Question

How are aphorisms used?

Answer 1

Hint: Aphorism is not to be confused with
Adage – An aphorism that has gained credibility by virtue of long use.
Proverb – An expression of practical truth or wisdom.
It may seem that aphorism is a part of adage but it is not true. Infact, Adage is a form of Aphorism.

Complete answer:
An aphorism is a brief saying or phrase that expresses an opinion or makes a statement of wisdom without the flowery language of a proverb. Aphorism comes from a Greek word meaning "definition." The term was first coined by Hippocrates in a work appropriately titled Aphorisms.

Aphorisms are often used to teach a lesson while speaking in plain terms. For example, “A bad penny always turns up” is an aphorism for the fact that bad people or things are bound to turn up in life. We just have to deal with them when they do. Interesting, right?

The aphorism examples below are all conveying some sort of truth in a direct, sometimes witty, manner that makes this kind of message powerful.

Some examples of aphorism are:
- Actions speak louder than words.
- All for one and one for all.
- Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes.
- Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.
- Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
- Give him an inch and he'll take a mile.
- Give him enough rope and he'll hang himself.
- He who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day.
- He who hesitates is lost.

Note: The three words i.e, Aphorism, Adage, Proverb are not interchangeable, in that a given saying might qualify for one or two of the categories but not the others. For example, the proverb "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink" may also be termed an adage, but does not rise to the level of aphorism.