It is now 65 years since I published my first "aphorism," thus striking off on the tangent that became a life's journey. I had, at the start, a high opinion of the aphorism as an art form, characterizing it as
"A single sentence that totally exhausts its subject."
In later years, I became a bit less reverent of the genre, offering the following observation:
"The aphorist finds in every truth a wise saying and in ever contradiction -- two wise sayings."
And today, in the clarity of old age, I offer two candid assessments, including a definition of the word "aphorism" that I suspect will prove definitive:
"One is more apt to become wise by doing fool things than by reading wise sayings."
"Aphorism: a truth trivialized by cleverness."
Don't say you weren't warned. (smile)
