A Theory of the Aphorism

Andrew Hui

Published by Princeton University Press 2019

A Theory of the Aphorism

From Confucius to Twitter

Andrew Hui

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780691190556

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About this book

A smart and engaging study of the aphorism, the shortest literary form, through time and across languages

Aphorisms—or philosophical short sayings—appear everywhere, from Confucius to Twitter, the Buddha to the Bible, Heraclitus to Nietzsche. Yet despite this ubiquity, the aphorism is the least studied literary form. What are its origins? How did it develop? How do religious or philosophical movements arise from the enigmatic sayings of charismatic leaders?

Author information

Andrew Hui is associate professor of humanities at Yale-NUS College, Singapore. He is the author of The Poetics of Ruins in Renaissance Literature.

Reviews

"Andrew Hui's richly textured, multifaceted inquiry offers precious insights into what makes aphorisms—and aphoristic thinking—such a resounding form of expression across cultures and historical epochs. East and West, ancient and modern, and popular and esoteric come together in these pages in ways that lead you to wonder why a book like this was not written a long time ago."—Robert Pogue Harrison, author of Juvenescence: A Cultural History of Our Age

"This is a landmark book of enormous originality and breathtaking scope, immensely learned and beautifully written. Andrew Hui shows us why the aphorism has been omnipresent in world philosophy and religion: the aphorism provokes, confuses, reveals, and inspires in a different way on every page. His explanatory model draws vital new connections over geography and time as authors and their readers move constantly between density and unfolding, canonization and radical openness."—Kristine Haugen, California Institute of Technology

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Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Introduction: A Line Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
1. Confucius: The master wishes to be silent Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	23
2. Heraclitus: What is hidden Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	43
3. The Gospel of Thomas: What is revealed Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	62
4. Erasmus and Bacon: Antiquity and the new science Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	84
5. Pascal: The fragments of infinity Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	121
6. Nietzsche: The fragments of the unfinished Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	151
Epilogue: A Circle Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	177
Acknowledgments Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	189
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	193
Bibliographic Essay Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	213
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	223
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	249

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A Theory of the Aphorism

From Confucius to Twitter