GUILLOTINE, n. A machine which makes a Frenchman shrug his shoulders with good reason. In his great work on _Divergent Lines of Racial Evolution_, the learned Professor Brayfugle argues from the prevalence of this gesture -- the shrug -- among Frenchmen, that they are descended from turtles and it is simply a survival of the habit of retracing the head inside the shell. It is with reluctance that I differ with so eminent an authority, but in my judgment (as more elaborately set forth and enforced in my work entitled _Hereditary Emotions_ -- lib. II, c. XI) the shrug is a poor foundation upon which to build so important a theory, for previously to the Revolution the gesture was unknown. I have not a doubt that it is directly referable to the terror inspired by the guillotine during the period of that instrument's activity.

Famous Quotes / Ambrose Bierce

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Ambrose Bierce: "GUILLOTINE, n. A machine which makes a Frenchman shrug his shoulders with good reason.
In his great work on _Divergent Lines of Racial Evolution_, the learned Professor Brayfugle argues from the prevalence of this gesture -- the shrug -- among Frenchmen, that they are descended from turtles and it is simply a survival of the habit of retracing the head inside the shell. It is with reluctance that I differ with so eminent an authority, but in my judgment (as more elaborately set forth and enforced in my work entitled _Hereditary Emotions_ -- lib. II, c. XI) the shrug is a poor foundation upon which to build so important a theory, for previously to the Revolution the gesture was unknown. I have not a doubt that it is directly referable to the terror inspired by the guillotine during the period of that instrument's activity."

Quotations about

Activity	Among	Argues	Authority
Brayfugle	Build	Descended	Differ
Directly	Divergent	Doubt	During
Elaborately	Eminent	Emotions	Enforced
Entitled	Evolution	Forth	Foundation
Frenchman	Frenchmen	Gesture	Good
Great	Guillotine	Habit	Head
Hereditary	Important	Inside	Inspired
Instruments	Judgment	Learned	Lines
Machine	Makes	Period	Poor
Prevalence	Previously	Professor	Racial
Reason	Referable	Reluctance	Retracing
Revolution	Shell	Shoulders	Shrug
Simply	Survival	Terror	Theory
Turtles	Unknown	Upon	Work

Quotes by Power Quotations

GUILLOTINE, n. A machine which makes a Frenchman shrug his shoulders with good reason. In his great work on _Divergent Lines of Racial Evolution_, the learned Professor Brayfugle argues from the prevalence of this gesture -- the shrug -- among Frenchmen, that they are descended from turtles and it is simply a survival of the habit of retracing the head inside the shell. It is with reluctance that I differ with so eminent an authority, but in my judgment (as more elaborately set forth and enforced in my work entitled _Hereditary Emotions_ -- lib. II, c. XI) the shrug is a poor foundation upon which to build so important a theory, for previously to the Revolution the gesture was unknown. I have not a doubt that it is directly referable to the terror inspired by the guillotine during the period of that instrument's activity. - Ambrose Bierce