“Accordion, n. An instrument in harmony with the sentiments of an assassin.”
The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
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Ambrose Bierce 204
American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabu… 1842–1914Related quotes
“Cannon, n. An instrument employed in the rectification of national boundaries.”
The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
“Love is the most melodious of all harmonies and the sentiment of love is innate.”
Part I, Meditation V: Of the Predestined http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Physiology_of_Marriage/Part_1/Med_5.
Physiology of Marriage (1829)
Context: Love is the most melodious of all harmonies and the sentiment of love is innate. Woman is a delightful instrument of pleasure, but it is necessary to know its trembling strings, to study the position of them, the timid keyboard, the fingering so changeful and capricious which befits it.
“Barometer, n. An ingenious instrument which indicates what kind of weather we are having.”
The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
“Sentimentally I am disposed to harmony; but organically I am incapable of a tune.”
A Chapter on Ears; reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).
Essays of Elia (1823)
Original: (it) La musica è lo strumento più antico al mondo, la miglior medicina, l'armonia e la pura espressione di ogni anima.
Source: prevale.net
Treaty with the bey of Tunis https://web.archive.org/web/20150712204904/http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/english/publication/2013/11/20131104285694.html#axzz3sjER1BV1 (1797).
1790s
“A gentleman is someone who can play the accordion, but doesn't.”