Preface

by Ambrose Bierce

　　The Devil's Dictionarywas begun in a weekly paper in 1881, and was continued in a desultoryway at long intervals until 1906. In that year a large part of it waspublished in covers with the title The Cynic's Word Book, a namewhich the author had not the power to reject or happiness to approve.To quote the publishers of the present work: "This more reverenttitle had previously been forced upon him by the religious scruples ofthe last newspaper in which a part of the work had appeared, with thenatural consequence that when it came out in covers the country alreadyhad been flooded by its imitators with a score of 'cynic' books -- TheCynic's This, The Cynic's That, and The Cynic's Other.Most of these books were merely stupid, though some of them added thedistinction of silliness. Among them, they brought the word "cynic"into disfavor so deep that any book bearing it was discredited in advanceof publication. Meantime, too, some of the enterprising humorists of thecountry had helped themselves to such parts of the work as served theirneeds, and many of its definitions, anecdotes, phrases and so forth, hadbecome more or less current in popular speech. This explanation is made,not with any pride of priority in trifles, but in simple denial of possiblecharges of plagiarism, which is no trifle. In merely resuming his ownthe 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 hopenot unpleasant, feature of the book is its abundant illustrative quotationsfrom eminent poets, chief of whom is that learned and ingenius cleric,Father Gassalasca Jape, S.J., whose lines bear his initials. To FatherJape's kindly encouragement and assistance the author of the prose textis greatly indebted.

　　Ambrose Bierce