The Devil’s Dictionary · Chapter
U explained
This chapter presents a series of satirical definitions for words beginning with the letter U, including 'Ubiquity,' 'Ugliness,' 'Ultimatum,' 'Un-American,' 'Unction,' 'Understanding,' 'Unitarian,' 'Universalist,' 'Urbanity,' 'Usage,' and '
What happens
This chapter presents a series of satirical definitions for words beginning with the letter U, including 'Ubiquity,' 'Ugliness,' 'Ultimatum,' 'Un-American,' 'Unction,' 'Understanding,' 'Unitarian,' 'Universalist,' 'Urbanity,' 'Usage,' and 'Uxoriousness.' Through these entries, the author skewers religious doctrine, diplomatic hypocrisy, national prejudice, and social conventions, often using absurd anecdotes and verse to underscore his critiques.
Themes in this chapter
Critique of Religion
The definitions of 'Ubiquity,' 'Unction,' 'Unitarian,' and 'Universalist' satirize religious doctrines, rituals, and sectarian divisions, highlighting the absurdity and hypocrisy of theological disputes.
Politics and Power
The 'Ultimatum' entry parodies diplomatic posturing and the absurd calculations of war, while 'Un-American' critiques political and cultural chauvinism.
Human Folly and Self-Deception
Entries like 'Understanding,' 'Urbanity,' and 'Uxoriousness' expose human pretension, self-deception, and the gap between social niceties and true virtue.
Characters to notice
- Unknown
The narrator provides the definitions and commentary throughout the chapter.
- Sir Lavender Portwine
Mentioned as the author of the verse under 'Understanding.'
- Father Gassalasca Jape
Referenced as the source of the verse under 'Urbanity.'
Key passages
“Ubiquity The gift or power of being in all places at one time, but not in all places at all times, which is omnipresence, an attribute of God and the luminiferous ether only.”
Ubiquity is the ability to be everywhere at once, but not at all times, unlike omnipresence, which belongs only to God and the luminiferous ether.
The author distinguishes between ubiquity and omnipresence, mocking medieval theological confusion that led to violence.
“Ultimatum In diplomacy, a last demand before resorting to concessions.”
An ultimatum is a final diplomatic demand made just before one gives in.
The definition satirizes the hollow bluster of diplomatic threats, illustrated by the Turkish council's absurd deliberation.
“Understanding A cerebral secretion that enables one having it to know a house from a horse by the roof on the house.”
Understanding is a brain secretion that lets you tell a house from a horse by looking at the roof.
The author mocks philosophical theories of understanding, referencing Locke and Kant with absurd imagery.
“Urbanity The kind of civility that urban observers ascribe to dwellers in all cities but New York.”
Urbanity is the politeness that city-dwellers claim exists everywhere except New York.
The definition critiques urban pretension, illustrated by a verse about a powder mill owner apologizing after an explosion.