"Admiration, n. Our polite recognition of another's resemblance to ourselves"
About this Quote
Admiration rarely lands where we pretend it does: on the other person. Bierce, in full Devil's Dictionary mode, strips the virtue sheen off a compliment and reveals the ego behind it. By defining admiration as "our polite recognition of another's resemblance to ourselves", he turns praise into a mirror and social grace into self-congratulation. The wit is in the surgical swap: admiration is not an outward act of generosity but an inward reflex dressed up as manners.
The key word is "polite". Bierce implies that admiration operates as a kind of civic currency, a socially acceptable way to announce your own values without sounding vain. When we admire someone's taste, intelligence, courage, or "authenticity", we're often validating our own taste for those things. It's not that the admired person lacks merit; it's that the admirer is rarely innocent. Bierce doesn't deny excellence, he indicts motive.
Context matters: Bierce was a journalist and a veteran of war, writing in an America that was industrializing fast and selling itself on respectability. The late 19th-century public sphere ran on reputations, clubs, columns, and the performance of refinement. In that world, admiration isn't just feeling; it's alignment. You admire the people who flatter your self-image and your class position, and you do it with a smile.
The sting is that Bierce makes admiration sound less like generosity than like a subtle act of annexation: I praise you, therefore you belong to my idea of what matters.
The key word is "polite". Bierce implies that admiration operates as a kind of civic currency, a socially acceptable way to announce your own values without sounding vain. When we admire someone's taste, intelligence, courage, or "authenticity", we're often validating our own taste for those things. It's not that the admired person lacks merit; it's that the admirer is rarely innocent. Bierce doesn't deny excellence, he indicts motive.
Context matters: Bierce was a journalist and a veteran of war, writing in an America that was industrializing fast and selling itself on respectability. The late 19th-century public sphere ran on reputations, clubs, columns, and the performance of refinement. In that world, admiration isn't just feeling; it's alignment. You admire the people who flatter your self-image and your class position, and you do it with a smile.
The sting is that Bierce makes admiration sound less like generosity than like a subtle act of annexation: I praise you, therefore you belong to my idea of what matters.
Quote Details
| Topic | Sarcastic |
|---|---|
| Source | Ambrose Bierce — 'The Devil's Dictionary', entry 'Admiration'. |
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