Here is a little book in the grand tradition of aphorism - subversive, biting, cheerful. The classic topics come alive again on these crisp pages: pride, happiness, divinity, death, love, friendship, art, politics. Honed to a razor edge, each short thought slices through convention, as the author invites the reader to ponder the folly of the human race -perhaps its most attractive characteristic. A sampling #8: The summit of style is to kill with a word. #371: Flattery is the only reliable tyrannicide. #225: In health, the body obeys the will; in sickness, the will obeys the body. #342: Without law, power cannot sleep. #395: Under a tyrant at least no one believes the newspapers. #157: The unhappy see themselves through the eyes of the bad, the happy through the eyes of the good. #332: Optimists go to war; pessimists make and keep the peace. #349: To speak for one's nation is to fancy oneself a king. #243: To love others, we must first understand how they resemble us, because we have no other measure of esteem. #425: Good poetry says half of what it means; bad poetry means half of what it says. #209: Without moderation, self-denial is self-indulgence. #120: God's punishment of human folly is NOT to send a plague. #409: The notion of art for the sake of art is too close to the notion of life for the sake of life. #450: Historians are hopelessly prejudiced in favour of historical significance. #440: We enjoy talking about ourselves chiefly because it requires no effort.