Ambrose Bierce citations (219 citations)

Source: What I Saw At Shiloh (1881), VI
Contexte: I suppose the country lying between Corinth and Pittsburg Landing could boast a few inhabitants other than alligators. What manner of people they were it is impossible to say, inasmuch as the fighting dispersed, or possibly exterminated them; perhaps in merely classing them as non-saurian I shall describe them with sufficient particularity and at the same time avert from myself the natural suspicion attaching to a writer who points out to persons who do not know him the peculiarities of persons whom he does not know. One thing, however, I hope I may without offense affirm of these swamp-dwellers--they were pious. To what deity their veneration was given--whether, like the Egyptians, they worshiped the crocodile, or, like other Americans, adored themselves, I do not presume to guess. But whoever, or whatever, may have been the divinity whose ends they shaped, unto Him, or It, they had builded a temple. This humble edifice, centrally situated in the heart of a solitude, and conveniently accessible to the supersylvan crow, had been christened Shiloh Chapel, whence the name of the battle.

“n. Garment worn by child when its mother is feeling chilly.”

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Ambrose Bierce

Source: The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary

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

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Ambrose Bierce

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

“Patience, n. A minor form of despair, disguised as a virtue.”

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Ambrose Bierce

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

“All are lunatics, but he who can analyze his delusion is called a philosopher.”

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Ambrose Bierce

Source: Epigrams, p. 369
Source: The Collected Writings Of Ambrose Bierce

“Selfish, adj. Devoid of consideration for the selfishness of others.”

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Ambrose Bierce

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

“Pray, v. To ask that the laws of the universe be annulled in behalf of a single petitioner confessedly unworthy.”

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Ambrose Bierce

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

“Cynic, n. A blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be. Hence the custom among the Scythians of plucking out a cynic's eyes to improve his vision.”

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Ambrose Bierce

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

“Ocean, n. A body of water occupying about two-thirds of a world made for man — who has no gills.”

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Ambrose Bierce

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

“Lottery: A tax on people who are bad at math.”

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Ambrose Bierce

“Scriptures, n. The sacred books of our holy religion, as distinguished from the false and profane writings on which all other faiths are based.”

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Ambrose Bierce

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

“Corporation, n. An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility.”

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Ambrose Bierce

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

“Education, n. That which discloses to the wise and disguises from the foolish their lack of understanding.”

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Ambrose Bierce livre The Devil's Dictionary

Source: The Devil's Dictionary (1911)

“Apologize, v. To lay the foundation for a future offense.”

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Ambrose Bierce

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

“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.”

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Ambrose Bierce livre The Devil's Dictionary

The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
Contexte: Brain, n. An apparatus with which we think that we think... 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.