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.'
Interpretation
This quote humorously critiques how people sometimes mistake physical discomfort for spiritual or existential concern.
Ambrose Bierce’s quote satirizes the tendency of individuals to confuse their bodily ailments with deep philosophical or religious convictions. By using the metaphor of indigestion and the humorous wisdom of a 'Red Man', Bierce highlights how people often interpret their discomfort as a moral or spiritual crisis, suggesting that sometimes what we perceive as serious may simply be a reflection of our physical state.
In practice
This quote could be used in a talk about the importance of distinguishing between physical discomfort and spiritual fulfillment.
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.
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.
Kiss. n. A word invented by the poets as a rhyme for "bliss".
I would like to take you seriously, but to do so would affront your intelligence.
The reason so many people turned up at his funeral is that they wanted to make sure he was dead.
No, what he didn't like about heroes was that they were usually suicidally gloomy when sober and homicidally insane when drunk.
Humanity I love you because when you're hard up you pawn your intelligence to buy a drink.
With this face, I need all the deals I can get.
I turned on the pillow with a little moan, and at this juncture Jeeves entered with the vital oolong. I clutched at it like a drowning man at a straw hat.
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