Quotes
Quotations of Ambrose Gwinett Bierce"Abstainer, n. Weak man who yields to the temptation of denying himself a pleasure."(Ambrose Gwinett Bierce / 1842-1914 / The Devil's Dictionary) "Baptism, n. A sacred rite of such efficacy that he who finds himself in heaven without having undergone it will be unhappy forever. It is performed with water in two ways -- by immersion, or plunging, and by aspersion, or sprinkling." (Ambrose Gwinett Bierce / 1842-1914 / The Devil's Dictionary) "Bigot, n. One who is obstinately and zealously attached to an opinion that you do not entertain." (Ambrose Gwinett Bierce / 1842-1914 / The Devil's Dictionary) "Christian, n. One who follows the teachings of Christ in so far as they are not inconsistent with a life of sin." (Ambrose Gwinett Bierce / 1842-1914 / The Devil's Dictionary) "Christian, n. One who believes that the New Testament is a divinely inspired book admirably suited to the spiritual needs of his neighbors." (Ambrose Gwinett Bierce / 1842-1914 / The Devil's Dictionary) "Convent, n. A place of retirement for woman who wish for leisure to meditate upon the vice of idleness." (Ambrose Gwinett Bierce / 1842-1914 / The Devil's Dictionary) "Destiny, n. Tyrant's authority for crime, and a fool's excuse for failure." (Ambrose Gwinett Bierce / 1842-1914 / The Devil's Dictionary) "Faith, n. Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel." (Ambrose Gwinett Bierce / 1842-1914 / The Devil's Dictionary) "Heathen, n. A benighten creature who has the folly to worship something that he can see and feel." (Ambrose Gwinett Bierce / 1842-1914 / The Devil's Dictionary) "Impiety, n. Your irreverence toward my deity" (Ambrose Gwinett Bierce / 1842-1914 / The Devil's Dictionary) "Infidel, n. In New York, one who does not believe in the Christian religion; in Constantinople, one who does." (Ambrose Gwinett Bierce / 1842-1914 / The Devil's Dictionary) "Pray, v. To ask that the laws of the universe be annulled in behalf of a single petitioner confessedly unworthy." (Ambrose Gwinett Bierce / 1842-1914 / The Devil's Dictionary) "Prelate, n. A church officer having a superior degree of holiness and a fat preferment. One of Heaven's aristocracy. A gentleman of God." (Ambrose Gwinett Bierce / 1842-1914 / The Devil's Dictionary) "Religion, n. A daughter of Hope and Fear, explaining to Ignorance the nature of the Unknowable." (Ambrose Gwinett Bierce / 1842-1914 / The Devil's Dictionary) "Reverence: the spiritual attitude of a man to a god and a dog to a man." (Ambrose Gwinett Bierce / 1842-1914) "Saint, n. A dead sinner revised and edited." (Ambrose Gwinett Bierce / 1842-1914 / The Devil's Dictionary) "Scriptures, n. The sacred books of our holy religion, as distinguished from the false and profane writings on which all other faiths are based." (Ambrose Gwinett Bierce / 1842-1914 / The Devil's Dictionary) "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." (Ambrose Gwinett Bierce / 1842-1914) Biography of Ambrose Gwinett Bierce |