Dawn: When men of reason go to bed.
Interpretation
This quote suggests that rationality often diminishes during nighttime, possibly alluding to the irrational thoughts that can arise in the dark.
Ambrose Bierce's quote highlights the contrast between logic and the nighttime, implying that when the day ends, so does a man's reason. It reflects on the idea that darkness can lead to confusion or irrationality, as the rational thoughts we hold during daylight hours may dissipate when faced with the unknown and subconscious fears of night.
In practice
During a discussion about fear of the dark, one could use this quote to emphasize how nighttime can provoke irrational fears.
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.
Laws to protect 'public health' are potentially infinite, especially once they no longer have to be supported by any research whatsoever.
A country cannot simultaneously prepare and prevent war.
The thing that brings people to wail at a wall, or face Mecca, or to go to church, is a search for that feeling of purity.
In any institution-factory, university, health center, or whatever-there are a variety of interests that ought to be represented in decision-making: the work force itself, the community in which it is located, users of its products or services, institutions that compete for the same resources. These interests should be directly represented in democratic structures that displace and eliminate private ownership of the means of production or resources, an anachronism with no legitimacy.
In the midway of this our mortal life,_x000D_ _x000D_ I found me in a gloomy wood, astray,_x000D_ _x000D_ Gone from the path direct.
The final test of a gentleman is his respect for those who can be of no possible service to him.
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