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.

The Devil's Dictionary

Mo gui ci dian

Bierce, Ambrose, 1842-1914?

Ambrose Bierce

比爾斯, 著

Lin Yu Cultural Enterprise Co., Ltd.

林鬱文化出版 ; 錦德發行代理

林鬱文化事業有限公司

Chu ban, Tai bei shi, [Tai bei xian]ban qiao shi, 1992[min 81

21 shi ji tu shu guan, 3, Chu ban, Taibei Shi, 1992

21世紀圖書館, 初版, 臺北市, [臺北縣]板橋市, 1992[民81

21世紀圖書館, Chu ban, Taibei Shi, 1992

Taiwan, Taiwan

Translation of: The devil's dictionary.

286 p. : 21 cm
Translation of: The devil's dictionary

2023-06-28