The Devil's Dictionary
by
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
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.
