HAND, n. A singular instrument worn at the end of the human arm and commonly thrust into somebody's pocket.
Interpretation
This quote humorously defines a hand as a tool often used to take without permission.
Ambrose Bierce offers a satirical definition of a hand in his work 'The Devil's Dictionary'. By describing a hand as an 'instrument' that is 'thrust into somebody's pocket', he highlights human nature's tendency towards opportunism and theft, suggesting that hands are used more for taking than for giving or helping.
In practice
This quote could be used during a light-hearted discussion about human behavior and ethics.
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.
This was not Aunt Dahlia, my good and kindly aunt, but my Aunt Agatha, the one who chews broken bottles and kills rats with her teeth.
Anybody can be Pope; the proof of this is that I have become one.
Let a smile be your umbrella, and you'll end up with a face full of rain.
You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline. It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer.
Many people would no more think of entering journalism than the sewage business - which at least does us all some good.
Sex, drugs, and insanity have always worked for me, but I wouldn't recommend them for everyone.
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