AFFLICTION, n. An acclimatizing process preparing the soul for another and bitter world.
Interpretation
Afflictions teach us resilience and prepare us for life's challenges.
In this quote, Ambrose Bierce presents affliction as a necessary process that acclimatizes the soul, suggesting that the challenges and hardships we face in life ultimately prepare us for the difficulties that lie ahead. It reflects a philosophical perspective on suffering, viewing it as a fundamental aspect of human existence that shapes our character and moral resilience.
In practice
In a speech about personal growth, you could say, 'As Ambrose Bierce wisely noted, affliction is what prepares our souls for the challenges ahead.'
PALM, n. A species of tree . . . of which the familiar "itching palm" ("Palma hominis") is most widely distributed . . . . This noble vegetable exudes a kind of invisible gum, which may be detected by applying to the bark a piece of gold or silver.
Human nature is pretty well balanced; for every lacking virtue there is a rough substitute that will serve at a pinch--as cunning is the wisdom of the unwise, and ferocity the courage of the coward.
Indigestion: A disease which the patient and his friends frequently mistake for deep religious conviction and concern for the salvation of mankind. As the simple Red Man of the Western Wild put it, with, it must be confessed, a certain force: 'Plenty well, no pray; big belly ache, heap God.'
Disobey n:To celebrate with an appropriate ceremony the maturity of a command
NOUMENON, n. That which exists, as distinguished from that which merely seems to exist, the latter being a phenomenon. The noumenon is a bit difficult to locate; it can be apprehended only by a process of reasoning - which is a phenomenon.
PARDON, v. To remit a penalty and restore to the life of crime. To add to the lure of crime the temptation of ingratitude.
Judges ought to be more leaned than witty, more reverent than plausible, and more advised than confident. Above all things, integrity is their portion and proper virtue.
We have to see that the human person needs the infinite. If God's not there, if the infinite isn't available, the human person creates its own paradises, giving the appearance of 'infinitude' that can only be a lie.
Free speech has been used by the Supreme Court to give immense power to the wealthiest members of our society.
Things we lose have a way of coming back to us in the end, if not always in the way we expect.
Any car which holds together for a whole race is too heavy.
The quality of mercy is not strained
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