"Generous, adj. Originally this word meant noble by birth and was rightly applied to a great multitude of persons. It now means noble by nature and is taking a bit of a rest."

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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.”

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"To sleep in peace, and resume a nightmare when one wakes, is a highly undesirable reversal of the natural order."

— John Wyndham

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"If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear."

— George Orwell

performing arts1903–1950

#freedom

"Our failure to discern a universal good does not record any lack of insight or ingenuity, but merely demonstrates that nature contains no moral messages framed in human terms. Morality is a subject fo…"

— Stephen Jay Gould

Science1941–2002

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