--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Wonderful aphorism - but we can't take…" description: "\"“Wonderful aphorism - but we can't take refuge in aphorisms.”\" — Morton Feldman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ee/morton-feldman-20186_aphorism_wonderful-aphorism-but-we-can-t-take-ref_2510438.png" --- # Wonderful aphorism - but we can't take refuge in aphorisms. ![“Wonderful aphorism - but we can't take refuge in aphorisms.” quote by Morton Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ee/morton-feldman-20186_aphorism_wonderful-aphorism-but-we-can-t-take-ref_2510438.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ee/morton-feldman-20186_aphorism_wonderful-aphorism-but-we-can-t-take-ref_2510438.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ee/morton-feldman-20186_aphorism_wonderful-aphorism-but-we-can-t-take-ref_2510438.png) > ““Wonderful aphorism - but we can't take refuge in aphorisms.”” [Morton Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morton-feldman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The statement warns against relying solely on aphorisms, suggesting they cannot replace deeper understanding or personal refuge. **In simple terms:** Aphorisms alone aren't enough. Key Takeaway Seek deeper insight beyond sayings. Themes critical thinking philosophy self‑reliance Mood skeptical analytical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - decision making - personal development - education Key Concepts cognitive bias wisdom Questions to Reflect On - When have you relied on a saying too much? - What deeper truths lie beyond the aphorism? A Different Perspective Aphorisms can be useful shortcuts; they may oversimplify. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aphorism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aphorism/) [Aphorism Refuge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aphorism-refuge-1150190/) [Aphorisms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aphorisms/) [Quoting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quoting/) [Refuge Aphorisms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refuge-aphorisms-1150191/) [Wonderful Aphorism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonderful-aphorism-1150192/) ## Related quotes > [Aphorisms are not true or false, but pointed or flat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/aphorisms-are-not-true-or-false-but-pointed-or-flat/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [There are aphorisms that, like airplanes, stay up only while they are in motion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/there-are-aphorisms-that-like-airplanes-stay-up-only-while-they-are/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [The best aphorisms are… portable wisdom, the quintessential extracts of thought and feeling. They furnish the largest amount of intellectual stimulus and nutriment in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-rounseville-alger/the-best-aphorisms-are-portable-wisdom-the-quintessential-extracts-of/) [William Rounseville Alger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-rounseville-alger/) > [Aphorisms are food for thought - like sushi, they come in small portions that are both delicious and exquisitely formed. And, like sushi, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-geary/aphorisms-are-food-for-thought-like-sushi-they-come-in-small-portions/) [James Geary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-geary/) > [An aphorism and its author aren't joined by a dash, but separated by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-alejandro-king/an-aphorism-and-its-author-aren-t-joined-by-a-dash-but-separated-by-it/) [John Alejandro King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-alejandro-king/) > [Aphorisms are essentially an aristocratic genre of writing. The aphorist does not argue or explain, he asserts; and implicit in his assertion is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/aphorisms-are-essentially-an-aristocratic-genre-of-writing-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Exclusively of the abstract sciences, the largest and worthiest portion of our knowledge consists of aphorisms: and the greatest and best of men is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/exclusively-of-the-abstract-sciences-the-largest-and-worthiest/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [Good places for aphorisms: in fortune cookies, on bumper stickers, and on banners flying over the Palace of Free Advice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/good-places-for-aphorisms-in-fortune-cookies-on-bumper-stickers-and/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Aphorisms are literature's hand luggage. 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The air thin and pure, danger near, and the spirit full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/aphorisms-should-be-peaks-and-those-who-are-addressed-tall-and-lofty/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Aphorisms know the angles, but not the structure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/aphorisms-know-the-angles-but-not-the-structure/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [I believe aphorisms are best when first read in the wild, free from the confines of any categories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-geary/i-believe-aphorisms-are-best-when-first-read-in-the-wild-free-from/) [James Geary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-geary/) > [The excellence of aphorisms consists not so much in the expression of some rare or abstruse sentiment, as in the comprehension of some useful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-excellence-of-aphorisms-consists-not-so-much-in-the-expression-of/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Aphorisms are portable wisdom, the quintessential extracts of thought and feeling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-rounseville-alger/aphorisms-are-portable-wisdom-the-quintessential-extracts-of-thought/) [William Rounseville Alger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-rounseville-alger/) ## More by Morton Feldman > [The most interesting aspect for me, composing exclusively with patterns, is that there is not one organizational procedure more advantageous than another, perhaps because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-feldman/the-most-interesting-aspect-for-me-composing-exclusively-with/) [Morton Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morton-feldman/) > [Art in relation to life is nothing more than a glove turned inside out. It seems to have the same shapes and contours, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-feldman/art-in-relation-to-life-is-nothing-more-than-a-glove-turned-inside/) [Morton Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morton-feldman/) > [Since music has never had a Rembrandt, we have remained nothing more than musicians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-feldman/since-music-has-never-had-a-rembrandt-we-have-remained-nothing-more/) [Morton Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morton-feldman/) > [Any professional knows that the flute and the piano is a boring combination. All you've got to arrive at is a kind of typical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-feldman/any-professional-knows-that-the-flute-and-the-piano-is-a-boring/) [Morton Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morton-feldman/) > [For me it's the instrument. 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Cage is sermon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-feldman/most-music-is-metaphor-but-wolff-is-not-i-am-not-metaphor-either/) [Morton Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morton-feldman/) > [I'm not suspicious, I'm just careful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-feldman/i-m-not-suspicious-i-m-just-careful/) [Morton Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morton-feldman/) > [I want to give my compliments to Australia. Ever since your government paid a few million dollars for a Jackson Pollack painting, I figure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-feldman/i-want-to-give-my-compliments-to-australia-ever-since-your-government/) [Morton Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morton-feldman/) > [I never feel that my music is sparse or minimalist; the way fat people never really think they're fat. I certainly don't consider myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-feldman/i-never-feel-that-my-music-is-sparse-or-minimalist-the-way-fat-people/) [Morton Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morton-feldman/) > [If you think you might have secret information listening to me, you're lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-feldman/if-you-think-you-might-have-secret-information-listening-to-me-you-re/) [Morton Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morton-feldman/) > [I've been living with the minor second all my life and I finally found a way to handle it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-feldman/i-ve-been-living-with-the-minor-second-all-my-life-and-i-finally/) [Morton Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morton-feldman/) > [No one has the Houdini school of composition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-feldman/no-one-has-the-houdini-school-of-composition/) [Morton Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morton-feldman/) > [The tragedy of music is that it begins with perfection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-feldman/the-tragedy-of-music-is-that-it-begins-with-perfection/) [Morton Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morton-feldman/) > [It appears to me that the subject of music, from Machaut to Boulez, has always been its construction. Melodies of 12-tone rows just don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-feldman/it-appears-to-me-that-the-subject-of-music-from-machaut-to-boulez-has/) [Morton Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morton-feldman/) [Explore all 31 Morton Feldman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morton-feldman/) ## More Aphorism quotes > [“Who flies high, easily chooses his target.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ljupka-cvetanova/who-flies-high-easily-chooses-his-target/) [Ljupka Cvetanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ljupka-cvetanova/) > [“For their never-ending endeavours to obtain or retain wealth, countries desperately need companies, because they—unlike most human beings—have the means of production, and human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/for-their-never-ending-endeavours-to-obtain-or-retain-wealth/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“Listen! The court jester's cap and bells. The King is coming!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ljupka-cvetanova/listen-the-court-jester-s-cap-and-bells-the-king-is-coming/) [Ljupka Cvetanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ljupka-cvetanova/) > [“An expensive coffin does not decrease the deceased’s chances of going to hell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/an-expensive-coffin-does-not-decrease-the-deceased-s-chances-of-going/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“The eleventh commandment of art: thou shalt not be boring.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-m-driscoll/the-eleventh-commandment-of-art-thou-shalt-not-be-boring/) [W.M. 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