A Theory of the Aphorism

As a collector of quotations and aphorisms myself, this book was irresistible. One of the first collections I bought was Le Petit Philosophe de Poche in Epernay in 1971, which contained many classic French sources including La Rochefoucauld, La Bruyere and Voltaire. The major figures covered here are Confucius, Heraclitus, the Gospel of Thomas, Erasmus, Bacon, Pascal and Nietzsche. An important leitmotif running through the study is the relationship between the hermeneutics of the pithy aphorism or fragment and the grand philosophical system. At the outset, readers are introduced to the various terms and their relationship to each other - aphorism, precept, maxim, adage, epigram, proverb and apothegm, and the author proposes his own definition of 'a short saying that requires interpretation.' Schlegel also has a nice definition – 'a fragment ought to be entirely isolated from the surrounding world like a little work of art and complete in itself like a hedgehog.' Needless to say, the contrast between the hedgehog and the fox - knowing one thing or many - soon makes an appearance.

Each chapter contains its own subtitle, indicating an underlying theme such as hiddenness in Heraclitus, revelation or gnosis in Thomas and infinity in Pascal. The author explains the genesis and context in each case, noting that the amount of scholarly commentary produced is inversely proportional to the succinctness of the original sayings… It was written of Confucius that his words are pithy, but their meaning without limit. Heraclitus' gnomoi are treated within the development of Greek philosophy and contrasted especially with Plato (from Socrates onwards there is no philosophy without proof or argument). The chapter on Thomas is illuminating in contrasting its content and approach with the canonical gospels and parallels with the Greek tradition of knowing oneself. These sayings are not contextualised or set within a narrative framework, nor do they appeal to any written authority: 'they precede and resist the systematisation of the synoptic Gospels and the institution of the early churches…with strict dogma and hierarchical structures.' Parables are also cited as vehicles for hiddenness and inwardness in accessing the divine within. Interestingly, Heraclitus and Thomas are both cited by Clement of Alexandria and Hippolytus in their discussions of heresy, grappling as they do with the same problems.

Erasmus (1466-1536) and Bacon (1561-1626) are treated in the same chapter, the former accumulating over 4,000 adages during his life and likening them to gems or mustard seeds in their potential. They both believed that aphorisms would encourage readers to contemplate and enquire further, but their functions in European culture were very different, and Bacon develops some aphorisms into axioms, using these to explore the relationship between particulars and generalities, and the principles of observation and induction. Pascal's work is contrasted with the clarity and order of Descartes as he sought to reduce words to their essence while also attempting to decipher God. Famously, he reminds readers that the heart has its reasons unknown to reason. Nietzsche produced a huge output of aphorisms, remarking that his ambition was to say in ten sentences what everyone else says in the book or rather what everyone else does not say in a book. He also refers to the value of uncompleted thoughts in relation to aphorisms. The epilogue reflects on the hermeneutic density of aphorisms in the age of Twitter and the danger of a surfeit of books and reading, going back to the Indian sutra and Japanese koan as other historical examples of economy of expression pregnant with meaning. Lovers of aphorisms will derive huge pleasure from this elegant and informative book.