PASTIME, n. A device for promoting dejection. Gentle exercise for intellectual debility.
Interpretation
The quote humorously critiques pastimes as activities that distract from deeper intellectual engagement.
Ambrose Bierce's definition of 'pastime' satirically suggests that engaging in trivial activities serves more to foster feelings of dejection and a lack of mental stimulation. It implies that many leisure activities are merely distractions that prevent individuals from engaging in more meaningful pursuits, and it cleverly reflects Bierce's often cynical view of human nature and society.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of meaningful engagement, one might quote Bierce to emphasize the futility of trivial pursuits.
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.
Now, for my younger viewers out there, a book is something we used to have before the internet. Itβs sort of a blog for people with attention spans.
I'm not a man who constantly thinks up jokes. But I think it's very important to be able to see the funny side of life and its joyful dimension and not to take everything too tragically. I'd also say it's necessary for my ministry. A writer once said that angels can fly because they don't take themselves too seriously. Maybe we could also fly a bit if we didn't think we were so important.
The capacity of human beings to bore one another seems to be vastly greater than that of any other animal.
When I find someone I respect writing about an edgy, nervous wine that dithered in the glass, I cringe. When I hear someone I don't respect talking about an austere, unforgiving wine, I turn a bit austere and unforgiving myself. When I come across stuff like that and remember about the figs and bananas, I want to snigger uneasily. You can call a wine red, and dry, and strong, and pleasant. After that, watch out.
The New York papers have long known that no large question is ever really settled until I have been consulted.
Indigestion is charged by God with enforcing morality on the stomach.
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