Daily Inspiration Quote by Ambrose Bierce

Bierce’s genius here is the way he turns a respectable civic verb into a confession. “Consult” sounds procedural, democratic, even humble: you gather views, you weigh evidence, you deliberate. Bierce yanks the mask off. In his version, consultation is theater performed after the real decision has already been made, a ritual designed to launder authority into legitimacy. The joke lands because it’s not really a joke; it’s an x-ray.

The definition is built like a trap. “To seek approval” implies openness, but the final clause, “already decided upon,” reveals the sleight of hand. What’s being “sought” isn’t guidance; it’s cover. Bierce is skewering a timeless managerial and political habit: invite stakeholders to the table, let them speak, then proceed exactly as planned, armed with the claim that you listened. Consultation becomes a tool of power, not a check on it.

Context matters. Bierce wrote in the Gilded Age, when corruption was blatant, industry was consolidating, and public-facing virtue often served private deals. As a journalist with a satirist’s knife, he had front-row seats to the gap between institutional language and institutional behavior. His intent isn’t merely to mock hypocrisy; it’s to teach readers to distrust polished verbs. If the decision is settled, “consultation” isn’t participation. It’s the sound of a door closing politely.