An aphorism is a statement of truth condensed into few words that express much. "Concise, clever, often paradoxical," says Webster's Dictionary. In the ancient world, the first aphorisms were inscriptions in verse, carved into the stone of tombs, statues, temples, and triumphal arches. With the advent of paper, they evolved into brief morsels of insight, often witty or satirical. The Quotable Stoic is a new distillation of wisdom in the classic tradition of Mark Twain, H. L. Mencken, Epictetus, Samuel Johnson, and la Rochefoucauld. If you love aphorisms, you'll be delighted by the original mind reflected here. If you enjoy seeing things from a different angle and like to examine life's larger questions, then this is the perfect book for you.