Eloquence, n. The art of orally persuading fools that white is the color that it appears to be. It includes the gift of making any color appear white. – Ambrose Bierce
A person who doubts himself is like a man who would enlist in the ranks of his enemies and bear arms agains himself. He makes his failure certain by himself being the first person to be convinced of it. – Ambrose Bierce
Appeal. In law, to put the dice into the box for another throw. – Ambrose Bierce
Patience, n. A minor form of dispair, disguised as a virtue. – Ambrose Bierce
Science is out of the reach of morals, for her eyes are fixed upon eternal truths. Art is out of the reach of morals, for her eyes are fixed upon things beautiful and immortal and ever-changing. To morals belong the lower and less intellectual spheres. – Oscar Wilde, The Critic as Artist, 1891