About

A maxim is a short, memorable rule for how to live. Each one here gathers the quotes, from many thinkers, traditions and periods, that express the same idea.

42 Maxims gathers the short rules for living that keep reappearing across religions, philosophies, science and popular wisdom, and links every one to its sources.

It is an open project. Anyone can suggest a maxim, a quote or a correction by opening an issue or pull request on GitHub. The site is in English first; other languages will follow.

Our own writing is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Short quotations from modern authors are included with attribution for commentary.