---
title: "1 Crimes Prevented Quotes By Robert Green Ingersoll"
description: "1 Crimes Prevented quotes by Robert Green Ingersoll. Plus more from Robert Green Ingersoll and more Crimes Prevented sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e7/robert-green-ingersoll-361_bows_crimes-were-committed-to-punish-crimes-a_963382.jpg"
---

> [Crimes were committed to punish crimes, and crimes were committed to prevent crimes. The world has been filled with prisons and dungeons, with chains and whips, with crosses and gibbets, with thumbscrews and racks, with hangmen and heads-men — and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/crimes-were-committed-to-punish-crimes-and-crimes-were-committed-to/)

[Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e7/robert-green-ingersoll-361_bows_crimes-were-committed-to-punish-crimes-a_963382.jpg)

## More by Robert Green Ingersoll

> [Our hope of immortality does not come from any religions, but nearly all religions come from that hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/our-hope-of-immortality-does-not-come-from-any-religions-but-nearly/)

[Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/)

> [If, with all the time at my disposal, with all the wealth of the resources of this vast universe, to do with as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/if-with-all-the-time-at-my-disposal-with-all-the-wealth-of-the/)

[Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/)

> [Honest investigation is utterly impossible within the pale of any church, for the reason, that if you think the church is right you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/honest-investigation-is-utterly-impossible-within-the-pale-of-any/)

[Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/)

> [I read the other day an account of a meeting between John Knox and John Calvin. Imagine a dialogue between a pestilence and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/i-read-the-other-day-an-account-of-a-meeting-between-john-knox-and/)

[Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/)

> [Shakespeare has done far more for the world than the Bible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/shakespeare-has-done-far-more-for-the-world-than-the-bible/)

[Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/)

> [Every man who expresses an honest thought is a soldier in the army of intellectual liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/every-man-who-expresses-an-honest-thought-is-a-soldier-in-the-army-of/)

[Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/)

> [Liberty is the condition of progress. Without Liberty, there remains only barbarism. Without Liberty, there can be no civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/liberty-is-the-condition-of-progress-without-liberty-there-remains/)

[Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/)

> [It has been said that a man of genius should select his ancestors with great care - and yet there does not seem to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/it-has-been-said-that-a-man-of-genius-should-select-his-ancestors/)

[Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/)

> [When passions and appetites are stronger than the intellect, men are savages; when the intellect governs the passions, when the passions are servants, men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/when-passions-and-appetites-are-stronger-than-the-intellect-men-are/)

[Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/)

> [In spite of my surroundings, of my education, I had no love for God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/in-spite-of-my-surroundings-of-my-education-i-had-no-love-for-god/)

[Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/)

> [The combined wisdom and genius of all mankind cannot possibly conceive of an argument against liberty of thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/the-combined-wisdom-and-genius-of-all-mankind-cannot-possibly/)

[Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/)

> [Calvin founded a little theocracy, modeled after the Old Testament, and succeeded in erecting the most detestable government that ever existed, except the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/calvin-founded-a-little-theocracy-modeled-after-the-old-testament-and/)

[Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/)

> [I do not believe in loving enemies; I have pretty hard work to love my friends. Neither do I believe in revenge. No man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/i-do-not-believe-in-loving-enemies-i-have-pretty-hard-work-to-love-my/)

[Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/)

> [What is it that distinguishes you and me from the lower animals - from the beasts? More, I say, than anything else, human sympathy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/what-is-it-that-distinguishes-you-and-me-from-the-lower-animals-from/)

[Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/)

> [The literature of many lands is rich with the tributes that gratitude, admiration and love have paid to the great and honored dead. These…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/the-literature-of-many-lands-is-rich-with-the-tributes-that-gratitude/)

[Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "ItemList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crimes-prevented/robert-green-ingersoll/#itemlist",
            "name": "1 Crimes Prevented Quotes By Robert Green Ingersoll",
            "numberOfItems": 1,
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Crimes were committed to punish crimes, and crimes were committed to prevent crimes. The world has been filled with prisons and dungeons, with chains and whips, with crosses and gibbets, with thumbscrews and racks, with hangmen and heads-men — and yet these frightful means and instrumentalities have committed far more crimes than they have prevented… Ignorance, filth, and poverty are the missionaries of crime. As long as dishonorable success outranks honest effort — as long as society bows and cringes before the great thieves, there will be little ones enough to fill the jails.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Robert Green Ingersoll"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/crimes-were-committed-to-punish-crimes-and-crimes-were-committed-to/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e7/robert-green-ingersoll-361_bows_crimes-were-committed-to-punish-crimes-a_963382.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e7/robert-green-ingersoll-361_bows_crimes-were-committed-to-punish-crimes-a_963382.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e7/robert-green-ingersoll-361_bows_crimes-were-committed-to-punish-crimes-a_963382.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Crimes were committed to punish crimes, and crimes were committed to prevent crimes. The world has been…” — Robert Green Ingersoll",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "CollectionPage",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crimes-prevented/robert-green-ingersoll/#webpage",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crimes-prevented/robert-green-ingersoll/",
            "name": "Crimes Prevented Quotes by Robert Green Ingersoll",
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "mainEntity": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crimes-prevented/robert-green-ingersoll/#itemlist"
            },
            "primaryImageOfPage": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e7/robert-green-ingersoll-361_bows_crimes-were-committed-to-punish-crimes-a_963382.jpg"
            },
            "description": "1 Crimes Prevented quotes by Robert Green Ingersoll. Plus more from Robert Green Ingersoll and more Crimes Prevented sayings from other authors.",
            "breadcrumb": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crimes-prevented/robert-green-ingersoll/#breadcrumb"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crimes-prevented/robert-green-ingersoll/#breadcrumb",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Topics",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Crimes Prevented",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crimes-prevented/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 5,
                    "name": "Robert Green Ingersoll",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crimes-prevented/robert-green-ingersoll/"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```