Ambrose Gwinett Bierce Journal Quotations

GENEALOGY, n. An account of one's descent from an ancestor who did not particularly care to trace his own.

Patience - a minor form of despair disguised as a virtue.

There are 4 kinds of homicide; felonious, excusable, justifiable, and praiseworthy.

Pray, v.: To ask that the laws of the universe be annulled on behalf of a single petitioner confessedly unworthy.

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

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

Egotist: A person of low taste, more interested in himself than in me.

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

Abstainer - a weak man who yields to the temptation of denying himself a pleasure.

Optimism: The doctrine that everything is beautiful, including what is ugly, everything good, especially the bad, and everything right that is wrong... It is hereditary, but fortunately not contagious.

Consult. To seek another's approval of a course already decided on.

The future is that period of time in which our affairs prosper, our friends are true, and our happiness is assured.

Corporation. An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility.