The World in a Phrase: A History of Aphorisms

By James Geary

Book Overview

Celebrating the short, witty, philosophical phrases known as aphorisms, this delightful history is an entertaining tour through the wisest and wittiest sayings in the world.

Aphorisms are literature's hand luggage. Light and compact, they contain everything you need to get through a rough day at the office or a dark night of the soul. Aphorisms, the oldest written art form on the planet, have been going viral for thousands of years, delivering the short, sharp shock of old forgotten truths. Today, visual artists are mixing pithy language with compelling imagery and using social media to take the form into the future. In a world of disinformation and deepfakes, aphorisms point to the power of fresh debate over tired dogma and inconvenient truths over comfortable lies.

Starting in ancient China and ending with contemporary meme-makers and street artists, The World in A Phrase tells the story of the aphorism through brief biographies of some of its greatest practitioners: sages like Lao-tzu and the Buddha, philosophers like Schopenhauer and Nietzsche, writers like George Eliot and Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach, humorists like Mark Twain and Dorothy Parker, activists like James Baldwin and Audre Lorde, poets like Langston Hughes and Kay Ryan, and artists like Jenny Holzer and David Byrne.

The World in A Phrase is for lovers of words and seekers of wisdom. This new edition of The New York Times bestseller features 26 additional aphorists and explores the aphorism in the age of social media, showing why these short sentences are the ultimate deep dives in an era when TL;DR has become a cultural catchphrase.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0226838609
• ISBN13: 9780226838601
• Release Date: November 2025
• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Length: 320 Pages

Customer Reviews

Writing Your Own Bible

James Geary explores the history and development of aphoristic expression in this useful little book, and he does so by both entertaining and informing in the way aphorisms do. His last chapter is about the Jefferson Bible, and it sums up his project very nicely. As Geary concludes in the end, "aphorisms are the elixir of life," for only they "tell it like it really is." So reading Geary's book can be like walking through a minefield populated with the most exquisite fauna, a bracing and hazardous experience that is also filled with wonder. Those who live in the warm embrace of received wisdom, and who comfort themselves with rosey reliance on conformity in thought and deed, will not enjoy this journey. But as the book points out in quoting Jenny Holzer, "playing it safe can cause a lot of damage in the long run." Reading this book now after having read many of the authors Geary surveys, and having learned to my delight of those unknown to me, I was encouraged to press on in my own way of thinking, to stop doubting myself. There is not a self-help book in the world that will bully you into your sense the way Nietzsche or Chamfort can with an absolute economy of words. Geary's book was such a breath of fresh air, especially in this age of spin and lies, because he brings the reader face to face with those who spoke directly without apology about the truth of the human condition.

Wonderful!

This book was amazing! Not only did it include quirky, enlightening, and thought-prokoking aphorisms, but it also gave a background about the writer of the aphorisms too. needless to say, this has sent me on numerous tangents wanting to learn more. I have bought four or five other books since based on what I read here. I'm sure I will be reading this one over and over again. Couldn't reccommend it enough.

Wisdom in small doses...

I tend to avoid cliches like the plague. I find them to be hypocritical, seldom usefull, and stereotypcial. Cliches are over utilized today in society for many reasons. One; most people are too lazy to read, and two; few care about expanding their palette of knowledge. My faith in the wisdom of succint phrases had nearly fizzled out until my eyes beheld James Geary's work of genius. The book commences with a short biographical sketch of Geary's interest in aphorisms and proceeds to define what exactly an aphorism is. He then designs the book chronologically. So as one reads the book they are traveling through an aphorism timeline. Geary first outlines the great sage aphorists, beginning with Lao-tzu, Budda, up too Muhammad. The book continues through time briefly outlining the various aphorists up to present day. Geary provides the reader with a biographical taste of the various aphorists and leaves you hungering for more. The World in a Phrase is a quick read packed with nuggets of wisdom one can use over and over again.

Aphorisms belong to everybody

What a gem of a book this is.I have enjoyed and in a rather loose fashion,collected them for as long as I remember hearing them as a child.I often wonder who made them up in the first place;a wonderment which only becomes greater with time.I don't remember what was the first one I ever heard ;maybe my Mom telling me that "If you're going to tell lies you'll need an awfully good memory.",or my Dad saying "Haste makes waste".It seems some are forgotten while others stick like glue. Geary makes a noble attempt to put order and reason into this great use of language.Aphorisms are used by all cultures, in all fields of endeavors,all levels of education;it doesn't matter where you go, you'll find them.The author leans in his discussions to the great leaders,thinkers and writers of history but Aphorisms are as much the property of the most common and uneducated of people as they are of the famous.One of the common elements of them is that of wisdom and that can be found in all walks of life. The author has been a long time fan of them and even tried his hand at composing them.He gives us a sample of his attempts; "Not too many people live in the desert." "Sometimes,two goldfish in a bowl are enough." He tells us one of his all time favorites is; "I have often been forced on my knees by the overwhelming conviction that there is no place else to go"-Abraham Lincoln Then there's one that he thinks about every day; "The difference between a rut and a grave is the depth." He attempts to write the 5 Laws of Aphorisms; 1 It must be brief. 2 It must be definitive,it must proclaim rather than argue ie,"Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel". 3 It must be personal."Don't think!,Do." 4 It must have a twist."An original writer is not one who imitates nobody,but one who nobody can imitate." 5 It must be philosophical."many accidents are today's purposes." or "The Maxims of men reveal their hearts. I am not sure at all that there there are 5 laws that either cover all Aphorisms or that all Aphorisms adhere to,but it was a good exercise for the author to think about.But,so what,the thought is worthwhile. He covers sayings from the down to earth unsophisticated lines of Yogi Berra when asked the time;"You mean now?" to the words of the great Oscar Wilde,"To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance".Then there even quotes from Dr.Seusse; "You have brains in your head You have feet in your shoes You can steer yourself Any direction you choose." Then he takes a look at some present day stuff;Jenny Holzen writes them for all sorts of products and gives us one from a condom wrapper; "Men don't protect you anymore". There is no end to this business of Aphorisms,one-liners,proverbs,sayings,truisms,maxims,epigrms,adages,dictums,or whatever else you choose to call them;they comprise the wisdom of the ages and this book makes a good stab at trying to analyze them.Take one like "You can't get blood

For the love of Aphorisms

I understand Mr. Geary well, for I have also loved and cherished Aphorisms from my childhood. The idea of finding 'wisdom' and 'insight into life' in one brief memorable sentence has long been part of my reading and thinking. I do not know however, if I would , exactly accept his definition of the Aphorism as it seems to me that there are 'Aphorisms' which do not require some kind of 'twist' or ' surprise' but simply by their profundity overwhelm and reverberate in our consciousness. Consider Pascal's " The silence of these infinite spaces casts me into dread" or Wittgenstein's " Of that which we cannot speak, we must be silent". And as I say this I wonder if I am not perhaps going beyond the bounds of the 'Aphorism' and simply assuming that it contains 'all memorable statements'. In any case there is much to be learned and enjoyed in this historical excursion into one of Literature and Life's most delightful forms.