PROPHECY, n. The art and practice of selling one's credibility for future delivery.

Cynic, n: a blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be.

Be as decent as you can. Don't believe without evidence. Treat things divine with marked respect — don't have anything to do with them. Do not trust humanity without collateral security; it will play you some scurvy trick. Remember that it hurts no one to be treated as an enemy entitled to respect until he shall prove himself a friend worthy of affection. Cultivate a taste for distasteful truths. And, finally, most important of all, endeavor to see things as they are, not as they ought to be.

Bride: A woman with a fine prospect of happiness behind her.

A bird in the hand is worth what it will bring.

RITE, n. A religious or semi-religious ceremony fixed by law, precept or custom, with the essential oil of sincerity carefully squeezed out of it.

War: A by-product of the arts of peace.