# CCVIII explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Ambrose Bierce.

## What happens

A brief aphorism suggesting that the impossibility of serving both God and Mammon is a poor excuse for not serving God at all.

## Themes in this chapter

### Hypocrisy and Corruption

The aphorism critiques the hypocrisy of using the conflict between spiritual and material devotion as a justification for abandoning spiritual service.

## Key lines

> That you can not serve God and Mammon is a poor excuse for not serving God.

The fact that one cannot serve both God and wealth is a weak justification for failing to serve God at all.

_The narrator dismisses a common religious excuse, implying that the impossibility of dual loyalty should not lead to total abandonment of spiritual duty._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se/chapters/ccviii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se/chapters