A review by izabrekilien
The Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce
5.0
I read it so, so many years ago, I wanted to see if I would still enjoy it and I did ! Bierce certainly was a misanthropist, but he had such wit and dark humor !
A few examples of his definitions (I had to choose, that was hard, couldn't rewrite the book here ; you'll have to read it and please, don't miss the letter W with the definition of Woman) :
B - Bore : A person who talks when you wish him to listen.
I - Impartial : Unable to perceive any promise of personal advantage from espousing either side of a controversy or adopting either of two conflicting opinions.
E - Elysium : An imaginary delightful country which the ancients foolishly believed to be inhabited by the spirits of the good. This ridiculous and mischievous fable was swept off the face of the earth by the early Christians - may their souls be happy in Heaven !
R -Responsibility : A detachable burden easily shifted to the shoulders of God, Fate, Fortune, Luck or one's neighbor. In the days of astrology, it was customary to unload it upon a star.
C - Connoisseur : A specialist who knows everything about something and nothing about anything else. An old wine-bibber having been smashed in a railway collision, some wine was pouted on his lips to revive him. "Pauillac, 1873", he murmured and died.
E - Epitaph : An inscription on a tomb, showing that virtues acquired by death have a retroactive effet.
A few examples of his definitions (I had to choose, that was hard, couldn't rewrite the book here ; you'll have to read it and please, don't miss the letter W with the definition of Woman) :
B - Bore : A person who talks when you wish him to listen.
I - Impartial : Unable to perceive any promise of personal advantage from espousing either side of a controversy or adopting either of two conflicting opinions.
E - Elysium : An imaginary delightful country which the ancients foolishly believed to be inhabited by the spirits of the good. This ridiculous and mischievous fable was swept off the face of the earth by the early Christians - may their souls be happy in Heaven !
R -Responsibility : A detachable burden easily shifted to the shoulders of God, Fate, Fortune, Luck or one's neighbor. In the days of astrology, it was customary to unload it upon a star.
C - Connoisseur : A specialist who knows everything about something and nothing about anything else. An old wine-bibber having been smashed in a railway collision, some wine was pouted on his lips to revive him. "Pauillac, 1873", he murmured and died.
E - Epitaph : An inscription on a tomb, showing that virtues acquired by death have a retroactive effet.