Category: Aphorisms by Others
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The Cain Train
Why did it slow down and stop? Because of too much steam on the windows and not enough in the engine.
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Morgenbesserisms
A sampling of the quick wit of Sidney Morgenbesser (1921-2004).
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The Obvious
As Hilary Putnam once said, "It ain't obvious what's obvious." Or as I like to say, "One man's datum is another man's theory."
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Some Aphorisms of E. M. Cioran with Commentary
How to disentangle profundity from puffery in any obscure formulation? Clear thought stops short, a victim of its own probity; the other kind, vague and indecisive, extends into the distance and escapes by its suspect but unassailable mystery. (131) Excellent except perhaps for ‘victim,’ which betrays Cioran’s mannered negativism. Substitute ‘beneficiary’ and the thought’s…
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Vanity and Shamelessness?
From the pen of E. M. Cioran: Indolence saves us from prolixity and thereby from the shamelessness inherent in production. The aphorism is from Drawn and Quartered. Is all production vain and shameless? Perhaps not if one keeps one's productions to oneself. But writing books, articles and blog posts is not just production, but…
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A Brilliancy from Cioran
Quoted here. The eminent cleric was poking fun at original sin. ‘That sin is your meal ticket. Without it, you’d die of hunger, for your ministry would then no longer have any meaning. If man is not fallen from the very beginning, why did Christ come? to redeem whom and what?’ To my objections, his…
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On Wanting All of Life to be Wise and Philosophical
From Giacomo Leopardi (1798-1837): Nessun maggior segno d'essere poco filosofo e poco savio, che volere savia e filosofica tutta la vita. There's no greater sign of being a poor philosopher and wise man than wanting all of life to be wise and philosophical. (Giacomo Leopardi, Pensieri, tr. W. S. Di Piero, Baton Rouge: Lousiana State…
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The Bigger the Government . . .
. . . the smaller the citizen. (Dennis Prager) . . . the more to fight over. (Vallicella) . . . the bigger the debt. (Vallicella glossing Medved)
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Of Gold and Fear
"When we have gold we are in fear; when we have none we are in danger." (English proverb) The same could be said of 'lead.'
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Muslim and Marxist
Muslim: There is no god but God and Muhammad is his prophet. Marxist: There is no God and Marx is his prophet. (This is not a MavPhil original, but I cannot recall where I found this witticism.)
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Equality and Quality
Enforced equality issues in lower quality.
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The Great Use of a Life
"The great use of a life is to spend it for something that outlasts it." (William James)
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Of Hearse and Haul
You can't tow a U-Haul with a hearse.
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Ubi Amor, Ibi Oculus
They say that love is blind. But if love blinds, is it love? Or is it rather infatuation? "Where there is love, there is sight." I found this fine Latin aphorism in Josef Pieper, Death and Immortality (Herder and Herder, 1969, p. 21). The translation is mine. Pieper credits Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on the Sentences…
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Don Colacho’s Aphorisms
If you value aphorisms, do not miss these specimens from a master. Example: Poetry rescues things by reconciling matter and spirit in the metaphor. Permit me a quibble. There are poets who eschew metaphor in favor of metonymy, Bukowski, for example. If you protest that he is not a 'real poet,' I won't put up…