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<title>The Devil’s Dictionary: Preface</title>
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<h1>Preface</h1>
<p class="firstpara"><i>The Devil’s Dictionary</i>
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 <i>The Cynic’s Word Book</i>,
a name which the author had not the power to reject or happiness to approve. To
quote the publishers of the present work:</p>
<p class="indentpara">“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—<i>The Cynic’s This</i>, <i>The Cynic’s That</i>,
and <i>The Cynic’s t’Other</i>. 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.”</p>
<p class="indentpara">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.</p>
<p class="indentpara">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.</p>
<p style="text-align: right">A. B.</p>
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