"Sabbath, n. A weekly festival having its origin in the fact that God made the world in six days and was arrested on the seventh."

Ambrose Bierce Literature See all quotes by Ambrose Bierce →

React to this quote

More by Ambrose Bierce

“Mayonnaise, n. One of the sauces that serve the French in place of a state religion.”

“Conservative, n. A statesman enamored of existing evils, as opposed to a Liberal, who wants to replace them with others.”

“Politics, n. A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage.”

“Cannon, n. An instrument employed in the rectification of national boundaries.”

“Resign, v. To renounce an honor for an advantage. To renounce an advantage for a greater advantage.”

“An army's bravest men are its cowards. The death which they would not meet at the hands of the enemy they will meet at the hands of their officers, with never a flinching.”

Resonant Thoughts

"All these poets are ascetics, monks and priests. They despise the flesh and all ballast. This world holds no enchantment for them.. .Poetry for them is the ultimate expression of the essence of things…"

— Hugo Ball

Literature1886–1927

#religion

"I have painted like an ape. The ape phase is in all my work. My first lick of paint is the ape phase, from that I grow towards a more intellectual phase, involving the lines, the rhythm. From that pha…"

— Karel Appel

Art1921–2006

#Human Nature

"We're like a really nice drink. We help people get through the day--we make life a little sunnier. I don't think we have any profound effect. If anybody has had a profound effect, it's The Beatles, an…"

— Billy Corgan

Music1967

#time

"The Falklands War continues to fascinate me. What a conflict! What an unlikely pair of antagonists! The British have always fought, to be sure. No nation on Earth can be taken seriously in historical …"

— Gene Wolfe

Literature1931–2019

#war