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 | The collected works of Ambrose Bierce |  |
COMPETITION
The Seraphs came to Christ and said: “Behold!
The man, presumptuous and overbold,
Who boasted that his mercy could excel
Thine own, is dead and on his way to Hell.”
The man, presumptuous and overbold,
Who boasted that his mercy could excel
Thine own, is dead and on his way to Hell.”
Gravely the Savior asked: “What did he do
To make his impious assertion true?”
To make his impious assertion true?”
“He was a Governor, releasing all
The vilest felons ever held in thrall.
No other mortal, since the dawn of time,
Has ever pardoned such a mass of crime!”
The vilest felons ever held in thrall.
No other mortal, since the dawn of time,
Has ever pardoned such a mass of crime!”
Christ smiled benignly on the Seraphim:
“Yet I am victor, for I pardon him.”
“Yet I am victor, for I pardon him.”
| The collected works of Ambrose Bierce | |