Belladonna, n.: In Italian a beautiful lady; in English a deadly poison. A striking example of the essential identity of the two tongues.

Quote by Ambrose Bierce

Topics: Beauty Quotes, Language Quotes

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...

PUSH, n. One of the two things mainly conducive to success, especially in politics. The...

PUSH, n. One of the two things mainly conducive to success, especially in politics. The...

FUNERAL, n. A pageant whereby we attest our respect for the dead by enriching the...

FUNERAL, n. A pageant whereby we attest our respect for the dead by enriching the...

Consul - in American politics, a person who having failed to secure an office from...

Consul - in American politics, a person who having failed to secure an office from...

Reconsider, v. To seek a justification for a decision already made.

Reconsider, v. To seek a justification for a decision already made.

The slightest acquaintance with history shows that powerful republics are the most warlike and unscrupulous...

The slightest acquaintance with history shows that powerful republics are the most warlike and unscrupulous...

Amnesty, n. The state's magnanimity to those offenders whom it would be too expensive to...

Amnesty, n. The state's magnanimity to those offenders whom it would be too expensive to...

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

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

Immortality: A toy which people cry for, And on their knees apply for, Dispute, contend...

Immortality: A toy which people cry for, And on their knees apply for, Dispute, contend...

Experience - the wisdom that enables us to recognise in an undesirable old acquaintance the...

Experience - the wisdom that enables us to recognise in an undesirable old acquaintance the...

RECOUNT, n. In American politics, another throw of the dice, accorded to the player against...

RECOUNT, n. In American politics, another throw of the dice, accorded to the player against...

Saint: A dead sinner revised and edited.

Saint: A dead sinner revised and edited.

Bride: A woman with a fine prospect of happiness behind her.

Bride: A woman with a fine prospect of happiness behind her.

WASHINGTONIAN, n. A Potomac tribesman who exchanged the privilege of governing himself for the advantage...

WASHINGTONIAN, n. A Potomac tribesman who exchanged the privilege of governing himself for the advantage...

Bore: a person who talks when you wish him to listen.

Bore: a person who talks when you wish him to listen.

Pain: an uncomfortable frame of mind that may have a physical basis in something that...

Pain: an uncomfortable frame of mind that may have a physical basis in something that...

The hardest tumble a man can make is to fall over his own bluff.

The hardest tumble a man can make is to fall over his own bluff.

BRANDY, n. A cordial composed of one part thunder-and-lightning, one part remorse, two parts bloody...

BRANDY, n. A cordial composed of one part thunder-and-lightning, one part remorse, two parts bloody...

Excess in all other Things whatever, as well as in Meat and Drink, is also...

Excess in all other Things whatever, as well as in Meat and Drink, is also...

And had turned their rivers into blood; and their floods, that they could not drink.

And had turned their rivers into blood; and their floods, that they could not drink.