Maxioms by Ambrose Bierce
OBSESSED, p.p. Vexed by an evil spirit, like the Gadarene swine and other critics. Obsession was once more common than read more
OBSESSED, p.p. Vexed by an evil spirit, like the Gadarene swine and other critics. Obsession was once more common than it is now. Arasthus tells of a peasant who was occupied by a different devil for every day in the week, and on Sundays by two. They were frequently seen, always walking in his shadow, when he had one, but were finally driven away by the village notary, a holy man; but they took the peasant with them, for he vanished utterly. A devil thrown out of a woman by the Archbishop of Rheims ran through the trees, pursued by a hundred persons, until the open country was reached, where by a leap higher than a church spire he escaped into a bird. A chaplain in Cromwell's army exorcised a soldier's obsessing devil by throwing the soldier into the water, when the devil came to the surface. The soldier, unfortunately, did not.
Patience: A minor form of despair disguised as a virtue.
Patience: A minor form of despair disguised as a virtue.
Optimist: a proponent of the doctrine that black is white.
Optimist: a proponent of the doctrine that black is white.
Income is the natural and rational gauge and measure of respectability.
Income is the natural and rational gauge and measure of respectability.
Acquaintance: a degree of friendship called slight when its object is poor or obscure, and intimate when he is rich read more
Acquaintance: a degree of friendship called slight when its object is poor or obscure, and intimate when he is rich or famous.
