gaffe /ɡaf/ noun. an unintentional act or remark causing embarrassment to its originator; a blunder.
aph·o·rism /ˈafəˌrizəm noun. a pithy observation that contains a general truth, such as, “if it ain't broke, don't fix it.” a concise statement of a scientific principle, typically by an ancient classical author.
A gafforism is then the wisdom of the world, that is to say, folly. There really are better ways to pick up girls than others, but that kind of wisdom is wayward, it descends by excelling -- the better it is at that kind of the thing, the worse off it ends up.
James 3:14-16
If ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.
Gafforisms may help the worldly exploit the fallen world, but it does not help them lay claim to the world to come. Meekness is not a fruit of ignorance, but of repentance. The worldly wise will cool-shame and mock talk the meek, but the world they lust after will be taken from them and all the counterfeit joys they've experienced along with it.
All that said, here are some gafforisms acquired by Wilde. Witty or wise as they may be in assessing the worldly situation, they profit nothing on the day of judgment; in fact, they not only DO NOT profit, they produce more debt.
"There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all.”
False: there are badly written moral books, well written moral books, badly written immoral books, and well written immoral books (case and point)
“To define is to limit.”
True, but misapplied: This fact is reported as though it were a bad thing, and that definitions, therefore, should be resisted instead of embraced and obeyed. Ironically, Wilde misses the fact that for him to define "limit" as a negative is for him to limit himself to what limitations can be. Wilde cuts himself off from the liberty of the law by insisting only on the lawlessness of licentiousness.
“Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.”
True: even the worldly wise can see through the lies of other worldly wisdom. But pitting one type of worldliness against another does not produce other-worldliness. Wilde rightly sees through materialism, but cannot see his sensualism. He rails against paying for things by rallying around free pleasure. He does not resist the prostitute for her profession, but would deny her the paycheck.
“The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it.”
False: this is akin to saying you can only get rid of a headache by decapitation. It does get rid of the headache, but it kills the patient rather than curing him.
“There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.”
False: the maxim that any publicity is good publicity is only true of those who seek justification in the public eye. For them, to be ignored by the popularazzi is to be dead in the sin of obscurity with the rush of being thrust back into the public spotlight the equivalent of a miraculous resurrection. Their lives and livelihoods hang in the balance of public opinion, but your life is more than merely whether or not other people happen to notice it.
“When one is in love, one always begins by deceiving one's self, and one always ends by deceiving others. That is what the world calls a romance.”
False: love is not blind, it is bound. Lust is blind. It wants what it wants without seeing what it doesn't. But love is anything but blind or deceived. It has its eyes wide open and pledges purity and fidelity with the intention of keeping its vows. Romance, in the worldly sense, is without decision. It is driven by passion and defiance of forethought. Romance, in the Christian sense, is intentional. It is driven by covenant and diligence in duty.
“Never marry at all, Dorian. Men marry because they are tired, women, because they are curious: both are disappointed.”
False: Christian men marry because they are fired up and Christian women because they are certain. The world may encourage men to marry once they've given up chasing tail and women to marry to prove to them how good independence really was, and in that sense, Wilde rightly observes, they do end up disappointed. Worldly marriage mocks at covenant and wonders why sharing an address is so difficult sometimes.
There are more examples, of course, but these are sufficient in showing the amount of wit and wisdom the worldlings are capable of seeing without having eyes to adequately describe what they're observing. It is one thing to see what is around you and another to to see your own eyeballs. For that, you need wisdom outside of your field of vision. You need the wisdom that is from above.
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