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==Origin==
Middle French ''aphorisme'', from Late Latin ''aphorismus'', from [[Greek]] ''aphorismos'' definition, aphorism, from ''aphorizein'' to define, from ''apo''- + ''horizein'' to bound - see horizon
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/16th_ century 1528]
==Definitions==
*1: a concise statement of a [[principle]]
*2: a terse formulation of a [[truth]] or sentiment : adage
==Description==
An '''aphorism''' (from [[Greek]] ἀφορισμός aphorismos, "delimitation") is a terse saying, [[expressing]] a general [[truth]], principle, or astute [[observation]], and spoken or written in a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laconic laconic] and memorable form. Aphorism [[literally]] means a "distinction" or "[[definition]]". The term was first used in the ''[https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Aphorisms Aphorisms]'' of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippocrates Hippocrates]. The oft-cited first sentence of this work (see ''Ars longa, vita brevis'') is:
:Life is short, art long, opportunity fleeting, experience deceptive, judgement 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.
A well-known example is
:[[Power]] tends to [[corrupt]], and absolute power corrupts absolutely. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dalberg-Acton,_1st_Baron_Acton Lord Acton]
Aphoristic collections, sometimes known as [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisdom_literature wisdom literature], have a prominent place in the [[canons]] of several ancient societies, such as the [[Sutra]] literature of India, the Biblical [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecclesiastes Ecclesiastes], Islamic [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadith Hadith], ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Golden_Verses_of_Pythagoras The Golden Verses of Pythagoras]'', Hesiod's ''Works and Days'', the Delphic maxims, and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epictetus Epictetus]' Handbook. Aphoristic collections also make up an important part of the work of some [[modern]] [[authors]]. A 1559 oil–on–oak-panel painting, ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlandish_Proverbs 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 ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adagia Adagia]'' by Erasmus of Rotterdam. Other important early aphorists were Baltasar Gracián, François de La Rochefoucauld and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaise_Pascal Blaise Pascal].
Two influential collections of aphorisms published in the twentieth century were ''The Uncombed Thoughts'' by Stanislaw Jerzy Lec (in Polish), and ''Itch of Wisdom'' by Mikhail Turovsky (in Russian and English).
[[Category: Languages and Literature]]
==Origin==
Middle French ''aphorisme'', from Late Latin ''aphorismus'', from [[Greek]] ''aphorismos'' definition, aphorism, from ''aphorizein'' to define, from ''apo''- + ''horizein'' to bound - see horizon
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/16th_ century 1528]
==Definitions==
*1: a concise statement of a [[principle]]
*2: a terse formulation of a [[truth]] or sentiment : adage
==Description==
An '''aphorism''' (from [[Greek]] ἀφορισμός aphorismos, "delimitation") is a terse saying, [[expressing]] a general [[truth]], principle, or astute [[observation]], and spoken or written in a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laconic laconic] and memorable form. Aphorism [[literally]] means a "distinction" or "[[definition]]". The term was first used in the ''[https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Aphorisms Aphorisms]'' of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippocrates Hippocrates]. The oft-cited first sentence of this work (see ''Ars longa, vita brevis'') is:
:Life is short, art long, opportunity fleeting, experience deceptive, judgement 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.
A well-known example is
:[[Power]] tends to [[corrupt]], and absolute power corrupts absolutely. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dalberg-Acton,_1st_Baron_Acton Lord Acton]
Aphoristic collections, sometimes known as [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisdom_literature wisdom literature], have a prominent place in the [[canons]] of several ancient societies, such as the [[Sutra]] literature of India, the Biblical [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecclesiastes Ecclesiastes], Islamic [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadith Hadith], ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Golden_Verses_of_Pythagoras The Golden Verses of Pythagoras]'', Hesiod's ''Works and Days'', the Delphic maxims, and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epictetus Epictetus]' Handbook. Aphoristic collections also make up an important part of the work of some [[modern]] [[authors]]. A 1559 oil–on–oak-panel painting, ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlandish_Proverbs 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 ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adagia Adagia]'' by Erasmus of Rotterdam. Other important early aphorists were Baltasar Gracián, François de La Rochefoucauld and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaise_Pascal Blaise Pascal].
Two influential collections of aphorisms published in the twentieth century were ''The Uncombed Thoughts'' by Stanislaw Jerzy Lec (in Polish), and ''Itch of Wisdom'' by Mikhail Turovsky (in Russian and English).
[[Category: Languages and Literature]]
