YOUTH, n. The Period of Possibility, when Archimedes finds a fulcrum, Cassandra has a following and seven cities compete for the honor of endowing a living Homer.
Interpretation
Youth is characterized by endless possibilities and great potential.
In this quote, Ambrose Bierce highlights youth as a time of vibrant possibilities and opportunities, where great achievements can be envisioned, much like Archimedes finding a fulcrum to move the world, or the cities that competed to honor Homer. This metaphor emphasizes the energy, ambition, and creativity of youth, suggesting that this period holds the key to realizing dreams and making impactful contributions to the world.
In practice
A motivational speaker could use this quote to inspire young audiences at a graduation ceremony.
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 hardest thing about adolescence is that everything seems too big. There's no way to get context or perspective, ..... Pain and joy without limits. No one can live like that forever, so experience finally comes to our rescue. We come to know what we can endure, and also that nothing endures.
I want every day to be life for the living, not just traipsing through it existing. I'm just interested in life and the world and exploring.
One of the hardest things in life to accept is a called third strike.
They're ugly, but those are the facts of life.
Even though I'm seventeen, I guess I still thought this would always be true - that there would always be that lost-and-found, and not the lost-and-still-lost that I am now trapped inside.
I saw that my life was a vast glowing empty page and I could do anything I wanted.
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