Music and Poetry Online - The Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce

The Devil's Dictionary
..............................................................by Ambrose Bierce

NOTE:
The Devil's Dictionary, a sardonic partial lexicon of the English Language, is perhaps, along with handful of stories, the most enduring work of Ambrose Bierce (1842- ca. 1914), a Civil War veteran who established himself as one of the most influential American journalists of the latter nineteenth century as well as a noted writer of short stories and comic verse. Bierce introduced satirical definitions into his columns in 1875 under the heading "The Demon's Dictionary" ; the present title was used for installments published in periodicals from 1881 until 1906 and was given to the selection reproduced here when it was first published as Volume VII of The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce in 1911 (as Bierce mentions in his Preface, written for that volume, a portion of it [comprising the entries for letters A-L] had been published in1906 under the bowdlerized title The Cynic's Word Book).

These biting definitions display "Bitter Bierce"'s skill as an epigrammatist and wit, as well as his knack for a variety of verse forms (and ability to devise outlandish pseudonyms). Seldom has The Devil's Dictionary been ,atched for relentless causticity, particularly in matters of rligion and romance, tow of the author's favorite subjects. Two years after its publication in book form Bierce ventured into revolution-torn Mexico and was never heard again.

PREFACE:
The Devil's Dictionary was begun in a weekly paper in 1881, and was continued in a desultory way and at long intervals until 1906. In taht 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 power to reject nor the happiness to approve. To quote the publishers of the recent work:

"This more reverent title had previously been forced upon him by the religious scruples of the last newspaper in which 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 merly stupid though some of them added the distinction of silliness. Among them, they brought the word 'cynic' into disfavor so deep that nay book bearing it was discarded in advance publication."

Meantime, too, some of the enterprising humorists of the country had helped themselves to such parts of the owrk 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 hoped not unpleasing, feature of the book is its abundant illustrative quotations from eminent poets, chief of whom is that learned and ingenious 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.

A Dover Thrift Edition | General Editor: Stanley Appelbaum | Editor of this Volume: Philip Smith
Copyright 1993 by Dover Publications, Inc. | All rights reserved under Pan American And International Copyright Conventions