A Short Saying

Hui defines it as "a short saying that requires interpretation" and distinguishes it from related genres such as proverbs, maxims and epigrams. While proverbs and sayings are "near the trivial extreme" and "easy to understand" (eg, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder"), maxims and epigrams are "somewhere in between", containing "an acute synthesis" (eg "An almost universal fault of lovers is not understanding when they are most loved").