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Aphorisms Hippocrates Translated by Francis Adams and Letter to Menoeceus Epicurus Translated by Robert Drew Hicks TWO BOOKS IN ONE Aphorisms Hippocrates Aphorisms by Hippocrates. An aphorism is a terse saying, expressing a general truth, principle, or astute observation, and spoken or written in a laconic and memorable form. Aphorism literally means a "distinction" or "definition". The term was first used in the Aphorisms of Hippocrates. The oft-cited first sentence of this work is: Life is short, art long, opportunity fleeting, experience deceptive, judgement difficult. The term was later applied to maxims of physical science, then statements of all kinds of philosophical, moral, or literary principles. In modern usage an aphorism is generally understood to be a concise statement containing a subjective truth or observation, cleverly and pithily written. A well-known example is; Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely - Lord Acton. Letter to Menoeceus Epicurus Epicurus; 341-270 BC, was an ancient Greek philosopher as well as the founder of the school of philosophy called Epicureanism. Only a few fragments and letters of Epicurus's 300 written works remain. Much of what is known about Epicurean philosophy derives from later followers and commentators. For Epicurus, the purpose of philosophy was to attain the happy, tranquil life, characterized by ataraxia--peace and freedom from fear--and aponia--the absence of pain--and by living a self-sufficient life surrounded by friends. He taught that pleasure and pain are measures of what is good and evil; death is the end of both body and soul and should therefore not be feared; the gods neither reward nor punish humans; the universe is infinite and eternal; and events in the world are ultimately based on the motions and interacti