ART

Below the term “ART” from the Devil’s Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce.

I placed this term (and I am still working on placing each and every of the close to 1000 terms of the Devils Dictionary) on a separate page that you can easily share in your social networks.

But this is only on part of the story: Feel free to comment on the terms, to shed lights about persons mentioned, to write your own definition – now that more 100 years have gone by since the publishing of the Devil’s Dictionary. If you have images that could contribute to this common adventure – please get in contact with me via email – dictionarynet123@gmail.com.

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ART, n. This word has no definition. Its origin is related as follows by the ingenious Father Gassalasca Jape, S.J. One day a wag – what would the wretch be at? – Shifted a letter of the cipher RAT, And said it was a god’s name! Straight arose Fantastic priests and postulants (with shows, And mysteries, and mummeries, and hymns, And disputations dire that lamed their limbs) To serve his temple and maintain the fires, Expound the law, manipulate the wires. Amazed, the populace that rites attend, Believe whate’er they cannot comprehend, And, inly edified to learn that two Half-hairs joined so and so (as Art can do) Have sweeter values and a grace more fit Than Nature’s hairs that never have been split, Bring cates and wines for sacrificial feasts, And sell their garments to support the priests.