All Ambrose Bierce Quotes
- PLAGUE, n. In ancient times a general punishment of the innocent for admonition of their ruler, as in the familiar instance of Pharaoh the Immune.… Admonition
- SACRED, adj. Dedicated to some religious purpose; having a divine character; inspiring solemn thoughts or emotions; as... the Cow in India; the Crocodile, the Cat… Ancient
- FIDDLE, n. An instrument to tickle human ears by friction of a horse's tail on the entrails of a cat. Cat
- PHYSICIAN, n. One upon whom we set our hopes when ill and our dogs when well. Dog
- CERBERUS, n. The watch-dog of Hades, whose duty it was to guard the entrance - against whom or what does not clearly appear; everybody, sooner… Appear
- A rabbit's foot may bring good luck to you, but it brought none to the rabbit. Bring
- WHANGDEPOOTENAWAH, n. In the Ojibwa tongue, disaster; an unexpected affliction that strikes hard. Affliction
- OBLIVION, n. The state or condition in which the wicked cease from struggling and the dreary are at rest. Fame's eternal dumping ground. Cease
- REASON, n. Propensitate of prejudice. Inspirational
- PROVIDENTIAL, adj. Unexpectedly and conspicuously beneficial to the person so describing it. Beneficial
- Suddenly to change one's opinions and go over to another party. The most notable flop on record was that of Saul of Tarsus, who has… Another Party
- A short story padded. A species of composition bearing the same relation to literature that the panorama bears to art. As it is too long… Art
- IMAGINATION, n. A warehouse of facts, with poet and liar in joint ownership. Facts
- RICE-WATER, n. A mystic beverage secretly used by our most popular novelists and poets to regulate the imagination and narcotize the conscience. Beverage
- SPOOKER, n. A writer whose imagination concerns itself with supernatural phenomena, especially in the doings of spooks. Concern
- MERCY, n. An attribute beloved of detected offenders. Attribute
- 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… Applied
- BIRTH, n. The first and direst of all disasters. As to the nature of it there appears to be no uniformity. Castor and Pollux were… All
- UXORIOUSNESS, n. A perverted affection that has strayed to one's own wife. Affection
- FICKLENESS, n. The iterated satiety of an enterprising affection. Affection
- ARTLESSNESS, n. A certain engaging quality to which women attain by long study and severe practice upon the admiring male, who is pleased to fancy… Admiring
- DISCRIMINATE, v.i. To note the particulars in which one person or thing is, if possible, more objectionable than another. Discriminate
- STORY, n. A narrative, commonly untrue. The truth of the stories here following has, however, not been successfully impeached. Been
- REPORTER, n. A writer who guesses his way to the truth and dispels it with a tempest of words. Dispels
- PLATITUDE, n. The fundamental element and special glory of popular literature. A thought that snores in words that smoke. All that is mortal of a… All