# XIII explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Ambrose Bierce.

## What happens

A brief aphorism suggesting that a man with one leg is superior to a man with two legs because there is less of him.

## Key lines

> A man with but one leg is a better man than a man with two legs, for the reason that there is less of him.

A one-legged man is better than a two-legged man simply because he has less body.

_A paradoxical statement equating physical reduction with moral or qualitative superiority._

## Links

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