Ambrose Bierce Appreciation Thread

[oldTireWater]

If you're not familiar with Ambrose Bierce let me tantalize you with this definition from The Devils Dictionary:

NEGRO, n. The pièce de résistance in the American political problem. Representing him by the letter n, the Republicans begin to build their equation thus: "Let n = the white man." This, however, appears to give an unsatisfactory solution.

Bear in mind this was written in the 19th century so the meaning of "Republican" is not what it is today.


https://www.thedevilsdictionary.com/c.html

 

[Cherry Eyed Hamster]

I’ve been on a Bierce-binge lately. I wish more people read works of his outside of An Occurrence on Owl-Creek Ridge, which is a great story but he’s vastly overlooked as a writer of the macabre in favor of Lovecraft and Poe.

Also the best, most based cynic.

 

[Vect]

I have a copy of the Devil's Dictionary with great Ralph Steadman illustrations - strikingly timeless observations as well.

Bore, n.: A person who talks when you wish him to listen.

 

[oldTireWater]

I’ve been on a Bierce-binge lately. I wish more people read works of his outside of An Occurrence on Owl-Creek Ridge, which is a great story but he’s vastly overlooked as a writer of the macabre in favor of Lovecraft and Poe.

Also the best, most based cynic.

That was required reading in middle school when I was a kid. I think that's why so many people are familiar with it. My grandfather was a big fan and I inherited all his books which expanded my familiarity.

My personal favorite definition:

LOGIC, n.The art of thinking and reasoning in strict accordance with the limitations and incapacities of the human misunderstanding. The basis of logic is the syllogism, consisting of a major and a minor premise and a conclusion—thus:
Major Premise: Sixty men can do a piece of work sixty times as quickly as one man.
Minor Premise: One man can dig a post-hole in sixty seconds; therefore—
Conclusion: Sixty men can dig a post-hole in one second.
This may be called the syllogism arithmetical, in which, by combining logic and mathematics, we obtain a double certainty and are twice blessed.

 

[Cherry Eyed Hamster]

Here are some of my favorite definitions from The Devil’s Dictionary:

Dentist, n. A prestidigitator who, putting metal into your mouth, pulls coins out of your pocket.

Education, n. That which discloses to the wise and disguises from the foolish their lack of understanding.

History, n. An account mostly false, of events mostly unimportant, which are brought about by rulers mostly knaves, and soldiers mostly fools

Lawyer, n. One skilled in circumvention of the law.

Saint, n. A dead sinner revised and edited.

And finally…

Misfortune, n. The kind of fortune that never misses

 

[Tingle]

As a big fan of early American lit, sci-fi and horror, I have a lot of respect for the work he did both irl and in experimenting with fiction. Severely overlooked compared to other contemporaries of his time. His stuff is all free to read online and definitely worth looking over, plus a large portion of it is in the short story format too.

I’ve been on a Bierce-binge lately. I wish more people read works of his outside of An Occurrence on Owl-Creek Ridge, which is a great story but he’s vastly overlooked as a writer of the macabre in favor of Lovecraft and Poe.

Also the best, most based cynic.

Lovecraft even cites him as a great horror writer in one of his essays, and both he and Robert W Chambers were inspired by his work (specifically An Inhabitant of Carcosa).

 

[oldTireWater]

The Damned Thing is one of his horror themed short stories that may have influenced Lovecraft's Color out of Space.

 

[AnOminous]

If you're not familiar with Ambrose Bierce let me tantalize you with this definition from The Devils Dictionary:

Ambrose Bierce is literally fucking God. He was possibly the most absolute master of the short story form, not just for the obvious Owl Creek Bridge everyone knows, but for things like Moxon's Master as well. His shorts were stripped to the bone, without a single unnecessary word, and brutal.

I also like that he drove some shitty poet to suicide and then laughed about it.

His pre-literature career involved insane courage in the Civil War and literally charging and getting a headshot. He survived that. He went back to fight some more. This guy was a real motherfucker. This was literally a guy who got shot in the brain and was still the smartest motherfucker alive in his time after that.

He detested Communism, but Jack London, an open socialist, was one of his best friends.

And then he picked one of the best deaths possible. He disappeared with no trace and how he ended up, we don't know.

"If you hear of my being stood up against a Mexican stone wall and shot to rags please know that I think that a pretty good way to depart this life. It beats old age, disease, or falling down the cellar stars. To be a gringo in Mexico — ah, that is euthanasia."

Nobody ever heard shit about him afterwards. My guess? He went up to some Pancho Villa faggot, talked some shit, caught a bullet. Because that is exactly the way this madman would have chosen to die.

The Damned Thing is one of his horror themed short stories that may have influenced Lovecraft's Color out of Space.

Pretty sure he also invented Carcosa.

 

[Tablet County]

I knew about Abrose Bierce and Owl Creek Bridge but for some reason never realized that Bierce wrote Owl Creek Bridge. I mostly knew him for Haita the Shepherd, a kinda mid short story with the first instance of the name Hastur in fiction.

 

[Frostnipped Todger]

"If you hear of my being stood up against a Mexican stone wall and shot to rags please know that I think that a pretty good way to depart this life. It beats old age, disease, or falling down the cellar stars. To be a gringo in Mexico — ah, that is euthanasia."

When I read this, I knew that I wanted to go out the same way.

 

[AnOminous]

Bear in mind this was written in the 19th century so the meaning of "Republican" is not what it is today.

He had another related definition which is amazingly relevant to Current Year.

AFRICAN​

-n.

A nigger that votes our way.