Individuality - From 'The Gods and Other Lectures'

'Individuality' is a philosophical book by Robert Green Ingersoll. Ingersoll was an American lawyer, writer, and orator during the Golden Age of Free Thought, who campaigned in defense of agnosticism. He was nicknamed "The Great Agnostic". The book is part of his lectures series 'The gods and other lectures." In it he surmises that, "Universal obedience is universal stagnation; disobedience is one of the conditions of progress. Select any age of the world and tell me what would have been the effect of implicit obedience. "