Aphorism

by Berger, Lutz

Type Article
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An aphorism is “a concise statement of a principle, a terse formulation of a truth,” generally in prose. There is no exact Arabic equivalent for the term. The most common approximations are ḥikma (“[piece of] wisdom,” “maxim”), faṣl (“sentence”), or nukta (“witticism”). According to the fourth/tenth-century critic Isḥāq al-Fārābī (d. 350/961), who spent most of his life in Yemen, “a ḥikma is formed when an artful formulation latent in an artful composition is extracted and stated in a pronounce…

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Summary

An aphorism is “a concise statement of a principle, a terse formulation of a truth,” generally in prose. There is no exact Arabic equivalent for the term. The most common approximations are ḥikma (“[piece of] wisdom,” “maxim”), faṣl (“sentence”), or nukta (“witticism”). According to the fourth/tenth-century critic Isḥāq al-Fārābī (d. 350/961), who spent most of his life in Yemen, “a ḥikma is formed when an artful formulation latent in an artful composition is extracted and stated in a pronouncement containing it” (Gutas, Classical Arabic wisdom, 1981).

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Article Information

Publication Statements

  • Publisher(s):Brill
  • Language:eng

Edition Identifiers

  • wc:ALei1034

Subjects

eng Islam

Writers

Berger, Lutz

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