Robert G. Ingersoll Quotes
A great man is a torch in the darkness, a beacon in superstition's night, an inspiration and a prophecy.
Ingersoll, Robert G. The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Volume 3. Dresden Publishing Company, 1902, p. 177.
He was referring to the fact that many great men had early views that people find shocking because they are so unexpected based on their mature writings or speeches. But most great men develop personally and intellectually over their career. As an example, see {616330} for an early racist, prejudiced view of Negro laborers.
Robert Green "Bob" Ingersoll was an American lawyer, a Civil War veteran, political leader, and orator of the United States during the Golden Age of Free Thought, noted for his broad range of culture and his defense of agnosticism. He was nicknamed "The Great Agnostic". Ingersoll was considered to be the greatest orator and political thinker of his day, but his overt atheistic views curtailed his elected political career.