文档介绍：THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY
THE DEVIL'S
DICTIONARY
by AMBROSE BIERCE
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THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY
AUTHOR'S PREFACE
_The Devil's Dictionary_ was begun in a weekly paper in 1881, and
wascontinued in a desultory way at long intervals until thatyear a
large part of it was published in covers with the title _TheCynic's Word
Book_, a name which the author had not the power toreject or happiness to
quote the publishers of thepresent work:
"This more reverent title had previously been forced upon him bythe
religious scruples of the last newspaper in which a part of thework had
appeared, with the natural consequence that when it came outin covers the
country already had been flooded by its imitators with ascore of 'cynic'
books -- _The Cynic's This_, _The Cynic's That_, and_The Cynic's
t' of these books were merely stupid, thoughsome of them
added the distinction of them, theybrought the word
'cynic' into disfavor so deep that any book bearingit was discredited in
advance of publication."
Meantime, too, some of the enterprising humorists of the countryhad
helped themselves to such parts of the work as served their needs,and
many of its definitions, anecdotes, phrases and so forth, e more
or less current in popular explanation ismade, not with any
pride of priority in trifles, but in simple denialof possible charges of
plagiarism, which is no merelyresuming his own the author hopes
to be held guiltless by those towhom the work is addressed -- enlightened
souls who prefer dry winesto sweet, sense to sentiment, wit to humor and
clean English to slang.
A conspicuous, and it is hope not unpleasant, feature of the bookis its
abundant illustrative quotations from eminent poets, chief ofwhom is that
learned and ingenius cleric, Father Gassalasca Jape,., whose lines bear
his Father Jape's kindlyencouragement and assistance the author
of the prose text is greatlyindebted.
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