by
AMBROSE BIERCE
Copyright 1911 by Albert and Charles Boni, Inc. A
Public Domain Text, Copyright Expired
PREFACE
The Devil's Dictionary was begun in a weekly paper in 1881,
and was continued in a desultory way at long intervals until 1906. In that
year a large part of it was published in covers with the title The Cynic's
Word Book, a name which the author had not the power to reject or happiness
to approve. To quote the publishers of the present work:
"This more reverent title had previously been forced upon him by
the religious scruples of the last newspaper in which a part of the work
had appeared, with the natural consequence that when it came out in covers
the country already had been flooded by its imitators with a score of 'cynic'
books -- The Cynic's This, The Cynic's That, and The Cynic's
t'Other. Most of these books were merely stupid, though some of them
added the distinction of silliness. Among them, they brought the word 'cynic'
into disfavor so deep that any book bearing it was discredited in advance
of publication."
Meantime, too, some of the enterprising humorists of the country
had helped themselves to such parts of the work as served their needs,
and many of its definitions, anecdotes, phrases and so forth, had become
more or less current in popular speech. This explanation is made, not with
any pride of priority in trifles, but in simple denial of possible charges
of plagiarism, which is no trifle. In merely resuming his own the author
hopes to be held guiltless by those to whom the work is addressed -- enlightened
souls who prefer dry wines to sweet, sense to sentiment, wit to humor and
clean English to slang.
A conspicuous, and it is hope not unpleasant, feature of the book
is its abundant illustrative quotations from eminent poets, chief of whom
is that learned and ingenius cleric, Father Gassalasca Jape, S.J., whose
lines bear his initials. To Father Jape's kindly encouragement and assistance
the author of the prose text is greatly indebted.
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Contents
A B C
D E F
G H I
J K L
M N O
P Q R
S T U
V W X
Y Z
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