 | The collected works of Ambrose Bierce |  |
23
Altar, n.
[_]
The place whereon the priest formerly raveled out the small intestine of the sacrificial victim for purposes of divination and cooked its flesh for the gods. The word is now seldom used, except with reference to the sacrifice of their liberty and peace by a male and a female fool.
[They stood before the altar and supplied]
They stood before the altar and suppliedThe fire themselves in which their fat was fried.
In vain the sacrifice!—no god will claim
An offering burnt with an unholy flame.
M. P. Nopput.
| The collected works of Ambrose Bierce | |