An aphorism is a saying that happened a long time ago. The science that studies it is called aphorism. She poses an important question: “When did he appear in literature? Has this concept been known for a long time or has it appeared quite recently? In order to give a concrete answer to this question, it is necessary to study history. However, here you need to be careful and consider two aspects: aphorism as a genre and as a word.
The emergence of an aphorism as a word
This concept has been known for a very long time. Back in the 5th century BC. e. Hippocrates, an ancient Greek scholar, called a treatise on medicine aphorisms. He informed about the diagnoses and symptoms of individual diseases, as well as how to prevent them and heal from them. Today, many people know such aphorisms: “Life is a short period, but art is eternal”, “Do no evil - you will not be in eternal fear”, etc. Ancient literature can also tell about the use of this concept. German scientists P. Rekvadt, F. Schalk proved that this word had not only medical significance, but was also used as a wise saying, a gnome,maxim, and also as a concise and concise style.
Introduction of the concept into various sciences
In the 8th century, Dante claimed that "aphorism" was a medical term. Over time, it began to spread to other industries. He began to appear in the natural sciences, politics, philosophy, and jurisprudence. Tacitus predetermined the transition of aphorism from medicine to the political branch. Here he likened the human body to the state one, which required treatment with moral means and medicines. Antonio Perez believed that aphorism is his political statements about morality. Many researchers believe that they have a literary and artistic form.
Introduction into Russian literature
Only in the 18th century in Russia such a concept appeared. The meaning of the word "aphorism" was interpreted from the point of view of medicine and literature. The beginning of the 19th century was marked by the appearance of books that became known as aphorisms. So, K. Smitten published a collection called "Aphorisms, or Selected Thoughts of Various Writers …". Then books began to appear with such statements, and later this term became especially popular. There were a lot of collections that contained the expressions of various authors. After that, interest subsided a little, and at the end of the 20th century, books appeared that were called “aphorisms”. Today, this term is considered only in a literary sense.
History of aphorism as a genre
The history of aphorism is considered as a genremuch more controversial and more complex, but at the same time, and more important than the previous topic. No one can unequivocally answer the question of what the word aphorism means as a genre. In Germany, they believe that it arose only in modern literature and has nothing to do with the genre. However, other scholars argue that an aphorism is a statement. That is why it is necessary to consider his story from the point of view of the statement. Modern literature believes that saying and aphorism are one and the same. Today, these concepts are firmly associated with the names of ancient thinkers. Ancient and modern sayings are called aphorisms. They do not differ from each other and have identical features in terms of genre: brevity, imagery, wisdom, a certain author and semantic completeness. All this testifies to their belonging to the same genre. In other words, aphorisms are modern sayings, and sayings are their past. Of course, they have their own characteristics, but it is still not advisable to talk about their synonymy, since they have some differences.
History of aphorism-saying
This process began much earlier than the word "aphorism" itself. There is evidence that as early as the third millennium BC. e. there were sayings in Egypt. They are also found in many civilizations of the East. They were quite popular in Greece. The sayings of Plato, Socrates, Pythagoras, Epicurus and other thinkers have survived to this day. During the Renaissance, they also spread to Europe. In the work of Erasmus of Rotterdam "Adagia" was collecteda huge number of catchphrases and proverbs. In England, aphorisms were created by Wilde, Shaw, Smiles and others. And at the end of the 19th century, they began to study the theoretical essence and lexical meaning of the word "aphorism". It should be noted a significant expansion of the subject and the introduction of wit. That is why aphorisms have spread in literary criticism, politics and history. The style changed, aphorisms of a humorous, paradoxical and satirical nature arose, which was not observed in medieval sayings.
Aphorisms. What it is? Usage examples
Great Soviet Encyclopedia describes an aphorism as a type of utterance that allows, with the help of sophisticated surprise, to convince using statements. He is able to convince not in a logical way, but with the help of an unexpected correlation of words. The author of the statement is fully convinced that he is right and uses witty and original word combinations. For clarity, consider examples of classical aphorisms. M. Gorky said: "Rights are not given, rights are taken." V. Mayakovsky: "The word is the commander of human strength." Descartes: "I think, therefore I am." K. Marx: "Religion is the opium of the people" and others.
Main characteristics of aphorisms
They are all unexpected, original. This is how they affect our consciousness. They contain deep truth and a comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon they describe. They do not contain direct evidence and are quite predictable. Their hallmark is logic. If you think carefully, you can findnecessary arguments and evidence. They are able to influence our memory with the originality of their formulation. And semantic value affects our consciousness. There are also sayings that have rather unexpected conclusions and do not coincide with the opinion of most people. However, these features are the exception rather than the rule. It cannot be unequivocally stated that aphorisms are illogical and contradictory. They are children of science. Today they are close to it in their logicality, accuracy and systematicity.
Features of the theme
As a rule, aphorisms are aimed at "eternal" questions. They raise those truths that have long been forgotten, but are quite important. They acquire a new, fairly original shell. And this is quite strong enough to attract attention and fix it in memory. Aphorisms do not have a church plaque, unlike sayings. We always know exactly their authors. The subject of sayings has a moral and ethical direction, and for aphorisms this range is much wider. There are many aphorisms-slogans. One of them said Victor Hugo: "War to the pillory." Some of them are ironic. D. Jeremic said: “Even those who want to make others happy by force are rapists.” It is important to note that they have a romantic elation and emotionality. They have the so-called "high style". Today, nevertheless, the concepts of “aphorism” and “saying” are differentiated, despite the fact that they have a lot of similarities. They have a similar history of origin and belong to the samegenre. It is worth noting that the wrong views on the aphorism today have already made themselves felt…
