Article image

Pithy Aphorisms to Guide You in Life

Aphorisms are among the oldest — and shortest — literary art forms. They tend to be concise statements or phrases that offer advice or insight in easy-to-remember nuggets that can be applied to a variety of situations. These brief, pithy sayings stay with us because they often use metaphors or imagery to make their point. Think: “the early bird gets the worm” or “a penny saved is a penny earned.” Their appeal lies in their ability to reflect our own understanding of the world, and they endure because they contain universal truths that resonate across generations.

Many renowned writers through the years have used their mastery of words to spin wisdom into memorable and witty maxims. From ancient wisdom to witty one-liners, here are 15 aphorisms to guide you in life.

Life is made up of marble and mud.
Nathaniel Hawthorne

Share Quote

It is not length of life, but depth of life.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Share Quote

Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.
James Baldwin

Share Quote

Nothing in life is to be feared; it is only to be understood.
Marie Curie

Share Quote

He that would live in peace and at ease, must not speak all he knows or judge all he sees.
Benjamin Franklin

Share Quote

Life is short, art long, occasion brief, experience fallacious, judgment difficult.
Hippocrates

Share Quote

Tell me who admires and loves you, and I will tell you who you are.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Share Quote

We are always the same age inside.
Gertrude Stein

Share Quote

The act of dying is one of the acts of life.
Marcus Aurelius

Share Quote

History, like beauty, depends largely on the beholder.
Desmond Tutu

Share Quote

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
widely attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt

Share Quote

To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.
Oscar Wilde

Share Quote

There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.
Leonard Cohen

Share Quote

Brevity is the soul of wit.
William Shakespeare

Share Quote

Travel is fatal to prejudice.
Mark Twain

Share Quote

Photo credit: Bettmann via Getty Images

Author image
About the Author
Kristina Wright
Kristina is a coffee-fueled writer living happily ever after with her family in the suburbs of Richmond, Virginia.
Play more header background
Play more icon
Daily Question
Fill in the blank: "The time to make up your mind about people is ___." - Philip Barry

More Inspiration

happiness theme icon

Always try to be a little kinder than is necessary.

separator icon
J.M. Barrie
motivation theme icon

All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.

separator icon
J.R.R. Tolkien
hope theme icon

Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else.

separator icon
Fred Rogers
love theme icon

Diligence is the mother of good fortune.

separator icon
Miguel de Cervantes
wisdom theme icon

The great gift of human beings is that we have the power of empathy.

separator icon
Meryl Streep
happiness theme icon

I will make my life. I will carve it with care.

separator icon
Dolores del Río
motivation theme icon

Intuition is a very powerful thing, more powerful than intellect.

separator icon
Steve Jobs
hope theme icon

Happiness is something that multiplies when it is divided.

separator icon
Paulo Coelho
love theme icon

My only consolation when I am really sad is to love and to be loved.

separator icon
Marcel Proust
wisdom theme icon

Deserve your dream.

separator icon
Octavio Paz
happiness theme icon

Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone, it has to be made, like bread.

separator icon
Ursula K. Le Guin