An aphorism (from Greek ἀφορισμός: ''aphorismos'', denoting 'delimitation', 'distinction', and 'definition') is a concise, terse,

laconic A laconic phrase or laconism is a concise or terse statement, especially a blunt and elliptical rejoinder. It is named after Laconia, the region of Greece including the city of Sparta, whose ancient inhabitants had a reputation for verbal auste ...

, or memorable expression of a general truth or principle. Aphorisms are often handed down by tradition from generation to generation. The concept is generally distinct from those of an

adage An adage (; Latin: adagium) is a memorable and usually philosophical aphorism that communicates an important truth derived from experience, custom, or both, and that many people consider true and credible because of its longeval tradition, i.e. ...

, brocard,

chiasmus In rhetoric, chiasmus ( ) or, less commonly, chiasm (Latin term from Greek , "crossing", from the Greek , , "to shape like the letter Χ"), is a "reversal of grammatical structures in successive phrases or clauses – but no repetition of wor ...

, epigram, maxim ( legal or philosophical), principle, proverb, and

saying A saying is any concisely written or spoken expression that is especially memorable because of its meaning or style. Sayings are categorized as follows: * Aphorism: a general, observational truth; "a pithy expression of wisdom or truth". ** Adag ...

; although some of these concepts may be construed as types of aphorism. Often, aphorisms are distinguished from other short sayings by the need for interpretation to make sense of them. In ''A Theory of the Aphorism'', Andrew Hui defined an aphorism as "a short saying that requires interpretation."

History

The word was first used in the ''

Aphorisms An aphorism (from Greek ἀφορισμός: ''aphorismos'', denoting 'delimitation', 'distinction', and 'definition') is a concise, terse, laconic, or memorable expression of a general truth or principle. Aphorisms are often handed down by tra ...

'' of Hippocrates, a long series of

proposition In logic and linguistics, a proposition is the meaning of a declarative sentence. In philosophy, " meaning" is understood to be a non-linguistic entity which is shared by all sentences with the same meaning. Equivalently, a proposition is the no ...

s concerning the symptoms and diagnosis of disease and the art of healing and medicine. The often cited first sentence of this work is: "" - "life is short, art is long", usually reversed in order (see

Ars longa, vita brevis ''Ars longa, vita brevis'' is a Latin translation of an aphorism coming originally from Greek, roughly meaning, "skilfulness takes time and life is short". The aphorism quotes the first two lines of the ''Aphorismi'' by the ancient Greek phy ...

). This aphorism was later applied or adapted to

physical science Physical science is a branch of natural science that studies non-living systems, in contrast to life science. It in turn has many branches, each referred to as a "physical science", together called the "physical sciences". Definition Physi ...

and then morphed into multifarious aphorisms of philosophy, morality, and literature. Currently an aphorism is generally understood to be a concise and eloquent statement of truth. Aphorisms are distinct from

axiom An axiom, postulate, or assumption is a statement that is taken to be true, to serve as a premise or starting point for further reasoning and arguments. The word comes from the Ancient Greek word (), meaning 'that which is thought worthy or f ...

s: aphorisms generally originate from experience and

custom Custom, customary, or consuetudinary may refer to: Traditions, laws, and religion * Convention (norm), a set of agreed, stipulated or generally accepted rules, norms, standards or criteria, often taking the form of a custom * Norm (social), a r ...

, whereas axioms are self-evident truths and therefore require no additional proof. Aphorisms have been especially used in subjects to which no methodical or scientific treatment was originally applied, such as

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

, medicine, jurisprudence and politics. A famous example is:

Literature

Aphoristic collections, sometimes known as wisdom literature, have a prominent place in the canons of several ancient societies, such as the Sutra literature of India, the

Biblical The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

Ecclesiastes, Islamic hadiths,

the golden verses of Pythagoras The ''Golden Verses'' ( grc-gre, Χρύσεα Ἔπη, ; la, Aurea Carmina) are a collection of moral exhortations comprising 71 lines written in dactylic hexameter. They are traditionally attributed to Pythagoras. Overview The exact origins o ...

, Hesiod's ''Works and Days'', the Delphic maxims, and

Epictetus Epictetus (; grc-gre, Ἐπίκτητος, ''Epíktētos''; 50 135 AD) was a Greek Stoic philosopher. He was born into slavery at Hierapolis, Phrygia (present-day Pamukkale, in western Turkey) and lived in Rome until his banishment, when ...

' Handbook. Aphoristic collections also make up an important part of the work of some modern authors. A 1559 oil–on–oak-panel painting, '' Netherlandish Proverbs'' (also called ''The Blue Cloak'' or ''The Topsy Turvy World'') by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, artfully depicts a land populated with literal renditions of Flemish aphorisms ( proverbs) of the day. The first noted published collection of aphorisms is ''

Adagia ''Adagia'' (singular ''adagium'') is the title of an annotated collection of Greek and Latin proverbs, compiled during the Renaissance by Dutch humanist Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus. Erasmus' collection of proverbs is "one of the most monum ...

'' by Erasmus. Other important early aphorists were

Baltasar Gracián Baltasar Gracián y Morales, S.J. (; 8 January 16016 December 1658), better known as Baltasar Gracián, was a Spanish Jesuit and baroque prose writer and philosopher. He was born in Belmonte, near Calatayud (Aragón). His writings were lauded ...

, François de La Rochefoucauld and

Blaise Pascal Blaise Pascal ( , , ; ; 19 June 1623 – 19 August 1662) was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, philosopher, and Catholic writer. He was a child prodigy who was educated by his father, a tax collector in Rouen. Pascal's earliest m ...

. Two influential collections of aphorisms published in the twentieth century were ''The Uncombed Thoughts'' by

Stanisław Jerzy Lec Stanisław Jerzy Lec (; 6 March 1909 – 7 May 1966), born Baron Stanisław Jerzy de Tusch-Letz, was a Polish aphorist and poet. Often mentioned among the greatest writers of post-war Poland, he was one of the most influential aphorists of the 20 ...

(in Polish), and ''Itch of Wisdom'' by

Mikhail Turovsky Mykhaylo Turovsky ( uk, Михайло Туровський, also Mikhail Turovsky; born in 1933 in Kyiv, in the Ukrainian SSR of the Soviet Union) is an American and Ukrainian artist-painter, and writer-aphorist, resident in New York City since 19 ...

(in Russian and English).

Society

Many societies have traditional sages or

culture hero A culture hero is a mythological hero specific to some group ( cultural, ethnic, religious, etc.) who changes the world through invention or discovery. Although many culture heroes help with the creation of the world, most culture heroes are impor ...

es to whom aphorisms are commonly attributed, such as the

Seven Sages of Greece The Seven Sages (of Greece) or Seven Wise Men ( Greek: ''hoi hepta sophoi'') was the title given by classical Greek tradition to seven philosophers, statesmen, and law-givers of the 7–6th century BC who were renowned for their wisdom. T ...

, Confucius or King Solomon. Misquoted or misadvised aphorisms are frequently used as a source of humour; for instance, wordplays of aphorisms appear in the works of

P. G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeev ...

, Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams. Aphorisms being misquoted by sports players, coaches, and commentators form the basis of Private Eye's

Colemanballs Colemanballs is a term coined by ''Private Eye'' magazine to describe verbal gaffes perpetrated by sports commentators.

section.

Philosophy

Professor of Humanities Andrew Hui, author of ''A Theory of the Aphorism'' offered the following definition of an aphorism: "a short saying that requires interpretation." Hui showed that some of the earliest philosophical texts from traditions around the world used an aphoristic style. Some of the earliest texts in the western philosophical canon feature short statements requiring interpretation, as seen in the Pre-Socratics like Heraclitus and Parmenides. In early Hindu literature, the Vedas were composed of many aphorisms. Likewise, in early Chinese philosophy, Taoist texts like the Tao Te Ching and the Confucian

Analects The ''Analects'' (; ; Old Chinese: '' ŋ(r)aʔ''; meaning "Selected Sayings"), also known as the ''Analects of Confucius'', the ''Sayings of Confucius'', or the ''Lun Yu'', is an ancient Chinese book composed of a large collection of sayings a ...

relied on an aphoristic style. Francis Bacon,

, Desiderius Erasmus, and Friedrich Nietzsche rank among some of the most notable philosophers who employed them in the

modern Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosophy ...

era. Andrew Hui argued that aphorisms played an important role in the history of philosophy, influencing the favored mediums of philosophical traditions. He argued for example, that the Platonic

Dialogues Dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog in American English) is a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people, and a literary and theatrical form that depicts such an exchange. As a philosophical or didactic device, it is chi ...

served as a response to the difficult to interpret fragments and phrases which Pre-Socratic philosophers were famous for. Hui proposes that aphorisms often arrive before, after, or in response to more systematic argumentative philosophy. For example, aphorisms may come before a systematic philosophy, because the systematic philosophy consists of the attempt to interpret and explain the aphorisms, as he argues is the case with Confucianism. Alternately, aphorisms may be written against systematic philosophy, as a form of challenge or irreverence, as seen in Nietzsche's work. Lastly, aphorisms may come after or following systematic philosophy, as was the case with Francis Bacon, who sought to bring an end to old ways of thinking.

Aphorists

Theodor W. Adorno Theodor W. Adorno ( , ; born Theodor Ludwig Wiesengrund; 11 September 1903 – 6 August 1969) was a German philosopher, sociologist, psychologist, musicologist, and composer. He was a leading member of the Frankfurt School of critical t ...

: his '' Minima Moralia: Reflections from Damaged Life'' (German: ''Minima Moralia: Reflexionen aus dem beschädigten Leben'') is a collection of aphorisms and reflections written while in exile in the United States during World War II. * Georges Bataille * Jean Baudrillard *

Ambrose Bierce Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842 – ) was an American short story writer, journalist, poet, and American Civil War veteran. His book ''The Devil's Dictionary'' was named as one of "The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature" by t ...

: '' The Devil's Dictionary''. *

F. H. Bradley Francis Herbert Bradley (30 January 1846 – 18 September 1924) was a British idealist philosopher. His most important work was ''Appearance and Reality'' (1893). Life Bradley was born at Clapham, Surrey, England (now part of the Greater ...

* Robert Brault *

Emil Cioran Emil Mihai Cioran (, ; 8 April 1911 – 20 June 1995) was a Romanian philosopher, aphorist and essayist, who published works in both Romanian and French. His work has been noted for its pervasive philosophical pessimism, style, and aphorisms. H ...

Arkady Davidowitz Arkady Davidowitz (Davidovich, russian: Аркадий Давидо́вич), born Adolf Filippovich Freudberg (russian: Адольф Филиппович Фрейдберг; 12 June 1930 – 25 February 2021) was a Russian writer and aphorist, a ...

Nicolás Gómez Dávila Nicolás Gómez Dávila (; 18 May 1913 – 17 May 1994) was a Colombian philosopher. Gómez Dávila's fame began to spread only in the last few years before his death, particularly by way of German translations of his works. He was one of the ...

Malcolm de Chazal Malcolm de Chazal (12 September 1902 – 1 October 1981) was a Mauritian writer, painter, and visionary, known especially for his ''Sens-Plastique'', a work consisting of several thousand aphorisms and pensées. Early life and education Chazal ...

* Desiderius Erasmus *

Gustave Flaubert Gustave Flaubert ( , , ; 12 December 1821 – 8 May 1880) was a French novelist. Highly influential, he has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country. According to the literary theorist Kornelije Kvas, "in Flauber ...

: ''

Dictionary of Received Ideas The ''Dictionary of Received Ideas'' (or ''Dictionary of Accepted Ideas''; in French, ''Le Dictionnaire des idées reçues'') is a short satirical work collected and published in 1911–13 from notes compiled by Gustave Flaubert during the 1870s, ...

''. *

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading intel ...

* Robert A. Heinlein: ''

The Notebooks of Lazarus Long ''The Notebooks of Lazarus Long'' is a 1978 collection of aphorisms by Robert Heinlein's main character, " Lazarus Long", excerpted from his 1973 novel ''Time Enough for Love ''Time Enough for Love'' is a science fiction novel by American wri ...

''. *

Edmond Jabès Edmond Jabès (; ar, إدمون جابيس; Cairo, April 14, 1912Edmond Jabès, ''From the Book to the Book: An Edmond Jabès Reader'' (Wesleyan University Press, 1991) p xxi – Paris, January 2, 1991) was a French writer and poet of Egy ...

Joseph Joubert Joseph Joubert (; 6 May 1754 in Montignac, Périgord – 4 May 1824 in Paris) was a French moralist and essayist, remembered today largely for his ''Pensées'' (''Thoughts''), which were published posthumously. Biography From the age of f ...

* Franz Kafka * Karl Kraus * François de La Rochefoucauld *

* Georg Christoph Lichtenberg *

Andrzej Majewski Andrzej Majewski (born November 12, 1966) is a Polish aphorist, writer, columnist and photographer. He graduated from Wroclaw University of Economics. He is the author of "Aphorisms and Sentences Which Shake the World, or Not..." (1999), "Aphori ...

* Juan Manuel: Prince of Villena (Spain) and mediaeval author; the second, third and fourth parts of his famous work ''

El Conde Lucanor Don Juan Manuel's ''Tales of Count Lucanor'', in Spanish ''Libro de los ejemplos del conde Lucanor y de Patronio'' (''Book of the Examples of Count Lucanor and of Patronio''), also commonly known as ''El Conde Lucanor, Libro de Patronio'', or '' ...

'' are collections of aphorisms. * Friedrich Nietzsche *

Oiva Paloheimo Oiva Aukusti Paloheimo (2 September 1910 – 13 June 1973) was a Finnish author who wrote novels, short stories, poems and aphorisms. His best-known work is the children's book '' Tirlittan'' from 1953. Life Oiva was born under the surname Pie ...

Dorothy Parker Dorothy Parker (née Rothschild; August 22, 1893 – June 7, 1967) was an American poet, writer, critic, and satirist based in New York; she was known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th-century urban foibles. From a conflicted and unhapp ...

* Patanjali * Petar II Petrović-Njegoš *

Faina Ranevskaya Faina Georgievna Ranevskaya (russian: Фаина Георгиевна Раневская, born Faina Girschevna Feldman, — 19 July 1984), is recognized as one of the greatest Soviet actresses in both tragedy and comedy. She was also famous for ...

Arthur Schopenhauer Arthur Schopenhauer ( , ; 22 February 1788 – 21 September 1860) was a German philosopher. He is best known for his 1818 work ''The World as Will and Representation'' (expanded in 1844), which characterizes the phenomenal world as the prod ...

* Seneca the Younger: Roman

Stoic Stoic may refer to: * An adherent of Stoicism Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens in the early 3rd century BCE. It is a philosophy of personal virtue ethics informed by its system of logic and ...

philosopher. *

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

Lev Shestov Lev Isaakovich Shestov (russian: Лев Исаа́кович Шесто́в; 31 January .S. 13 February 1866 – 19 November 1938), born Yehuda Leib Shvartsman (russian: Иегуда Лейб Шварцман), was a Russian existentialist and r ...

* Nassim Nicholas Taleb: The Bed of Procrustes *

Lao Tze Laozi (), also known by numerous other names, was a semilegendary ancient Chinese Taoist philosopher. Laozi ( zh, ) is a Chinese honorific, generally translated as "the Old Master". Traditional accounts say he was born as in the state of ...

* Voltaire * Wasif Ali Wasif: A Pakistani writer, poet and Sufi intellectual, known as master of Aphorism *

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

George Santayana Jorge Agustín Nicolás Ruiz de Santayana y Borrás, known in English as George Santayana (; December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952), was a Spanish and US-American philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist. Born in Spain, Santayana was raised ...

Alexander Woollcott Alexander Humphreys Woollcott (January 19, 1887 – January 23, 1943) was an American drama critic and commentator for ''The New Yorker'' magazine, a member of the Algonquin Round Table, an occasional actor and playwright, and a prominent radio ...

Burchard of Worms Burchard of Worms ( 950/965 – August 20, 1025) was the bishop of the Imperial City of Worms, in the Holy Roman Empire. He was the author of a canon law collection of twenty books known as the '' Decretum'', ''Decretum Burchardi'', or ''Decreto ...

: mediaeval

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

and

canonist Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

. *

Cheng Yen Cheng Yen (; born Chin-Yun Wong; 14 May 1937) is a Taiwanese Buddhist nun ( bhikkhuni), teacher, and philanthropist. She is the founder of the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation, ordinarily referred to as Tzu Chi, a Buddhist humanitar ...

: ''Jing Si Aphorism''. (Buddhism)

References

External links

*
Commentary on Hippocrates' Aphorisms
{{Authority control Narrative techniques Paremiology Phrases