An aphorism is a pithy observation that contains a general truth. Aphoristic words condense a complex idea into a brief, exact, memorable form.
Aphorism doesn’t build a case; it flashes. Shining for a moment, it either lands or it doesn’t.
An aphorism is both too little and too much—too little to be explanatory, too much to dismiss.
“The wound is the place where the Light enters you.” —Rumi
Sometimes an aphorism enacts an insight rather than describing one—a linguistic event rather than a proposition.
“Every word is a stain upon the silence.” —Emil Cioran
Sometimes an aphorism asserts an entire worldview in four words—leaving no room for escape or elaboration.
“Hell is other people.” —Jean-Paul Sartre