INCOMPOSSIBLE, adj. Unable to exist if something else exists. Two things are incompossible when the world of being has scope enough for one of them, but not enough for both - as Walt Whitman's poetry and God's mercy to man.
Interpretation
Incompossible refers to contrasting ideas that cannot coexist simultaneously.
Ambrose Bierce's definition of 'incompossible' suggests that certain concepts or ideals cannot exist together in harmony because they inherently contradict each other. He uses the example of Walt Whitman's poetry and the notion of God's mercy, highlighting the tension between artistic expression and divine principles, illustrating the complexities of existence where some beliefs may be mutually exclusive.
In practice
During a philosophy class, one might quote this to discuss the conflicts between art and morality.
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.
Every parting gives a foretaste of death, every reunion a hint of the resurrection.
Even when repressed, inequality grows; only the man who is below the average in economic ability desires equality; those who are conscious of superior ability desire freedom, and in the end superior ability has its way.
If nothing were substituted for everything, it would still be too much and too little.
Who ARE You?" This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. Alice replied, rather shyly, I--I hardly know, sir, just at present-- at least I know who I WAS when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.
Acceptance means: For now, this is what this situation, this moment, requires me to do, and so I do it willingly.
Evil is a violation of purpose, the purpose of your creator and mine.
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