From Heraclitus, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius to Pascal, Schopenhauer, and Kierkegaard, to Nietzsche and Wittgenstein, aphorism holds a special place in the history of philosophy. Aphorism saves the philosopher from seriousness, speculation, and melancholy. It seeks truth by flirting with uncertainty, while reconciling with doubt by embracing paradox. Aphorism heals, but it also poisons in excessive doses or long-term use. It resists gravity with a playful disposition, choosing lightness. It teeters on the edge of a razor between cliché and interpretability, demanding courage from the author and bravery from the reader. Provocative, enigmatic, contradictory, aphorism awakens and comforts, inviting us to meet ourselves, i.e. the other.