Poems List

Elysium, n . An imaginary delightful country which the ancients foolishly believed to be inhabited by the spirits of the good. This ridiculous and mischievous fable was swept off the face of the earth by the early Christians—may their souls be happy in Heaven!

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Effect, n . The second of two phenomena which always occur together in the same order. The first, called a Cause, is said to generate the other—which is no more sensible than it would be for one who has never seen a dog except in the pursuit of a rabbit to declare the rabbit the cause of the dog.

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Diplomacy, n . The patriotic art of lying for one’s country.

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Distress, n . A disease incurred by exposure to the prosperity of a friend.

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Dictionary, n . A malevolent literary device for cramping the growth of language and making it hard and inelastic. This dictionary, however, is a most useful work.

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Demagogue, n . A political opponent.

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Deliberation, n . The act of examining one’s bread to determine which side it is buttered on.

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Dawn, n . The time when men of reason go to bed. Certain old men prefer to rise at about that time, taking a cold bath and a long walk, with an empty stomach, and otherwise mortifying the flesh. They then point with pride to these practices as the cause of their sturdy health and ripe years; the truth being that they are hearty and old, not because of their habits, but in spite of them. The reason we find only robust persons doing this thing is that it has killed all the others who have tried it.

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Corrupt, adj . In politics, holding an office of trust or profit.

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Consult, v . To seek another’s approval of a course already decided on.

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Born on June 24, 1842, in Meigs County, Ohio, Ambrose Bierce enlisted in the Union Army in 1861 and fought in some of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. After the war, he moved to California, where he became an influential journalist and newspaper editor. Bierce gained fame for his scathing style and his distrust of hypocrisy and pretense. His most famous work is 'The Devil's Dictionary,' a collection of satirical and witty definitions that expose human and social flaws. His short stories, such as 'An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,' are notable for their dark atmosphere, surprising endings, and psychological exploration. Bierce mysteriously disappeared in Mexico in 1913, while traveling to cover the Mexican Revolution, leaving behind a lasting and enigmatic literary legacy.