ROUGHLY A CENTURY AGO the American writer Ambrose Bierce compiled The Devil's Dictionary. In his celebrated lexicon, Bierce displayed a profound understanding of finance, which he defined as "the art or science of managing revenues and resources for the best advantage of the manager." Among his definitions touching on the subject of money:

Debt: An ingenious substitute for the chain and whip of the slave driver.

Mammon: The god of the world's leading religion. His chief temple is in the holy city of New York.

Riches: The savings of many in the hands of one.

Wall Street: A symbol of sin for every devil to rebuke. That Wall Street is a den of thieves is a belief that serves every unsuccessful thief in place of a hope in Heaven.

Although Wall Street's ethos has not changed since Bierce's time, it is time to update and enlarge the Devil's Dictionary of...