OPIATE, n. An unlocked door in the prison of Identity. It leads into the jail yard.
Interpretation
This quote suggests that the concept of identity can be restrictive, yet the idea of an 'opiate' offers a means of escape or a different perspective.
Ambrose Bierce's quote presents 'opiate' as a metaphor for an unlocked door that provides an escape from the confines of one's identity. The reference to a 'prison' emphasizes the notion that identity can be a limiting factor, often constraining individuals to societal expectations or self-imposed definitions. The 'jail yard' symbolizes freedom outside of these confines, illustrating that through the lens of an opiate—whether viewed as a substance or an idea—one can find moments of liberation from the rigidities of identity.
In practice
In a discussion about the nature of self, this quote can highlight the paradox of identity.
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.
The Communism of the English intellectual is something explicable enough. It is the patriotism of the deracinated.
The scripture in times of disputes is like an open town in times of war, which serves in differently the occasions of both parties.
It is the hour of pearl—the interval between day and night when time stops and examines itself.
To posit the existence of a Creator requires only reason. To posit the existence of a good God requires faith.
Stated baldly, charity certainly means one of two things–pardoning unpardonable acts, or loving unlovable people.
Hypocrisy means deliberately pretending. None of us lives up to his ideals; none of us is all that he would like to be or all that he could be in Christ. But that is not hypocrisy. Falling short of our ideals is not hypocrisy. Pretending we have reached our ideals when we have not - that is hypocrisy.
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