The word of the day is gnome:
Etymology:
< Greek γνώμη thought, judgement, opinion; plural γνῶμαι sayings, maxims (Latin sententiae ), < γνω- root of γιγνώσκειν to knows adj.
A short pithy statement of a general truth; a proverb, maxim, aphorism, or apophthegm. Also spec. with reference to Old English verse. (OED)
"Where some scholars are gnomic in style, Nagy piles his sentences high
with thin-sliced exposition. ('There are about ten passages—and by
passages I simply mean a selected text, and these passages are meant for
close reading, and sometimes I’ll be referring to these passages as
texts, or focus passages, but you’ll know I mean the same thing—and each
one of these requires close reading!')"
- Nathan Heller, "Laptop U: Has the future of college moved online?", 20 May 2013 The New Yorker
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