'Devil's Dictionary' definition of 'infidel'

INFIDEL, n. In New York, one who does not believe in the Christian
religion; in Constantinople, one who does. (See GIAOUR.) A kind of
scoundrel imperfectly reverent of, and niggardly contributory to,
divines, ecclesiastics, popes, parsons, canons, monks, mollahs,
voodoos, presbyters, hierophants, prelates, obeah-men, abbes, nuns,
missionaries, exhorters, deacons, friars, hadjis, high-priests,
muezzins, brahmins, medicine-men, confessors, eminences, elders,
primates, prebendaries, pilgrims, prophets, imaums, beneficiaries,
clerks, vicars-choral, archbishops, bishops, abbots, priors,
preachers, padres, abbotesses, caloyers, palmers, curates, patriarchs,
bonezs, santons, beadsmen, canonesses, residentiaries, diocesans,
deans, subdeans, rural deans, abdals, charm-sellers, archdeacons,
hierarchs, class-leaders, incumbents, capitulars, sheiks, talapoins,
postulants, scribes, gooroos, precentors, beadles, fakeers, sextons,
reverences, revivalists, cenobites, perpetual curates, chaplains,
mudjoes, readers, novices, vicars, pastors, rabbis, ulemas, lamas,
sacristans, vergers, dervises, lectors, church wardens, cardinals,
prioresses, suffragans, acolytes, rectors, cures, sophis, mutifs and
pumpums. --Ambrose Bierce

hey theres some cool words in there I had to look up:

caloyers- monks of the Greek Church
santons- "little saint" in Provencal language(?)
obeah- A form of religious belief of African origin, practiced in some parts
of the West Indies, Jamaica, and nearby tropical America, involving sorcery.
palmer- A medieval European pilgrim who carried a palm branch as a token of
having visited the Holy Land.
Abdals- (lit.: servants of Allah) are a group of 70 mysterious beings, only
known to and appointed by Allah. It is through their operations that the
world continues to exist. The Abdals were also a set of Muslim radicals in
Persia.
talapoins- n. - Smallest guenon monkey n. - A Buddhist monk or priest.
vergers- 1. One who carries the verge or other emblem of authority
before a scholastic, legal, or religious dignitary in a procession. 2. One
who takes care of the interior of a church and acts as an attendant during
ceremonies.

>-----Original Message-----
>From: metatuning@yahoogroups.com [mailto:metatuning@yahoogroups.com]On
>Behalf Of Aaron Krister Johnson
>Sent: Sunday, October 30, 2005 3:32 PM
>To: Metatuning
>Subject: [metatuning] 'Devil's Dictionary' definition of 'infidel'
>
>
>INFIDEL, n. In New York, one who does not believe in the Christian
>religion; in Constantinople, one who does. (See GIAOUR.) A kind of
>scoundrel imperfectly reverent of, and niggardly contributory to,
>divines, ecclesiastics, popes, parsons, canons, monks, mollahs,
>voodoos, presbyters, hierophants, prelates, obeah-men, abbes, nuns,
>missionaries, exhorters, deacons, friars, hadjis, high-priests,
>muezzins, brahmins, medicine-men, confessors, eminences, elders,
>primates, prebendaries, pilgrims, prophets, imaums, beneficiaries,
>clerks, vicars-choral, archbishops, bishops, abbots, priors,
>preachers, padres, abbotesses, caloyers, palmers, curates, patriarchs,
>bonezs, santons, beadsmen, canonesses, residentiaries, diocesans,
>deans, subdeans, rural deans, abdals, charm-sellers, archdeacons,
>hierarchs, class-leaders, incumbents, capitulars, sheiks, talapoins,
>postulants, scribes, gooroos, precentors, beadles, fakeers, sextons,
>reverences, revivalists, cenobites, perpetual curates, chaplains,
>mudjoes, readers, novices, vicars, pastors, rabbis, ulemas, lamas,
>sacristans, vergers, dervises, lectors, church wardens, cardinals,
>prioresses, suffragans, acolytes, rectors, cures, sophis, mutifs and
>pumpums. --Ambrose Bierce
>
>
>
>
>
>Meta Tuning meta-info:
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Gotta love old Ambrose!

SOPHISTRY, n.
The controversial method of an opponent, distinguished from one's own
by superior insincerity and fooling. This method is that of the later
Sophists, a Grecian sect of philosophers who began by teaching
wisdom, prudence, science, art and, in brief, whatever men ought to
know, but lost themselves in a maze of quibbles and a fog of words.

DULLARD, n.
A member of the reigning dynasty in letters and life. The Dullards
came in with Adam, and being both numerous and sturdy have overrun
the habitable world. The secret of their power is their insensibility
to blows; tickle them with a bludgeon and they laugh with a
platitude. The Dullards came originally from Boeotia, whence they
were driven by stress of starvation, their dullness having blighted
the crops. For some centuries they infested Philistia, and many of
them are called Philistines to this day. In the turbulent times of
the Crusades they withdrew thence and gradually overspread all
Europe, occupying most of the high places in politics, art,
literature, science and theology. Since a detachment of Dullards came
over with the Pilgrims in the Mayflower and made a favorable report
of the country, their increase by birth, immigration, and conversion
has been rapid and steady. According to the most trustworthy
statistics the number of adult Dullards in the United States is but
little short of thirty millions, including the statisticians. The
intellectual centre of the race is somewhere about Peoria, Illinois,
but the New England Dullard is the most shockingly moral.

--- In metatuning@yahoogroups.com, "Dante Rosati" <dante@i...> wrote:
>
> hey theres some cool words in there I had to look up:
>

interesting that we all got and love copies of this!!!

Aaron Krister Johnson wrote:

>INFIDEL, n. In New York, one who does not believe in the Christian
>religion; in Constantinople, one who does. (See GIAOUR.) A kind of
>scoundrel imperfectly reverent of, and niggardly contributory to,
>divines, ecclesiastics, popes, parsons, canons, monks, mollahs,
>voodoos, presbyters, hierophants, prelates, obeah-men, abbes, nuns,
>missionaries, exhorters, deacons, friars, hadjis, high-priests,
>muezzins, brahmins, medicine-men, confessors, eminences, elders,
>primates, prebendaries, pilgrims, prophets, imaums, beneficiaries,
>clerks, vicars-choral, archbishops, bishops, abbots, priors,
>preachers, padres, abbotesses, caloyers, palmers, curates, patriarchs,
>bonezs, santons, beadsmen, canonesses, residentiaries, diocesans,
>deans, subdeans, rural deans, abdals, charm-sellers, archdeacons,
>hierarchs, class-leaders, incumbents, capitulars, sheiks, talapoins,
>postulants, scribes, gooroos, precentors, beadles, fakeers, sextons,
>reverences, revivalists, cenobites, perpetual curates, chaplains,
>mudjoes, readers, novices, vicars, pastors, rabbis, ulemas, lamas,
>sacristans, vergers, dervises, lectors, church wardens, cardinals,
>prioresses, suffragans, acolytes, rectors, cures, sophis, mutifs and
>pumpums. --Ambrose Bierce
>
>
>
>
>
>Meta Tuning meta-info:
>
>To unsubscribe, send an email to:
>metatuning-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
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>
>You don't have to be a member to post.
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--
Kraig Grady
North American Embassy of Anaphoria Island <http://anaphoria.com/>
The Wandering Medicine Show
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