Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.
¶ (Attributed)
Quotations by ...
Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914?) American writer and journalist
CONSERVATIVE, n. A statesman who is enamored of existing evils, as distinguished from the Liberal, who wishes to replace them others.
¶ The Cynic's Word Book (1906)
BRAIN: an apparatus with which we think we think.
¶ The Cynic’s Word Book (1906)
EGOTIST, n. A person of low taste, more interested in himself than in me.
¶ The Cynic’s Word Book (1906)
DEBAUCHEE, n. One who has so earnestly pursued pleasure that he has had the misfortune to overtake it.
¶ The Cynic’s Word Book (1906)
BORE, n. A person who talks when you wish him to listen.
¶ The Cynic’s Word Book (1906)
REVERENCE, n. The spiritual attitude of a man to a god and a dog to a man.
¶ The Devil's Dictionary
QUOTATION, n. The act of repeating erroneously the words of another. The words erroneously repeated.
¶ The Devil's Dictionary
DESTINY, n. A tyrant's authority for crime, and a fool's excuse for failure.
¶ The Devil's Dictionary
DIPLOMACY, n. The patriotic art of lying for one's country.
¶ The Devil's Dictionary
RADICALISM, n. The conservatism of to-morrow injected into the affairs of to-day.
¶ The Devil's Dictionary
DIARY, n. A daily record of that part of one's life, which he can relate to himself without blushing.
¶ The Devil's Dictionary
In religion we believe only what we do not understand, except in the instance of an intelligible doctrine that contradicts an incomprehensible one. In that case we believe the former as a part of the latter.
¶ The Devil's Dictionary
RASH, adj. Insensible to the value of our advice.
¶ The Devil's Dictionary
There's nothing new under the sun, but there are lots of old things we don't know.
¶ The Devil's Dictionary
RECONSIDER, v. To seek a justification for a decision already made.
¶ The Devil's Dictionary
SELFISH, adj. Devoid of consideration for the selfishness of others.
¶ The Devil's Dictionary
REFERENDUM, n. A law for submission of proposed legislation to a popular vote to learn the nonsensus of public opinion.
¶ The Devil's Dictionary
SELF-EVIDENT, adj. Evident to one's self and to nobody else.
¶ The Devil's Dictionary
RESOLUTE, adj. Obstinate in a course that we approve.
¶ The Devil's Dictionary
MISFORTUNE, n. The kind of fortune that never misses.
¶ 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.
¶ The Devil's Dictionary
DISTANCE, n. The only thing that the rich are willing for the poor to call theirs, and keep.
¶ The Devil's Dictionary
ADMIRATION, n. Our polite recognition of another's resemblance to ourselves.
¶ The Devil's Dictionary
IMPIETY, n. Your irreverence toward my deity.
¶ The Devil's Dictionary
POSITIVE, adj. Mistaken at the top of one's voice.
¶ The Devil's Dictionary
EDUCATION, n. That which discloses to the wise and disguises from the foolish their lack of understanding.
¶ The Devil's Dictionary
PRAY, v. To ask that the laws of the universe be annulled in behalf of a single petitioner confessedly unworthy.
¶ The Devil's Dictionary
DISCUSSION, n. A method of confirming others in their errors.
¶ The Devil's Dictionary
POLITICS, n. A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage.
¶ The Devil's Dictionary
CORPORATION, n. An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility.
¶ The Devil's Dictionary
ABSURDITY, n. A statement or belief manifestly inconsistent with one's own opinion.
¶ The Devil's Dictionary
BIGOT, n. One who is obstinately and zealously attached to an opinion that you don't entertain.
¶ The Devil's Dictionary
RUMOR, n. A favorite weapon of the assassins of character.
¶ The Devil's Dictionary
CYNIC, n. A blackguard whose faulty vision sees things the way they are, and not as they ought to be.
¶ The Devil's Dictionary
PREJUDICE, n. A vagrant opinion without visible means of support.
¶ The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
PEACE, n. In international affairs, a period of cheating between two periods of fighting.
¶ The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
About WIST
WIST is my collection of quotations I find meaningful, moving, amusing (intended or not), well-phrased, and/or to which I just say I "Wish I'd Said That." But just because I quote it here doesn't mean I actually agree with it. If you have any comments, corrections, or suggestions, please don't hesitate to
Quote Search
Use the Fast Search search box to look for text in quotations or their sources.
To search for an author, go to the All Authors page. Or you can also use the custom Google search below for quotes and authors:
Quotes by Author
WIST Info
Powered by
Movable Type 4.01
Movable Type 4.01