Oxford Book of Aphorisms

by John Gross

Overview

This anthology demonstrates to the full just how brilliantly the aphorist can illuminate the hidden truth, or lay bare the ironies of existence. Specific sections, including 'Religion', 'Money & Rank', 'Men, Women, Marriage' and 'Politics', cover the whole range of aphoristic literature. This book brings together the most diverse figures -- the classic aphorists, like La Rochefoucauld; the philosophers, from the Greeks to Bertrand Russell; great men and women of letters, from Samuel Johnson to Virginia Woolf -- as well as statesmen, scientists, boulevardiers, Olympians, and gadflies. John Gross draws on their wisdom and wit to produce an anthology that will be referred to time and time again.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780192804563
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	04/24/2003
Series:	Oxford Books of Prose
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	394
Product dimensions:	7.73(w) x 5.07(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

About the Editor:
John Gross, a writer for The New York Times, is the author of The Rise and Fall of the Man of Letters.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Aphorists & Aphorisms I
Nature
Mankind
Life
Desires & Longings
Fears, Hopes, Passions
Design and Chance
Individuals
The Sense of Identity
Self-Love
Self-Knowledge
Self-Doubt
One Among Many
Fame & Reputation
The Arts of Success
Action & Achievement
Money & Rank
The Social Fabric
Love, Jealousy, Libido
Happiness & Sorrow
Good & Evil etc