# XIV explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Ambrose Bierce.

## What happens

A brief aphorism comparing a man with no legs to a man with one leg, suggesting that the legless man is better because he is less able to commit wicked acts.

## Themes in this chapter

### Hypocrisy and Corruption

The aphorism implies a cynical view of human nature, suggesting that physical limitation reduces one's capacity for wickedness.

## Key lines

> A man without any legs is better than a man with one leg; not because there is less of him, but because he cannot get about to enact so much wickedness.

A legless man is morally superior to a one-legged man, not due to his smaller size, but because his immobility prevents him from committing as many evil deeds.

_The narrator uses a paradoxical comparison to critique human morality and the relationship between physical ability and sin._

## Links

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