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Ambrose Bierce

1842 - 1914

Ambrose Bierce is best known for his short story An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge (1891), which stands out for its distinctive narrative style and unexpected ending. Another notable work is The Devil’s Dictionary (1906), a satirical collection of definitions that uses irony and humor to examine social beliefs and traditions. His collection Tales of Soldiers and Civilians is also widely recognized for its vivid portrayal of wartime experiences and the psychological effects of conflict.

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War is Gods way of teaching Americans geography

— Ambrose Bierce

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Ambrose Bierce

PAIN, n. An uncomfortable frame of mind that may have a physical basis in something that is being done to the body, or may be purely mental, caused by the good fortune of another.

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Ambrose Bierce

Perseverance – a lowly virtue whereby mediocrity achieves an inglorious success.

Average Perseverance Success Virtue Wry

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Ambrose Bierce

Saint: A dead sinner revised and edited.

History Religion Reputation Skeptical Wry

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Ambrose Bierce

Fidelity – a virtue peculiar to those who are about to be betrayed.

Betrayal Bitter Character Cheating Virtue

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Ambrose Bierce

Mayonnaise: One of the sauces which serve the French in place of a state religion.

Culture Food Playful Satire

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Ambrose Bierce

ARMOR, n. The kind of clothing worn by a man whose tailor is a blacksmith.

Armor Humor Language Playful

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Ambrose Bierce

A person who doubts himself is like a man who would enlist in the ranks of his enemies and bear arms agains himself. He makes his failure certain by himself being the first person to be convinced of it.

Convincing Doubt Encouraging Enemy Man Person

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Ambrose Bierce

LAWYER, n. One skilled in circumvention of the law.

Critical ethics Expertise Law Sardonic

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Ambrose Bierce

Coward: One who, in a perilous emergency, thinks with his legs.

Cautionary Courage Fear Judgment Playful

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Ambrose Bierce

Fear has no brains; it is an idiot.

Brain Cautionary Fear Idiot

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Ambrose Bierce

The partisan strife in which the people of the country are permitted to periodically engage does not tend to the development of ugly traits of character, but merely discloses those that preexist.

Country Critical Development Engagement Existence People Strife

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Ambrose Bierce

Age, with his eyes in the back of his head, thinks it wisdom to see the bogs through which he has floundered.

Age Head See Thinking Wisdom Wry

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Ambrose Bierce

Sweater, n.: garment worn by child when its mother is feeling chilly.

Children Cold Compassionate Feeling Love Mom Playful

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Ambrose Bierce

Money. A blessing that is of no advantage to us excepting when we part with it.

Money Reflective Spending Value Wry

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Ambrose Bierce

Logic: The art of thinking and reasoning in strict accordance with the limitations and incapacities of the human misunderstanding.

Humility Logic Reason Skeptical Wry

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Ambrose Bierce

Pray: To ask the laws of the universe to be annulled on behalf of a single petitioner confessedly unworthy.

Confession Law Prayer Skeptical Universe Worth

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Ambrose Bierce

Eulogy. Praise of a person who has either the advantages of wealth and power, or the consideration to be dead.

mortality Praise Reputation Sardonic

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Ambrose Bierce

Vote: the instrument and symbol of a freeman’s power to make a fool of himself and a wreck of his country.

Cautionary Critical Democracy Responsibility Voting

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Ambrose Bierce

Conversation, n.: A vocal competition in which the one who is catching his breath is called the listener.

Breathe Conversation Listening Vocal Wry

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Ambrose Bierce

Optimism – the doctrine or belief that everything is beautiful, including what is ugly.

Beautiful Belief Critical Optimism Ugly

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About Ambrose Bierce

Notable Works

Ambrose Bierce was a brutally honest American journalist, Union Civil War veteran, and pioneer of realist fiction famed for his dark, macabre storytelling. Nicknamed "Bitter Bierce" for his devastating wit and deeply pessimistic worldview, his raw experiences in combat profoundly shaped his unsentimental writing style. In late 1913, at the age of 71, he traveled to Mexico to observe the ongoing revolution and vanished without a trace, cementing his life as one of American literature's greatest mysteries.

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