“Politeness, n. The most acceptable hypocrisy.”
The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
Help us to complete the source, original and additional information
Ambrose Bierce 204
American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabu… 1842–1914Related quotes
“Politics, n. Strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles.”
The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
Context: Politics, n. A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage.
Letter to James Baldwin (21 November 1962).
General sources
Context: In politics, love is a stranger, and when it intrudes upon it nothing is being achieved except hypocrisy. All the characteristics you stress in the Negro people: their beauty, their capacity for joy, their warmth, and their humanity, are well-known characteristics of all oppressed people. They grow out of suffering and they are the proudest possession of all pariahs. Unfortunately, they have never survived the hour of liberation by even five minutes. Hatred and love belong together, and they are both destructive; you can afford them only in private and, as a people, only so long as you are not free.
“Admiration, n. Our polite recognition of another's resemblance to ourselves.”
The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
About the Darfur conflict, Sudanese President Confrontation Is Million Times Better http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQuFZaswX0M August 2006
From a conversational exchange with Harold Begbie, as cited in Master Workers, Begbie, Methuen & Co. (1906), p. 177.
Early career years (1898–1929)
Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790)
