Patience, n. A minor form of despair, disguised as a virtue.
Quotes from The Devil's Dictionary — Ambrose Bierce
1842–1910 United States
← All quotes by Ambrose Bierce
171 quotes
The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
Heathen, n. A benighted creature who has the folly to worship something that he can see and feel.
The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
Decide, v.i. To succumb to the preponderance of one set of influences over another set.
The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
Mayonnaise, n. One of the sauces that serve the French in place of a state religion.
The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
YESTERDAY, n. The infancy of youth, the youth of manhood, the entire past of age.
The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
Admiration, n. Our polite recognition of another's resemblance to ourselves.
The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
Accordion, n. An instrument in harmony with the sentiments of an assassin.
The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
Selfish, adj. Devoid of consideration for the selfishness of others.
The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
Year, n. A period of three hundred and sixty-five disappointments.
The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
Erudition, n. Dust shaken out of a book into an empty skull.
The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
Diplomacy, n. The patriotic art of lying for one's country.
The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
Liberty, n. One of imagination's most precious possessions.
The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
Attribution
Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Ambrose Bierce (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.