Poems List

Pray To ask the laws of the universe to be annulled on behalf of a single petitioner confessedly unworthy.
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Turkey, n. A large bird whose flesh when eaten on certain religious anniversaries has the peculiar property of attesting piety and gratitude. Incidentally, it is pretty good eating.

The Devil’s Dictionary

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Success, n. The one unpardonable sin against one’s fellows.

The Devil’s Dictionary

Heaven, n. A place where the wicked cease from troubling you with talk of their personal affairs, and the good listen with attention while you expound your own.

The Devil’s Dictionary

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Female, n. One of the opposing, or unfair, sex.
Bride, n. A woman with a fine prospect of happiness behind her.
Marriage, n. The state or condition of a community consisting of a master, a mistress, and two slaves, making in all, two.
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Litigation, n. A machine which you go into as a pig and come out of as a sausage.

The Devil’s Dictionary

Academe, n. An ancient school where morality and philosophy were taught. Academy, n. A modern school where football is taught.

The Devil’s Dictionary

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Christmas, n. A day set apart and consecrated to gluttony, drunkenness, maudlin sentiment, gift-taking, public dullness and domestic behavior.

The Devil’s Dictionary

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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.