Aphorism  

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-A '''aphorism''' is a [[succinct]] [[statement]] or [[observation]] of a [[fundamental]] [[principle]], [[general truth]], or [[rule]] of [[conduct]]. 
-Its etymology is literally ''[[distinction]]'' or ''[[definition]]'', from [[Greek language|Greek]] αφοριζειν "to define"). +An '''aphorism''' (literally "distinction" or "definition", from the ''ἀφορισμός'', ''aphorismós'', from ''ὁρίζειν'', ''apo + horizein'', "from/to bound") is an original thought, spoken or written in a [[laconic]] and memorable form.
-Care should be taken not to confound ''aphorisms'' with [[axiom|''axioms'']]. Aphorisms come into being as the result of experience. This is also often the case with axioms (see [[axiomatization]]; [[Euclidean geometry]]), but due to their apparent certainty, axioms are then regarded as assertions not requiring proof, and used as the starting point for further [[deductive reasoning]]. Aphorisms have been especially used in dealing with subjects such as art, agriculture, medicine, jurisprudence and politics, to which little methodical or scientific treatment was applied at the time.+The term was first used in the ''[[s:Aphorisms|Aphorisms]]'' of [[Hippocrates]]. The oft-cited first sentence of this work (see [[Ars longa, vita brevis]]) is:
 +{{cquote|"Life is short, [the] 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.
==Literature== ==Literature==

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An aphorism (literally "distinction" or "definition", from the ἀφορισμός, aphorismós, from ὁρίζειν, apo + horizein, "from/to bound") is an original thought, spoken or written in a laconic and memorable form.

The term was first used in the Aphorisms of Hippocrates. The oft-cited first sentence of this work (see Ars longa, vita brevis) is: Template:Cquote

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.

Contents

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, Hesiod's Works and Days, or 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, Arthur Schopenhauer, Søren Kierkegaard, Friedrich Nietzsche, Franz Kafka, Karl Kraus, Montaigne, La Rouchefoucauld, Thomas Szasz, Stanislaw Jerzy Lec, Andrzej Majewski, Mikhail Turovsky, Antonio Porchia, Celia Green, Robert A. Heinlein, Blaise Pascal, E. M. Cioran and Oscar Wilde. A 1559 oil–on–oak-panel painting, Netherlandish Proverbs (also called The Blue Cloak or The Topsy Turvy World) by Pieter Brueghel the Elder, artfully depicts a land populated with literal renditions of Flemish aphorisms (proverbs) 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 20th century were The Uncombed Thoughts by Stanislaw Jerzy Lec (in Polish), and Itch of Wisdom by Mikhail Turovsky (in Russian and English).

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.

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