Aphorisms in Passing
The next time you’re in South Tyrol, consider dropping in on Pension Remichofin St. Josef am See. And when you do, make sure to have a look at the Schaukasten, which features a regular series of aphorisms, this year from German-language aphorist Elazar Benyoetz.
Rosmarie Maran, who runs Pension Remichoff, didn’t plan to have an aphorism [...]
Aphorisms in Emergencies
I was struck by something Rahm Emanuel, President-elect Obama’s White House chief of staff, said the other day: “You don’t ever want a crisis to go to waste; it’s an opportunity to do important things that you would otherwise avoid.” With a little editing (”Never let a crisis to go to waste”) this is not [...]
How To Write an Aphorism
There is good news and bad news. The bad news is: ‘How to write an aphorism’ is something that can’t be taught. The good news is: It is something that can be learned. There are three basic methods of composition. There is the ’spontaneous combustion’ method, in which the aphorism flares out fully formed at [...]
Aphorisms by SRL
SRL enjoys hyperbole, which makes him well-suited to writing aphorisms. The initials SRL are not merely an abbreviation, nor are they a nom de plume. They are, he says, his “shadow”: “The shadow of a name is its initials.” His aphorisms “tend towards bludgeoning critical targets and exposing hollow idols,” SRL says, and he typically [...]
Aphorisms by the “late, great Aunt Della”
I blame La Rochefoucauld, Chamfort, Vauvenargues, et al… Ever since the golden age of the French aphorism, which lasted roughly from the 16th to the 18th centuries, aphorisms have had an aristocratic reputation, as if the only people who could write and understand them were wealthy noblemen and disaffected dukes. I’ve always thought that was [...]