LAOCOON, n. A famous piece of antique scripture representing a priest of that name and his two sons in the folds of two enormous serpents. The skill and diligence with which the old man and lads support the serpents and keep them up to their work have been justly regarded as one of the noblest artistic illustrations of the mastery of human intelligence over brute inertia.

The Devil's Dictionary - With a Preface by the Author and a Short Biography of Ambrose Bierce (ed. Read Books Ltd, 2016) - ISBN: 9781473350182