An Epigram is a SD akin to a proverb, the only difference being that epigrams are coined by individuals whose names we know, while proverbs are the coinage of the people.
Epigrams are terse, witty, pointed statements, showing the ingenious turn of mind of the originator. They always have a literary-bookish air about them that distinguishes them from proverbs. Epigrams possess a great degree of independence and therefore, if taken out of the context, will retain the wholeness of the ideas they express. They have generalizing function and are self-sufficient. The most characteristic feature of the Epigram is that the sentence gets accepted as a word-combination and often becomes part of the language as a whole. Like proverbs, epigrams can be expanded to apply to abstract notions. Brevity is the essential quality of the epigram. "Art is triumphant when it can use convention as an instrument of its own purpose." (S. Maugham). Real epigrams are true to fact and that is why they win general recognition and acceptance.
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