Apothegm is a funny word you might use to let others know you are infinitely smarter than they are. It’s a funny word with some serious clout, but ultimately it just means “a terse, witty, instructive saying; a maxim.” I found the word while trying to find a better term than “phrase”. There’s actually a number of words which would have worked, apothegm is just the funniest of them. I could have said sententia, aphorism, epigram, maxim, adage, byword, proverb, or even the never used definition of saw.
Anywho1, these are a number of apothegms that I’ve found enjoyable.
Lyrics
These are lyrics I like.
Fire and Rain by James Taylor
Won’t you look down upon me, Jesus
You’ve got to help me make a stand
You’ve just got to see me through another day
My body’s aching and my time is at hand
And I won’t make it any other way
Taylor was writing this about his battle with drug addiction, but regardless of the vice, this is a very relatable sentiment. These words have always struck a chord with me.
Latin
These are Latin sayings and phrases I like or find contemplative.
pax vobiscum
In English pax vobiscum means “peace [be] with you”. It would have been a fairly common salutation in Roman times. It also is used in some liturgical functions today, particularly in Greek Orthodox churches.
The word pax is probably a fairly well recognized Latin word and it means “peace”. That then means vobiscum is the “[be] with you” portion of this salutation.
vincit qui se vincit
In English this means “he conquers who conquers himself”. Sometimes the phrase is prepended with the word bis which translates to the much wordier, “he who prevails over himself is twice victorious”. This is a more famous Latin phrase as it is featured in the movie Beauty and The Beast.
Witty
H.L Mencken on Mainline Protestantism
“a kind of literary and social club, devoted vaguely to good works.”
This quote comes from Mencken’s obituary for J. Grisham Menchan.