A rabbit's foot may bring good luck to you, but it brought none to the rabbit.
Interpretation
This quote highlights the irony of superstition and the often overlooked consequences of pursuing luck.
Ambrose Bierce's quote reflects on the nature of luck and superstition, illustrating the irony that while people might believe in lucky charms, such as a rabbit's foot, the true cost of these beliefs often falls upon the innocentβlike the rabbit itself. It serves as a commentary on how actions taken for personal gain can sometimes harm others, prompting us to reconsider the ethics behind our pursuit of fortune.
In practice
In a speech about ethical decision-making, one might use this quote to illustrate how personal gain can unintentionally harm others.
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.
What kind of times are they, when A talk about trees is almost a crime Because it implies silence about so many horrors?
The difficulties which I meet with in order to realize my existence are precisely what awaken and mobilize my activities, my capacities.
The subliminal mind receives and remembers all those touches that delight the soul. Our soul takes joy in this right touching by the Essence of all experience.
If the descent is thus sometimes performed in sorrow, it can also take place in joy.
The world is a kind of spiritual kindergarten where millions of bewildered infants are trying to spell "God" with the wrong blocks.
The whole is more than the sum of its parts.
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