DISCRIMINATE, v.i. To note the particulars in which one person or thing is, if possible, more objectionable than another.
Interpretation
The quote highlights the act of distinguishing negative traits among people or things.
Ambrose Bierce's definition of 'discriminate' emphasizes the critical nature of evaluating and identifying the faults or undesirable qualities in individuals or objects. It suggests that the process of discrimination involves a subjective judgment that examines the particulars where one may be deemed less favorable than another, thus pointing to the nuanced considerations inherent in our perceptions of value and morality.
In practice
This quote can be used in a discussion about social justice and the effects of bias in society.
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.
Be confident small immortals. You are not the only voice that all things utter, nor is there eternal silence in the places where you cannot come.
Modernity: we created youth without heroism, age without wisdom, and life without grandeur
It is inaccurate to say that I hate everything. I am strongly in favor of common sense, common honesty, and common decency. This makes me forever ineligible for public office.
War: a massacre of people who don't know each other for the profit of people who know each other but don't massacre each other.
The angel personifies something new arising from the deep unconscious.
Language is political. That's why you and me, my Brother and Sister, that's why we supposed to choke our natural self into the weird, lying, barbarous, unreal, white speech and writing habits that the schools lay down like holy law.
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