An aphorism is an original thought, spoken or written in a laconic and memorable form.
Aphorism literally means a "distinction" or "definition". The term was first used in the
Aphorisms of Hippocrates. The oft-cited first sentence of this work is:
Life is short, art long, opportunity fleeting, experience deceptive, judgment difficult.
The term was later applied to maxims of physical science, then statements of all kinds of philosophical,
moral, or literary principles. In modern usage an aphorism is generally understood to be
a concise statement containing a subjective truth or observation cleverly and pithily
written.
Definition "Aphorism" is a noun meaning a terse saying
embodying a general truth, or astute observation. One famous example of an aphorism is: “Power
tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”
Other Definitions of aphorism state that it is a concise statement of a principle or a
terse formulation of a truth or sentiment. 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 Ecclesiastes, Islamic Hadith, The Golden Verses of Pythagoras, Hesiod's Works
and Days, the Delphic maxims, and Epictetus' Handbook. Aphoristic collections also make
up an important part of the work of some modern authors, such as Josemaría Escrivá, Georg
Christoph Lichtenberg, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Giacomo Leopardi, Arthur Schopenhauer,
Søren Kierkegaard, Friedrich Nietzsche, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Franz Kafka, Elias Canetti,
Karl Kraus, Montaigne, Nicolas Chamfort, La Rochefoucauld, Stanislaw Jerzy Lec, Andrzej
Majewski, Mikhail Turovsky, Antonio Porchia, Celia Green, Robert A. Heinlein, Blaise Pascal,
E. M. Cioran, Oscar Wilde, Malcolm de Chazal and Nassim Nicholas Taleb. A 1559 oil–on–oak-panel
painting, Netherlandish Proverbs by Pieter Brueghel the Elder, artfully depicts a land
populated with literal renditions of Flemish aphorisms of the day.
The aphoristic genre developed together with literacy, and after the invention of printing,
aphorisms were collected and published in book form. The first noted published collection
of aphorisms is Adagia by Erasmus of Rotterdam. Other important early aphorists were Baltasar
Gracián, François de La Rochefoucauld and Blaise Pascal.
Two influential collections of aphorisms published in the twentieth century were The Uncombed
Thoughts by Stanislaw Jerzy Lec, and Itch of Wisdom by Mikhail Turovsky.
Society In many cultures, including Samuel Johnson's
England, many East and Southeast Asian societies, and throughout the world, the ability to spontaneously
produce aphoristic sayings at exactly the right moment is a key determinant of social
status. Many societies have traditional sages or culture heroes to whom aphorisms are commonly
attributed, such as the Seven Sages of Greece, 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, Terry Pratchett and Douglas
Adams. Aphorisms being misquoted by sports players, coaches, and commentators form the
basis of Private Eye's Colemanballs section. See also
Adage Book of Proverbs
Chiasmus Cliché
Ecclesiastes Wisdom of Sirach
Epigram Gospel of Thomas
Greguería Maxim
Proverb Pseudo-Phocylides
Sūtra References
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh,
ed.. Encyclopædia Britannica. Cambridge University Press.
Further reading Morley, John. Aphorisms — an address delivered
before the Edinburgh Philosophical Institution, November 11, 1887. London: MacMillan & Co.
External links (English) Commentary on Hippocrates' Aphorisms