THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY Ambrose Bierce - Sunny Hills High School

For peace is a blessing," the White Man said.
The Savage concurred, and that weapon interred,
With imposing rites, in the White Man's head.
John Lukkus
Ambrose Bierce The Devil’s Dictionary
HATRED, n. A sentiment appropriate to the occasion of another's
superiority.
HEAD‐MONEY, n. A capitation tax, or poll‐tax.
In ancient times there lived a king
Whose tax‐collectors could not wring
From all his subjects gold enough
To make the royal way less rough.
For pleasure's highway, like the dames
Whose premises adjoin it, claims
Perpetual repairing. So
The tax‐collectors in a row
Appeared before the throne to pray
Their master to devise some way
To swell the revenue. "So great,"
Said they, "are the demands of state
Page | 132