ARISTOCRACY, n. Government by the best men. (In this sense the word is obsolete; so is that kind of government.) Fellows that wear downy hats and clean shirts --guilty of education and suspected of bank accounts.

Quote by Ambrose Bierce

Topics: Government Quotes

Absurdity, n.: A statement or belief manifestly inconsistent with one's own opinion.

Absurdity, n.: A statement or belief manifestly inconsistent with one's own opinion.

Alien - an American sovereign in his probationary state.

Alien - an American sovereign in his probationary state.

DOG, n. A kind of additional or subsidiary Deity designed to catch the overflow and...

DOG, n. A kind of additional or subsidiary Deity designed to catch the overflow and...

Childhood: the period of human life intermediate between the idiocy of infancy and the folly...

Childhood: the period of human life intermediate between the idiocy of infancy and the folly...

Death is not the end. There remains the litigation over the estate.

Death is not the end. There remains the litigation over the estate.

Men become civilized, not in proportion to their willingness to believe, but in proportion to...

Men become civilized, not in proportion to their willingness to believe, but in proportion to...

Consult: To seek approval for a course of action already decided upon.

Consult: To seek approval for a course of action already decided upon.

A person who doubts himself is like a man who would enlist in the ranks...

A person who doubts himself is like a man who would enlist in the ranks...

Alliance - in international politics, the union of two thieves who have their hands so...

Alliance - in international politics, the union of two thieves who have their hands so...

Irreligion - the principal one of the great faiths of the world.

Irreligion - the principal one of the great faiths of the world.

PATRIOTISM, n. Combustible rubbish read to the torch of any one ambitious to illuminate his...

PATRIOTISM, n. Combustible rubbish read to the torch of any one ambitious to illuminate his...

Admiration, n. Our polite recognition of another's resemblance to ourselves.

Admiration, n. Our polite recognition of another's resemblance to ourselves.

In our civilization, and under our republican form of government, intelligence is so highly honored...

In our civilization, and under our republican form of government, intelligence is so highly honored...

Patience, n. A minor form of dispair, disguised as a virtue.

Patience, n. A minor form of dispair, disguised as a virtue.

QUOTIENT, n. A number showing how many times a sum of money belonging to one...

QUOTIENT, n. A number showing how many times a sum of money belonging to one...

ADMINISTRATION, n. An ingenious abstraction in politics, designed to receive the kicks and cuffs due...

ADMINISTRATION, n. An ingenious abstraction in politics, designed to receive the kicks and cuffs due...

Destiny: A tyrant's authority for crime and a fool's excuse for failure.

Destiny: A tyrant's authority for crime and a fool's excuse for failure.

Who never doubted, never half believed. Where doubt is, there truth is - it is...

Who never doubted, never half believed. Where doubt is, there truth is - it is...

Enthusiasm - a distemper of youth, curable by small doses of repentance in connection with...

Enthusiasm - a distemper of youth, curable by small doses of repentance in connection with...

Ocean: A body of water occupying about two-thirds of a world made for man -...

Ocean: A body of water occupying about two-thirds of a world made for man -...