Aphorisms with the development of social networks have acquired special significance. A clever phrase can now not only flaunt in a conversation, but also indicate it in the entries of your account, blog or diary. The capacious phrase describing an ordinary event will be remembered by the guests, which means they will remember the person who found it.
The concept of aphorism
Under the aphorism always understand the original saying, where the words are arranged so harmoniously and rationally that it leads to quoting by other people. As a rule, this is a laconic sentence, not exceeding 10 words, almost without punctuation marks and complex turns.
The opinion that aphorism and quotation are synonyms is wrong, because the latter is a fully or partially quoted (voiced or rewritten) statement of someone. Accordingly, not every capacious saying can become a quote. Literary works and even serious scientific works are full of original thoughts that were forgotten even by their authors.
From time to time, a random reader or listener discovers an aphorism, and after a successful quotation, he becomes famous and is among the “active” expressions. Other well-known and nagging remarks, on the contrary, are forgotten in order to someday become popular again.
Speech source types
Love for aphorisms arose a very long time ago. Even in ancient times, people were able to describe a situation or phenomenon in a loud phrase. And in the 21st century, quotes from Aristotle (Man is a political animal), Cicero (I’m never so busy as at the time of my rest), Horace (You can escape from the Fatherland, but you can’t escape from the Fatherland in yourself) and many others others. Such aphorisms have long become classics of utterances, altered and even moved into the category of sayings, becoming an integral part of the folk epic.
In the modern world, the sources of sonorous phrases are not limited only to the works of illustrious thinkers. An interesting statement can be found:
1. In art and scientific works of different years. Moreover, the year and theme, religious or national affiliation of the author does not matter. A rare prose writer was not noted for an aphorism attractive to readers.
Separately, it is worth noting the trend of recent years. Literary works that appeared before the beginning of the XXI century contain very deep aphorisms in meaning about life and life values. However, in the last century the mood of aphorisms changes somewhat - phrases become more rude, catchy, cynical, focused more on attracting the attention of interlocutors than on understanding a philosophical problem.
2. Movies, series and cartoons. Modern screen art allows anyone to effortlessly find an aphorism appropriate for the occasion. This is especially easy to do in works of the Soviet period, some of which have been disassembled into quotes for many years. Among them are “Love and Pigeons” with the well-known Russian-speaking - “Lyudk … a, Lyudk!”, “Bitch you are beautiful”, as well as “Twelve Chairs” (Sultry Woman - Poet's Dream), “Wedding in Robin” (Gadsky Pope !), "Seventeen Moments of Spring" (… And I will ask you to stay), "Diamond Hand" (Even ulcers and teetotalers drink at someone else's expense) and others. The list goes on for a very long time.
However, modern television shows are not too far behind them. Phrase: "Gravity, heartless you bitch!" - The authorship of Sheldon Cooper from the series The Big Bang Theory is too good to be forgotten.
3. Theater and film actors, politicians, scientists, cultural figures. Public people are rarely silent and able to speak on different topics. It often happens that aphorisms about the life and life values of authorship of politicians can be found in interviews, heard in the news or at speeches. During the USSR, memorized quotes by Leonid Brezhnev and members of the CPSU, but in the 21st century, politicians do not leave people without "red words". It's just that no one forces them to be taught.
- "There are 3 ways to influence a person: blackmail, vodka and threats." Vladimir Putin
- "What kind of democracy can we talk about if 65% of Russia is permafrost ?!" Vladimir Zhirinovsky.
- "They don’t pay extra for optimism!" Sergey Lavrov.
- "Our people are peaceful and not malignant. He spent 800 years in battles and campaigns." Gennady Zyuganov.
The number of acting aphorisms is not calculable. Quotes of Faina Raevskaya, which are distinguished by their crude directness and brightness, are very popular. For example: "The ass, the pill and the brain have a soul mate. And I was originally a whole!"
4. Random jokes, comments and unknown phrases. Often, popular aphorisms about the values of life do not have an author, because they arose from random words, were repeatedly modified and were never recorded in the original version. Among them:
- "Nothing reduces the price of a car like trying to sell it."
- "Marriage is the only legalized form of slavery."
- "There are 4 kinds of lies: lies, blatant lies, quoting, and statistics."
- "You can’t forbid to live beautifully, but you won’t force it either."
Topics and types of aphorisms
In the past few decades, the number of aphorisms used has increased thousands of times. It is unlikely that any attitude or thing was left without colorful descriptions. All topics of quoted statements can be divided into 2 groups:
1. Traditional (common).
This category includes aphorisms about life and life values (children, love, family, work, etc.) that have been exciting people since ancient times.
2. Unconventional things and phenomena.
Far from commonplace words and circumstances also "grow" with a variety of aphorisms. The following statements are worth mentioning:
- “Debit with credit does not converge, but a person with a person always converges” (accounting statements).
- "The director knows, the boss knows how, and the referent does" (about the service hierarchy).
- "Thoughts are global, but act locally" (ecology).
- “Do not ask questions, and I will not lie” (interview).
Aphorisms of Russian history
According to one or another quotation, one can form an opinion about a literary work, an event, or even an era. In Russia, according to popular aphorisms, it is quite possible to study history - from the period of origin to the present day. Moreover, a brief chronicle will look like this:
"Great Russia, but there is no order in it" - the Slavs called on the Varangian prince Rurik.
"The dead do not shame" - Prince Svyatoslav defends Russia.
"May everyone own the estate" - feudal fragmentation.
"An uninvited guest is worse than a Tatar" - a Horde yoke for 200 years.
“God is not in power, but in truth” - they threw off the Tatar-Mongol administration.
"The king ordered, and the boyars were sentenced" - the formation of royal power.
"Here you are, granny, and St. George's Day" - strengthening the serfdom of the peasants.
"Chin Chin Honor" - Peter the Great reforms on public service.
"In Russia, the power of the ruler is limited … by a noose" - the unfortunate Paul I.
“I wanted the best, but it turned out as always” - an attempt to abolish serfdom at the beginning of the 19th century.
"Russia is ruled by the captains" - about the Russian bureaucracy of the mid-19th century.
“The tops cannot, but the lower classes will not” - the 1917 revolution.
“The main thing is to get involved in the battle, and it will be visible there” - Civil War.
“Life has become better, life has become more fun” - the country's industrialization in the 1930s.
"Our cause is right!" - The Great Patriotic War.
“They won’t catch us in underpants” - The Cold War and the arms race.
"Damn it, with meat, if only capitalism were dead" - stagnation and deficit in the USSR.
"If there is no water in the tap, the Jews drank it!" - An even greater deficit and anti-Semitic politics in the USSR.
“I'm Going to You” - Gorbachev’s perestroika and reforms.
“If brains drain, then at least they are. It's good” - emigration from the countries of the former USSR.
"Urine in the toilet of terrorists" - the beginning of the XX century.
“If a fight is inevitable, then you need to beat first” - political events of 2016.
Aphorisms about life and death
The most grateful topic is statuses about life, quotes about life. Life values, problems of life and its end - these topics make up approximately 60% of the total sayings. All statements of this topic can be divided into 2 groups:
1. Sayings focused on understanding human life as a phenomenon. Almost every writer or serious public figure has his own selection of aphorisms, phrases and statements about life.
“Everyone flinches when he is first called an old man” (Oliver Holmes, Jr.).
"Life is short. But compared to what?" (Andre Morois).
"Life is like a foreign language. Everyone speaks with an accent" (Christopher Morley).
“People don’t want to live forever. People just don’t want to die” (Stanislav Lem).
2. Humorous aphorisms, the priority of which is turning serious thoughts into a joke. This is a common trend in recent years. Many people believe that the world is already too scary and it’s better not to talk about serious things without a joke.
“I blame my life for my death” (Gennady Malkin).
“It’s harmful to live. They die from it” (Stanislav Lem).
“If you don’t get used to, you will die. If you don’t get used to, you will get used to it” (Mikhail Zhvanetsky).
“To die today is scary. But someday, it’s nothing” (Russian proverb).
Jokes on the topic of burial, cemetery, immortality and death were unthinkable some 100 years ago, when people had strong religious beliefs and fears.
Aphorisms about love, men and women
In modern relationships, beautiful and smart aphorisms about life and love with meaning are another way to express your feelings for a person. Sound phrases, serious or with a funny accent, no worse than poems can emphasize the severity of emotions and intentions.
Sayings about romance, brides, weddings and other related phenomena make up a significant part of the modern love epic. Since most aphorisms are still uttered by men - the themes of love, marriage and women are simply riddled with mockery and cynicism.
"Once again, someone surrenders - they play the wedding march."
"The sale of women is permitted only on the day of the wedding."
"With current taxes, you can marry for love."
"Marriage is a life sentence for love."
"Rolling pin - control shot of a housewife."
A similar situation is with aphorisms about women: the number of serious thoughts is much inferior to jokes. Statements about female logic completely crossed into the field of folk epos. However, sonorous statements also do not disregard men.
"Female intuition used to be called differently - suspiciousness."
“Everything is from God except for a woman” (Italian proverb).
"There are no beautiful women. There are ugly and well-made up."
"Men create laws, and women create morals."
"Men are always right, and women are never wrong."
"A real man has enough babysitting."
However, people are pretty tolerant of fun with nature and many agree that men and women are different sides of the same coin.
Aphorisms about friends, family and children
Statements about family and friendships are aimed at describing the status (position) of people, relationships and feelings between them. They basically have a guiding meaning, since values, aphorisms about the values of a person’s life should influence a person in a positive way. The percentage of serious and humorous in this topic is approximately equal. Among the popular sayings you can find the following:
"All men are brothers. But what about women?"
"Do not judge a person by kindred. He did not choose her."
"You can get rid of appendicitis right away, and from relatives - only gradually."
"Children and grandchildren will easily find a common language. They have common enemies."
"We love our children too much and our parents too little."
"Men love women. Women love children. Children love hamsters. Hamsters love no one."
"Obedient sons never achieve much success."
"Teach your children to be silent. They themselves will learn to speak."
"Who are we friends against today?"
"A true friend will sell you, but will not forget to share the proceeds."
