Authors:

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z

Ambrose Bierce Quotes about Life

All Ambrose Bierce 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 quotes 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

PHONOGRAPH, n. An irritating toy that restores life to dead noises.

PHONOGRAPH, n. An irritating toy that restores life to dead noises.

Life, Noise, Toys

Ambrose Bierce (2012). “The Devil's Dictionary”, p.93, Courier Corporation

LIFE, n. A spiritual pickle preserving the body from decay. We live in daily apprehension of its loss; yet when lost it is not missed.

Life, Spiritual, Loss

Ambrose Bierce (2001). “The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary”, p.150, University of Georgia Press

PILLORY, n. A mechanical device for inflicting personal distinction - prototype of the modern newspaper conducted by persons of austere virtues and blameless lives.

Life, Virtue, Modern

Ambrose Bierce (2016). “The Devil's Dictionary: The Devil World”, p.164, 谷月社

SIREN, n. One of several musical prodigies famous for a vain attempt to dissuade Odysseus from a life on the ocean wave. Figuratively, any lady of splendid promise, dissembled purpose and disappointing performance.

Life, Ocean, Musical

Ambrose Bierce (2001). “The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary”, p.215, University of Georgia Press

ORPHAN, n. A living person whom death has deprived of the power of filial ingratitude . . .

Life, Death, Power

Ambrose Bierce (2001). “The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary”, p.175, University of Georgia Press

Life - a spiritual pickle preserving the body from decay.

Life, Spiritual, Decay

Ambrose Bierce (2016). “The Devil's Dictionary: The Devil World”, p.126, 谷月社

Ambition. An overmastering desire to be vilified by enemies while living and made ridiculous by friends when dead.

Life, Ambition, Reality

Cynic's Word Book (1906) p. 17

UNDERSTANDING, n. A cerebral secretion that enables one having it to know a house from a horse by the roof on the house. Its nature and laws have been exhaustively expounded by Locke, who rode a house, and Kant, who lived in a horse.

Life, Nature, Horse

Ambrose Bierce (2013). “Delphi Complete Works of Ambrose Bierce (Illustrated)”, p.2534, Delphi Classics

ROPE, n. An obsolescent appliance for reminding assassins that they too are mortal. It is put about the neck and remains in place one's whole life long.

Life, Long, Rope

Ambrose Bierce (2013). “Delphi Complete Works of Ambrose Bierce (Illustrated)”, p.2504, Delphi Classics

Love, n. A temporary insanity curable by marriage or by removal of the patient from the influences under which he incurred the disorder. This disease, like caries and many other ailments, is prevalent only among civilized races living under artificial conditions; barbarous nations breathing pure air and eating simple food enjoy immunity from its ravages. It is sometimes fatal, but more frequently to the physician than to the patient.

Life, Simple, Temporary Insanity

Ambrose Bierce (2001). “The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary”, p.155, University of Georgia Press

REDEMPTION, n. Deliverance of sinners from the penalty of their sin, through their murder of the deity against whom they sinned . . . . whoso believeth in it shall not perish, but have everlasting life in which to try to understand it.

Life, Understanding, Trying

Ambrose Bierce (2001). “The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary”, p.194, University of Georgia Press

WOMAN, n. An animal usually living in the vicinity of Man, and having a rudimentary susceptibility to domestication.

Life, Women, Animal

Ambrose Bierce (2001). “The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary”, p.239, University of Georgia Press

Childhood: the period of human life intermediate between the idiocy of infancy and the folly of youth - two removes from the sin of manhood and three from the remorse of age.

Life, Children, Two

Ambrose Bierce (2001). “The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary”, p.34, University of Georgia Press

Christian - One who follows the teachings of Christ insofar as they are not inconsistent with a life of sin.

Life, God, Christian

Ambrose Bierce (2007). “Essential Bierce: A Selection of the Writings of Ambrose Bierce”, Heyday Books

YOUTH, n. The Period of Possibility, when Archimedes finds a fulcrum, Cassandra has a following and seven cities compete for the honor of endowing a living Homer.

Life, Cities, Honor

Ambrose Bierce (2001). “The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary”, p.242, University of Georgia Press

RACK, n. An argumentative implement formerly much used in persuading devotees of a false faith to embrace the living truth. As a call to the unconverted the rack never had any particular efficacy, and is now held in light popular esteem.

Life, Truth, Light

Ambrose Bierce (2001). “The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary”, p.192, University of Georgia Press

Age - That period of life in which we compound for the vices that remain by reviling those we have no longer the vigor to commit.

Life, Time, Age

Ambrose Bierce (1906). “The Cynic's Word Book”, p.14, Lulu.com

CALAMITY, n. A more than commonly plain and unmistakable reminder that the affairs of this life are not of our own ordering. Calamities are of two kinds: misfortune to ourselves, and good fortune to others.

Life, Two, Kind

Ambrose Bierce (2001). “The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary”, p.31, University of Georgia Press

PARDON, v. To remit a penalty and restore to the life of crime. To add to the lure of crime the temptation of ingratitude.

Life, Temptation, Add

Ambrose Bierce (2009). “The Devil's Dictionary: Easyread Super Large 24pt Edition”, p.106, ReadHowYouWant.com

OPERA, n. A play representing life in another world, whose inhabitants have no speech but song, no motions but gestures and no postures but attitudes.

Life, Song, Attitude

Ambrose Bierce (2001). “The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary”, p.174, University of Georgia Press

CENTAUR, n. One of a race of persons who lived before the division of labor had been carried to such a pitch of differentiation, and who followed the primitive economic maxim, "Every man his own horse."

Life, Horse, Men

Ambrose Bierce (2016). “The Devil's Dictionary: The Devil World”, p.29, 谷月社

DUEL, n. A formal ceremony preliminary to reconciliation of two enemies. Great skill is necessary to its satisfactory observance; if awkwardly performed . . . deplorable consequences sometimes ensue. A long time ago a man lost his life.

Life, Time, Men

Ambrose Bierce (2001). “The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary”, p.60, University of Georgia Press

INCOMPATIBILITY, n. In matrimony a similarity of tastes, particularly the taste for domination. Incompatibility may, however, consist of a meek-eyed matron living just around the corner. It has even been known to wear a moustache.

Life, Justice, May

Ambrose Bierce (2001). “The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary”, p.125, University of Georgia Press

NOBLEMAN, n. Nature's provision for wealthy American minds ambitious to incur social distinction and suffer high life.

Life, Nature, Mind

Ambrose Bierce (2013). “Delphi Complete Works of Ambrose Bierce (Illustrated)”, p.2467, Delphi Classics

FOLLY, n. That "gift and faculty divine" whose creative and controlling energy inspires Man's mind, guides his actions and adorns his life.

Life, Men, Creative

Ambrose Bierce (2013). “Delphi Complete Works of Ambrose Bierce (Illustrated)”, p.2400, Delphi Classics

You May Also Like: