English and Aphorisms

 

aphorism - noun - a pithy observation that contains a general truth (Google).

In this day and age of pauciloquent persons who rely on four-letter words that can be used randomly for emphasis, educated listeners tend to miss the literary wizards of the past who could put together quotable aphorisms. Just this morning as I was sipping my smoothie and scrolling through my Facebook feed on my iPhone (I can't believe I have conformed to this sort of morning routine since I just gave up my flip phone a little over a year ago.), I came across a post in support of enlightening epigrams. It featured a short list of some of the best adages from the best minds like Oscar Wilde (my personal favorite), Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway, and William Faulkner, men who knew how to read and write well, skills that seem to have gone the way of the Studebaker today. Being that I am a pronounced logophile and am not ashamed to admit it, I read the entire list, pausing to exhale a chuckle every few seconds. After finishing up, I continued the finger-numbing habit of liking posts, mumbling to myself, "They sure don't make minds like they used to."

Ironically, yesterday, my L.A. man and I were on the phone discussing the necessity of space in romantic relationships. I neglected to mention that we have too much physical space, nearly 3,000 miles, separating us, but the observation would have led to a foregone conclusion, and therefore, would have been redundant. I truncated Mark Twain's "Distance lends enchantment to the view," an aphorism that he had never come across in his peregrinations of pithy truths. He challenged my quote with one more familiar albeit opposing one, "Familiarity breeds contempt." We were one for one in the contest. And the match concluded at that point in a tie. 

The one aphorism by Oscar Wilde that I like to contemplate at this time of year is as follows: "To give and not expect return that is what lies at the heart of love." Christmas, a holiday that has come to feature materialism ("Capitalist Christmas") is coming up soon. Maybe we all need to walk on the Wilde side and concentrate on the true meaning of the day, which involves a healthy portion of love. Yum. We can all indulge in that concept freely sans regret. 

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