Aphorisms

I need a much larger vocabulary to talk to you than to talk to myself.

From James Richardon’s Vectors: Aphorisms and Ten-Second Essays, a recent book of aphorisms.

It is hard to write a good book of aphorisms today, it no longer suits the temper of the times, perhaps a bit like the classical symphony. Some in this book I find trite, such as:

Wind shakes the flame but feeds the fire.

Huh?

Bryan Caplan, with whom I regularly argue about free will, might like this one:

Determinism: How romantic to think the mind a machine reliable enough to transform the same causes over and over again into the same effects. When even toasters fail!

Tell that one to Gary Kasparov!

More to the point is:

If only we were satisfied to have others think of us what we think of them.

While we are on the topic, here is a web list of favorite aphorisms of Nietzsche. And here is a selection of aphorisms from Schopenhauer, also not a cheery fellow, how about this one:

National character is only another name for the particular form which the littleness, perversity and baseness of mankind take in every country. Every nation mocks at other nations, and all are right.

For aphorisms to fit the spirit of the times, perhaps we need a world where at least some negative thoughts are still shocking.

Comments

Comments for this post are closed