Just a few more entries from Bierce’s Devil’s Dictionary
“Guilt, n. The condition of one who is known to have committed an indiscretion, as distinguished from the state of him who has covered his tracks… Gull, v.t. To tell sovereign people that if elected you will not steal… Gum, n. A substance greatly used by young women in place of a contented spirit and religious consolation.”
On guilt, I think some people admit to have made serious mistakes, and others are so psychologically “strong” that they don’t care about their mistakes. “We all think we are right.”
On “gull” as being about corrupt politicians, I think after having been through the U.S. Civil War as a soldier, Bierce had a right to be cynical about political authority.
On “gum,” well I think men can be attracted to young women with childish nervous habits . It brings to mind the mind the novel Lolita, but I think most people agree that Lolita was really a girl and not a young woman. It was a novel about child abuse.