The Literature Network - Ambrose Bierce's Definitions in The Devil's Dictionary P

Ambrose Bierce's Definitions in The Devil's Dictionary P

Content courtesy of

From: CCPA Monitor
Date: 20060501
Author:Bierce, Ambrose

PAINTING: The art of protecting flat surfaces from the weather-and exposing them to the critics.

PATIENCE: A minor form of despair, disguised as a virtue.

PATRIOTISM: In Dr. Johnson's famous dictionary, patriotism is defined as the last resort of a scoundrel. With all due respect to an enlightened but inferior lexicographer, I beg to submit that it is the first.

PEACE: In international affairs, a period of cheating between two periods of fighting.

PERSEVERANCE: A lowly virtue whereby mediocrity achieves an inglorious success.

PHYSICIAN: One upon whom we set our hopes when ill and our dogs ...

Read the rest of this article with a Free Trial at HighBeam Research.

Other Articles on Ambrose Bierce

LONELINESS LURKED BEHIND BIERCE'S BARBED WIT.(COMMENTARY)(Review)

AMBROSE BIERCE AND HIS WICKED ONE-LINERS

Ambrose Gwinett Bierce

Ambrose Bierce: Alone in Bad Company

Of the people, by the people ...(Ambrose Bierce )

Essential Bierce.(Essential Bierce: Selection of the Writings of Ambrose Bierce)(Brief article)(Book review)

War Without Glory - Ambrose Bierce's bitter, venomous stories look unflinchingly at war's hellish brutality and cruel ironies, contradicting traditional views.(Shadows of Blue and Gray: The Civil War Writings of Ambrose Bierce)(Book Review)

WAR TRANSFORMED WRITER'S IDEALISM INTO DISILLUSIONMENT.(Spotlight)(Review)

AMBROSE BIERCE: A SOLE SURVIVOR, BITS OF AUTOBIOGRAPHY.(Review)

Find More Articles

About Our Articles: We've partnered with Highbeam Research to provide these article excerpts for your research needs. However, due to copyright laws, we cannot publish the whole article. To view these articles in full length you'll need to use the link above to access the free trial at Highbeam.