Three more Ambrose Bierce definitions/jokes
“Namby-pamby, adj. Having the quality of magazine poetry. (See FLUMMERY.)
Magazines are interesting. They seem to be easier for people to read than books and usually have nice pictures. I guess it is a matter of balance. Magazines can contain a lot of intelligence and accurate reporting. But they can also contain a lot of fluff.
“Neighbor, n. One whom we are commanded to love as ourselves, and who does all he knows how to make us disobedient.”
Late last year, I had a non-violent dispute with downstairs neighbors that seriously disrupted my life. I don’t really hate them now for what they did, but I did really hate them at the time. I think it is okay to hate people sometimes, if you are not physically violent with them. I get along well enough with my neighbors now.
“Nirvana, n. In the Buddhist religion, a state of pleasurable annihilation awarded to the wise, particularly to to those wise enough to understand it.”
I think what Bierce is talking about here is Freud’s concept of thanatos. It is the idea that you just sometimes want to die. One of T.S. Eliot’s most famous poems “The Wasteland” begins with a quote about wanting to die. “Nirvana” was the name of a famous grunge band from Washington state in the 1990s. I lived in the the lead singer/songwriter’s hometown a few months. I suppose the west coast U.S. has been more influenced by East Asian philosophy/religion than the rest of the rest of the country. Bierce spent the last part of his life on the West Coast.