Ambrose Bierce
American · 1842–c.1914
American journalist, short story writer, and satirist whose caustic wit earned him the nickname "Bitter Bierce." His Devil's Dictionary redefined the English language through cynicism, and his war stories remain among the most unflinching in American literature.
Wikipedia ↗“What this country needs — what every country needs occasionally — is a good hard bloody war to revive the vice of patriotism on which its existence as a nation depends.”
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“Cynic: a blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be. Hence the custom among the Scythians of plucking out a cynic's eyes to improve his vision.”
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“Painting: the art of protecting flat surfaces from the weather and exposing them to the critic.”
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“Corporation: an ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility.”
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“History: an account mostly false, of events mostly unimportant, which are brought about by rulers mostly knaves, and soldiers mostly fools.”
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“War is God's way of teaching Americans geography.”
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