Bibliograph

The world in a phrase, a brief history of the aphorism, James Geary

Type

Label

The world in a phrase, a brief history of the aphorism, James Geary

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references (p. 209-228)

Index

no index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

The world in a phrase

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

58599734

Responsibility statement

James Geary

Review

"Though it's an ancient art form, the aphorism is as spritely and as apposite as ever. Challenging and subversive, aphorisms deliver the short, sharp shocks of old forgotten truths. They are literature's hand luggage; They're light and compact, you can take them anywhere, and they contain everything you need to get through a tough day at the office or a dark night of the soul."

Sub title

a brief history of the aphorism

Summary

"Starting with the ancient Chinese and ending with contemporary Europeans and Americans, The World in a Phrase tells the story of the aphorism - the shortest and oldest written are form - through brief biographies of some of its greatest practitioners, Americans like Ambrose Bierre, Emily Dickinson, Mark Twain, and Dorothy Parker, great French aphorists like Montaigne, La Rochefisucauld, and Charnfort; philosophers like Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and Wittgenstein; and prophets and sages like the Buddhist, Lao-tzu, and Jesus."--Jacket

Table Of Contents

1 GUESSING IS MORE FUN THAN KNOWING: THE CONFESSIONS OF AN APHORISM ADDICT -- 2 WE ARE WHAT WE THINK: ANCIENT SAGES, PREACHERS, AND PROPHETS -- Lao-tzu -- Buddha -- Confucius -- Jesus -- Muhammad -- The Zen Masters -- 3 A MAN IS WEALTHY IN PROPORTION TO THE THINGS HE CAN DO WITHOUT: GREEK AND ROMAN STOICS -- Diogenes -- Epicurus -- Seneca -- Epictetus -- Marcus Aurelius -- 4 UPON THE HIGHEST THRONE IN THE WORLD, WE ARE SEATED, STILL, UPON OUR ARSES: FRENCH AND SPANISH MORALISTS -- Michel de Montaigne -- Baltasar Gracian -- Francois, Duc de La Rochefoucauld -- Luc de Clapiers, Marquis de Vauvenargues -- Sebastien-Roch Nicolas Chamfort -- Joseph Joubert -- 5 GOOD AND EVIL ARE THE PREJUDICES OF GOD: HERETICS, DISSENTERS, AND SKEPTICS -- Georg Christoph Lichtenberg -- Arthur Schopenhauer -- Friedrich Nietzsche -- Ludwig Wittgenstein -- E.M. Cioran -- 6 THE LACK OF MONEY IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL: THE RISE OF THE AMERICAN ONE-LINER -- Ralph Waldo Emerson -- Henry David Thoreau -- Mark Twain -- 7 KNOW THEN THYSELF, PRESUME NOT GOD TO SCAN; THE PROPER STUDY OF MANKIND IS MAN: IN PRAISE OF LIGHT VERSE -- Alexander Pope -- William Blake -- Emily Dickinson -- Samuel Hoffenstein -- Dorothy Parker -- Dr. Seuss -- 8 IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD, AT THE END JUST THE CLICHE: THE APHORISM TODAY -- Karl Kraus -- Antonio Porchia -- Malcolm de Chazal -- Stanislaw Jerzy Lec -- Barbara Kruger -- Jenny Holzer -- Afterisms

Classification