IMAGINATION, n. A warehouse of facts, with poet and liar in joint ownership.
Interpretation
Imagination is a blend of truth and fiction, shaped by both facts and creativity.
This quote by Ambrose Bierce suggests that imagination is not purely a realm of fantasy; rather, it coexists with reality. It emphasizes that our capacity to create and envision new ideas is grounded in factual knowledge but can also be influenced by deception and untruths, similar to how a warehouse contains both useful and misleading items.
In practice
Using this quote in a writing workshop to inspire creativity.
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.
Wearing a dress shows I can be as feminine as I want. I'm a heterosexual...big deal, but if I was a homosexual, it wouldn't matter, either.
We prefer self-government with danger to servitude in tranquility.
If we continue to make moral judgements (and whatever we say shall in fact continue) then we must believe that the conscience of man is not a product of nature.
The least of things with a meaning is worth more in life than the greatest of things without it.
I hope for the day when everyone can speak again of God without embarrassment.
Almsgiving, according to the Gospel, is not mere philanthropy; rather it is a concrete expression of charity, a theological virtue that demands interior conversion to love of God and neighbor, in imitation of Jesus Christ, who, dying on the cross, gave his entire self for us.
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