Aphorisms

Gabe has been reading Plato's 'Republic' lately, and has taken to waylaying me with aphorisms (called 'dichos' in Spanish) expressing timeless, eternal verities; e.g., "a stitch in time saves nine" (whatever that means).

"Into The Woods" (now showing at DMTC) has two sections, called 'Midnights', where Stephen Sondheim's various characters also express aphorisms, some eternal, some contingent (Gabe, isn't the last one straight from Plato?):

First Midnight

No knot unties itself.
Sometimes the things you most wish for are not to be touched.
The harder to get, the better to have.
Never wear mauve at a Ball...Or pink...Or open your mouth.
The difference between a cow and a bean is a bean can begin an adventure.
Slotted spoons don't hold much soup.
The prettier the flower, the farther from the path.
The closer to the family, the closer to the wine.
The mouth of a wolf's not the end of the world.
A servant is not just a dog, to a Prince.
Opportunity is not a lengthy visitor.
You may know what you need, but to get what you want, better to see you keep what you have.

Second Midnight

Wanting a Ball is not wanting a Prince.
Near may be better than far, but it still isn't there.
You can never love somebody else's child the way you love your own.
The greatest prize can often lie at the end of the thorniest path.