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Inspirational Quotes by Ambrose Bierce

101 Inspirational quotes by Ambrose Bierce

All Inspirational quotes Ambrose Bierce’s page

Ambrose Bierce offers sharp, funny definitions for everyday ideas. He jokes that conversation is a breath‑holding contest and that a popular vote simply measures the will of the many. He also points out that what we call knowledge is just a tiny, organized piece of our larger ignorance.

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Liar: A lawyer with a roving commission.

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COMPULSION, n. The eloquence of power.

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repose, v.i. To cease from troubling.

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NON-COMBATANT, n. A dead Quaker.

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Habit: A shackle for the free.

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Noise: a stench in the ear.

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CAVILER, n. A critic of our own work.

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actually, adv. Perhaps; possibly.

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RIMER, n. A poet regarded with indifference or disesteem.

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TAKE, v.t. To acquire, frequently by force but preferably by stealth.

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prospect, n. An outlook, usually forbidding. An expectation, usually forbidden.

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LIAR, n. One who tells an unpleasant truth.

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resolute, adj. Obstinate in a course that we approve.

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A popular vote to ascertain the will of the sovereign.

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I think that I think, therefore I think that I am;

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LEGACY, n. A gift from one who is legging it out of this vale of tears.

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REPORTER, n. A writer who guesses his way to the truth and dispels it with a tempest of words.

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REPUBLIC, n. A nation in which, the thing governing and the thing governed being the same, there is only a permitted authority…

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They say that hens do cackle loudest when there is nothing vital in the eggs they have laid.

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BEG, v. To ask for something with an earnestness proportioned to the belief that it will not be given.

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CLOSE-FISTED, adj. Unduly desirous of keeping that which many meritorious persons wish to obtain.

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PROVIDENTIAL, adj. Unexpectedly and conspicuously beneficial to the person so describing it.

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GRAVE, n. A place in which the dead are laid to await the coming of the medical student.

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REPARATION, n. Satisfaction that is made for a wrong and deducted from the satisfaction felt in committing it.

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Conversation: A fair for the display of the minor mental commodities, each exhibitor being too intent upon the arrangement of his own…

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INDISCRETION, n. The guilt of woman.

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art, n. This word has no definition.

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Least said is soon disavowed.

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A penny saved is a penny to squander.

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APHORISM, n. Predigested wisdom.

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REASON, n. Propensitate of prejudice.

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TRUCE, n. Friendship.

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VIRTUES, n.pl. Certain abstentions.

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hybrid, n. A pooled issue.

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Uncommon extension of the fear of death.

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predicament, n. The wage of consistency.

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adore, v.t. To venerate expectantly.

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Hurry n: The dispatch of bunglers.

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alone, adj. In bad company.

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I think I think, therefore I think I am.

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More by Ambrose Bierce

OBSESSED, p.p. Vexed by an evil spirit, like the Gadarene swine and other critics. Obsession was once more common than it is now. Arasthus…

DECIDE, v.i. To succumb to the preponderance of one set of influences over another set.

IMMORAL, adj. Inexpedient. Whatever in the long run and with regard to the greater number of instances men find to be generally inexpedient comes…

REVIEW, v.t. To set your wisdom (holding not a doubt of it./ Although in truth there's neither bone nor skin to it)/ At work…

CLOCK, n. A machine of great moral value to man, allaying his concern for the future by reminding him what a lot of time…

RUBBISH, n. Worthless matter, such as the religions, philosophies, literatures, arts and sciences of the tribes infesting the regions lying due south from Boreaplas.

There was never a genius who was not thought a fool until he disclosed himself; whereas he is a fool then only.

Telephone, n. An invention of the devil which abrogates some of the advantages of making a disagreeable person keep his distance.

WHANGDEPOOTENAWAH, n. In the Ojibwa tongue, disaster; an unexpected affliction that strikes hard.

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

RIDICULE, n. Words designed to show that the person of whom they are uttered is devoid of the dignity of character distinguishing him who…

Think twice before you speak to a friend in need

HERMIT, n. A person whose vices and follies are not sociable.

TARIFF, n. A scale of taxes on imports, designed to protect the domestic producer against the greed of his consumer.

A bad marriage is like an electrical thrilling machine: it makes you dance, but you can't let go.