Ambrose Bierce Quotes - Page 4

• Debt, n. An ingenious substitute for the chain and whip of the slavedriver.

  Ambrose Bierce

  Ties, Debtors, Owing A Debt

  Ambrose Bierce (2016). “The Devil's Dictionary: The Devil World”, p.40, 谷月社

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• Coward: One who, in a perilous emergency, thinks with his legs.

  Ambrose Bierce

  Sarcastic, Courage, Peace

  Ambrose Bierce (2009). “The Devil's Dictionary: Easyread Large Bold Edition”, p.45, ReadHowYouWant.com

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• Abstainer: a weak person who yields to the temptation of denying himself a pleasure.

  Ambrose Bierce

  Motivational, Drinking, Beer

  The Devil's Dictionary

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• Distance, n. The only thing that the rich are willing for the poor to call theirs and keep.

  Ambrose Bierce

  Distance, Rich, Poor

  Ambrose Bierce (2004). “The Devil's Dictionaries: The Best of the Devil's Dictionary and the American Heretic's Dictionary”, p.23, See Sharp Press

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• Death is not the end. There remains the litigation over the estate.

  Ambrose Bierce

  Clever, Inspiration, Ends

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

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• Ocean: A body of water occupying about two-thirds of a world made for man - who has no gills.

  Ambrose Bierce

  Sarcastic, Beach, Nature

  Ambrose Bierce (2016). “The Devil's Dictionary: The Devil World”, p.152, 谷月社

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• MYTHOLOGY, n. The body of a primitive people's beliefs concerning its origin, early history, heroes, deities and so forth, as distinguished from the true accounts which it invents later.

  Ambrose Bierce

  Hero, People, Body

  Ambrose Bierce (2016). “The Devil's Dictionary: The Devil World”, p.148, 谷月社

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• 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.

  Ambrose Bierce

  Life, Spiritual, Loss

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

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• The hardest tumble a man can make is to fall over his own bluff.

  Ambrose Bierce

  Wisdom, Clever, Lying

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• Pray: To ask the laws of the universe to be annulled on behalf of a single petitioner confessedly unworthy.

  Ambrose Bierce

  Funny, Prayer, Humor

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

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• Brain: an apparatus with which we think we think.

  Ambrose Bierce

  Education, Math, Thinking

  "The Devil's Dictionary". Book by Ambrose Bierce, 1911.

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• Jealous, adj. Unduly concerned about the preservation of that which can be lost only if not worth keeping.

  Ambrose Bierce

  Jealous, Reality, Losing

  Ambrose Bierce (2016). “The Devil's Dictionary: The Devil World”, p.115, 谷月社

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• Responsibility, n. A detachable burden easily shifted to the shoulders of God, Fate, Fortune, Luck or one's neighbor. In the days of astrology it was customary to unload it upon a star.

  Ambrose Bierce

  Stars, Responsibility, Fate

  Ambrose Bierce (2012). “The Devil's Dictionary”, p.106, Courier Corporation

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• The only distinction that democracies reward is a high degree of conformity.

  Ambrose Bierce

  Democracy, Degrees, Rewards

  Ambrose Bierce (2013). “Epigrams by Ambrose Bierce”, p.10, e-artnow

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• Divorce: a resumption of diplomatic relations and rectification of boundaries.

  Ambrose Bierce

  Divorce, Diplomatic Relations, Boundaries

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• Feast, n. A festival. A religious celebration usually signalized by gluttony and drunkenness, frequently in honor of some holy person distinguished for abstemiousness.

  Ambrose Bierce

  Religious, Food, Perspective

  Ambrose Bierce (2001). “The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary”, p.78, University of Georgia Press

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• Insurance - an ingenious modern game of chance in which the player is permitted to enjoy the comfortable conviction that he is beating the man who keeps the table.

  Ambrose Bierce

  Player, Men, Gambling

  Ambrose Bierce (2001). “The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary”, p.133, University of Georgia Press

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• Quotation, n: The act of repeating erroneously the words of another.

  Ambrose Bierce

  Quotations

  Ambrose Bierce (2016). “The Devil's Dictionary: The Devil World”, p.174, 谷月社

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• Logic, n. The art of thinking and reasoning in strict accordance with the limitations and incapacities of the human misunderstanding. The basic of logic is the syllogism, consisting of a major and a minor premise and a conclusion - thus: Major Premise: Sixty men can do a piece of work sixty times as quickly as one man. Minor Premise: One man can dig a post-hole in sixty seconds; Therefore- Conclusion: Sixty men can dig a post-hole in one second. This may be called syllogism arithmetical, in which, by combining logic and mathematics, we obtain a double certainty and are twice blessed.

  Ambrose Bierce

  Art, Blessed, Science

  "The Devil's Dictionary:". Book by Ambrose Bierce (p. 204), 2008.

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• RUMOR, n. A favorite weapon of the assassins of character.

  Ambrose Bierce

  Character, Rumor, Assassins

  Ambrose Bierce (2012). “The Devil's Dictionary”, p.110, Courier Corporation

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• Fidelity - a virtue peculiar to those who are about to be betrayed.

  Ambrose Bierce

  Peculiar, Betrayed, Virtue

  Ambrose Bierce (2016). “The Devil's Dictionary: The Devil World”, p.67, 谷月社

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• In our civilization, and under our republican form of government, intelligence is so highly honored that it is rewarded by exemption from the cares of office.

  Ambrose Bierce

  Funny, Humor, Government

  "The Devil's Dictionary". Book by Ambrose Bierce, 1911.

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• Dawn: When men of reason go to bed.

  Ambrose Bierce

  Morning, Sleep, Insomnia

  Ambrose Bierce (2001). “The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary”, p.49, University of Georgia Press

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• Cogito cogito ergo cogito sum -- "I think that I think, therefore I think that I am;" as close an approach to certainty as any philosopher has yet made.

  Ambrose Bierce

  Thinking, Philosopher, Made

  Ambrose Bierce (2016). “The Devil's Dictionary: The Devil World”, p.28, 谷月社

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• Present, n. That part of eternity dividing the domain of disappointment from the realm of hope.

  Ambrose Bierce

  Hope, Disappointment, Eternity

  Ambrose Bierce (2016). “The Devil's Dictionary: The Devil World”, p.169, 谷月社

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