During the Second World War, the Germans took four years to build the Atlantic Wall. On four beaches it held up the Allies for about an hour; at Omaha it held up the U.S. for less than one day. The Atlantic Wall must therefore be regarded as one of the greatest blunders in military history.
Stephen Ambrose
Related Is There Anybody Out There? PINK FLOYD But when have I ever needed saving? "Are you a Wendy?" I whisper to myself, scanning the low ro... TRACY WARD I like to open for a band as it brings on sort of a challenge and it makes things more interesting. ... KELLY JONES From the Kindle Book Reflections in the Mirror of Life: “In a slum somewhere in India As... THE PROPHET OF LIFE The real world out there isn't nearly as nice as some people prefer it to be, so don't swallow every... DAVID EDDINGS Jesus Christ wants to show His love for this world through us, Christians. SUNDAY ADELAJA The end of the world is a strange concept. The world is always ending, and the end is always being a... NEIL GAIMAN Next time I expect you to act a little friendlier and remember that we would like to get out of here... TRACEY WARD Merry Christmas.” he says quietly, pulling something from his back pocket. I frown in confusi... TRACEY WARD May I never neither turn left nor turn right in my journey of life, but may I go straight to Christ ... ERNEST AGYEMANG YEBOAH When you live in the present, the past is forgotten & the future takes care of itself. MANDY HALE Now i know what it feels like being Ryan Bingham ARIEL SERAPHINO Why live for the day,
when you know the next one
is going to be exactly the same. HUGO SVENSSON Wake every morning with the same feeling. Live up high and fly on top of the ceiling. I just know th... ANA CLAUDIA ANTUNES I liked myths. They weren't adult stories and they weren't children's stories. They were better than... NEIL GAIMAN Courage is of no value unless accompanied by justice; yet if all men became just, there would be no ... AGESILAUS THE SECOND In a corporatocracy such as in which we live, there is no difference between the idle rich, those th... CAMILLO MAC BICA Stop a minute, Ambrose!" interrupted Master Nathaniel. "I've got a sudden silly whim that we should ... HOPE MIRRLEES And now it is said of me That my love is nothing because I have borne no children, Or bec... JAMES WRIGHT I wanted everything from and everything for him, because I wanted every piece of him. KIERA CASS Eat for lunch, but let something for dinner. ERBLIN VUKAJ If you are among the good fellows chances are that you will be among the blemishes for the wicked ar... APURVA GAGLANI It's hard when you have things but lose them, it's even harder when you feel that you're being left ... GARY F EVANS... Starting today, must forget what gone yesterday,appreciate what remains today & look forward what ca... DR ANIL KUMAR SINHA call it chicken salad SARAH DESSEN Society. The same society, I might add, that dictates that little girls should always be sugar and s... SARAH DESSEN Sometimes he did not know if he slept or just thought about sleep. MARK STRAND The chains of military despotism once fastened upon a nation, ages might pass away before they could... WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON I smiled to myself, thinking of America, measuring her against the other girls. She was pretty, if a... KIERA CASS Don't tug your ear with anyone else. That's mine. KIERA CASS She said 'Over my dead body!' so I took her at her word. DIANA WYNNE JONES What is the Other?" they ask. The Other is the one who taught me whatI should be like, but not ... PAULO COELHO Look at an infantryman's eyes and you can tell how much war he has seen WILLIAM HENRY To get over the past, you first have to accept that the past is over. No matter how many times you r... MANDY HALE There is no longer a single idea explaining everything, but an infinite number of essences giving a ... ALBERT CAMUS The history of mankind is a history of war. MIKE LOVE The dog lives for the day, the hour, even the moment. ROBERT FALCON SCOTT There are three basic problems: how a mind can know the world of nature, how it is possible for one ... DONALD DAVIDSON We are going to fight. We are going to be hurt. And in the end, we will stand. STEPHEN KING Hail to you gods, on that day of the great reckoning. Behold me, I have come to you, without sin, wi... THE BOOK OF THE DEAD When a man takes one step toward God, God takes more steps toward that man than there are sands in t... THE WORK OF THE CHARIOT Look, my friends!' he called. 'Here's a pretty hobbit-skin to wrap an elven princeling in! If it wer... J.R.R. TOLKIEN I guess we are who we are for a lot of reasons. And maybe we'll never know most of them. But even if... STEPHEN CHBOSKY The unfortunate thing is that, sometimes, we slip, but, fortunately, consciously or unconsciously, w... ERNEST AGYEMANG YEBOAH If you aren't in over your head, how do you know how tall you are? T.S. ELIOT (All the grief she had suffered over her lifetime had moulded her face into a mask of eternal sadnes... JEAN SASSON Take a second out to think about this: in your life you search and search for the right person for y... IAN PHILPOT Growing up is never easy. You hold on to things that were. You wonder what's to come. But that night... THE WONDER YEARS I remember a place... a town... a house like a lot of houses... a yard like a lot of other yards... ... THE WONDER YEARS I never knew it would be this hard to lose something I never had. THE WONDER YEARS Once upon a time there was a girl I knew, who lived across the street. Brown hair, brown eyes. When ... THE WONDER YEARS Change is never easy. You fight to hold on. You fight to let go. THE WONDER YEARS I guess sometimes the ground can shift between your feet. Sometimes your footing slips. You stumble.... THE WONDER YEARS All our young lives we search for someone to love. Someone who makes us complete. We choose partners... THE WONDER YEARS Over the course of the average lifetime you meet a lot of people. Some of them stick with you throug... THE WONDER YEARS Growing up happens in a heartbeat. One day you're in diapers; the next day you're gone. But the memo... THE WONDER YEARS These facilities were relatively rustic even for this area of the world. Other inns at least had ind... ASHIM SHANKER The king may rule the kingdom, but it's the queen who moves the board. D.M. TIMNEY This Bible is for the government of the people, by the people and for the people. JOHN WYCLIFFE Together my wife and I are building the kingdom of God, exercising dominion, beating back the weeds ... R.C. SPROUL JR. Everything about Andrew was hot, from the hands holding him down to the mouth steadily taking Neil a... NORA SAKAVIC Military men are the scourges of the world GUY DE MAUPASSANT Here was one with an air of high nobility such as Aragorn at times revealed, less high perhaps, yet ... J.R.R. TOLKIEN Time that is spent dwelling on the past will surely continue in your present moment - and the future... MICHELLE CRUZ-ROSADO For as much as you can, build the past and the future that you can carry yourself. MARIANA FULGER When the enemy is relaxed, make them toil. When full, starve them. When settled, make them move. SUN TZU i know im not the girl you wanted. not the one you want to hear from. but what you see is what you g... SIMI GREWAL When you're a kid, they tell you it's all "Grow up, Get a job. Get married. Get a house, Have a kid.... ~DOCTOR WHO The world is more than the sum of its suffering. DEEPAK CHOPRA The history of Wall Street is inseparable from New York. RON CHERNOW She herself is a haunted house. She does not possess herself; her ancestors sometimes come and peer ... ANGELA CARTER The profound ability to use aural and written language has enabled our species to collectively explo... KATHERINE VUCICEVIC No, sweet one. See, my precious: if we has it, then we can escape, even from Him, eh? Perhaps we gro... J.R.R. TOLKIEN Savor the moment. Set a goal that you value and plan the steps to of getting there in a way that you... TERENCE T. GORSKI Don't sacrifice the present and attempt to achieve the impossible- to completely correct the past...... ASSEGID HABTEWOLD It was mild monsters like these that made Jack the Ripper go after young women, she decided: who cou... GREGORY MAGUIRE Walking with Daisy from the dining hall, Matthew murmured, “Will I have to scale the outside wall ... LISA KLEYPAS If you do not even know one as yourself, then you do not even know them as other. AARON SANTOS I don't define lust as anything evil or nasty. Lust as defined by me, is the feeling of desire: a de... C. JOYBELL C. I'm in the middle of the road, it seems vague of unclear way, of where I'm going but no matter what ... HLONIM They stand uncertainly underneath immense skies, and everything about them is drowned. JACK KEROUAC I heard the Denver and Rio Grande locomotives howling off in to the mountains. I wanted to pursue my... JACK KEROUAC I read my copy of On the Road and dug the scenery whizzing past. On the Road is a semi-autobiographi... CORY DOCTOROW Be kind. We never know what people are going through. Give grace and mercy because one day your circ... GERMANY KENT Love is just a word until you find that person to give it meaning ANDY STEWART I want to kiss him for the rest of the night, for the rest of our lives. The one. STEPHANIE PERKINS The other problem is that she hasn’t arrived.” “Oh, yeah? And who is she?” “Wel... MEGAN KARASCH When I die it will be game over,... but I know one life is short, to be selfish is not the best deci... DEYTH BANGER Now is the only time we have, and the only time that we have any control over. RICHARD CARLSON Trust In Every Words, And You Will Believe In Your Works. EIZZA ZAIZALNIZAM The right one for you will move mountains to be with you - he won't hide behind them. MANDY HALE The bottom line is, what defines you isn't how many times you crash, but the number of times you get... SARAH DESSEN This is a 911? You know you only text that when someone is dead or dying. You scared the crap out of... SARAH DESSEN It’s the things you fight for and struggle with before earning that have the greatest worth. SARAH DESSEN We can leave a place behind, or we can stay in that place and leave our selfishness (often expressed... JOHN H. GROBERG Don't you ever get the feeling that all your life is going by and you're not taking advantage of it?... ERNEST HEMINGWAY It's all to do with the training: you can do a lot if you're properly trained. QUEEN ELIZABETH II Like all best families, we have our share of eccentricities, of impetuous and wayward youngsters and... QUEEN ELIZABETH II My husband has quite simply been my strength and stay all these years, and I owe him a debt greater ... QUEEN ELIZABETH II It is easy enough to define what the Commonwealth is not. Indeed this is quite a popular pastime. QUEEN ELIZABETH II
More Stephen Ambrose
Eisenhower had the clearest blue eyes. He would fix them on you. In my every interview with him, he ... STEPHEN AMBROSE Friendships are different from all other relationships. Unlike acquaintanceship, friendship is based... STEPHEN AMBROSE The past is a source of knowledge, and the future is a source of hope. Love of the past implies fait... STEPHEN AMBROSE Reading your own material aloud forces you to listen. STEPHEN AMBROSE I've always tried to be fair to my subjects. That's easy when they are as likable and admira... STEPHEN AMBROSE Winning the Revolutionary War, or the Civil War, or World War II were the turning points in our hist... STEPHEN AMBROSE World War II, the atomic bomb, the Cold War, made it hard for Americans to continue their optimism. STEPHEN AMBROSE Dams have harmed our wildlife and made rivers less useful for recreation. STEPHEN AMBROSE In 1945, there were more people killed, more buildings destroyed, more high explosives set off, more... STEPHEN AMBROSE The number one secret of being a successful writer is this: marry an English major. STEPHEN AMBROSE Neither Johnson nor his party nor the government as a whole were willing to raise, train, equip, and... STEPHEN AMBROSE The American Constitution is the greatest governing document, and at some 7,000 words, just about th... STEPHEN AMBROSE The Holocaust was the most evil crime ever committed. STEPHEN AMBROSE Almost everything Truman did in foreign affairs I approve of. STEPHEN AMBROSE As a people, we have wrestled with Vietnam's legacy for many years, as was and is our duty. Now we w... STEPHEN AMBROSE The copied words they discovered amounted to about 10 pages out of a total work of some 15,000 pages... STEPHEN AMBROSE a great teacher of writing. STEPHEN AMBROSE You can take the day off. STEPHEN AMBROSE You cannot kill that city, ... I bet there's people saying, I've got to go back.' STEPHEN AMBROSE Nearly every artifact has a story connected to it, whether it be a hole in a helmet or a belt that a... STEPHEN AMBROSE The irony here is the man who has done the most to keep these papers from becoming available, Dick N... STEPHEN AMBROSE We voted 50-50 for the next president, ... One of the things that was notable was how much the Ameri... STEPHEN AMBROSE It would not be possible to praises nurses too highly. STEPHEN AMBROSE It does you no good to see the number two or number three man in the corporation-you have to get thr... STEPHEN AMBROSE Johnson had been the most powerful man in the world, yet the North Vietnamese and the Vietcong had r... STEPHEN AMBROSE Andrew Johnson was a Southerner generally who proclaimed that his native state of Tennessee was a co... STEPHEN AMBROSE I was taught by professors who had done their schooling in the 1930s. Most of them were scornful of,... STEPHEN AMBROSE Chickenshit is so called - instead of horse- or bull- or elephant shit - because it is small-minded ... STEPHEN E. AMBROSE The result of these shared experiences was a closeness unknown to all outsiders. Comrades are closer... STEPHEN E. AMBROSE In one of his last newsletters, Mike Ranney wrote: "In thinking back on the days of Easy Company, I'... STEPHEN E. AMBROSE Destiny: A tyrant's authority for crime and a fool's excuse for failure. AMBROSE BIERCE When I go to Rome, I fast on Saturday, but in Milan I do not. Do you also follow the custom of whate... SAINT AMBROSE It is ingrained in all living creatures, first of all, to preserve their own safety, to guard agains... SAINT AMBROSE The best way to use the gold of the Redeemer is for the redemption of those in peril. SAINT AMBROSE Many a sin has sullied me in body and in soul because I did not restrain my thoughts nor guard my li... SAINT AMBROSE Nothing graces the Christian soul so much as mercy; mercy as shown chiefly towards the poor, that th... SAINT AMBROSE Take away the contests of the martyrs, and you have taken away their crowns. SAINT AMBROSE In some causes silence is dangerous. SAINT AMBROSE God is not accustomed to refusing a good gift to those who ask for one. Since he is good, and especi... SAINT AMBROSE Let us take refuge from this world. You can do this in spirit, even if you are kept here in the body... SAINT AMBROSE It is not enough just to wish well; we must also do well. SAINT AMBROSE One of the duties of fortitude is to keep the weak from receiving injury; another, to check the wron... SAINT AMBROSE God, who preferred the correction rather than the death of a sinner, did not desire that a homicide ... SAINT AMBROSE God created the universe in such a manner that all in common might derive their food from it, and th... SAINT AMBROSE There is nothing evil save that which perverts the mind and shackles the conscience. SAINT AMBROSE No one is good but God alone. What is good is therefore divine, what is divine is therefore good. SAINT AMBROSE A kindness received should be returned with a freer hand. SAINT AMBROSE Where a man's heart is, there is his treasure also. SAINT AMBROSE When in Rome, live as the Romans do; when elsewhere, live as they live elsewhere. SAINT AMBROSE Belladonna, n.: In Italian a beautiful lady; in English a deadly poison. A striking example of the e... AMBROSE BIERCE Divorce: a resumption of diplomatic relations and rectification of boundaries. AMBROSE BIERCE Death is not the end. There remains the litigation over the estate. AMBROSE BIERCE Immortality: A toy which people cry for, And on their knees apply for, Dispute, contend and lie for,... AMBROSE BIERCE Litigation: A machine which you go into as a pig and come out of as a sausage. AMBROSE BIERCE Suffrage, noun. Expression of opinion by means of a ballot. The right of suffrage (which is held to ... AMBROSE BIERCE Laziness. Unwarranted repose of manner in a person of low degree. AMBROSE BIERCE Sweater, n.: garment worn by child when its mother is feeling chilly. AMBROSE BIERCE Doubt is the father of invention. AMBROSE BIERCE Life - a spiritual pickle preserving the body from decay. AMBROSE BIERCE Men become civilized, not in proportion to their willingness to believe, but in proportion to their ... AMBROSE BIERCE Cabbage: a familiar kitchen-garden vegetable about as large and wise as a man's head. AMBROSE BIERCE Photograph: a picture painted by the sun without instruction in art. AMBROSE BIERCE Cynic, n: a blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be. AMBROSE BIERCE I always liked the guys who lasted a long time in the match and had endurance. People like Ric Flair... DEAN AMBROSE Deliberation, n.: The act of examining one's bread to determine which side it is buttered on. AMBROSE BIERCE Clairvoyant, n.: A person, commonly a woman, who has the power of seeing that which is invisible to ... AMBROSE BIERCE Liberty:one of imaginations most precious possessions. AMBROSE BIERCE We played one warm-up gig at this bar that was kinda like that bar in 'The Blues Brothers' w... LAUREN AMBROSE Quoting: the act of repeating erroneously the words of another. AMBROSE BIERCE Day, n. A period of twenty-four hours, mostly misspent. AMBROSE BIERCE Success is the one unpardonable sin against our fellows. AMBROSE BIERCE Optimist: a proponent of the doctrine that black is white. AMBROSE BIERCE WWE is like showbiz boot camp. DEAN AMBROSE Litigant: a person about to give up his skin for the hope of retaining his bone. AMBROSE BIERCE Ocean: A body of water occupying about two-thirds of a world made for man - who has no gills. AMBROSE BIERCE Beauty, n: the power by which a woman charms a lover and terrifies a husband. AMBROSE BIERCE OCEAN, n. A body of water occupying about two-thirds of a world made for man -- who has no gills. AMBROSE BIERCE ZEAL, n. A certain nervous disorder afflicting the young and inexperienced. A passion that goeth b... AMBROSE BIERCE Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important th... AMBROSE REDMOON For every man there is something in the vocabulary that would stick to him like a second skin. His e... AMBROSE BIERCE Education, n.: That which discloses the wise and disguises from the foolish their lack of understand... AMBROSE BIERCE Love, n. A temporary insanity curable by marriage. AMBROSE BIERCE Quotation, n: The act of repeating erroneously the words of another. AMBROSE BIERCE Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret. AMBROSE BIERCE You don't have to be stupid to be a Christian, ... but it probably helps. AMBROSE BIERCE Ocean , n. A body of water occupying about two-thirds of a world made for man — who has no g... AMBROSE BIERCE Fidelity. A virtue peculiar to those who are about to be betrayed. AMBROSE BIERCE Incompatibility. In matrimony a similarity of tastes, particularly the taste for domination. AMBROSE BIERCE The world has suffered more from the ravages of ill-advised marriages than from virginity. AMBROSE BIERCE Marriage. The state or condition of a community consisting of a master, a mistress and two slaves, m... AMBROSE BIERCE Bride. A woman with a fine prospect of happiness behind her. AMBROSE BIERCE What is a democrat? One who believes that the republicans have ruined the country. What is a republi... AMBROSE BIERCE Nominee. A modest gentleman shrinking from the distinction of private life and diligently seeking th... AMBROSE BIERCE Photograph is a picture painted by the sun without instruction in art. It is a little better than th... AMBROSE PIERCE Learning. The kind of ignorance distinguishing the studious. AMBROSE BIERCE Consult. To seek another's approval of a course already decided on. AMBROSE BIERCE Happiness is an agreeable sensation, arising from contemplating the misery of others. AMBROSE BIERCE Life. A spiritual pickle preserving the body from decay. AMBROSE BIERCE Acquaintance: a degree of friendship called slight when its object is poor or obscure, and intimate ... AMBROSE BIERCE An acquaintance is someone we know well enough to borrow from, but not well enough to lend to. AMBROSE BIERCE A temporary insanity curable by marriage. AMBROSE BIERCE The flowers anew, returning seasons bring! But beauty faded has no second spring. AMBROSE PHILIPS Beauty. The power by which a woman charms a lover and terrifies a husband. AMBROSE BIERCE Let me tell you what a writer is. A writer takes comprehensive views, holds large convictions, makes... AMBROSE BIERCE Corporation. An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility. AMBROSE BIERCE Don't steal; thou it never thus compete successfully in business. Cheat. AMBROSE BIERCE Philanthropist. A rich (and usually bald) old gentleman who has trained himself to grin while his co... AMBROSE BIERCE Age. That period of life in which we compound for the vices that remain by reviling those we have no... AMBROSE BIERCE Success is the one unpardonable sin against one's fellows. AMBROSE BIERCE Education is that which discloses to the wise and disguises from the foolish their lack of understan... AMBROSE BIERCE Destiny. A tyrant's authority for crime and a fool's excuse for failure. AMBROSE BIERCE Edible. Good to eat and wholesome to digest, as a worm to a toad, a toad to a snake, a snake to a pi... AMBROSE BIERCE Knowledge is the small part of ignorance that we arrange and classify. AMBROSE BIERCE Erudition. Dust shaken out of a book into an empty skull. AMBROSE BIERCE Saint. A dead sinner revised and edited. AMBROSE BIERCE Insurrection. An unsuccessful revolution; disaffection's failure to substitute misrule for bad gover... AMBROSE BIERCE Revolution is an abrupt change in the form of misgovernment. AMBROSE BIERCE Impiety. Your irreverence toward my deity. AMBROSE BIERCE Deliberation. The act of examining one's bread to determine which side it is buttered on. AMBROSE BIERCE Take not God's name in vain; select a time when it will have effect. AMBROSE BIERCE A prejudice is a vagrant opinion without visible means of support. AMBROSE BIERCE Bigot, one who is obstinately and zealously attached to an opinion that you do not entertain. AMBROSE BIERCE Pray: To ask the laws of the universe to be annulled on behalf of a single petitioner confessedly un... AMBROSE BIERCE Eulogy. Praise of a person who has either the advantages of wealth and power, or the consideration t... AMBROSE BIERCE Admiration; is our polite recognition of another's resemblance to ourselves. AMBROSE BIERCE To bother about the best method of accomplishing an accidental result. AMBROSE BIERCE A route of many roads leading from nowhere to nothing. AMBROSE BIERCE All are lunatics, but he who can analyze his delusion is called a philosopher. AMBROSE BIERCE A lowly virtue whereby mediocrity achieves a glorious success. AMBROSE BIERCE Peace, in international affairs, is a period of cheating between two periods of fighting. AMBROSE BIERCE Patience, n. A minor form of dispair, disguised as a virtue. AMBROSE BIERCE Optimism. The doctrine or belief that everything is beautiful, including what is ugly. AMBROSE BIERCE An optimist is a proponent of the doctrine that black is white. AMBROSE BIERCE They say that hens do cackle loudest when there is nothing vital in the eggs they have laid. AMBROSE BIERCE Calamities are of two kinds: misfortune to ourselves, and good fortune to others. AMBROSE BIERCE Heaven lies about us in our infancy and the world begins lying about us pretty soon afterward. AMBROSE BIERCE As records of courts and justice are admissible, it can easily be proved that powerful and malevolen... AMBROSE BIERCE Before undergoing a surgical operation, arrange your temporal affairs. You may live. AMBROSE BIERCE Politeness -- The most acceptable hypocrisy. AMBROSE BIERCE A man is known by the company he organizes. AMBROSE BIERCE Logic, n. The art of thinking and reasoning in strict accordance with the limitations and incapaciti... AMBROSE BIERCE Enthusiasm. A distemper of youth, curable by small doses of repentance in connection with outward ap... AMBROSE BIERCE Egotist. A person of low taste, more interested in himself than me. AMBROSE BIERCE An egotist is a person interested in himself than in me! AMBROSE BIERCE Duty. That which sternly impels us in the direction of profit, along the line of desire. AMBROSE BIERCE Opiate. An unlocked door in the prison of Identity. It leads into the jail yard. AMBROSE BIERCE Insurance: An ingenious modern game of chance in which the player is permitted to enjoy the comforta... AMBROSE BIERCE Backbite. To speak of a man as you find him when he can't find you. AMBROSE BIERCE Alien. An American sovereign in his probationary state. AMBROSE BIERCE Miss: A title with which we brand unmarried women to indicate that they are in the market. Miss, Mis... AMBROSE BIERCE Witticism. A sharp and clever remark, usually quoted and seldom noted; what the Philistine is please... AMBROSE BIERCE Wit. The salt with which the American humorist spoils his intellectual cookery by leaving it out. AMBROSE BIERCE A body of water occupying about two-thirds of a world made for man, who has no gills. AMBROSE BIERCE Impartial. Unable to perceive any promise of personal advantage from espousing either side of a cont... AMBROSE BIERCE Dog. A kind of additional or subsidiary Deity designed to catch the overflow and surplus of the worl... AMBROSE BIERCE Physician -- One upon whom we set our hopes when ill and our dogs when well. AMBROSE BIERCE Divorce. A resumption of diplomatic relations and rectification of boundaries. AMBROSE BIERCE Consul. In American politics, a person who having failed to secure an office from the people is give... AMBROSE BIERCE Forgetfulness. A gift of God bestowed upon debtors in compensation for their destitution of conscien... AMBROSE BIERCE A cynic is a blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, and not as they ought to be. AMBROSE BIERCE Confidante. One entrusted by A with the secrets of B confided to herself by C. AMBROSE BIERCE The gambling known as business looks with austere disfavor upon the business known as gambling. AMBROSE BIERCE Future. That period of time in which our affairs prosper, our friends are true and our happiness is ... AMBROSE BIERCE A funeral is a pageant whereby we attest our respect for the dead by enriching the undertaker. AMBROSE BIERCE An accident is an inevitable occurrence due to the actions of immutable natural laws. AMBROSE BIERCE To apologize is to lay the foundation for a future offense. AMBROSE BIERCE An account, mostly false, of events, mostly unimportant, which are brought about by rulers, mostly k... AMBROSE BIERCE Historian. A broad -- gauge gossip. AMBROSE BIERCE Habit is a shackle for the free. AMBROSE BIERCE Laughter -- An interior convulsion, producing a distortion of the features and accompanied by inarti... AMBROSE BIERCE Litigant. A person about to give up his skin for the hope of retaining his bones. AMBROSE BIERCE Appeal. In law, to put the dice into the box for another throw. AMBROSE BIERCE Trial. A formal inquiry designed to prove and put upon record the blameless characters of judges, ad... AMBROSE BIERCE Experience is a revelation in the light of which we renounce our errors of youth for those of age. AMBROSE BIERCE Experience. The wisdom that enables us to recognize in an undesirable old acquaintance the folly tha... AMBROSE BIERCE The act of repeating erroneously the words of another. AMBROSE BIERCE PROPHECY, n. The art and practice of selling one's credibility for future delivery. AMBROSE BIERCE When in Rome, do as Rome does. AMBROSE BIERCE To be positive: to be mistaken at the top of one's voice. AMBROSE BIERCE Censor, n. An officer of certain governments, employed to supress the works of genius. Among the Rom... AMBROSE BIERCE Bore -- a person who talks when you wish him to listen. AMBROSE BIERCE Ambition. An overmastering desire to be vilified by enemies while living and made ridiculous by frie... AMBROSE BIERCE Irreligion. The principal one of the great faiths of the world. AMBROSE BIERCE Faith: Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things withou... AMBROSE BIERCE Architect. One who drafts a plan of your house, and plans a draft of your money. AMBROSE BIERCE Genealogy. An account of one's descent from an ancestor who did not particularly care to trace his o... AMBROSE BIERCE Absurdity. A statement or belief manifestly inconsistent with one's own opinion. AMBROSE BIERCE Abstainer. A weak man who yields to the temptation of denying himself a pleasure. AMBROSE BIERCE Woman absent is woman dead. AMBROSE BIERCE The covers of this book are too far apart. AMBROSE BIERCE Abscond. To move in a mysterious way, commonly with the property of another. AMBROSE BIERCE Creditor. One of a tribe of savages dwelling beyond the Financial Straits and dreaded for their deso... AMBROSE BIERCE A coward is one who in a perilous emergency thinks with his legs. AMBROSE BIERCE Conservative. A statesman who is enamored of existing evils, as distinguished from a Liberal, who wi... AMBROSE BIERCE The Senate is a body of old men charged with high duties and misdemeanors. AMBROSE BIERCE Compromise. Such an adjustment of conflicting interests as gives each adversary the satisfaction of ... AMBROSE BIERCE Alliance. In international politics, the union of two thieves who have their hands so deeply inserte... AMBROSE BIERCE ALLIANCE, n. In international politics, the union of two thieves who have their hands so deeply in... AMBROSE BIERCE Acquaintance is a degree of friendship called slight when its object is poor and obscure, and intima... AMBROSE BIERCE ARSENIC, n. A kind of cosmetic greatly affected by the ladies, whom it greatly affects in turn."Eat ... AMBROSE BIERCE