PAST, n. That part of Eternity with some small fraction of which we have a slight and regrettable acquaintance... The Past is the Future of yesterday, the Future is the Past of to-morrow. They are one - the knowledge and the dream. Ambrose Bierce More Quotes by Ambrose Bierce More Quotes From Ambrose Bierce EUCHARIST, n. A sacred feast of the religious sect of Theophagi. A dispute once unhappily arose among the members of this sect as to what it was that they ate. In this controversy some five hundred thousand have already been slain, and the question is still unsettled. Ambrose Bierce cooking religious food Convent - a place of retirement for women who wish for leisure to meditate upon the sin of idleness. Ambrose Bierce women judging retirement Conversation, n.: A vocal competition in which the one who is catching his breath is called the listener. Ambrose Bierce catching competition conversation DISCUSSION, n. A method of confirming others in their errors. Ambrose Bierce method errors science For every man there is something in the vocabulary that would stick to him like a second skin. His enemies have only to find it. Ambrose Bierce vocabulary names men FORMA PAUPERIS. [Latin] In the character of a poor person - a method by which a litigant without money for lawyers is considerately permitted to lose his case. Ambrose Bierce money latin character Trial. A formal inquiry designed to prove and put upon record the blameless characters of judges, advocates and jurors. Ambrose Bierce inquiry judging character War: A by-product of the arts of peace. Ambrose Bierce products war art Riot – A popular entertainment given to the military by innocent bystanders. Ambrose Bierce military war peace Age, with his eyes in the back of his head, thinks it wisdom to see the bogs through which he has floundered. Ambrose Bierce eye age thinking GUNPOWDER, n. An agency employed by civilized nations for the settlement of disputes which might become troublesome if left unadjusted. By most writers the invention of gunpowder is ascribed to the Chinese, but not upon very convincing evidence. Milton says it was invented by the devil to dispel angels with, and this opinion seems to derive some support from the scarcity of angels. Ambrose Bierce agency angel science EJECTION, n. An approved remedy for the disease of garrulity. It is also much used in cases of extreme poverty. Ambrose Bierce poverty disease approval To be positive is to be mistaken at the top of one's voice. Ambrose Bierce certainty voice positive The poor man's price of admittance to the favor of the rich is his self-respect. Ambrose Bierce favors self men LIFE, n. A spiritual pickle preserving the body from decay. We live in daily apprehension of its loss; yet when lost it is not missed. Ambrose Bierce spiritual loss life IDLENESS, n. A model farm where the devil experiments with seeds of new sins and promotes the growth of staple vices. Ambrose Bierce devil growth vices Even the laws of justice themselves cannot subsist without mixture of injustice. Ambrose Bierce mixtures law justice DIARY, n. A daily record of that part of one's life, which he can relate to himself without blushing. Ambrose Bierce records diaries life DUEL, n. A formal ceremony preliminary to reconciliation of two enemies. Great skill is necessary to its satisfactory observance; if awkwardly performed . . . deplorable consequences sometimes ensue. A long time ago a man lost his life. Ambrose Bierce time men life CENTAUR, n. One of a race of persons who lived before the division of labor had been carried to such a pitch of differentiation, and who followed the primitive economic maxim, "Every man his own horse." Ambrose Bierce horse men life
