In existographies, Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) [RGM:401|1,500+] [HD:43] (FA:143) was an American writer, noted for []
Horror
Bierce, in the horror writing genre, is often grouped with Edgar Poe and Howard Lovecraft.
Atheism
In 1906, Bierce published The Devil's Dictionary, a satirical reformulation of religious terms.
In 2006, free-thought historian Bill Cooke published his Dictionary of Atheism, Skepticism, and Humanism, aims to be a modern upgrade to: Voltaire’s Philosophical Dictionary (1764), Joseph McCabe’s Rationalist Encyclopedia (1948), Beirce’s Devil’s Dictionary (1911), and John Saul’s Doubter’s Companion: a Dictionary of Aggressive Common Sense (1994). [3]
Quotes | By
The following are quotes by Bierce:
“Camels and Christians receive their burdens kneeling.”
— Ambrose Bierce (c.1900), Publication [1]
“Eucharist, n. A sacred feast of the religious sect of Theophagi.A dispute once unhappily arose among the members of this sect as to what it was that they ate. In this controversy some five hundred thousand have already been slain, and the question is still unsettled.”
— Ambrose Bierce (1906), The Devil’s Dictionary [2]
“Faith, n. Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel.”
— Ambrose Bierce (1906), The Devil’s Dictionary [2]
“Infidel, n. In New York, one who does not believe in the Christian religion; in Constantinople, one who does.”
— Ambrose Bierce (1906), The Devil’s Dictionary [2]
“Pray. v. To ask that the laws of the universe be annulled in behalf of a single petitioner, confessedly unworthy.”
— Ambrose Bierce (1906), The Devil’s Dictionary [2]
“Religion, n. A daughter of Hope and Fear, explaining to Ignorance the nature of the Unknowable.”
— Ambrose Bierce (1906), The Devil’s Dictionary [2]
“Saint, n. A dead sinner revised and edited.”
— Ambrose Bierce (1906), The Devil’s Dictionary [2]
“Reverence, n. The spiritual attitude of a man to a god and a dog to a man.”
— Ambrose Bierce (1906), The Devil’s Dictionary [2]
References
1. Haught, James A. (1996). 2000 Years of Disbelief: Famous People with the Courage to Doubt (§:Bierce, 173-76). Prometheus.
2. Ambrose Bierce – FFRF.com.
3. Cooke, Bill. (2006). Dictionary of Atheism, Skepticism, and Humanism. Prometheus Books.
External links
● Ambrose Bierce – Wikipedia.
