Question:
"During Lent I try hard not to succumb to the temptation of denying myself pleasure." Can't think who said this originally... sounds like Wilde or Shaw (it usually is).

IIRC, Wilde -'I can resist anything except temptation itself' OWTTE.

I have found the little booklet I required to check it out. The book is called The Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Gwinnet Bierce (1842-?)

The frontispiece says... "He was an Ohio farmer's son who picked up an education from the family bookshelves. He was a Civil War scout, worked as a journalist in England for a year or two and disappeared into Mexico".

The piece I was trying to recall is included in his definition of Abstainer: "A weak person who yields to the temptation of denying himself pleasure."

A few of his other gems..

Abroad: To be a Frenchman abroad is to be miserable; to be an American abroad is to make others miserable.

Hedgehog: The cactus of the animal kingdom.

Kilt: A costume sometimes worn by Scotsmen in America and by Americans in Scotland.

Pun: A form of wit to which wise men stoop and fools aspire.

Reality: The dream of a mad philosopher.

Zeal: A nervous disorder afflicting the young and inexperienced.

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Last updated February 16th 2004
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