Thursday, January 15, 2026
Grounds for Divorce
Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914?), "The Man and the Snake," The Devil's Dictionary, Tales, & Memoirs, ed. S.T. Joshi (New York: The Library of America, 2011), pp. 160-166 (at 165):
‹Older
Dr. Druring and his wife sat in the library. The scientist was in rare good humor.
"I have just obtained, by exchange with another collector," he said, "a splendid specimen of the ophiophagus."
"And what may that be?" the lady inquired with a somewhat languid interest.
"Why, bless my soul, what profound ignorance! My dear, a man who ascertains after marriage that his wife does not know Greek, is entitled to a divorce. The ophiophagus is a snake which eats other snakes."
