Faith: Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel.
Interpretation
Faith is believing in something without needing evidence, often relying on trust in the speaker's knowledge.
This quote by Ambrose Bierce critiques the concept of faith, suggesting that it is an irrational belief that relies on the assertions of those who may lack true understanding. It implies that faith is based on accepting claims about the unknown without the backing of evidence, raising questions about the nature of belief and its validity in personal and societal contexts.
In practice
This quote can be used in a discussion about the role of faith in religion.
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.
All the efforts of the human mind cannot exhaust the essence of a single fly.
Partial truths or half-truths are often more insidious than total falsehoods.
Freedom from labor itself is not new; it once belonged among the most firmly established privileges of the few. In this instance, it seems as though scientific progress and technical developments had been only taken advantage of to achieve something about which all former ages dreamed but which none had been able to realize.
Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
There is no odor so bad as that which arises from goodness tainted.
Some judge of authors' names, not works, and then Nor praise nor blame the writings, but the men.
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