无论是学还是问，都缺不了一个交流互动的平台，虽素来不喜 follow suit ，但写博客这风，是快哉风，我自然欣然跟之。不喜欢去太热闹的场所，但很向往有一圈志趣相投的朋友谈天说地。终日忙茫，狗苟蝇营，友人各奔东西，这种乐趣也难得寻觅。书读些，也有些感想，翻译做些，教些，也有感触，平日也随记在本子上，现在能点滴拿出来，与众人共议，探讨，也不失人间一桩快事！

————写在沪江开博第一天

读英美文学的时候，看过一本叫 The Devil’s Dictionary ，美国人 Ambrose Bierce 所著，里面充满了 cynical, satirical 的定义，‘警句’，读来令人发噱，有时也令人深思，特连载一段时间，与大家共享。

A

 

 

 

ABASEMENT, n.  A decent and customary mental attitude in the presence

 

of wealth of power.  Peculiarly appropriate in an employee when

 

addressing an employer.

 

 

ABILITY, n.  The natural equipment to accomplish some small part of

 

the meaner ambitions distinguishing able men from dead ones.  In the

 

last analysis ability is commonly found to consist mainly in a high

 

degree of solemnity.  Perhaps, however, this impressive quality is

 

rightly appraised; it is no easy task to be solemn.

 

 

 

ABNORMAL, adj.  Not conforming to standard.  In matters of thought and

 

conduct, to be independent is to be abnormal, to be abnormal is to be

 

detested.

 

ABRUPT, adj.  Sudden, without ceremony, like the arrival of a cannon-

 

shot and the departure of the soldier whose interests are most

 

affected by it.  Dr. Samuel Johnson beautifully said of another

 

author's ideas that they were "concatenated without abruption."

 

 

ABSENT, adj.  Peculiarly exposed to the tooth of detraction; vilifed;

 

hopelessly in the wrong; superseded in the consideration and affection

 

of another.

 

 

  To men a man is but a mind.  Who cares

 

  What face he carries or what form he wears?

 

  But woman's body is the woman.  O,

 

  Stay thou, my sweetheart, and do never go,

 

  But heed the warning words the sage hath said:

 

  A woman absent is a woman dead.

 

 

Jogo Tyree

 

 

ABSOLUTE, adj.  Independent, irresponsible.  An absolute monarchy is

 

one in which the sovereign does as he pleases so long as he pleases

 

the assassins.  Not many absolute monarchies are left, most of them

 

having been replaced by limited monarchies, where the sovereign's

 

power for evil (and for good) is greatly curtailed, and by republics,

 

which are governed by chance.

 

 

 

ABSTAINER, n.  A weak person who yields to the temptation of denying

 

himself a pleasure.  A total abstainer is one who abstains from

 

everything but abstention, and especially from inactivity in the

 

affairs of others.

 

 

 

  Said a man to a crapulent youth:  "I thought

 

      You a total abstainer, my son."

 

  "So I am, so I am," said the scrapgrace caught --

 

      "But not, sir, a bigoted one."

 

 

ACADEME, n.  An ancient school where morality and philosophy were

 

taught.

 

 

ACADEMY, n.  [from ACADEME]   A modern school where football is

 

taught.

(有所裁减，也不欲置解说，有所得在莞尔之间即可）