The Devil’s Dictionary was first published in 1906 by the Neale Publishing Company under the title The Cynic’s Word Book (Bierce’s publisher feared the word “Devil” in the title). The definitive edition, under Bierce’s preferred title, appeared as Volume VII of his Collected Works (1911). The entries had been appearing in newspapers and magazines since the 1870s — Bierce worked on the dictionary for over three decades, and the final version contains roughly a thousand definitions.
The form is simple: dictionary entries, alphabetically arranged, each offering Bierce’s corrosive alternative to the standard definition. “ABSURDITY, n. A statement or belief manifestly inconsistent with one’s own opinion.” “ADMIRATION, n. Our polite recognition of another’s resemblance to ourselves.” “BORE, n. A person who talks when you wish him to listen.” “CORPORATION, n. An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility.” “EDUCATION, n. That which discloses to the wise and disguises from the foolish their lack of understanding.” “HISTORY, n. An account mostly false, of events mostly unimportant, which are brought about by rulers mostly knaves, and soldiers mostly fools.”
The definitions operate on multiple levels: they are funny (Bierce’s timing is impeccable), they are bitter (his view of human nature is essentially Hobbesian — people are selfish, vain, and dishonest), and they are philosophically acute (many entries contain genuine insights about language, power, and self-deception). Bierce’s targets include religion, politics, marriage, friendship, commerce, and the law — essentially every institution and relationship through which humans organize their collective existence.
The book’s influence on American humor is enormous: H.L. Mencken, Dorothy Parker, and Ambrose Bierce form a lineage of American misanthropic wit that runs through the twentieth century and into the present.
Collecting The Devil’s Dictionary
First edition as The Cynic’s Word Book (Neale Publishing, New York, 1906): Cloth.
Definitive edition (Volume VII, Collected Works, Neale Publishing, 1911): Cloth.
Market values:
- The Cynic’s Word Book, first edition, fine: $300–$800
- Very good: $100–$300
- Collected Works Vol. VII, fine: $150–$400