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Ambrose Bierce Quotes - Page 27

All Quotes Accidents Adversity Affection Age Aging Alcohol Army Art Assumption Atheism Attitude Authority Beauty Belief Boundaries Business Certainty Change Character Cheating Childhood Children Choices Church Clarinet Confusion Cooking Country Creation Critics Culture Cynicism Death Democracy Desire Devil Diplomacy Disappointment Doubt Drinking Dying Earth Education Ego Energy Envy Eternity Evidence Evil Excellence Expectations Failure Faith Fame Family Fashion Fear Feelings Finance Food Friendship Funeral Funny Future Genius Giving God Gold Growth Guilt Happiness Hatred Heart Heaven Hell History Home Honor Hope House Ignorance Imagination Independence Injustice Insanity Inspiration Inspirational Joy Judging Judgment Justice Kindness Knowledge Labor Language Latin Leadership Learning Liars Liberty Life Literature Logic Losing Love Lying Marriage Math Military Money Morality Motherhood Music Nature Nihilism Office Opportunity Optimism Passion Past Patriotism Peace Philosophy Pleasure Politics Power Prejudice Preparation Pride Property Prosperity Purpose Quality Reality Religion Responsibility Revenge Revolution Running Sacrifice School Science Silence Sin Skins Son Soul Spirituality Spring Stupidity Style Success Suffering Taxes Temptation Theology Time Truth Understanding Violence Virtue Wall War Water Wealth Wife Wine Wisdom Work Worship Writing Youth

OBSTINATE, adj. Inaccessible to the truth as it is manifest in the splendor and stress of our advocacy.

OBSTINATE, adj. Inaccessible to the truth as it is manifest in the splendor and stress of our advocacy.

Truth, Stress, Splendor

Ambrose Bierce (2001). “The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary”, p.173, University of Georgia Press

A cheap and easy cynicism rails at everything. The master of the art accomplishes the formidable task of discrimination.

Art, Tasks, Discrimination

Ambrose Bierce (2012). “The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce, Volume 8 Epigrams, On With the Dance, Negligible Tales”, p.250, tredition

The most offensive egotist is he that fears to say "I" and "me." "It will probably rain" - that is dogmatic. "I think it will rain" - that is natural and modest. Montaigne is the most delightful of essayists because so great is his humility that he does not think it important that we see not Montaigne. He so forgets himself that he employs no artifice to make us forget him.

Rain, Humility, Thinking

Ambrose Bierce (2013). “Delphi Complete Works of Ambrose Bierce (Illustrated)”, p.2696, Delphi Classics

WITCH, n. (1) Any ugly and repulsive old woman, in a wicked league with the devil. (2) A beautiful and attractive young woman, in wickedness a league beyond the devil.

Beautiful, Women, League

Ambrose Bierce (2009). “The Devil's Dictionary: Easyread Large Bold Edition”, p.327, ReadHowYouWant.com

POVERTY, n. A file provided for the teeth of the rats of reform. Its victims are distinguished by possession of all the virtues and by their faith in leaders seeking to conduct them into a prosperity where they believe these to be unknown.

Believe, Leader, Teeth

Ambrose Bierce (2012). “The Devil's Dictionary”, p.96, Courier Corporation

Woman absent is woman dead.

Absence, Absent

Immigrant: An unenlightened person who thinks one country better than another.

Country, Thinking, Persons

Ambrose Bierce (2001). “The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary”, p.117, University of Georgia Press

MONUMENT, n. A structure intended to commemorate something which either needs no commemoration or cannot be commemorated.

Needs, Structure, Commemoration

Ambrose Bierce (2016). “The Devil's Dictionary: The Devil World”, p.146, 谷月社

Aristocrats: n. fellows that wear downy hats and clean shirts - guilty of education and suspected of bank accounts.

Guilt, Hats, Clean

Ambrose Bierce (1911). “The collected works”

To be comic is merely to be playful, but wit is a serious matter. To laugh at it is to confess that you do not understand.

Laughing, Matter, Serious

Ambrose Bierce (2015). “A Cynic Looks at Life”, p.38, Sheba Blake Publishing

Clarinet n. An instrument of torture operated by a person with cotton in his ears. There are two instruments worse than a clarinet – two clarinets.

Two, Ears, Cotton

A comely female inhabiting the Mohammedan Paradise to make things cheery for the good Mussulman, whose belief in her existence marks a noble discontent with his earthly spouse, whom he denies a soul.

Soul, Atheism, Female

Ambrose Bierce (2001). “The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary”, p.113, University of Georgia Press

PRISON, n. A place of punishments and rewards. The poet assures us that - stone walls do not a prison make.

Wall, Punishment, Stones

Ambrose Bierce (2001). “The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary”, p.188, University of Georgia Press

The money-getter who pleads his love of work has a lame defense, for love of work at money-getting is a lower taste than love of money.

Defense, Lame, His Love

Ambrose Bierce (2012). “The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce, Volume 8 Epigrams, On With the Dance, Negligible Tales”, p.253, tredition

Ability is commonly found to consist mainly in a high degree of solemnity.

Degrees, Solemnity, Found

Ambrose Bierce (2001). “The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary”, p.7, University of Georgia Press

DISCRIMINATE, v.i. To note the particulars in which one person or thing is, if possible, more objectionable than another.

Discrimination, Notes, Persons

Ambrose Bierce (2001). “The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary”, p.57, University of Georgia Press

HATRED, n. A sentiment appropriate to the occasion of another's superiority.

Hatred, Sentiments, Occasions

Ambrose Bierce (2001). “The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary”, p.106, University of Georgia Press

PROPERTY, n. Any material thing, having no particular value, that may be held by A against the cupidity of B. Whatever gratifies the passion for possession in one and disappoints it in all others. The object of man's brief rapacity and long indifference.

Sarcastic, Passion, Men

Ambrose Bierce (2001). “The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary”, p.189, University of Georgia Press

NON-COMBATANT, n. A dead Quaker.

Quaker

Ambrose Bierce (2012). “The Devil's Dictionary”, p.85, Courier Corporation

ORTHODOX, n. An ox wearing the popular religious joke.

Religious, Religion, Orthodox

Ambrose Bierce (2013). “Delphi Complete Works of Ambrose Bierce (Illustrated)”, p.2473, Delphi Classics

LIVER, n. A large red organ thoughtfully provided by nature to be bilious with. The liver is heaven's best gift to the goose; without it that bird would be unable to supply us with the Strasbourg "pate".

Nature, Bird, Heaven

Ambrose Bierce (2009). “The Devil's Dictionary: Easyread Super Large 18pt Edition”, p.203, ReadHowYouWant.com

RIDICULE, n. Words designed to show that the person of whom they are uttered is devoid of the dignity of character distinguishing him who utters them.

Character, Dignity, Ridicule

Ambrose Bierce (2001). “The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary”, p.201, University of Georgia Press

MEDICINE, n. A stone flung down the Bowery to kill a dog in Broadway.

Dog, Science, Medicine

Ambrose Bierce (2016). “The Devil's Dictionary: The Devil World”, p.141, 谷月社

Salamander: Originally a reptile inhabiting fire; later, an anthropomorphous immortal, but still a pyrophile. Salamanders are now believed to be extinct, the last one of which we have an account having been seen in Carcassonne by the Abbe Belloc, who exorcised it with a bucket of holy water.

Fire, Water, Buckets

Ambrose Bierce (2016). “The Devil's Dictionary: The Devil World”, p.196, 谷月社

SYCOPHANT- One who approaches Greatness on his belly so that he may not be commanded to turn and be kicked. He is sometimes an editor.

Greatness, Editors, Sycophants

Ambrose Bierce (2001). “The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary”, p.220, University of Georgia Press

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