Ambrose Bierce · The Devil’s Dictionary
“ADMIRATION, n. Our polite recognition of another’s resemblance to ourselves.”
| Source | Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary (1906) |
| Date | 1906 |
| Wording | Exact — newspaper column definition, collected 1906 |
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About This Line
Bierce spent decades writing satirical definitions for newspaper columns before collecting them as The Devil’s Dictionary. His entry for admiration turns a compliment inside out: what we call admiring someone, he says, is really us spotting ourselves in them. Flattering to no one — which was exactly his method.
Why We Carry This Line
A mirror disguised as a compliment. Bierce wasn’t on my radar until he was — and now he won’t leave.
