maxim

Definition:

A compact expression of a general truth or rule of conduct. See also:

• What Is a Maxim?
• Aphorism
• Proverb
• Catchphrase
• Logos

Etymology:

From the Latin, "greatest"

Examples and Observations:

• Never trust a man who says, "Trust me."



• Time heals all wounds.



• "Time wounds all heels."
  (Jane Ace, quoted in The Fine Art of Hypochondria by Goodman Ace, 1966)



• "You're either part of the solution or part of the problem."
  (Eldridge Cleaver)



• "Nothing ever goes away."
  (Barry Commoner, American ecologist)



• "Think sideways!"
  (Edward De Bono, The Use of Lateral Thinking, 1967)



• "Don't let your mouth write no check your tail can't cash."
  (Bo Diddley)



• "Almost every wise saying has an opposite one, no less wise, to balance it."
  (George Santayna)



• "In the Rhetoric, Book II, Chapter 21, Aristotle treated maxims as a prelude to his discussion of the enthymeme, because, as he observed, maxims often constitute one of the premises of a syllogistic argument. For instance, in an argument about financial matters, one can imagine a disputant saying, 'A fool and his money are soon parted.' The full argument suggested by this proverb would run something like this:

  A fool and his money are soon parted.
  John Smith is undeniably a fool when it comes to money matters.
  John Smith is sure to lose out on his investment.

  The value of maxims, according to Aristotle, is that they invest a discourse with 'moral character,' with that ethical appeal so important in persuading others. Because maxims touch upon universal truths about life, they win ready assent from the audience."
  (Edward P.J. Corbett and Robert J. Connors, Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student, Oxford University Press, 1999)

Pronunciation: MAKS-im

Also Known As: proverb, saying, adage, sententia, precept