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Ambrose Bierce

81 quotes

Ambrose Bierce (1842–circa 1914) was an American short story writer, journalist, and satirist best known for his darkly humorous *The Devil's Dictionary*, which redefined common words with biting cynicism. A Civil War veteran, Bierce brought a sharp, unsentimental eye to American life and politics.

“Beauty, n: the power by which a woman charms a lover and terrifies a husband.”

— Ambrose Bierce

Beauty

All Quotes by Ambrose Bierce

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

— Ambrose Bierce

Patience

“Inventor: A person who makes an ingenious arrangement of wheels, levers and springs, and believes it civilization.”

— Ambrose Bierce

Technology

“Learning, n. The kind of ignorance distinguishing the studious.”

— Ambrose Bierce

Education

“Irreligion - the principal one of the great faiths of the world.”

— Ambrose Bierce

Great

“Men become civilized, not in proportion to their willingness to believe, but in proportion to their readiness to doubt.”

— Ambrose Bierce

Men

“Edible, adj.: Good to eat, and wholesome to digest, as a worm to a toad, a toad to a snake, a snake to a pig, a pig to a man, and a man to a worm.”

— Ambrose Bierce

Good

“Doubt, indulged and cherished, is in danger of becoming denial but if honest, and bent on thorough investigation, it may soon lead to full establishment of the truth.”

— Ambrose Bierce

Truth

“Enthusiasm - a distemper of youth, curable by small doses of repentance in connection with outward applications of experience.”

— Ambrose Bierce

Experience

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

— Ambrose Bierce

Education

“Mad, adj. Affected with a high degree of intellectual independence.”

— Ambrose Bierce

Intelligence

“Ardor, n. The quality that distinguishes love without knowledge.”

— Ambrose Bierce

Knowledge

“Bride: A woman with a fine prospect of happiness behind her.”

— Ambrose Bierce

Happiness

“Patriotism. Combustible rubbish ready to the torch of any one ambitious to illuminate his name.”

— Ambrose Bierce

Patriotism

“Academe, n.: An ancient school where morality and philosophy were taught. Academy, n.: A modern school where football is taught.”

— Ambrose Bierce

Sports

“Success is the one unpardonable sin against our fellows.”

— Ambrose Bierce

Success

“Religion. A daughter of Hope and Fear, explaining to Ignorance the nature of the Unknowable.”

— Ambrose Bierce

Fear

“Sweater, n.: garment worn by child when its mother is feeling chilly.”

— Ambrose Bierce

Mom

“War is God's way of teaching Americans geography.”

— Ambrose Bierce

God

“The slightest acquaintance with history shows that powerful republics are the most warlike and unscrupulous of nations.”

— Ambrose Bierce

History

“Destiny: A tyrant's authority for crime and a fool's excuse for failure.”

— Ambrose Bierce

Failure