Faith, n. Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel.
Famous, adj. Conspicuously miserable.
Exception, n. “The exception proves the rule” is an expression constantly upon the lips of the ignorant, who parrot it from one another with never a thought of its absurdity. In the Latin, “exceptio probat regulam” means the exception tests the rule, puts it to the proof, not confirms it. The malefactor who drew the meaning from this excellent dictum and substituted a contrary one of his own exerted an evil power which appears to be immortal.
Eulogy, n. Praise of a person who has either the advantages of wealth and power, or the consideration to be dead.
Esoteric, n. Very particularly abstruse and consummately occult. The ancient philosophies were of two kinds, – exoteric, those that the philosophers themselves could partly understand, and esoteric, those that nobody could understand. It is the latter that have most profoundly affected modern thought and found greatest acceptance in our time.
Epitaph, n. An inscription on a tomb, showing that the virtues acquired by death have a retroactive effect.
Erudition, n. Dust shaken out of a book into an empty skull.
Envelope, n. The coffin of a document; the scabbard of a bill; … the bed-gown of a love-letter.
Epigram, n. A short, sharp saying in prose or verse, frequently characterized by acidity or acerbity and sometimes by wisdom. … “In each human heart there are a tiger, a pig, an ass and a nightingale. Diversity of character is due to their unequal activity.”
Embalm, v. t. To cheat vegetation by locking up the gases upon which it feeds. … Many a dead man who ought now to be ornamenting his neighborʼs lawn as a tree, or enriching his table as a bunch of radishes, is doomed to a long inutility.
Emotion, n. A prostrating disease … sometimes accompanied by a copious discharge of hydrated chloride of sodium from the eyes.
Electricity, n. The power that causes all natural phenomena not known to be caused by something else. It is the same thing as lightning, and its famous attempt to strike Dr. Franklin is one of the most picturesque incidents in that great and good manʼs career.
Elysium, n. An imaginary and delightful country which the ancients foolishly believed to be inhabited by the spirits of the good. This ridiculous and mischievous fable was swept off the face of the earth by the early Christians – may their souls be happy in Heaven!
Egotist, n. A person of low taste, more interested in himself than in me.
Elector, n. One who enjoys the sacred privilege of voting for the man of another manʼs choice.
Edible, adj. Good to eat, and wholesome to digest, as a worm to a toad, a toad to a snake, a snake to a pig, a pig to a man, and a man to a worm.
Editor, n. … A severely virtuous censor, but so charitable withal that he tolerates the virtues of others and the vices of himself.
hamiltonbeck 