A man is the sum of his ancestors; to reform him you must begin with a dead ape and work downward through a million graves. He is like the lower end … - Ambrose Bierce

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A man is the sum of his ancestors; to reform him you must begin with a dead ape and work downward through a million graves. He is like the lower end of a suspended chain; you can sway him slightly to the right or the left, but remove your hand and he falls into line with the other links.

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About Ambrose Bierce

Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842 – date of death uncertain; probably late 1912 or early 1914) was an American satirist, critic, short story writer, editor and journalist. He is perhaps most famous for his serialized mock lexicon, The Devil's Dictionary, in which, over the years, he scathed American culture and accepted wisdom by pointing out alternate, more practical definitions for common words.

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Also Known As

Birth Name: Ambrose Gwinnetter Bierice
Alternative Names: Dod Grile William Herman Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce
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Additional quotes by Ambrose Bierce

ABDOMEN, n. [1.] The temple of the god Stomach, in whose worship, with sacrificial rights, all true men engage. From women this ancient faith commands but a stammering assent. They sometimes minister at the altar in a half-hearted and ineffective way, but true reverence for the one deity that men really adore they know not. If woman had a free hand in the world's marketing the race would become graminivorous. [2.] A shrine enclosing the object.

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TELEPHONE n. An invention of the devil which abrogates some of the advantages of making a disagreeable person keep his distance.

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