"The Bitter Bierce". The triumphant march of cynical reason. The American writer Ambrose Bierce (1842-Christmas/New Year 1913/14) not only had a sharp tongue but also a keen pen. He was one of the most colorful figures in 19th-century literary America - the personification of provocation and a spiteful cynic who spared no topic. Whether it was about the general, minor, or major weaknesses of humankind, nothing was sacred from his scorn. He became famous with his "Devil's Dictionary," a collection of caustic and wittily pointed aphorisms.