A man who piously shuts himself up to meditate upon the sin of wickedness and to keep it fresh in his mind joins a brotherhood of awful examples.
Interpretation
This quote suggests that excessive focus on evil or wrongdoing can lead one to become desensitized to it, rather than promoting moral integrity.
Ambrose Bierce highlights the dangers of fixating on negativity and wrongdoing. By concentrating solely on the 'sin of wickedness,' an individual risks becoming part of a negative cycle, where one might internalize the very immorality they wish to critique. This notion reflects the idea that true moral awareness and growth come from understanding and addressing issues constructively rather than dwelling on them without resolution.
In practice
In a lecture about ethics, one could use this quote to illustrate the importance of maintaining a positive focus rather than fixating on moral failures.
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.
We are conscious that religions cannot solve the economic, political and social problems of this earth.
To study Buddhism is to study ourselves. To study ourselves is to forget ourselves.
We have known for a long time that Prince Charles' empty sails are so rigged as to be swelled by any passing waft or breeze of crankiness and cant. He fell for the fake anthropologist Laurens van der Post. He was bowled over by the charms of homeopathic medicine. He has been believably reported as saying that plants do better if you talk to them in a soothing and encouraging way
Skepticism relieved two terrible diseases that afflicted mankind: anxiety and dogmatism.
Every criticism, judgment, diagnosis, and expression of anger is the tragic expression of an unmet need.
But it doesn't take a thousand men to open a door, my lord." "It might to keep it open.
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