The Devil’s Dictionary994 terms |
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« Hypochondriasis · Ichor »
- Hypocrite
- n. One who, professing virtues that he does not respect,
secures the advantage of seeming to be what he despises.
I is the first letter of the alphabet, the first word of the language,
the first thought of the mind, the first object of affection. In
grammar it is a pronoun of the first person and singular number. Its
plural is said to be We, but how there can be more than one myself
is doubtless clearer the grammarians than it is to the author of this
incomparable dictionary. Conception of two myselfs is difficult, but
fine. The frank yet graceful use of “I” distinguishes a good writer
from a bad; the latter carries it with the manner of a thief trying to
cloak his loot.