Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Existential Vacuums: Anita Brookner, Falling Slowly



Aphorism 127: “Regulate your disappointments!” Chapter Nine

Full Quote: “What was much worse was that Beatrice, whom she loved, was beginning to resemble their mother, not only physically, in certain gestures, but in her refusal to regulate her own disappointments.”

Aphorism 126: “Neglect is not easily forgiven!” Chapter Eight

Aphorism 125: “Be certain that there are no witnesses to bad thinking!” Chapter Seven

Full Quote: “Briefly she was glad that there were no witnesses to the evidence of bad thinking.”

Aphorism 124: “Emancipation and freedom often brings with them unsleeping anxiety!” Chapter Six

Full Quote: “That freedom had, she now saw, proved illusory. Emancipation, flight, had brought with them an unsleeping anxiety.”

Aphorism 123: “Survive your history!” Chapter one

Full Quote: “They had survived their history, and besides, they had no other choices.”

Aphorism 122: “A library allows communion with true achievement!” Chapter one

Full Quote: “She could not now decide whether a library, any library, was a way out or a way in, a way out of daily life which contained too much confusion and wariness, or a way in to silent communion with true achievement..”

Friday, August 14, 2009

Aphorisms of Espionage by John LeCarré

Aphorism 121: “It is such a mistake to put one’s trust in technique!” The Looking Glass War, Chapter 5

Full Quote: “It’s such a mistake, I always feel, to put one’s trust in technique.”

Aphorism 120: “Dependence should not become an attitude!” chapter 2

Full Quote: “But somehow marriage had made her childish; dependence had become an attitude.”

Aphorism 119: “Find comfort in shared pain!” Chapter 7

Full Quote: “..it is the place where the searchers meet, finding no one but each other and the comfort of a shared pain..”

Aphorism 118: “Anticipate having to endure leisure!” Chapter 8
Full Quote: “He had not anticipated having to endure leisure”

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Rapping, Blogging, Preaching, Snowing



Aphorism 117: “Keep Grinding!” Ben B of UGK Rap Group

Full Quote: “’I appreciate the concern,’ he told Vibe. ‘But I wouldn’t ask anyone to stop their life because Pimp would’ve wanted us all to keep grinding.’” New York Times, Dec. 2007

Aphorism 116: “Establish an area of refuge!” Gretchen Rubin, Happiness Project Blog, a tribute to Winston Churchill

Aphorism 115: “Hold Truths Lightly!”, The Most rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, presiding bishop of the Episcopal church as reported by Rebbecca Trounsen, Los Angeles Times as published in the Times Picayune, Nov. 24, 2007

Full Quote: “Perhaps, Jefferts Schori said, if all sides in the current debate over sexuality and Scripture could ‘hold their truths more lightly,’ they might yet find a way forward together.”

Aphorism 114: “Bestow little faith in intuitions or impressions!” by C.P. Snow about G.H. Hardy in Variety of Men

Full Quote: “Hardy had no faith in intuitions or impressions, how own or anyone else’s.”

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Moral Aphorisms of Anthony Trollope from The Bertrams



Aphorism 113: “Alloy often clogs the gifts of fortune!”
Full Quote: “He determined, therefore, to accept the goods the gods had provided him, clogged though they were with alloy, like so many other gifts of fortune..”
Chapter Three, The Bertrams by Anthony Trollope

Aphorism 112: “Human nature is apt to be generous in the hot moments of impulse!”

Full Quote: “We are so apt to be generous in the hot moments of impulse, but so equally apt to be only coldly just in the long years of our ordinary existence.” Chapter Four, The Bertrams by A. Trollope

Aphorism 111: “The boldness of innocence!”

Full Quote: “What things? Said Adela, with all the boldness of innocence.” Chapter Four, The Bertrams, by A. Trollope

Aphorism 110: “We need not put up with the world as we find it!”

Full Quote: “You must put up with the world as you find it, Mr. Wilkinson.” Chapter Four, The Bertrams, by A. Trollop

Friday, July 10, 2009

Brookner, Heger, Pamuck, Rice: Random Pithy Thoughts


Aphorism 109: "Know it by its absence!" Ann Rice

Full Quote: "In my book, the one thing he will not know is the intimacy of marriage. He said, 'I will know it by its absence.'" as quoted in the Times Picayune march 5, 2008 by Susan Larson in her review of "Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana."

Aphorism 108: "Give everything you can, but first learn to take!" Anita Brookner, The Debut

Full Quote: "'I will give you everything I can,' he said, reaching for hand and meeting her wide eyes. 'But first you must learn to take.'"

Aphorism 107: "Provide a counterpoint!" Susan Heger

Full Quote: "The sharp formal lines of the pond connect the house to its grounds and provide a counter point to the scattered stepping-stone path." from the Times-Picayune Living, May 2007, "Getting back to green."

Aphorism 106: "Take pleasure in observation!" Orham Pamuk

Full Quote: "His face was illuminated not by the nearby candle, but by the pleasure of observations itself." Chapter One, My Name is Red.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Sports Aphorisms Part One

Aphorism 105: "Playing hurt is a matter of pride, responsibility and loyalty!" Unnamed New Orleans Saints football player as quoted by Darrell Williams of Times-Picayune.

Aphorism 104: "Go out and play hard baseball!" Tony Pena, while serving as Manager of Kansas City Royals

Full Quote: "..he vows the team will play aggressively. 'I believe you go out and play hard baseball.' he says." As quoted by Peter Barrouguere, Times Picayune, May 16, 2002.

Aphorism 103: "Consider Portaging An Opportunity!" by Jerry Dennis, From a Wooden Canoe.

Full Quote: "The indefatigable Siqurd Olson...considered portaging an opportunity, to hear sounds that are lost on the water, see things that until then had been hidden." p. 25

Aphorism 102: "Be a Good Finisher!" by Brian Doyle

Full Quote: " I firmly believe life is not how you start, it's how you finish. I want to be a good finisher." as quoted by Bill Syken of Sport Illustrated, April 28, 2003, p 10. Doyle was a hero of the 1978 World Series.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Jodi Picoult, Mercy


Aphorism 101: “No laird would expect his clan to do what he himself would not!” Chapter 3

Full Quote: “It was a technicality; any oath he’d made would naturally imply he’d be fighting alongside, since no laird would expect his clan to do what he himself would not.”

Aphorism 100: “Hope that heaven resembles Scotland!” Chapter 3

Full Quote: “He wondered what God was like. He hoped that heaven resembled Scotland.”

Aphorism 99: “The sad are victims of collective memory!” Chapter 3

Full Quote: “..he was really a victim of collective memory.”

Aphorism 98: “Duty is duty, a laird is a laird, and you cannot doubt your own blood!” Chapter 3

Full Quote: “’Duty is duty,’ Angus had said, ‘and a laird is a laird. And be there a clan or no’, lad, ye canna doubt your own blood.”

Aphorism 97: “Carrymuir had never been taken by Campbells or English or anyone else, was now overrun with tourists!” Chapter 3

Aphorism 96: “It is not possible to define freedom to someone who does not realize they are caged.” Chapter 4

Full Quote: “You simply could not define freedom to someone who did not realize they were caged.”

Monday, June 15, 2009

Door Slogans Part Four


Note: The habit of finding pithy sayings and posting them on office door was the beginning of my hobby of creating aphorisms from significant literature and other places.


Aphorism 95: “Emphasize Activism, Restrict Criticism!” by Robert K. Greenleaf


Full Quote: “With education that is preponderantly abstract and analytical it is no wonder that there is a preoccupation with criticism and that not much thought is given to ‘What can I do about it?’” 1995, “the Leaders Companion”, p. 21


Aphorism 94: “I’m Off Chicken!” Bill Tonnesen, artist


Comment: I’m off chicken is the name of Bill Tonnesen’s opening reception during his 2002 art show in Phoenix, AZ as read from the magazine Booksense, p. 44


Aphorism 93: “There is Nothing More Informative Than Taking A Walk Around the Block!” late Peter Jennings, ABC News anchor.


Comment: This comment was presented to a group of New Orleans Business leaders and university professors


Aphorism 92: “Expect to play important minutes!” Michael Jordan, NBA basketball star


Comment: The sports editor of the New Orleans Times Picayune stated: “Michael Jordan says he expects ‘play important minutes’ this season for the Washington Wizards.” Oct. 1, 2002.


Aphorism 91: “Go Full throttle!” Sonny Barger


Comment: As quoted by the Times Picayune, July, 25, 2000, “The philosophy of life of Sonny Barger, the [then] 61 year old leader of hell’s Angels.”

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Anita Brookner, The Misalliance


Aphorism 90: “Free will is a terrible burden!”

Full Quote: “That is they may want it theoretically, but free will, I find, is a terrible burden.” Chapter One

Aphorism 89: “The happy climates are reserved for those with the determination to seek them!”

Full Quote: “..she was statistically sure that somewhere there was heat, there was sunshine, and radiance, and that this happy climate was reserved for those who had the determination to seek it.” Chapter Two

Aphorism 88: “Be prepared to pay for your own entertainment!”

Full Quote: “And I did want to know. And now I do. And must probably be prepared to pay for my entertainment.” Chapter 4

Aphorism 87: “Well worn phrases please by their handiness!”

Full Quote: “..she had become even less communicative than before, using well-worn phrases that apparently pleased her by their handiness..” Chapter Five

Friday, June 5, 2009

Edith Wharton and Cynthia Griffin Wolff, Ethan Frome




Aphorism 86: “Cold is the absence of passion!” Cynthia Griffin Wolff’s Signet Classic Edition introduction.

Full Quote: “There is cold, the absence of passion. There is starvation, the desperate need for affection.”

Aphorism 85: “The hypnotizing effect of routine!”

Full Quote: “I chafed at first, and then, under the hypnotizing effect of routine, gradually began to find a grim satisfaction in the life.” Wharton, Prologue

Aphorism 84: “There is nothing unfriendly in silence!”

Full Quote: “..there was warm and sentient in him fast bound below the surface; but there was nothing unfriendly in his silence.” Wharton, Prologue

Aphorism 83: “Why don’t you say something? Because I am listening.”

Full Quote: “Sometimes, in the long winter evenings, when in desperation her son asked her why she didn’t ‘say something,’ she would lift and finger and answer: ‘Because I’m listening.’” Wharton Chapter 4

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Door Slogans Three

Aphorism 82: “Browsers Welcome!”

Full Quote: “It didn't have a name - just a banner strung across the front, saying in large letters, BROWSERS WELCOME.” From June W. Siegel’s e-mail to Jan Weber, Moderator of the Trollope@Yahoogroup.com

Aphorism 81: “Look for Surprises!”

Full Quote: “People aren’t looking for any more surprises.” Bill Keller, editor of New York Times as quoted by Matthew Rose, The Wall Street Journal, Tuesday July 15, 2003

Aphorism 80: “It’s being on the court!” Chris Evert, professional tennis player.

Aphorism 79: “Catch fire and carry the rest of us forward!” Rick Livingston, Institute for Collaborative Research and Public Humanities

Friday, May 22, 2009

Jane Smiley, A Thousand Acres and one Winston Churchill



Aphorism 78: “The main requirement is simple endurance!”

Full Quote: “At the quarry, it was easier to feel that the main requirement was simple endurance.” Jane Smiley, Chapter 32 of A Thousand Acres, 1991, Winner of the Pulitzer Prize

Aphorism 77: “Accept the gifts that you have been given!”

Full Quote: “The lesson I could not seem to learn was how to refuse the gifts I was to be given.” Chapter 32, Smiley, see 78 above

Aphorism 76: “A blur, that blessing of urban routine!”


Full Quote: “Otherwise, my life passed in a blur, that blessing of urban routine.” Chapter 42, Smiley, see 78 above.

Aphorism 75: “A guide to a man is his conscience!” Winston Churchill from his eulogy to Neville Chamberlain.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Anita Brookner: Hotel du Lac, Final




Aphorism 74: “Celebrate the person that you are!”

Full Quote: “And the enormous celebration of her own person, of her physical charm, so ruthlessly yet innocently set forth, was this altogether attractive in a woman of her age?” Chapter Six

Aphorism 73: “It is a mistake to confuse happiness with one particular situation!”

Full Quote: “’It is a great mistake,’ he resume, after a pause, ‘to confuse happiness with one particular situation, one particular person.’” Chapter Seven

Aphorism 72: “There is a sorrow of reminiscence!”

Full Quote: “Her mother was stimulated into reminiscences of the coffee houses of her youth, and had talked vividly and amusingly, before falling once again into the sorrow of reminiscence.” Chapter 8

Aphorism 71: “Outwit disappointment!

Full Quote: “But Edith, who had spent the years of her youth in silence and wariness, and who, in order to outwit disappointment, had learnt not to make claims.” Chapter 12

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Door Slogans for Graduates



Aphorism 70: “Be Skeptical of received Wisdom!” John J. Mearsheimer

Full Quote: “Specifically, we teach you to think for yourself and to be skeptical of received wisdom.” Keynote address, June 11 and 12, 2004, The 477th Convocation, University of Chicago.

Aphorism 69: “Achievement is a prerequisite!” Edwin L. Colodny

Comment: From “A Year of Achievement,” a position booklet provided by Dr. Edwin I. Colodny, Interim President University of Vermont, April 15, 2002

Aphorism 68: “Push Out of Comfort and Into Challenge!” Diane Lane

Full Quote: “And we need to push ourselves out of comfort and into challenge in order to grow.” As quoted by Bob Strauss from “Leading Lady at Last” in Los Angeles Daily News as reprinted in the Times-Picayune, September 27, 2003,Section E Page 1-2.


Aphorism 67: “Bring Light Into Dark Places!” Donald Newlove

Full Quote: “Again and again in Ironweed, Kennedy’s power to bring light into dark places and to write tragic dialogue ring with Shakespearean blackness strikes me as the happiest art.” From First Paragraphs: Inspired Openings for Writers and Readers, St. Martin’s Press, NY, 1992.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

John Le Carré



Aphorism 66: “Age is not an excuse!”

Full Quote: “Age is not an excuse. It never was and never will be.” Absolute Friends, 2003.

Aphorism 65: “I walk to keep company with my mind!”

Full Quote: “I walk to keep company with my mind, I drink to hide from it.” The Russian House, 1989.

Aphorism 64: “Another time, another life, another couple of brandies!” Single and Single, 1999.

Aphorism 63: “Dream to play one perfect note!” Our Game, 1995

Monday, May 11, 2009

Anita Brookner Interview by John Haffenden

Aphorism 62: “Regression effect acknowledged, the centre cannot hold!”

Full Quote: “But the centre cannot hold. Those two activities that you've mentioned are outside the natural order, I only ever wanted children, six sons.” Anita Brookner as quoted by John Haffenden, “Novelists in Interview,” London, New York, Methuen

Aphorism 61: “One's character determines one's fate!”

Full Quote: “I think one's character or predisposition determines one's fate. I'm afraid.” See above

Aphorism 60: “The power of images!”

Full Quote: “ What attracted me to art history is the power of images which act differently from words. Images recur in a way that words don’t.”

Aphorism 59: "Pull order out of chaos!"

Full Quote: "The artists of the eighteenth century were obsessed with pulling order out of the surrounding chaos, whereas in the nineteenth century it seemed more powerful and more valid to dissolve order . . . more true to the human condition."

Sunday, May 10, 2009

LeCarre, Tyler, Donne


Aphorism 58: “Choose what to lose!”

Full Quote: “’After a certain age’ he told Sarah, ‘it seems to me you can only chose what to lose.” Anne Tyler, The Accidental Tourist, Alfred A. Knopt, NY, 1985, p. 310

Aphorism 57: “Deal in the art of the legitimate!”

Full Quote: “He dealt in the art of the legitimate, in transferring informal assets to firmer grounds.” John Le Carre from Single and Single, Scribner, 1999. P.21.

Aphorism 56: “Any mans death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee!” John Donne

Aphorism 55: “If you are an alien, at least try to act normal!”

Full Quote: To live on Earth, aliens have to blend in.” Inspired by Men in Black II, quote appeared on a Burger King food sack.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Web Browsing



Aphorism 51: “Never sell the mother plant!”

Full Quote: “When selling bonsai, never sell the mother plant.” Francis Q. Nguyen, amateur gardener par excellent, private conversation, May 7, 2009. Advise about doing business on EBay.

Aphorism 52: “There is an earned innocence!”

Full Quote: “There is an earned innocence, I believe, which is as much to be honored as the innocence of children.” From Gilead, a novel by Marilynne Robinson as quoted by “Kilian in Tucson” on the Trollope@yahoogroups.com on line Anthony Trollope reading group. May 7, 2009.

Aphorism 53: “Anywhere but here!”

Full Quote: “I picked up a hitchhiker once with a sign ‘anywhere but here.’” Reported by “Kilian in Tucson” on the Trollope@yahoogroups.com on line Anthony Trollope reading group. May 7, 2009.

Aphorism 54: "No man is good enough to govern any woman without her consent!"

Comment: attributed to Susan B. Anthony by Dr. Drew, http://twitter.com/drdrew

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Anita Brookner: The Bay of Angels, 2001.



Aphorism 47: “Prefer to suffer!”

Full Quote: “Uncensored behavior seemed to me unbelievably dangerous, and like the Spartan boy with the fox under his shirt I preferred to suffer.” Chapter Six

Aphorism 48: “Beware of uncensored behavior!”

Full Quote: see 47 above

Aphorism 49: “Pay your dues to friendship!”

Full Quote: “Thus I failed to pay my dues to friendship, persuading myself that in time I should do what was expected of and offer up my broken hopes for their scrutiny.” Chapter Six

Aphorism 50: “Never allow unhappiness to become routine!”

Full Quote: “It was after all a banal disappointment. My unhappiness became routine, my secret dialogues with an absent Adam ceased to ramify.” Chapter Six

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Door Slogans Part III



Aphorism 43: “Virtues of Trend Resistance!”

Full Quote: “The restaurant’s food is a testament to the virtues of trend resistance, and the kitchen’s renderings of classic French-Creole dishes are hard to surpass.” By Brett Anderson in “Creole Contretemps”, The Times-Picayune, Section E, p. 3, July 7, 2002.

Aphorism 44: “Serve the Picture!”

Full Quote: “They all want to show their talents, but they must serve the picture.” By Roman Polanski as quoted from an interview on cable television concerning Polanski’s appreciation of the actors in the award winning movie Pianist, April 2004.

Aphorism 45: “Good People Learn to Like Each Other!”

Full Quote: “Good people learn to like each other if they are given a chance by being together.” By Ward, written as an entry to Trollope@yahoogroups.com on-line discussion group, May 9, 2004.

Aphorism 46: “To stir up undisputed matters seemed a reward in itself.” By Sallust, Roman historian, friend of Julius Caesar.

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Anita Brookner, Hotel du Lac Part I

Aphorism 43: “Certainly you will bore others but do not be allowed to bore yourself!”

Full Quote: “I have held this rather dim and trusting personality together for a considerable length of time, and although I have certainly bored others I was not to be allowed to bore myself.” Chapter 1

Aphorism 44: “Drink tea with delicacy!”

Full Quote: “Leaning back in her chair, her cup and saucer raised to her chin, this lady drank her tea with some delicacy, … “ Chapter 1

Aphorism 45: “Acquire a proper sense of your own presence!”

Full Quote: “..as she went towards the stairs there seemed to be a sudden emanation of a rosy scent, signaling the sort of preparation made by someone with a proper sense of her own presence.” Chapter 2

Aphorism 46: “Enjoy contact with alien species!”

Full Quote: “ Edith acquiesced to this readily enough, not because of her plight, which she saw as irremediable but not entirely serious, but because Mrs Pusey present her with the opportunity to examine, and to enjoy, contact with an alien species.” Chapter 3

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Anthony Trollope, The Vicar of Bullhampton Part I



Aphorism 39: “Be a man with an unlimited love of justice!”

Full Quote: “He was a man with an unlimited love of justice:…” Chapter Five

Aphorism 40: “Adhere to the well-bred ceremonies of life!”

Full Quote: “Not that Mr. Chamberlaine was a very old man, but that it suited his tastes and tone of mind to adhere to the well-bred ceremonies of life, so many of which went out of fashion when railroads came in.” Chapter 24.

Aphorism 41: “A man shouldn’t keep his own sores open!”

Full Quote: “The Longer I live the more convinced I become that a man shouldn’t keep his own sores open.” Chapter 27

Aphorism 42: “Dare to obey the instincts of your heart!”

Full Quote: “Mr. Brattle, think better of yourself, and dare to obey the instincts of your heart.”

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Door Slogans Two




Aphorism 35: "Educate Hope!"

Full Quote: "...how this 'war on youth' permeates not only the malls but American secondary schools revealing some startling implications for school leaders that involves the privatization of social life, the corportization of time, and the possibility of educated hope." by Henry A. Giroux, Pennsylvania State University The Initiative Anthology Website, Feb. 28, 2003

Aphorism 36: "Know How to Suffer!"

Full Quote: They were tough they were cold and they knew how to suffer." by Samuel Abt, "Grand Tour, the Tour de France at 100 in Sky, July 2003, pps. 66-69.

Aphorism 37: "Test Your Imagination!"

Full Quote: "Koenig is a paddler who thinks expeditions should be enjoyed, not just endured, who sees his Kayak as a vehicle to take him places that test his imagination, not just his mettle." by Bob Marshall, The Times-Picayune, May 19, 2004

Aphorism 38: "A Master Never Measures!"

Full Quote: from "In Praise of the Gin Martini" by Al Martinez, a columnist at the Los Angeles Tames, taken from Bon Appetit, Wine & Spirits, April 2003.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Victory by Joseph Conrad, Part I




Aphorism 30: “Victory, the shinning goal of noble effort!” page vii

Aphorism 31: “Thinking, the great enemy of perfection!” page X

Aphorism 32: “Inspiration is sometimes just getting out of the way!” page X

Aphorism 33: “Unperturbed polite interest!”

Full Quote: “Morrison was swiftly reproachful in his answer, and there came a pause, Morrison perhaps interrogating his conscience and Heyst preserving a mien of unperturbed, polite interest.” P. 13. The Modern Library, Doubleday, NY, 1921.

Aphorism 34: “God expects men to be self-reliant!”

Full Quote: “I believe in children praying—well women, too, but I rather think God expects men to be more self-reliant.” P. 13

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Door Slogans, Buckley and Others



Note: The hobby of building Aphorisms started from my hobby of creating "door slogans" from interesting thoughts from various literary sources such as books, book reviews, and newspaper articles. Today's feature presents some of those slogans.

Aphorism 26: “Consecrate A Purpose!”

Full Quote: “Gandhi was right—like the Bhagavad—Gita—in saying that the whole of one’s resources must be mobilized to consecrate a purpose.” By William F. Buckley, Jr., Stained Glass, Doubleday, p. 69.

Aphorism 27: “Deinstitutionalize Knowledge!”

Full Quote: “the problem with major league baseball, he said, is that it’s a self-populating institution. Knowledge is institutionalized.” The quote is by Vorus McCracken, baseball statistician as quoted by Michael Lewis in Moneyball, W.W. Norton’s Company, N.Y. Lewis’s quote came from www://baseballprospectus.com

Aphorism 28: “The Virtue of Disinterestedness!”

Full Quote: “A presiding spirit in this book is Matthew Arnold, who not only urged us to teach the best that has been thought and said but also advocated the virtue of disinterestedness, which allows for curiosity without dogmatism, skepticism without nihilism, conviction without fanaticism.” A book review: Smiling through the Cultural Catastrophe by Jeffrey Hart, Wall Street Journal, Sept. 21, 2001.

Aphorism 29: “Blurting Is A Form of Bravery!”

Reference: Quote by Susan Larson, Book editor, The Times-Picayune from her book review of Unless by Carol Shields, Sunday, April 28, 2002

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Keats and Levine

Aphorism Twenty-two: “Strengthen your ‘poetry’ by direct contact with experience!”

Full quote: “His aim was to see more of the world so that he could strengthen his poetry with direct contact with experience.” From The Essential Keats selected by Philip Levine. Galahad Books, NY. 1993, p. 6.

Aphorism Twenty-three: “Periodically refresh belief in the value of art!”

Full quote: “He remains a wellspring to which all of us might go to refresh our belief in the value of this art.” p. 9

Aphorism Twenty-four: “The poetry of earth is never dead!”

Full quote: “On the Grasshopper and Cricket—The poetry of earth is never dead:”

Aphorism 25: “A thing of beauty is a joy forever!”

Full Quote: “From Endymion—A thing of beauty is a joy for ever.”

Thursday, April 9, 2009

A guest intrudes with a pleasant maxim, Maxim III from the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

Aphorism1 is on vacation in Destin, FL and found The Ruaiyat of Omar Kyayyam as translated by Edward FitzGerald in a used book store. Khayyam's Maxim III seemed worthy of a guest appearance into a listing of aphorisms. Enjoy.

III
And, as the Cock crew, those who stood before
The Tavern shouted--"Open then the Door!
You know how little while we have to stay,
And, once departed, may return no more."

Monday, April 6, 2009

Gautreaux, Neuwen, & Narden



Aphorism Eighteen: “It takes patience to know something well!”

Aphorism Nineteen: “Heed the directions found in personal fascinations!”

Full quote: “That’s one thing as a teacher I always emphasized—your personal fascinations are the most valuable thing you have, no matter what that fascination is…And I think it takes patience to know something.” By Tim Gautreaux, author of The Missing as quoted by Susan Larson, Times Picayune Newspaper, March 2009

Aphorism Twenty: “Obey the laws of imagination!”

Full Quote: “Like other writers, he (Anthony Trollope) had to compromise between his desire to sell and his need to obey the laws of his own imagination..” by Jane Narden, He Knew She Was Right, S. Illinois U. Press, 1989, p. 21

Aphorism Twenty-one: “Develop the discipline of gratitude!”

Full Quote: “Hillary recalled that one simple phrase in Neuwen’s book struck like an epiphany, ‘the discipline of gratitude’” from Her Way, 2007, Jeff Gerth and Don Van Natta, Jr. Little Brown, NY. Quoted by Hillary from The Return of the Periodical Son by Henri Neuwen.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner, Part One



Quote Fourteen: “Dedicate to high thinking!”

Full Quote: “She..represented the cultivation, good manners, consideration for others, cleanliness of body and brightness of mind and dedication to high thinking that were the goals of outsiders like me..” Random House, 1987, p. 19.

Quote Fifteen: “Experience often the expression of civilized cuisine!”

Full Quote: “Chicken Kiev, saltimbocca, escalope de veau, whatever it was, it was the expression of a civilized cuisine..” p. 33

Quote Sixteen: “Show dignity when cornered!”

Full Quote: “She has great dignity and presence when she is corned, and when she reads that antique poetry she can bring tears to your eyes.” p. 38.

Quote Seventeen: “Spiritual poverty is a choice!”

Full Quote: “Or else they stay home and just grumble and knock and talk about spiritual poverty.” p. 39.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Lord Jim, Joseph Conrad, Part One

Aphorism Ten: “Possess ability in the abstract!”

Full Quote: “When a water-clerk who possesses ability in the abstract has also the advantage of having been brought up to the sea, he is worth to his employer a lot of money and some humouring.” Harper & Row, Perennial Classics, 1965 (1899), p. 4.

Aphorism Eleven: “Seek a lower achievement if it will do the turn!”

Full Quote: “Otherwise he was rather glad he had not gone into the cutter, since a lower achievement had served the turn.” P. 7

Aphorism Twelve: “We determine our own moral identity!”

Full Quote: “It was solemn, and a little ridiculous, too, as they always are, those struggles of an individual trying to save from the fire his idea of what his moral identity should be…” p. 58.

Aphorism Thirteen: “There are as many shipwrecks as there are men!”

Full Quote: “Of course, as with belief, though, love, hate, conviction, or even the visual aspect of material things, there are as many shipwrecks as there are men..” p. 86.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Latecomers by Anita Brookner: Part One

Aphorism Six: "Discover the delight of generosity!”

Full Quote: “Fibich sent his cigarette ration to Hartmann, who was gradually discovering the delights of generosity.” Page 11 Pantheon Books, 1988.

Aphorism Seven: “Waiting demands courage!”

Full Quote: “But waiting demanded so much courage, and she was not a brave woman.” P. 23.

Aphorism Eight: “The gift of beauty may not necessarily be fatal!”

Full Quote: “The gift of beauty may not necessarily be fatal; on the other hand it may distort the prospects of those who possess it.” P. 78

Aphorism Nine: “Cultivate the gift of finding life entertaining!”

Full Quote: “Hartman had the gift, which Fibich never had, of finding life entertaining: his bonhomie rarely faltered.” P. 84.

Monday, March 30, 2009

The Red and The Black, Stendhal, Signet Classic, 1970

Aphorism 2: “Give into the pleasure of being alive!”

Full Quote: “Alone, far from the sight of men, and by instinct totally unafraid of Mne. De Renal, Julien, after so much constraint and clever diplomacy, had given in to the pleasure of being alive---“ p. 59

Aphorism 3: “You can’t lean on something unless it resists!”

Full Quote: “You can’t lean on something unless it resists, etcetera.” P. 257

Aphorism 4: “Direct admiration to the useful!”

Full Quote: “…but she soon found out that had but one attitude of mind: the utilitarian, an admiration for the useful.” P. 292

Aphorism 5: “Know how to avoid defeat!”

Full Quote: “He was so stirred by his admiration for the great virtues of Danton, Mirabeau, Carnot, men who knew how to avoid defeat,…” P. 300