philosophy—The Two Poems—"A Word Out of the Sea"—"When Lilacs Last in the Door"—"A Chant for Death"— The History of Intellectual Progress is written in the Lives of Infidels—The King and the Priest—The Origin of God and Heaven, of the Devil and Hell—The Idea of Hell born of Ignorance, Brutality, Cowardice, and Revenge—The Limitations of our Ancestors—The Devil and God—Egotism of Barbarians—The Doctrine of Hell not an Exclusive Possession of Christianity—The Appeal