Ambrose Bierce

Ambrose Bierce
Ambrose Gwinnett Biercewas an American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist, and satirist. He wrote the short story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" and compiled a satirical lexicon, The Devil's Dictionary. His vehemence as a critic, his motto "Nothing matters", and the sardonic view of human nature that informed his work, all earned him the nickname "Bitter Bierce"...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth24 June 1842
CityMeighs County, OH
CountryUnited States of America
Twice – Once too often.
Fear has no brains; it is an idiot. The dismal witness that it bears and the cowardly counsel that it whispers are unrelated.
You are not permitted to kill a woman who has wronged you, but nothing forbids you to reflect that she is growing older every minute.
TRUTHFUL, adj. Dumb and illiterate.
ARMOR, n. The kind of clothing worn by a man whose tailor is a blacksmith.
Think twice before you speak to a friend in need
Friendship: A ship big enough for two in fair weather, but only one in foul.
War: A by-product of the arts of peace.
What is worth doing is worth the trouble of asking somebody to do it.
When among the graves of thy fellows, walk with circumspection; thine own is open at thy feet.
Human nature is pretty well balanced; for every lacking virtue there is a rough substitute that will serve at a pinch--as cunning is the wisdom of the unwise, and ferocity the courage of the coward.
Patriotism is as fierce as a fever, pitiless as the grave, blind as a stone, and irrational as a headless hen.
DISOBEDIENCE, n. The silver lining to the cloud of servitude.
As a means of dispensing formulated ignorance our boasted public school system is not without merit; it spreads out education sufficiently thin to give everyone enough to make him a more competent fool than he would have been without it...