Aristotle defines a gnomē as ‘a statement not about particular things, such as what sort of man Iphicrates is, but about generalities, and not about all things, such as that straight is the opposite of crooked, but about kinds of actions and whether they should be taken or avoided’ (Rhetoric 1394a21–6). In short, it offers general advice much like a proverb. Two of the most famous gnomai were written in the entry to the Temple of Apollo at Delphi: ‘Nothing in excess’ and ‘Know thyself.’
