Ambrose Bierce: Quotes about personality

Ambrose Bierce was American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist, and satirist. Explore interesting quotes on personality.
Ambrose Bierce: 408   quotes 14   likes

“Egotist, n. A person of low taste, more interested in himself than in me.”

Ambrose Bierce

The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
Source: The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary

Personality

“Bore, n. A person who talks when you wish him to listen.”

Ambrose Bierce

The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
Source: The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary

Personality

“Clarionet, n. An instrument of torture operated by a person with cotton in his ears. There are two instruments that are worse than a clarionet -- two clarionets.”

Ambrose Bierce book The Devil's Dictionary

The Devil's Dictionary (1911)

Personality

“ABSTAINER, n. A weak person who yields to the temptation of denying himself a pleasure.”

Ambrose Bierce

The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
Source: The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary
Context: Abstainer, n. A weak person who yields to the temptation of denying himself a pleasure. A total abstainer is one who abstains from everything but abstention, and especially from inactivity in the affairs of others.

Pleasure , Personality

“TELEPHONE n. An invention of the devil which abrogates some of the advantages of making a disagreeable person keep his distance.”

Ambrose Bierce
Personality

“acquaintance, n.: A person whom we know well enough to borrow from, but not well enough to lend to.”

Ambrose Bierce book The Devil's Dictionary

The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
Context: Acquaintance, n. A person whom we know well enough to borrow from, but not well enough to lend to. A degree of friendship called slight when its object is poor or obscure, and intimate when he is rich or famous

Personality

“Heaven, n. A place where the wicked cease from troubling you with talk of their personal affairs, and the good listen with attention while you expound your own.”

Ambrose Bierce book The Devil's Dictionary

The Devil's Dictionary (1911)

Personality

“Justice, n. A commodity which in a more or less adulterated condition the State sells to the citizen as a reward for his allegiance, taxes and personal service.”

Ambrose Bierce book The Devil's Dictionary

The Devil's Dictionary (1911)

Justice , Personality

“Generous, adj. Originally this word meant noble by birth and was rightly applied to a great multitude of persons. It now means noble by nature and is taking a bit of a rest.”

Ambrose Bierce book The Devil's Dictionary

The Devil's Dictionary (1911)

Birth , Nature , Personality

“Mad, adj. Affected with a high degree of intellectual independence; not conforming to standards of thought, speech, and action derived by the conformants from study of themselves; at odds with the majority; in short, unusual. It is noteworthy that persons are pronounced mad by officials destitute of evidence that they themselves are sane.”

Ambrose Bierce book The Devil's Dictionary

The Devil's Dictionary (1911)

Study , Personality , Madness

“Clairvoyant, n.: A person, commonly a woman, who has the power of seeing that which is invisible to her patron, namely, that he is a blockhead.”

Ambrose Bierce book The Devil's Dictionary

The Devil's Dictionary (1911)

Personality

“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 book The Devil's Dictionary

The Devil's Dictionary (1911)

Personality

“Acquaintance, n. A person whom we know well enough to borrow from, but not well enough to lend to. A degree of friendship called slight when its object is poor or obscure, and intimate when he is rich or famous”

Ambrose Bierce book The Devil's Dictionary

The Devil's Dictionary (1911)

Friendship , Personality