Ambrose Bierce Quotes

Humanity, n. The human race, collectively, exclusive of the anthropoid poets.

House, n. A hollow edifice erected for the habitation of man, rat, mouse, beetle, cockroach, fly, mosquito, flea, bacillus and microbe.

Houseless, adj. Having paid all taxes on household goods.

Hospitality, n. The virtue which induces us to feed and lodge certain persons who are not in need of food and lodging.

Hope, n. Desire and expectation rolled into one.

Delusion, n. The father of a most respectable family, comprising Enthusiasm, Affection, Self-denial, Faith, Hope, Charity and many other goodly sons and daughters.

Ovation, n. n ancient Rome, a definite, formal pageant in honor of one who had been disserviceable to the enemies of the nation. A lesser “triumph.”

Resident, adj. Unable to leave.

Cynic, n. A blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be. Hence the custom among the Scythians of plucking out a cynic’s eyes to improve his vision.

Curiosity, n. An objectionable quality of the female mind. The desire to know whether or not a woman is cursed with curiosity is one of the most active and insatiable passions of the masculine soul.