PEMBERVILLE – Anne Bruning welcomed the Mental Culture Club to her home on Sept. 11.
Penny Truman opened the first meeting of the new program year.
Each of the 19 members present shared their favorite quote for the roll call, which
led into the evening’s topic: chiasmi.
A chiasmus is a reversal of the order of words in a two-phrase quip. Lois Wozniak
presented Dr. Mardy Grothe’s book, "Never Let a Fool Kiss You or a Kiss
Fool You." The title itself is an example of a chiasmus.
A classic chiasmi is U.S. President John F. Kennedy’s "Ask not what your country
can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." Another fine example
is Winston Churchill’s "Some men change their party for their principles.
Others change their principle for their party."
Because of their wit and succinctness, chiasmi are popular with politicians and
humorists.
Some chiasmi make comparisons. "An optimist gets up in the morning saying ‘Good
morning, God.’ A pessimist gets up saying ‘Good God, morning!’"
While chiasmi are usually two lines, if the first line is so well known, it is not
needed to be understood. Ziggy said, "A waist is a terrible thing to
mind."
Wozniak shared many clever chiasmi.