Ambrose Bierce
Ambrose Bierce
Ambrose Gwinnett Biercewas an American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist, and satirist. He wrote the short story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" and compiled a satirical lexicon, The Devil's Dictionary. His vehemence as a critic, his motto "Nothing matters", and the sardonic view of human nature that informed his work, all earned him the nickname "Bitter Bierce"...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth24 June 1842
CityMeighs County, OH
CountryUnited States of America
aim, n. The task we set our wishes to.
resolute, adj. Obstinate in a course that we approve.
prospect, n. An outlook, usually forbidding. An expectation, usually forbidden.
adore, v.t. To venerate expectantly.
renown, n. A degree of distinction between notoriety and fame - a little more supportable than the one and a little more intolerable than the other. Sometimes it is conferred by an unfriendly and inconsiderate hand.
gratitude, n. A sentiment lying midway between a benefit received and a benefit expected.
predicament, n. The wage of consistency.
adherent, n. A follower who has not yet obtained all that he expects to get.
recollect, v. To recall with additions something not previously known.
moral, adj. Conforming to a local and mutable standard of right. Having the quality of general expediency.
FICKLENESS, n. The iterated satiety of an enterprising affection.
UXORIOUSNESS, n. A perverted affection that has strayed to one's own wife.
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 born from the egg. Pallas came out of a skull. Galatea was once a block of stone. Peresilis, who wrote in the tenth century, avers that he grew up out of the ground where a priest had spilled holy water. It is known that Arimaxus was derived from a hole in the earth, made by a stroke of lightning. Leucomedon was the son of a cavern in Mount Etna, and I have myself seen a man come out of a wine cellar.
MERCY, n. An attribute beloved of detected offenders.